MENU PLANNING
Here are some ideas for weekly (or monthly) meal planning. Start with one category per day then think of some favorites in each category, add beverages and condiments as needed.
Breakfast:Here are some ideas for weekly (or monthly) meal planning. Start with one category per day then think of some favorites in each category, add beverages and condiments as needed.
Monday: Eggs: fried, scrambled, baked, quiche with spinach, sausage, or vegetables...
Tuesday: Quick breads: A-Z bread, banana, pumpkin, carrot, lemon, apple, cinnamon raisin...
Wednesday: Cold Cereal with fruit: granola, Raisin bran, puffed wheat, cheerios...
Thursday: Hot Cereal: Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Malt o Meal, Coco Wheats, Cream of Rice...
Friday: Breakfast pizza, Muffins
Saturday: Quick or cooked as time allows: Cottage cheese with Fruit, Biscuits with sausage gravy...
Sunday: Donuts or Brunch: - Cinnamon rolls, orange rolls...
Monday: Soup: Pizza soup, French Onion Soup, Cauliflower and Cheese Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Vegetable Beef Soup, Wild Rice Soup, Sausage and Potato Soup, Bean Soup.
Tuesday: Sandwiches and Leftover Soup or Salad
Wednesday: Wraps Stuffed with: Ham, swiss and pineapple, ham salad, Chicken salad, Pork cutlets and gravy Bacon lettuce and tomato, k-bobs, Crab salad, scrambled eggs, Shredded Bbq chicken, Shredded Bbq pork, Turkey and gravy with stuffing and cranberries...
Thursday: Pies or Calzones or Pasties stuffed with: chicken, beef, sausage,
Friday: Fish: - Baked, Broiled, Steamed, Fried...
Saturday: Leftovers or Eat out while you run errands
Sunday: Pizza or Brunch
Supper/Dinner:
Monday: Chicken: - baked, fried, soup, pot pie, roasted whole or rotisserie, Italiano, Cordon bleu, Parmesan, Schnitzel,...
Tuesday: Pasta: - Spaghetti, Tortellini, Macaroni and cheese, Ravioli, Stuffed shells, Ramen noodles, Fettuccine Alfredo,...
Wednesday: Roast: Pork loin, Chuck roast, Arm roast, Ham, ...
Soups: Beef with barley, Wild rice, Chicken noodle, Cream of vegetable, Bean with ham, Creamy potato and ham or sausage, pizza ...
Salads: egg, Ham, lettuce, chicken,...
Friday: Pizza: Cheese, Vegi, Tomato and pineapple, Mushroom...
Fish: Baked, Broiled, Steamed, Fried...
Potato Loaded with: butter, sour cream, broccoli and cauliflower and cheese...
Potato Loaded with: butter, sour cream, broccoli and cauliflower and cheese...
Ham with Plum Sauce, asparagus and twice baked potatoes;
Pork loin roast, potatoes and yams, with baked apples;
BBQ ribs and boiled potatoes with parsley, corn on the cob and watermelon.
You can make out your menu weeks ahead of time, but it can be changed according to what is in season, or on sale at the time.
Then the menu can then be fleshed out with more vegetables, side dishes and sauces, extras and starches such as rice, noodles, rolls and desserts as is fitting the size of your family, your budget and the ingredients on hand.
As I always seem to buy my dayminder calendar a week or two late each year, I always have space for this list printed on the appropriate days of one week for instant access at the store. For most of these meals I have an idea what is needed to make them already in my head, and with this list shopping gets quicker and easier. I hope it helps.
As I always seem to buy my dayminder calendar a week or two late each year, I always have space for this list printed on the appropriate days of one week for instant access at the store. For most of these meals I have an idea what is needed to make them already in my head, and with this list shopping gets quicker and easier. I hope it helps.
MY Snicker Doodle Invention
(From July 2011)
3/4 cup butter
1-1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Heat the oven to 350. Put the first four ingredients in a bowl and beat well until creamy. Add the egg and continue beating. Add the flour, salt and soda all at once and mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the mix. Refrigerate about 10 minutes. Form into small balls and roll in cinnamon and sugar and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 8 minutes or slightly browner around the edges.
