Pantry Challenge, Good Soups, And Menu Plan Mondays

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Honey

What are you feeding your family this week?

We have a busy week ahead of us, so it was important to me that I take the time to figure out what our food was going to be for the week. This post is how I hashed all of that out. Come along for the ride.

Pantry Challenge

I was realizing tonight that I need to dig through the pantry and freezer and figure out what food we actually have and think about ways to use it up.

We tend to shove stuff in the freezer and forget about it. Note to self: label bags before you put them in the freezer.

Does anyone know what kind of pen works on a bag that is going in the freezer?

I stumbled onto this post recently about a pantry challenge and decided that it was just what we needed, mostly to clean out the freezer, fridge, and pantry. I went to the blog tonight to read the post while I was writing this post and discovered there is only one day left in the pantry challenge (here is the Pantry Challenge Log). It was still inspiring to me.

There is more stuff in the freezers, pantry, and fridge but these are the things that stood out to me (other stuff could very well have been hiding).

Freezer here I come:

box of sausages
bag of cooked sausages
3 bags of shaved roast
pork chops
2 bags of falafels (Do they go with tzatziki sauce?)
1 bag of corn
1 bag of peas
bag of chicken patties (that no one likes, ugh)
2 boxes of tart shells
several litres of cream
random bags of weird food

Pantry organization is on its way. The shelves are looking messy and the food needs to be arranged in some kind of logical manners which shouldn't take too long. Okay, the organizing will wait until tomorrow, I need to get this post finished.

Pantry here I come:

several bottles of salad dressing (Ranch, 1000 Islands, Caesar)
4 boxes of stuffing
several bags of rice
potatoes
giant cans (4L each) or grapefruit, olives, tomatoes, carrots, etc.
random bags and bottles of strange things

And last but not least, I peaked in the fridge and found some goodies that are still edible. Yes, I need to clean that out, it's about that time.

Fridge here I come:

a large turnip
a large cabbage
onions (I know they don't belong in there, but I didn't put them in there)
sour cream
tzatziki sauce (Oh, let's buy or make some pitas.)
and the usual or unusual condiments (HP Sauce, Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard, etc)

Soups For Lunch

We have figured out breakfast, but that is another post (coming soon). I would love to incorporate more soups into our lunch menu. My friend Tonya wrote an awesome series about 10 Days Of Warm Winter Soups. They look so yummy. I even started a Soup Pinboard on Pinterest.

Speaking of Pinterest (you are on Pinterest, right?)

You can check out some of my food related boards on Pinterest:

Menu Plan Monday

Now on to the actual planning... it is Menu Plan Monday after all. In random order, here are some of the meals we will be eating this week.

Breakfast Skillet: Roast Beef, Onions, Potatoes
Pita Bread with Tzatziki Sauce
Pork Chops with Rice and Corn
Roast Beef, Onions, Rice, And Peas
Falafel with Tzatziki Sauce - Still not sure if that is a good idea or not?
Roast Beef, Onions, Turnip, and Cabbage

I am linking up with the Pantry Challenge, and Menu Plan Monday.

Don't forget to check out Tonya's Soup Recipes too.

The Week Before Christmas

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Honey

Christmas is fast approaching and all I can think about now is baking cookies, creating sweet treats, and making Christmas dinner.

Things to do:

I need to do a baking inventory and make sure we have all of our supplies, so Jonah can make a last minute run to the grocery store (across the street).
I also need to take our turkeys our of the deep freeze and put them in the freezer tomorrow morning so they will be thawed to cook on December 23rd.
Cook the turkeys on December 23rd.

There will be 16 of us here for our big family dinner on Christmas Eve afternoon (9 children and 7 adults), but we like to cook our turkeys a day early. This makes the day so much easier.

Our Christmas Eve Dinner:

turkeys (two of them)
mashed potatoes
gravy
yams and marshmallows
peas, corn, carrots
brussell sprouts with bacon and onions (first year for this)
stuffing on the stove
pumpkin pie
some kind of tarts - I have 2 boxes of tart shells but I have no idea what to put in them - ideas?
sweet treats - from my pinterest board
punch
really strong coffee

Since we rotate Christmas Day and Christmas Eve with my sister and her family every year, we rotate our menu too, so that we can have our turkey with the whole family.

Our Christmas Day Menu:

Big Breakfast (family tradition)

sausages
pancakes
bananas
strawberries

Lunch

turkey sandwiches

Dinner

crackers
cheese
pepperoni
salami
ham
chips

I have no idea what we will be eating for the rest of this week, but at least I have a plan for Christmas.

