Titus 2 Homemakers
The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home => The Cook House => : greyhoundgirl November 24, 2013, 05:47:38 PM
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Sat down and did this this afternoon. Lots to do this week to prepare for the company we invited for Thanksgiving spur-of-the-moment last night. :P And then it will be payday, so I want to get the shopping done and just enjoy the month of December without shopping in a crowded store. I may change the order of a few things. Also, may have turkey for Christmas, but right now I have down ham...we will see the price of ham and what is sounding best closer to time if I do get one. I'm not planning lunches for specific days this time. I haven't been sticking to the days I put down last time. But I did make a general list of lunch ideas for when there are no leftovers to have. I'm really trying to stretch our existing meat through January, buying as little as possible, and of course to also keep the budget under $300.
1 Roast with mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggie
2 Spicy Slow-cooked Carrot, Ginger, and Lentil Soup, homemade bread
3 Turkey Potpie (made with TG leftovers)
4 Wed--Earl has class and kids eat at church
5 Hamburger gravy, homemade rolls, peas
6 Turkey Croquettes w/ homemade cream of chicken as gravy, quinoa, mixed cauli, broccoli, carrots
7 Zuppa Toscana Soup (sp?), homemade sourdough
8 Simple Spinach and Sweet Potato Soup (slowcooker, also uses lentils)
9 Chicken and dumplings, broccoli
10 Meatloaf, cheesy potatoes, veggie to be determined, possibly cabbage
11 Wed*
12 Taco ring made with homemade roll dough, carrots and celery with homemade Ranch
13 Italian Wedding Soup, homemade sourdough
14 Dinner at church before Christmas play (need to find out if I am supposed to bring something)
15 Brisket, au gratin potatoes, veggie
16 Indian Style Lentil Stew, some kind of bread
17 Baked potatoe, topped with leftover brisket from Sunday, butter, cheese, Ranch for those who like it, and served with broccoli
18 Wed*
19 Salmon patties, sweet potato fries
20 Homemade pizza night
21 Butternut squash soup, sourdough, salad
22 Pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions
23 Baked chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, veggie
24 My b-day, hoping to eat out, maybe Mexican...if that doesn't work out cost-wise I will think of something to make
25 Ham, au gratin potatoes, veggie OR may have turkey but not with as many sides as at TG
26 Baked ziti, green beans
27 White bean soups with ham bone, cornbread
28 Egg Roll in a Bowl
29 Chicken Potpie
30 Chili, Cornbread
31 Appetizers: L'il Smokies made into pigs in a blanket, Chicken packets, veggies and ranch, apples and dip, a dessert
Lunch ideas-not an exhaustive list but some ideas to be used in addition to leftovers or sandwiches
Roast beef hash (using leftover beef from roast)
Vegetable Beef ABC Soup (from Heavenly Homemakers)
Refried beans in the crockpot for burritos or bowls
Leftover refried beans spread on corn chips and baked with cheese on top for nachos
Homemade mac and cheese
Potato soup
Tuna melts
Quesadillas
White beans and ham cooked specifically for lunch (kids love this for some reason)
Potato pancakes with applesauce
Breakfast-not assigning days here either
Potato bowls
Muffins (pumpkin, cappuccino, banana nut, blueberry)
Scones
Waffles and meat
Scrambled eggs with toast
Apple fritters
Crepes with assorted fillings
Muffin in a Mug (more for mom)
Protein shake
Oatmeal (with or without protein shake)
Apple cinnamon oatmeal
Yogurt
Toast (with or without PB)
Snacks-pretty much same as this month
Apples with or without nut or sunflower butters
Cheese sticks cut from block of cheese
Yogurt (with or without frozen berries mixed in)
Other fruits as purchased
Homemade granola bars or other baked goods
Toast with PB or cheese
Raisins or prunes
Crackers and laughing cow cheese
carrots and Ranch
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Looks good! I have to work on mine.
Denise
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I'm eating at Cath's ;)
I need to sit down and do this but honestly - if I can sit and figure out what we are eating this week I will be happy - with 2 birthdays and Thanksgiving this week my brain honestly can't handle thinking past that ;)
I do love your menu Cath - lots of yummy things
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Here is what I have so far:
1 - I have no idea. I think Doug and I have to drive Zac back to school even though he told us he had a ride. It is too late to get him a bus ticket so we have to make the 11 hour round trip. Neither of us is happy about this!
