This week's menu is using things on the cheap, while also trying to keep down labor involved in the meals as I've found myself battling an old nemesis of mine this last week. Anemia. I've battled it on and off since I was a teen, but this week it was really bad, probably due to lack of red meat in my diet (I can't really sub out beans for red meat as with my stomach condition it gives me one problem to replace another *sigh*) and just not realizing what was going on until I was having problems standing upright.
I'm popping iron supplements like a champ, eating plenty of dark greens, eating as much red meat as I can (which is about once a day due to lack of said meat in the house) and otherwise just trying to take it easy as much as I can. So, you'll notice some canned goods being used and things this week.
So, onto this week's menu!
Menu for Week of 6/27/16
Monday: Dutch Baby with peaches. Sausages.
Tuesday: Open faced beef (or turkey depending on mood) pot pie sandwiches (use canned meat) with mashed potatoes, gravy and salad.
Wednesday: Beef roast, potatoes au gratin, salad
Thursday: Noodle Bowl Night, salad
Friday: Chicken enchiladas (use leftover taco meat from freezer as well with canned chicken to supplement), Spanish rice, corn
Saturday: Polish Sausages with mustard and sauerkraut, home made soft pretzels, salad (hopefully I'm up to making the pretzels *fingers crossed*).
Sunday: Pizza (home made).
Desserts: Cake (anniversary), cookie bars (at some point *laugh*)
To bake/prepare: Pretzels (Saturday), pizza crust (Sunday), bread (at some point)
How about you? Having anything good this week?
Cooking in a cast iron skillet will help keep your iron levels up. Iron is leached naturally into the food you cook. Ever since I have started cooking alot of food items in cast iron cookware I have not had a problem maintaining my iron level.
ReplyDeleteI was going to post this same thing, to add more iron on top of your supplements and red meat. I can't eat meat at all due to a medical condition, and so use my iron skillet (actually, have 2) as much as possible. My goal is to use it at least once/day. I cook in it and bake in it both. If you don't have one, you might find one very cheap at the thrift store...common for our grandmas to have, not so popular now, so lots of people get rid of them.
DeleteYour menu plan, as always, looks delicious! Happy Anniversary!
People will one day pry my cast iron skillets from my cold dead fingers *laugh*. I use mine all the time. I got my 10" skillet when I first got married and use it all the time. My 12" skillet I got...geez like seven years ago or so? And I use it probably about once a week or so. I've been trying to use them both more lately just for the iron leaching properties when it comes to cooking. I heard that cooking dark greens especially in them will leach more iron, so I've been using up what is left of my kale and spinach from last year that way (my chard isn't ready to start harvesting yet).
DeleteThanks so much for the tips, though. I do need to try baking in my pans more. I have cast iron bread pans I use tons, but I also have a cast iron muffin tin I probably need to pull out and bake a few things in as well.
I've done a baked oatmeal as muffins -- think I found the recipe on Pinterest -- that turned out really good and I was able to freeze the extras to pull out later. That might go well in your cast iron muffin pan. Hope you feel better soon!!!! Chris
DeleteI'll have to look that one up. I do like baked oatmeal and am the only one in the family who does, so making it into muffins would be perfect portion control :). Thanks!
DeleteI Pray that by the time you read this that you're feeling much better and the supplements are doing their work. You are an extra special lady and do so much for your family and others.
ReplyDeleteDorothy
Aw, thanks! I am feeling better today, thank goodness. I woke up at six and was actually up for the day and feeling energetic, which hasn't been the case for me at all the last month or so, so I'm hoping my iron levels are finally leveling off. Which is good because I've got a LOT of stuff to catch up on now that I was down for a good week with it.
DeleteSorry to hear that your having problems with anemia. I hope you get back on track soon. It's never fun to deal with health issues and try to take care of your family.
ReplyDeleteI have read about others who dehydrate dark leafy greens and other veggies then grind to make a powder they add to various dishes. They use it as thickening agent or mixed in to dishes like casseroles or meat loaf to add more nutrients to their food. Do you think this might help? Living on a strict budget in an area like Alaska makes getting vital nutrients from veggies rather difficult at the best of times.
I actually do dehydrate dark greens (not this year as I still have plenty left that are vacuum sealed from last year) and I use it in different dishes. I don't grind it into powder, though. Instead I use it in place of like parsley in a dish or add it to home made rice pilaf. I find it lends a nice flavor and it's like the ONLY way I can get dark greens down my daughter :). I can even trick my son once in a while by sprinkling the leaves, on the sly, into his Dorito bag. But shhh don't tell him ;).
DeleteAs always, you have great menus!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a chicken week for us, I did one in the crocpot, so to ight chicken potpie, tomorrow chicken in gravy over waffles, chicken soup, chicken stirfry and then leftovers. Got to squeeze in party food my mom is buying for my step dads 60th birthday party we are hosting.
Around here it seems lately every week is chicken week, so I totally relate.
DeleteYou know, I've never had chicken and waffles. It's been suggested to me and I keep forgetting about it. I might need to pull out the waffle iron sometime soon and give it a shot.
And happy birthday to your step-dad!
Years ago I was so anemic they were doing iron shots and pouring iron into myself with nothing working. My GYN Doc told me to stir a tablespoon of dark molassas into hot water 2-3 times a day and drink it. It is a taste you have to get used to but it adds iron to your diet.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Heh. I could totally do this. I love the taste of molasses *laugh*.
DeleteGreat idea! Blackstrap molasses is the high iron kind.
DeleteI make my pizza in a caste iron pan. If you go to the site Budgetbytes, she has a recipe for no-knead pizza dough. It makes enough for two thin crust pizzas or in my family I double the recipe, and use two caste iron pans and two pie pans with a lot of leftovers for lunches. I find I don't use as much cheese too. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea! I keep forgetting about pizza pie type of pizza...I come from the East Coast where you are supposed to have thin crust pizza that you fold to eat your slices :).
DeleteI have a pizza crust recipe I got online years ago for a copycat version of the Pizza Hut pizza crust that I use as I can put it into my bread maker, put it on the dough setting and walk away for an hour and a half and then voila! Time to make the pizza. I do have the budget bites one pinned, though. I might have to try it out. Thanks!