Menu Monday

After being sick last week and not eating much at all, I decided I had better make out a proper menu this week.

Pork & beans with hot dogs and au gratin potatoes - I found a package of four hot dogs in the freezer and cans of pork & beans in the pantry. We have freshly dug potatoes from the garden and I found a pint of cream that I had frozen. This will clear up a bit of space in the freezer.

Chicken Fried Rice - I found one chicken breast in the freezer that can be stretched into a meal by adding in some frozen stir fry vegetables, brown rice from the freezer, and a couple of scrambled eggs. I will serve this with crescent rolls.

Hamburgers and chips - I have homemade hamburger buns in the freezer which do not need to stay in there for too long. We have some packages of chips in the pantry to make this a quick meal.

Fish fillets, salad, and sweet potato fries - We bake the fish fillets with butter and herbs. The sweet potato fries are frozen and quite yummy.

BLTs - The temperatures here are climbing which means lighter meals are welcome on the menu. Sandwiches will pop up on my menu more and more as the humidity and temperatures rise. We are trying beef bacon as opposed to pork.

Tacos - I have taco meal kits in the pantry. This will help use up the lettuce. We almost always have taco seasoned meat leftover so I will freeze it to use in a salad for a future meal. I also have some guacamole in the freezer.

Pork tenderloin, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and squash - The pork tenderloin is in the freezer. I think I have one package of frozen macaroni and cheese left. The green beans and squash are from the garden.

Garden Harvest

I have been dream of fresh yellow squash since I started the seeds in the greenhouse. Last week I was finally able to pick some from the garden. Half of these went to my parents. The ones that I kept were sliced and fried. They were oh so good.

For more pictures of my garden, check out my other blog, Green Toe Gardening. I have uploaded several pictures of my garden areas.

Birthday Cake

My dad loves lemon desserts. After I mastered lemon curd, I knew I wanted to make this cake for his birthday. It is a lemon curd cake with lemon Swiss meringue buttercream icing. This was my first time make a Swiss meringue buttercream so I was a bit nervous, but it turned out beautifully. My icing skills need improvement, but I was happy the extra lemon curd was thick enough to hold its shape for piping. The cake was yummy too!

Spring Cleaning

For the past month I have been busy working in the yard and garden. That left the house quite neglected. I never got around to doing a good deep cleaning. Since both my husband and I were sick prior to the holidays last year, I missed most of my pre-holiday cleaning. I do not even want to count up how long overdue a good cleaning is. I have reached the point where the house is driving me crazy. It is now time to dig in. I am starting with the living room this week.

While I am cleaning, I want to make up a list of small updates for each room. The living room needs a slip cover for the couch. I am not a good enough seamstress to make one so I need to start looking for a deal. I also want to rearrange some of the furniture pieces but that must wait until we get a new tv.

Menu Plan

I am trying to keep myself on track with menu planning. I have a long way to go on making a dent in the freezer. Planning meals from what I have on hand helps both the freezer and my grocery budget. Here are my plans for the coming week.

• Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad: I never did get around to making the meatballs last week. We had a quick meal of sandwiches one day last week in place of this so it goes back on the menu.


• Steak, baked potatoes, and salad: I have two steaks in the freezer and a weather forecast for sunny, warm weather. This makes a perfect combination for grilling. I bought two large baking potatoes and will get lettuce from the garden.


• Tacos: The price of tomatoes dropped by half. While they are still not cheap, I did find them to be affordable again. I have plenty of taco shells in the pantry and will only need to pick up taco sauce.


• Cheeseburgers and french fries: I use my dinner roll recipe to make hamburger buns by shaping them larger. I cannot remember the last time I bought hamburger buns.


• Beef sausage, tomatoes, and pasta with corn bread: This is a comfort meal for us. It is also a quick one pot meal aside from the corn bread. It is low on vegetables, but I try to balance it out with other meals.


• Breakfast for Dinner: We will use the rest of the beef sausage for this meal. We will add grits, eggs, toast, and homemade jam/jelly.


• Pizza: I have enough cheese and turkey pepperoni to make another pizza. My husband was not so certain of the crust recipe I tried. I did add in some seasonings. This time I will make it plain and just by the recipe.

Menu Plan

My freezer is practically running over. If I was brave enough to really dig them I would know what is in it. At this point I am afraid to move too much as I am not sure I could get it all back in. My menu plan will focus on using what I have on hand. My only planned purchases this week are milk and items for my husband's work lunches.

• Pork tenderloin, macaroni and cheese, and peas: Pork tenderloin is the meat that I cook the best. I like to bake it in the oven. The peas are from the freezer and originally from the garden. The macaroni and cheese will be from a mix. I normally make homemade; however, we have a surplus of Kraft Homestyle purchased on sale with coupons.


• Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad: I am going to make a big batch of meatballs using venison and turkey along with spinach. The garlic bread will be made with homemade bread, and the salad is from the garden.


• Roast with onions, potatoes, and carrots: I cut a venison roast into pieces and add large diced onions, potatoes, and carrots. This gets topped with salt, pepper, butter/margarine, and Italian dressing. I cover it with foil and bake. It is a hearty meal for a cool, rainy day.


• Pasta salad: I bought multi-colored spiral pasta with a coupon. I make my own dressing using ranch and Italian dressings. I add in whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator. My husband likes this with club crackers.


• Black bean quesadillas and guacamole: I made my own tortillas and they turned out too small for enchiladas. Instead I will make quesadillas. The black beans will turn this into a meatless meal my husband will enjoy. A side of guacamole and chips and possibly a salad will round out the meal.

Cooking from Scratch

I have recently found myself making more items from scratch. I have two reasons. The first is that I like my food to be fresh. Being able to make breads from scratch means that I can buy up basic ingredients and extend the time between shopping trips. My second reason is that I want to know what is going into my foods. I am overwhelmed by companies trying to convince me that those unpronounceable ingredients are not bad for me. I am not saying that they are bad, but they are not necessarily good either.

I realize that most people do not have time to cook everything from scratch. I find that it does take up a portion of my week. Obviously mixing and baking bread is not as simple as tossing a loaf in the shopping cart. I feel the need recently to get back to basics though. I have never liked to be dependent on others for everyting. I have always liked to be able to do things myself. This is just an extension of that.

I will continue to not take the easy way out. I am not saying it is the only way. For me at this point it is the better way.