April Menu Plan

Wow!  April has snuck up on me!  At least that means the temperatures should be going up soon, right?

April is a busy month for our family.  G's birthday is this month, as well as her first EVER dance competition (eek!).  Unfortunately, we don't know when that competition is.  It will be sometime next weekend, but could be anytime on Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday.  Plus I have a big cub scout meeting next Sunday night.  We've also got April Fool's Day, and I want to try something fun for dinner that night.  So, that gives us several nights to work around.  Plus, April is "Clean Out the Pantry and Freezer Month"!  Here is the plan I came up with:

I have a few meals still left in my freezer from co-op:

• Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Loin
• French Dip Roast Beef
• Italian Meatloaf
• Sticky Roast Chicken and Grilled Salmon with Hazelnut Butter (both on one night to accomodate allergies)

I also have 6 meals coming home on April 1.  My goal is to use ALL of my co-op meals up this month:

• Spaghetti Pie
• Sri Lankan Beef Curry
• Ravioli Soup
• Shredded Chicken and Noodles
• Cuban Pork Chops
• Colorado Style Beef Enchiladas

I mentioned something fun for April Fools Day?  I'm going to try making these two dishes:

• Fauxberry Pie for dinner
• Meatball Subs for dessert

Once I plugged in freezer meals, eating out on G's birthday and dance competition, and church dinners, I went through the pantry and freezer and made a list of what I have on hand.  Then I used those items to make the rest of the menu.  Here's what I had and what I'm doing with it:

• Enchilada Sauce: Spanish Rice Enchiladas
• Refried Beans: Bean Burritos for lunches
• A-1 Sauce (plus more of the homemade dijon mustard I made this week): A-1 Dijon Steak
• Cream of Celery Soup: Pork Chops and Rice for Sunday lunch
• Manicotti Noodles & 8 oz. of Tomato Sauce: Spinach Manicotti using homemade red sauce
• Pizza Crust Mix and a pound of Ground Beef: Stromboli
• Baby Corn, Water Chestnuts, and a pound of sirloin: Last Minute Stirfry
• Sauerkraut & Beer: Beer Brats (what else do you do with kraut and beer???)
• Crushed Pineapple, Pineapple Juice, and Pork Tenderloin: Pineapple Pork Loin
• Penne & 15 oz Tomato Sauce & a package of frozen meatballs: Penne with meatballs and homemade sauce
• More Penne (I have lots...): Bacon and Pea Mac and Cheese
• Oat Bran: Oat Bran Muffins for breakfasts

Honestly, this filled up most of the month.  I try to do a big pantry/freezer clean out about every 6 months and get rid of things that have accumulated because of last minute plan changes or sales or something.  Things happen.  So I've got this planned so at the end of the month, all we will have on hand is staples and canned fruits and veggies from my garden! :)

March Week 5 - Menu and Grocery List

Wow.  The month of March has gone fast!  I can't believe that April starts next Monday.  I promise to get the April menu up soon!!

Here is the printable menu for this week.

Recipes you will need for this menu:

• Breakfast Bars - Do you remember these?  I used to LOVE them!  And I can't find them anywhere.  So when I found this recipe, I knew I had to make them!
• Jerk Pork Wraps - You can use store-bought jerk seasoning, but I prefer to make my own using this recipe.  I will also make my own mayo.  If you choose to use store-bought, eliminate the items on the grocery list marked with a *.
• Cranberry Spinach Salad
• Mac & Cheese - This is a very simple, but super delicious recipe.  I grew up on this.  I have Velveeta (ick) to use up, or I would make my own.  Next time! :)
• Scalloped Potatoes and Ham - I'm using the same recipe I used for the Cheesy Potatoes and Smoked Sausage, only substituting ham.  If you need this recipe, see my Recipe page.
• Lemony Broccoli - This is SO easy!!!
• Beanie Weanies - OK, so this is a guilty pleasure.  It doesn't follow any of my "rules" - I mean, hot dogs???  No, those aren't processed at all! (Read that with a LOT of sarcasm.)
• Corn Bread - I have shortening to use up, as well as butter flavoring.  Once that's gone, I'll experiment with replacing some of the shortening with butter to eliminate the butter flavoring.
• Tangy Honey Glazed Ham
• Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes - I have a can of cream of chicken soup, but you can make your own.  Like I said, we aren't going to waste things we already have on hand!
• Five-Cup Salad
• Coyote Tacos
• Spaghetti Pie - This is a co-op recipe, so the ingredients are in italics on the grocery list.  This is just to remind me I don't need to shop for them! :)

Here is the grocery list!!