Brevi Bastoni Torti
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
11/2 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
Put 2 cups of flour in a bowl. Add sugar and baking powder to flour. Mix egg, salt, and vanilla in separate bowls. Make wells in the flour mixture. Pour egg mixture and milk into wells in the flour mixture. Whisk together until mixture is still rather sloppy. Add extra flour and mix in. When kneading, add little slabs of butter here and there. When finished kneading, roll out dough and cut into strips using pizza cutter. Twist each strip, fold and twist again. Brush with melted butter and put on pan. Turn on oven for 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. For a tasty treat, melt more butter and add oregano and garlic.
Coperta Calda di Formaggio
1 pkg. Roast chicken Ramen noodle soup
1 bag (12 oz.) Broccoli cuts
6-8 slices of american cheese (I used crystal farms slices)
a small amount ( about 3 Tbsp) of milk as needed
Bring water to a boil and add noodles and flavoring let simmer for a minute then add the broccoli return to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until the broccoli is cooked. ( the noodles may have soaked up most of the liquid by then) Add the cheese slices 2 at a time stirring between each addition. Add the milk as needed to make a creamy consistency. Season to taste: garlic, salt, pepper etc.
makes 4- approximately 1 cup servings
Salad for Lunch
2 servings2 cups Leafy Green Spinach
1 cup Shredded Carrots
1 cup Steamed Broccoli
1 Grandma Verns'd* chicken breast, diced and fried
1/3 cup Marble Jack Cheese, shredded
2 Cherry Tomatoes
Ranch or Honey Mustard dressing
Bing Cherries
Layer first 5 ingredients on a plate, the broccoli and the chicken should still be warm, top each with 1 cherry tomato and dressing of your choice. Try making your own with Greek yogurt and the cherries.
*Grandma Verns is a special blend of herbs and spices that is available locally. I find I can't get used to eating meat without it. For those who don't have access to Grandma verns...I am so sorry, really I am...you might make up your own blend or use your favorite season salt doctored up a bit to taste better.
serve with a bowl of sweet cherries on the side!
Banana Bread
1/2 C butter
1 C Sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
2 C flour
1 tsp Soda
1/4 C chopped nuts (opt.)
1/2 tsp salt.
Put butter, sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat well. Add bananas and 1/2 cup of flour. Beat well then add remaining ingredients and blend with spoon. Bake in a well oiled loaf pan about 1 hour at 350º.
Pita Pizzas
2-5 Roma Tomatoes or any very "meaty" tomato, sliced
1-2 Tbsp of Basil fresh or dried (may be chopped or whole)
approx. 1 tsp Granulated Garlic
about 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 package Pita bread (not pocket bread, not sliced) about 8
1-2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
The amounts are variable, they depend on how much topping you want to put on your pizza, how strong you like your garlic etc.
Put the first four ingredients in a bowl in that order let the tomatoes marinate for about 10 minutes.
Arrange the pitas on a cookie sheet and turn the oven on to broil.
Use a fork to pull the tomatoes out of the marinade and arrange them on pitas. Sprinkle with cheese.
Place under the broiler and watch them carefully. When the toppings are hot and bubbly, remove from the oven cut into "pizza slices" and serve hot.
Serves 4-8
Breakfast Quiche
Crust:
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick)
1 Tbsp milk (if needed to hold together the mixture)
Filling:
1/2 cup diced Ham or Sausage
1/2 cup cheese cubes
3 eggs (mixed with parsley and pepper)
Mix together flour and salt. Cut margarine into flour mix until it is very fine and crumbly like cornmeal (don't be impatient here.) If the mixture won't hold together at all, add the tbsp of milk. Mix the clumps into the mixture until there are small pieces or flakes and use them to line the bottom of a 6-8 in. iron pan. Use about 2/3 of the mix, sprinkle the remaining evenly around the edge of the pan and press up the sides, fix cracks as you find them. Put diced ham and cheese in the bottom of crust. Pour eggs on top. Put in a cold oven on the middle rack at 400º bake for 25 min. The crust should be lightly brown and the eggs firm in the middle. Serve immediately. Goes well with fruit.
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups zucchini peeled and grated
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1'4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
Beat eggs until foamy, add sugar oil zucchini and vanilla mix lightly but well.
Sift remaining ingredients: flour salt soda baking powder and cinnamon and add to egg mixture.
Mix until blended, put in a well oiled loaf pan bake at 325 for 1 hour let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups zucchini peeled and grated
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1'4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
Beat eggs until foamy, add sugar oil zucchini and vanilla mix lightly but well.
Sift remaining ingredients: flour salt soda baking powder and cinnamon and add to egg mixture.
Mix until blended, put in a well oiled loaf pan bake at 325 for 1 hour let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