This post is part of Sunflower Schoolhouse's Large Family Good Eats

and

I am linking up with Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan Monday on Tuesday

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Honey

We had a crazy busy weekend and I never got around to making the menu plan for the week, so here is our Menu Plan Monday on Tuesday.

Breakfasts

oatmeal pancakes
grilled cheese sandwiches
muffins and apples or carrot sticks
breakfast skillet
cinnamon toast

Lunches

grilled tuna sandwich and green salad
biscuits and green salad
spaghetti and sauce with Caesar salad and garlic toast
muffins and apples
turkey salad

Dinners

pizza (with spinach)
sweet n sour pork and rice with veggies
hamburger patties and mashed potatoes (or rice) with veggies
lasgna
chicken

I am linking up to Menu Plan Monday .

Menu Plan Monday

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Honey

Cabbage Roll Casserole

This is a simple replacement for all those cabbage roll casserole lovers. This time it will be made with breakfast sausage and bear paw hamburgers. I know that sounds really weird, but the plan is to fry those up with some onions and mild salsa. It will create a really yummy sauce to mix with the cabbage and the rice. We use parboiled rice so it doesn't need to be cooked ahead and turns out perfect every time. Okay, I am really looking forward to this meal.

Beef And Broccoli with Rice

We didn't get to this one last week. I make this with roast that has been cooked, sliced, and frozen. We will cube this up, fry it with onions and broccoli. It will be served with rice.

Sweet n Sour Pork with Rice

We cooked a pork roast last week that was sliced and frozen. This will be cubed and fried with onions and peppers. Then we make the sauce - brown sugar, ketchup, and vinegar - until it tastes right. So easy. This will be served with rice and veggies.

Chicken Fingers and Ceasar Salad

This one is easy. Cut up romaine lettuce, add Ceasar dressing. Cook chicken fingers, place on top. You can dress this up with parmesan cheese and crutons if you like.

Spring Chicken Pie

I love chicken pot pie, but I like to save the heavy meals for the colder days of fall and winter. We are going to try something a little different this week. Grilled chicken breast, onions, peppers, corn, carrots, potatoes (easy on the potatoes), chicken gravy, and a baking powder biscuit crust.

I would love ot hear what you are eating this week.

If you are short for ideas then don't forget to visit Menu Plan Monday or check out the Menu Planning Resources.

Menu Plan Monday

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Honey

It is time again for Menu Plan Monday. The goal this week is to increase the amount of veggies we are eating and bring some flavor and color to our meals. We did our monthly grocery shop on Friday so the fridge, freezer, and cupboards are stocked up for another month. Now, what to eat?

Monday

I purchased a giant pork roast that should serve for several meals including (sweet'n sour pork, stir fry, etc). Today we are having a fabulous Roast Pork Dinner with all the fixings. The fixings includes potatoes, gravy, peas, carrots, and maybe a can of cranberry sauce if I can find one in the cupboard.

Tuesday

We so often get stuck in a rut with our pasta and I love changing it up sometimes. Truth is, I would change it up every time if I didn't have an 11 year old that liked plan pasta. We will be recreating Tuscan Chicken Pasta again. It is a bright and colorful pasta with no sauce. We grilled bright red peppers, onions, and chicken together and then mixed them with macaroni noodles. My only complaint the last time we made this dish was that we went light on the vegetables, not this time.

Wednesday

Last month I bought leeks and they went bad because I never got around to making the Leek and Potato Soup. I love leek and potato and we ARE making it this week, hopefully with fresh homemade artisian bread too.

Thursdays

Making chicken where everyone gets their own pieces is expensive, so we don't do it very often (casseroles stretch meat). This month, I bought some chicken thighs specifically for Shake'n Bake Chicken. I already know that this one will be a hit. We will round the meal off with mashed potatoes and corn.

Friday

Last Sunday we cooked up a giant beef roast and had a wonderful roast beef dinner. The leftovers vegetables were bagged and thrown into the freezer and the meat was bagged in meal size portions and thrown into the freezer. Buying roasts in bulk size is a great way to save money on meat. Today we are having Beef and Broccoli with rice. We will take the frozen beef out of the freezer and fry it with onions and broccoli and serve with rice.

What are you eating this week? I would love to hear what is on your menu for this week. Leave me a note in the comments.

I am linking up with Menu Plan Monday.