Two Week Menu Sept 15

I am in a group on facebook where we talk about wellness and health goals.  Menu planning has recently come up and someone asked me to share my 2 week menu.  So that's what I'm doing.

I use these to plan.  I like the horizontal 2 week planner but there are lots to chose from.  I have the master so I can type in my plan and save and then theoretically reuse that menu later.

So here is my menu for the next 2 weeks.  I schedule these by day so that the crock pot meals are on days that I'm busy and don't have time to prep supper, fast meals on days that we have plans in the evenings.  And my lunches make use of leftovers before they go bad.  ;)  I think the only way to do this nicely on here though is to just make a list of meals....so here goes.

Breakfast
eggs your way
brownie batter oatmeal
banana splits (banana, plain yogurt, melted peanut butter, and honey)
muffins
huevos rancheros tacos (or make your own breakfast cause mommy wants to try something new)
oatmeal your way
cinnamon rolls
english muffins
oatmeal (we like this one and it is apple season)
egg and toast
coffee cake
biscuits
crock pot breakfast (another new one)

Lunches
chicken wraps
flat bread pizzas (I use this bread recipe and add pizza sauce and cheese after flipping the first time)
Quessadillas
fruity lunch (cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, veggies and dip)
grilled sandwiches and soup
picnic lunch
mexican sushi (another new one)
hot dogs & mac n cheese
homemade spaghettios (M will have pb & j I'm sure)

Supper
whole chicken in the crock pot, veggie, potatoes
shepherds pie
salad bar
fish, rice pilaf, veggies
crock pot turkey fajitas
minestrone, artisan bread
tuna burgers, veggies and dip
meatloaf, potatoes, green beans
pizza
biscuits n gravy
tacos
sloppy joes, slaw fries.


Ok, so there it is.  For better or worse.  :)  I wish I could make it look pretty in a table.  That really bugs me.  Grrrrrr.

Peaches, peaches, peaches

I was able to buy a bushel of peaches for a decent price last week and have them all used up now....Since I want a record of what I was able to "put up" this year....I thought I'd just do this here too

1 bushel of peaches yielded....

7 quarts canned peach slices
7 half pints peach preserves
5 half pints peach butter
2 pints, 2 odd jelly jars (between half pint and pint size), and 3 half pints peach jelly.
1 big cobbler
several fresh to eat and gift a few.

The peach slices are beautiful but I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer them frozen in the future.  The preserves and butter are perfection itself.  The jelly tastes more like slightly peach flavored sugar to me so we'll see what everyone else thinks.

The cobbler was great and the fresh peaches in our oatmeal so so yummy!

Still finished up with the tomatoes although I'm almost ready to just mow them down.  I'm so tired of canning and my cabinets are FULL.  And I know I have apples and pumpkin to do in a few weeks.  

Strawberry Time! Strawberry Time!

Well, now that its June and we are out of school, I think it is safe to say it is officially summer.  We've been to the pool, we've swam in the pond (I haven't yet I guess), and yesterday the kids played slip n slide at a friends house.

For me, though, one of the biggest "steps" to it actually being summer is strawberry season.  I love strawberry season.  And so do the kids.  They don't even complain about the picking part.  HA!  And we enjoy the "fruits" of labor all year long.  Well, as long as it lasts.  

The kids helped pick these 2 flats of berries at our local strawberry patch.  And they are still smiling.

 There aren't more pictures of us picking (although I wanted them) because the kids are the "slacker police" and will call you out on it-loudly.  One year my dad came with us and ran into someone he knew (which isn't hard) and the kids STILL get on to him about what a terrible berry picker he is cause he runs his mouth too much.  :)

2 flats = 26.5 lbs of berries.  Nom nom nom.

First batch of strawberry jam!  I love the color when you make strawberry jam!

Berries in the dehydrator....you can not fathom how good this makes the house smell...but it doesn't yield much so I don't plan to do it again but I'm glad I tried it!

Some of what all those berries yielded.  On the left-jam, on the right-sliced berries in syrup, and in the center dehydrated berries.  (yes they are sitting on my floor-it is less cluttered than my kitchen counter-don't judge)

From all the berries we picked, we yielded 10 pints of jam, 1 pint of dehydrated berries, and 6 pints of sliced berries in syrup.  Plus plenty to eat fresh and bake with for a while.  On my list for next year, a raised strawberry bed.  It is gonna happen!

Again facebook and food is leading me here!

I am currently in 2 or 3 conversations on facebook about food!  And I love food!  I like to cook it, bake it, grill it, make it ahead and freeze it, and last but certainly not least, eat it!  But that statement should be qualified because although I am not a picky eater (I will literally try nearly anything once) I am selective about what goes into my (and my children's) body(ies).  We eat FOOD!  Not chemicals that have been processed in a lab and then dyed and flavored to resemble food.  This has effected nearly everything about our lives.  We are happier, healthier, and much better off (in my humble opinion) for it.  But it is not without difficulty.   One of my facebook conversations on facebook was prompted by an article listing 13 (THIRTEEN) substances found in "food" in American that are banned in food in other countries.  In order to eat healthy, we must be continually vigilant.  And this is annoying and overwhelming and frustrating to so many.  That makes me sad and not just a little angry. 