2 - Eggs, potatoes and fruit
3 - Black bean and sweet potato chili, cornbread
4 - Pasta, salad, bread
5 - Tuna paninis (sp), oven potatoes, veggies and dip
6 - Nachos
7 - Peanut noodles
8 - Minestrone, bread
9 - Pancakes, sausage, fruit
10 - Chickpea piccata, mashed potatoes, carrots
11 - Quesadillas, bean salad
12 - Baked chicken, potatoes, veggie
13 - Burgers, oven fries, veggie
I will work on the rest next week.
Denise
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Catherine, how do you make potato bowls?
Denise, do you have a recipe for black bean and sweet potato chili?
Thanks!
Jennie
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Jennie - I found my recipe on allrecipes.com. It is really easy. You oven roast the sweet potatoes first. The recipes says to peel the potatoes but I do not. I just leave the skin on and toss them with olive oil, cinnamon, brown sugar and chili powder. I think I generally follow the rest of the recipe but can't remember. I almost never follow a recipe as written! The recipe should be fairly easy to find on their website.
Denise
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Catherine, how do you make potato bowls?
Denise, do you have a recipe for black bean and sweet potato chili?
Thanks!
Jennie
We fry diced potatoes, preferably in a little bacon grease ;) , then layer them with cheese, scrambled eggs, and bacon in a bowl. I've taken to sprinkling bacon bits in with the potatoes after they are cooked to keep the cost down as opposed to frying up the bacon and crumbling it as we used to do. We use less that way, too. It's also good if you cook the potatoes with some onion, though they don't crisp as well that way. Or put some salsa on top. IHOP had something like this a few years back as a special, and once it was gone we decided to recreate it at home...now it's one of our favorite weekend breakfasts.
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So I changed my entire menu because of a few things but mostly because of Molly's stomach issue. Here is what I have now:
Dec 1 - Minestrone, leftover rolls from Thanksgiving - my MIL drove Zac back to school because my car needs work before it can make a drive that long and it isn't getting fixed until tomorrow
Dec 2 - eggs, potatoes, applesauce and/or leftover cranberry sauce
Dec 3 - BBQ turkey quesadillas, succotash, cole slaw - my in-laws gave us Thanksgiving leftovers so this used up the last of them. Molly ate at a friend's house so I didn't have to worry about the cheese.
Dec 4 - pasta, salad, garlic bread
Dec 5 - tuna hoagies, oven fries, fried apples
Dec 6 - peanut noodles with onions, carrots and cabbage
Dec 7 - hamburgers, potatoes, salad or other veggie
Dec 8 - black bean and sweet potato chili, corn muffins
Dec 9 - chickpea piccata, mashed potatoes, carrots
Dec 10 - leftover chili with tortilla chips
Dec 11 - pancakes, sausage, fruit
Dec 12 - baked chicken breasts, mashed, peas
Dec 13 - ???? We are driving up to bring Zac home for winter break and the girls are spending the day with my in-laws. We may have takeout this day because it will be a long day in the car.
Dec 14 - holiday party at my SIL's
Dec 15 - party leftovers?? Hopefully!
I will work on my menu for the end of December soon. Doug has off from December 20 until January 6 and I know he wants to have meatballs and turkey during those two weeks. The butcher where we buy our meat sells amazing meatballs that they make in house so I will buy a bag of those soon. I also have sausage in the freezer so I should be able to get at least three dinners and a few lunches from the combination of those two. I think I will need to grab one more meat package so we have enough meat while the boys are home but I hope to spend less than $100 on meat to last us until the end of January.
Denise
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why can't I make a menu
I am literally staring at this stupid piece of paper with Fridays filled in with pizza and a big friggin blank on the rest
ohhhhhhhhhhhh goodness I think I need more coffee
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Cathie,
It helps me to have certain nights for certain types of food. Monday night is always breakfast foods, Tuesday is a "fast food" of some type, Wednesday is soup, Thursday is beans, Friday is pizza or quesadillas, Saturday is spaghetti and Sunday is a "family meal" ie: stew beef, cubed steak, fried chicken, etc. It really helps me decide what to have when I know that it's breakfast night...eggs? pancakes? gravy/biscuits?. For me it cuts down on the feeling of being sooo overwhelmed.