Coyote Tacos

Flat bread tacos

Ingredients

1. 2 cup All Purpose Flour
2. 1 tbsp Baking Powder
3. 1 tsp Salt
4. 1 cup Milk
5. 1 lbs Ground Beef
6. 1 Limes
7. ½ tsp Garlic Salt
8. 1 cup Guacamole
9. 1 can Refried Beans
10. 1 cup Sour Cream
11. 1 cup Cheddar Cheese

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, and mix until the dough comes together. Add more flour if necessary to be able to handle the dough. On a floured surface, knead the dough until smooth, at least 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large, deep heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). Oil should be about 1 1/2 inches deep. Break off 3/4 cup sized pieces of dough, and shape into round discs 1/4 inch in thickness, making a thinner depressed area in the center. Fry breads in the hot oil until golden on both sides, turning only once. Drain on paper towels.
3. Put steak (whole) in a large bowl. Quarter lime. Add lime, pepper, and garlic salt to taste. Let chill for about 1 hour.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a medium temperature in a medium skillet. Cook until both sides of steak are browned and cooked through (about 5 mins) leave aside.
5. Fill fry bread shells with meat, guacamole, beans, sour cream, and cheese.

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Five-cup Salad

 

Ingredients

1. 1 can Mandarin Oranges
2. 1 can Canned Grapes
3. 1 can Canned Pineapple
4. 1 cup Miniature Marshmallows
5. 1 cup Flaked Coconut
6. 1 cup Sour Cream

Directions

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Tangy Honey Glazed Ham

 

Ingredients

1. 5 lbs Ham
2. 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3. 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
4. 2 tbsp Pineapple Juice
5. 2 tsp Pineapple Juice
6. 2 tbsp Honey
7. 2 tsp Honey
8. 1 large Oranges, Juiced and zested
9. 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
10. 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325. Place ham in roasting pan. Bake ham (uncovered) for 2 hours.
2. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, pineapple juice, honey, orange juice, orange zest, mustard, and cloves. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Brush ham with glaze. Bake 30-45 minutes, basting with glaze every 10 minutes.

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Corn Bread

 

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup Sugar
2. 1/2 cup Shortening
3. 1/4 tsp Butter Flavoring
4. 2 large Eggs
5. 1 cup Cornmeal
6. 1 cup All Purpose Flour
7. 1 cup Milk
8. 1 tsp Baking Powder
9. 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together. Bake in a greased 9 inch square pan for 30-45 minutes at 350.

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Beanie Weanies

 

Ingredients

1. 32 oz Pork and Beans
2. 3 slice Bacon
3. 1 med Onion
4. ½ cup Catsup
5. cup Barbecue Sauce
6. 8 ea Hot Dog
7. cup Brown Sugar

Directions

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My Mom's Mac and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese (Homemade)

 

Ingredients

1. 3 cup Macaroni -- Cooked
2. 1/4 cup Butter -- Melted
3. 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
4. 1 1/2 cup Milk
5. 8 oz Velveeta -- Cubed

Directions

1. Mix together butter, flour, milk, salt, and pepper. Boil. Turn down heat and thicken. Add Velveeta and melt. Add macaroni. Pour into baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and paprika, if desired. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

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Our "Cut-the-Crap" Lifestyle...First Steps

“Real Food”.  “Paleo”.  “Crunchy”.  If you look at the search engine history on my laptop, you’ll find a lot of websites containing those terms.  Our family is cutting out a lot of chemical, artificial, processed what-have-you items in our lives.  I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what category we fit into.