Without getting political, I think that if we got REAL FOOD to put in our bodies there would be less of a health care issue in our country.  (I will say no more on this subject).  It should be easy to put REAL FOOD in our bodies.  But the fact of the matter is that it isn't...we have to pay attention and buy and prepare food intentionally to eat real food. 

Also, in the interest of full disclosure or "keeping it real" - we occasionally eat at Wendy's or McDonalds....we buy chips as a treat and we eat sweets (although usually homemade) and we buy junky cereal (Cocoa Roos anyone) sometimes.  We like take out pizza.  But we try to follow a whole food, REAL food diet as often as possible.  "Cheating" (for lack of a better word) is not such a big deal when it isn't a steady diet.  

Today I am going to share a few blogs that have helped with our real food journey.  I am doing this from the top of my head while my kids do school so this is no means the entire list.  I will share more later. 

http://www.feingold.org/  This website (and we joined the organization) was the start of our real food journey.  We followed their diet strictly for over a year.  We have now become more relaxed but this really helped me learn what to look for and avoid. 

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/  This blog is AWESOME!  Simple kid friendly things that are all real food.  I love getting ideas from her!  She also talks about how to pack real food to go which is something that is so hard to do sometimes....

www.pinterest.com  OK- I can't imagine that you all haven't heard of this one but it is a great place to find recipes.  I have found some great ones for homemade "mixes" and seasonings among other things too numerous to list.  Of course, you can also find a lot of junk food on there too.  :) 

So I am going to try to blog on this "regularly."  Of course, we'll just have to see how that goes.  :)

My last tip for today is to buy food as near to the way God made it as possible.  Instead of buying strawberries n cream oatmeal buy quick oats (or rolled or steel cut) and frozen strawberries.....cook it in milk and Voila!! real strawberry n cream oatmeal that is actually strawberries instead of whatever the company is trying to pass of as strawberries. 

Freezer baking! Muffin edition!

I was talking about this on facebook yesterday and people seemed interested.  One person even said they would read a blog post if I did one.  It is hard for me to do posts like these because I don't really think about what I'm doing....I just do it!  I tried to take pictures but that didn't go so well...partly because when I'm cooking I forget to take pictures and partly because I just have so much "help"  but I did get a few.

So this is what I did.  We like to eat muffins of all sizes and varieties.  I use them for breakfasts and for snacks.  I do not always feel like making muffins first thing in the morning.  So I make lots of muffins and freeze them.  They thaw and warm up nicely in the micro.  So today in just under 2 hours I made 2 double batches of muffins.  I make some regular sized muffins (2 plus fruit or yogurt=breakfast).  And I make mini muffins (2=snack).  This (with the few that I have left from my last baking frenzy) will be enough to last me about a month unless I get a wild hair to make another flavor...

Ok, where do I get these recipes?  The 2 I used today (recipes included at the end) were from Country Baking by Gooseberry Patch.  One is peanut butter muffins and the other is Oatmeal.  Both are yummy. Of course, I very very rarely follow a recipe exactly.  And today was no exception.  I will publish the original recipe and then share my changes.

But first....here are a few pictures I did take!  

My little helper putting the liners in the muffin tins.  To freeze I ALWAYS use a paper muffin liner.  Makes cleanup easier and freezing nicer. 

Finished oatmeal muffins.  I did not get as many as I'd hoped for from this double batch. 

Peanut butter muffins.  YUM!

OATMEAL MUFFINS

1 T lemon juice
1cup milk
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar , packed
1/2 cup shortening, melted
1 cup flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda

 Add lemon juice to milk and let stand at room temp for 5-10 minutes.  Soak oats in milk mixture for 1 hour; then add egg and beat well.  Blend in brown sugar and add cooled shortening.  Sift flour with baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Combine with oat mixture and stir by hand 20 strokes.  Fill greased (or paper lined) muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

And for my changes.  I double this first of all.  Except I only bump the brown sugar to 3/4 cup and they are plenty sweet.  I also use 1/2 whole wheat flour.  And replace the melted shortening with melted butter.  Adding a teaspoon of vanilla is nice too.

PEANUT BUTTER BREAD

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 t vanilla
1 3/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cup flour
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

In a large bowl, blend together sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla.  Gradually pour in milk; mix well.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to peanut butter mixture.  Spread batter into greased 9X5 loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

My changes-  I double the recipe and use half whole wheat flour.  Other than that the only change is to bake in muffin tins (greased or with paper liners-PICK paper liners).  They took about 25-30 minutes but I just check every couple minutes after 15...toothpick should come out clean.

So for freezing just let them completely cool (COMPLETELY COOL!!! or your bag will fog up and then freeze and it is icky).  Bag them in gallon freezer bags labeled with the variety and the date.  And freeze!  Pretty simple.  I accidentally undercooked a batch the last time I did this and although they are fine they do not freeze as nicely so make sure they are fully fully cooked and the top isn't shiny (does that make sense?)

To eat from frozen; take whichever muffin you want...or one of each because the kids all want something different (another reason I like doing this this way)...pop them in the micro for a few seconds and eat warm.  YUM!!!