Here's my menu for the next 2 weeks starting Friday Dec. 6
Fri. Pizza
Sat. Family Christmas gathering (No cooking!!!)
Sun. cubed steak
Mon. Gravy/biscuits
Tues. Dirty Rice
Wed. Pasta e Fagoli soup
Thurs. Pintos
Fri. Quesadillas
Sat. spaghetti
Sun. chicken pot pie
Mon. biscuits and gravy
Tues. hot dogs
Wed. Veggie Beef soup
Thurs. Beans
Now to make a grocery list. :-\
Beth
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Cathie,
It helps me to have certain nights for certain types of food. Monday night is always breakfast foods, Tuesday is a "fast food" of some type, Wednesday is soup, Thursday is beans, Friday is pizza or quesadillas, Saturday is spaghetti and Sunday is a "family meal" ie: stew beef, cubed steak, fried chicken, etc. It really helps me decide what to have when I know that it's breakfast night...eggs? pancakes? gravy/biscuits?. For me it cuts down on the feeling of being sooo overwhelmed.
Beth
thanks Beth - that should help me ;) :-*
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Here is what I have for the rest of December:
16 - vegetable beef soup, bread
17 - eggs, potatoes, fruit
18 - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggie
19 - tuna cakes, rice, veggie
20 - pizza, salad
21 - cheesesteaks, fries
22 - sausage sandwiches, veggie or salad
23 - pancakes, sausage, fruit*
24 - Christmas Eve - at my SIL's
25 - Christmas - SIL's
26 - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggie
27 - tacos
28 - meatballs, potato salad, salad
29 - turkey tetrazzini, salad
30 - pork chops, twice baked potatoes, veggie
31 - NYE - probably party food of some kind
I also have a menu for the first 10 days of January. I will have to plan until the 15th of January. I am pretty sure Doug will get paid on the 16th so I will be able to food shop that day. I have most of what I need except for the meatballs, the meat for the cheesesteaks and a few odds and ends like rolls for the various sandwiches and the fresh produce.
Denise
*ETA - I just found a recipe for gingerbread waffles and I think I will make those instead of the pancakes. I haven't decided yet.
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I thought I would share with all of you, especially Cathie, the challenges I face when I menu plan.
1. I do not eat meat but will eat seafood on occasion. I am easy to please though and while this isn't a real challenge, I do try to plan at least a few meals a week where I don't worry about having to make two entrees or where I only eat the sides.
2. Madelyn doesn't eat beef or pork but does eat chicken, turkey and fish. I think she does this just to make my life difficult! Ha! This gives me the same challenge as myself but I am usually not comfortable with her only eating sides since she is still young and doesn't always eat the best lunch either. On the nights the rest of the family has beef or pork, I often have to make another entree for her and I - many times mostly for her.
3. Corey is VERY picky. He doesn't like most vegetables, casseroles, soups or anything with mayo. This makes menu planning when he is home particularly difficult because tuna sandwiches or melts are cheap and easy especially when we are busy or I just don't feel like a hassle for dinner. Tuna is easier than deli meat sandwiches as well. I generally just make whatever veggie, etc. but I do try to make sure that he has at least a few meals per week that he doesn't totally hate!
4. Molly isn't too picky generally BUT her tummy is! When I plan my menus, I need to make sure that the whole week balances out for her. I can't have too much cheese or rich soups on my menu. I can't have two tomato based dishes too close together. For example, I can't have spaghetti and chili too close together or her stomach will bother her. I also couldn't have spaghetti one night and then quesadillas the next night because the tomato sauce and the cheese both bother her if she eats too much so she has to have a day or two in between them. For right now, she doesn't really want to eat cheese or creamy foods at all so quesadillas, macaroni and cheese and cream based soups pretty much are off the menu other than occasionally. She hasn't said whether she thinks she can eat pizza or not. I think I could make my corn chowder once during the month but I think the rest is gone for the near future at least.
Doug and Zac are both pretty easy. They eat nearly anything and even eat things they don't really like without any complaint especially Doug.
Is it any wonder I often feel like asking everyone why they need me to make dinner tonight when I just fed them last night!