What I found was that we fit into exactly 0 of these boxes.  I am not interested in “Paleo” diets - I like my carbs and have no reason to give them up (gluten allergies, etc.).  “Real Food” is closer to what I’m looking for, and maybe will be a long-term goal, but I’m not ready to jump into the all organic realm.  Not that the idea is bad, but the price is pretty out there for something with no real regulation.  Plus, locally-grown meats are not readily available where I shop.  I’m not an environmentalist, so “Crunchy” doesn’t fit either.  So, what is this new lifestyle we are working towards?  “Chemical Free” SEEMS to fit based on the websites you’ll find if you look it up, but let’s be honest...There are chemicals in EVERYTHING!!!  And not all “chemicals” are dangerous.  (From Dictionary.com: Chemical - a substance produced by or used in a chemical process)  Water is, by definition, a chemical compound.  Want to argue that water is dangerous for you?  Go ahead.  I’m not listening.

I could go on...”Unprocessed”, “Natural”, etc.  Nothing really fits.  So, I’m making my own title (I think...no one seems to have a claim on it, anyway).  This is the start of our “Cut-the-Crap Lifestyle”.  It’s going to be a gradual process (I don’t believe in waste, so we have to use up stuff we have on hand, but we don’t have to replenish it).  I’m also going to concentrate on particular areas for now, and maybe add more later.

First, WHY?  I’m not an environmentalist.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love God’s Creation.  I’m just not a Nature Nut.  I’m also not an Alarmist - “Chemicals are going to kill us!”  Nope.  Not me.  I’m doing this for health reasons.  I suffer from a couple of chronic, related health issues.  Specifically Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (and I don’t mean “I have 3 kids and am always tired”.  The actual medical condition.) and Neurocardiogenic Syncope.  {NOTE: It's been pointed out that this links to an article on Vasovagal Syncope - They are the same thing.  Neurocardiogenic is just a more descriptive term.)  There aren’t cures for either of these and what symptomatic treatments there are have nasty side-effects.  At one point, a chiropractor suggested I cut out canned foods completely for a while.  I was skeptical at first, but it did help!  Of course, that makes cooking and shopping a little more time-consuming (at least at first), and after a while I got lazy and gave up.  Lately, though, I’ve been having a really bad round of fatigue.  So, I’m trying again.

Now onto the WHAT.  We are starting in three areas: food, personal hygiene, and household cleaners.  

Food: This is probably the hardest of the three, but the most important to me.  Honestly, compared to a lot of people I know, we don’t eat that much processed foods.  But we do eat some.  So, starting this week, I’m looking for substitutes.  For example, yesterday I made Egg Salad.  One of the ingredients in the egg salad is Miracle Whip (ick).  Not only is Miracle Whip full of preservatives, I just don’t like it.  Plus, we are almost out.  So, I made this copy-cat recipe this morning.  (Sorry for the bad picture...)  It took literally 5 minutes, tastes MUCH better, and was all ingredients I have on hand!  I’m also replacing the chili sauce for tonight’s stir-fry with a homemade version.  So, we’re off to a good start!  

Personal Hygiene:  Honestly, this is the area that kind of scares me.  Oh, I’m good with making soaps and shampoos.  But I’m kind of leery of the homemade deodorant and toothpaste arena.  We’ll have to see.  That may not ever happen.  I made my shampoo this week.  It’s a blend of different recipes I found on the internet and my own scent concoction - Chamomile and Citrus.  I really like it.  My hair has oodles more natural volume and isn’t dry and static-y.  Plus it just smells yummy!  (I made my own label, too.  Sorry, I’m not posting the recipe right now.  A couple people have asked me if I’d consider selling it, and I’d like to keep the recipe secret until I decide.)

Cleaners: As we run out of things, I’ll start making detergents, cleaners, and air fresheners.  I think laundry detergent will be the first, maybe as soon as next week.

I’m excited to try this journey.  Hopefully I’ll start seeing some results in my energy level and blood pressure soon.  I’ll keep you posted!!