Denise
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I would probably pull my hair out Denise. :o
And then fix PB&J's and call it good. ;D
Beth
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Beth - I have considered it! But I couldn't do that to Doug. I should do it to the rest of them, though!
Denise
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I couldn't do it to Sam either. Sam is really good at eating whatever is sat in front of him too.
Of course the kids would absolutely love PBJ's every meal. ;D
Beth
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Wow, Denise. I agree with Beth. My hair would be pulled out by handfuls! Bless your heart!
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wow Denise - I feel your pain, I am sorry same troubles here
beans - Jay occasionally will eat them (rarely), kids hate them, I like them
lentils - I am the only one who likes them
red sauce (spaghetti/pizza) my girls HATE so each week I make 2 types of pizza
lasagna - my girls wont eat, my boys love it
no seafood
Jay hate tacos - kids love it
risotto - Sydney and I love - everyone else no
each week meal plan makes me insane cause I simply can not please everyone
like today - I have made beef stew in the crockpot - Jarod and Sammie will HATE it, Jay and Sydney will love it :o >:( ;) I can't win
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Cathie - And they wonder why we are grumpy sometimes!
Denise
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Cathie - And they wonder why we are grumpy sometimes!
Denise
Amen!!
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Same problems here:
DH does not like breakfast for dinner, or any meatless meals, or stir fry
DD 1 Does not like meat ,or anything Mexican
DS does not like anything Italian, or soup, or grilled food in the winter, or pork
DD 2 does not like any Asian food
DD3 hates random things on different nights, she is 4 and the only thing I can count on with her is pasta
They all at like leftovers are my way of punishing them. When my oldest DS still lived at home there were even more dislikes I was expected to consider.
I try not to cook something everyone hates but I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to please them all every night.
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I was trying to help my 20 year old daughter plan some menus for her. She moved out last summer but lived with a couple from her church. Last week she moved into her own place with a roommate and now she needs to plan meals. She loves meat and hates beans. She needs to limit her cheese and milk due to lactose intolerant. She can't come "shopping" at mom and dad's for meat, so she has to learn to make some meatless meals and use meat as a "flavor", not the main course.
I am having a hard time with meal planning now that there are just three of us. I end up having leftovers a lot more during the week.
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The food thing has been a journey here as well. I did not grow up eating beans and don't really care for them all that much even now. But I do it to help stretch the budget. Earl is also very good about eating whatever I cook without complaint and sets a good example for the kids. He has just a few things he doesn't care for but will eat them anyway knowing I am trying to keep our budget low while still buying super nutritious foods. The kids don't all love everything I make either, but are required to try a bite. After that, they can eat it or not, but if they choose not to, they wait till the next meal to eat (no snacking either, if they make this choice). I realize food allergies or intolerances are a whole 'nother ballgame from pickiness. Maddy is my one kid who seems to have texture issues with foods like oats and rice and I do believe that's a real issue, so am a little flexible with that. I occasionally will let her make her own sandwich or heat up some other leftovers if we are having something heavy on rice or whatever, though this seems to be improving for her with age and trying the foods more and more. I guess I just don't have either the patience and definitely not the budget to deal with pickiness at this stage, lol. But we all have our own ways of dealing with this and have to make things work for our own families as best we can with what we have. :) And from what I see, you ALL do a good job of that in your own ways.
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Catherine, VERY encouraging words!!!! I love this network of women, I am new but have gleaned so many insights and ideas from reading :)
~Heather~
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Catherine - I agree with everything you said. I wasn't nearly as accommodating with Corey when he was younger but I make more of an effort now since he doesn't live here and the food at school is terrible! I especially make more of an effort when he is only here for a short time such as Thanksgiving. A few days or a week isn't going to break my budget especially since I plan ahead and can make some cheaper veggie meals leading up to the time he is home. Over Christmas and especially the summer, it is too hard so there are just some days we have something he really hates. I do try to have at least one thing he likes and he always has the option to make something else or go out with friends those days. I wish Molly's issues were as easy to handle!
Denise
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I agree Cath
I agree Denise, wish Molly's issues were easier for you too ;) ;)
I try to accommodate Jay first and foremost - that doesn't always work but I try
Whatever I do decide to make I do make everyone eat it - I just hate making "I hate meals" and then watch everyone be miserable ;)