I didn't get to working on the menu plan last week due to just being busy and stressed out of my mind, so I just kind of punted on the whole "feeding those pesky family members" thing. No one starved, so I suppose I succeeded ;).
The highlight of the week when it came to trying new recipes was trying the 18th Century Fried Chicken (I linked to their "Savoring the Past" blog post on it so you can check out the recipe without going directly to YouTube). The final results are seen up top. I even managed to get enough parsley from the Aerogarden to give the fried parsley a try and I do have to say that the fried parsley does add something to the recipe. I used malt vinegar instead of the white vinegar to give it a more authentic flavor. Overall I was impressed with the flavor. You couldn't taste the wine in the batter, but it did lend a bit of tang to the crust and the marinade lent a subtle, but deep flavor to the chicken and the crust came out nice and crisp. I bookmarked the recipe and will definitely make it again sometime. I made potato salad to go along with it and I have to say it went as well with the 18th Century recipe as it would have with a modern recipe.
In other news the son and I are now sick with dad's cold (wonderbar) and the daughter is home today with her stomach cycling. Last night I could tell I was starting to get sick, so I grabbed all the odds and ends from the garden, the "bits and pieces" freezer bag of beef pieces I had from past trimming of beef roasts, a freezer bag of au jus I had saved from when I roasted beef roasts, threw it all together with some water and I made a HUGE pot of beef stew for dinner. This way I'll have lunch all week without worrying about what to make, or how I'm going to have the energy to make it, and I will also have enough to morph the stew into pot pie here within the next couple of days as well. It turned out really good and I served it with cornbread, so it filled everyone up really well.
Since this menu is kind of in a weird locale due to the way last week went I'm going to just do a week and a half of menus to get everything back on track. My plans for grocery shopping are absolutely minimal this week to hopefully help recoup some of the masses of money we've had to spend the last bit, so I'm not going to worry about waiting for the Carrs ad to come out to do the menu for next week.
So, here we go! The menu for the remainder of this week and the coming week as well!
Monday: Spaghetti with sausage in the sauce (husband knocked a small packet of Italian sausages out of the freezer and broke the seal on them, so I'm considering it a sign), garlic toast, salad
Tuesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
Wednesday: Crock pot chicken, leftover mashed potatoes, corn, salad
Thursday: Beef pot pie (use leftover stew for base)
Friday: Crock pot pork roast, green beans, rice
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Salmon pudding sandwiches (this is a rationing recipe from WWII Britain, which calls for canned salmon, mashed potatoes and white sauce to be steamed in a pudding type of format and then you eat it in whole grained sandwiches. I got some home canned salmon from my sister-in-law in with the food she gifted me, so I thought it would be an interesting recipe to try :).
Monday: Chicken Alfredo, peas, salad
Tuesday: Waffles (or pancakes, depending how I'm feeling), sausages, fruit cocktail
Desserts: Home made ice cream, Popsicles, Blueberry Clafoutis (use blueberries in freezer)
Snacks: Apples, grapes, strawberries, granola and yogurt (note: make yogurt), cheese and crackers
And there you are folks. Our menu for the next little bit. How about you? Making anything good this week?
I am always so amazed that even though grocery prices are much higher up there you manage to serve meat almost every night of the week. I will do something with chicken once a week maybe ground beef too but for the most part our meals have very little meat because it's just so expensive. I tend to go more with Hillshire sausage or meatless casseroles, waffles, pizza, etc.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough produce is so expensive up here that I can often times find meat cheaper per pound. The secret to my "meat with meals" success though is knowing where to shop for meat. Our local Safeway affiliate, Carrs marks down meat to 50 percent off a certain day, so I try to shop that day to see what I can find. I'll pick up packages of steak for 5.00, chicken for about .50 per lb and packages of fish for about a dollar a package. Between that, normal sales and making leftovers stretch I find it works okay for my family. I would like to serve more meatless meals, but my husband doesn't handle them well and my daughter needs the nutrition so I just make it work :).
DeleteYour menus look great! I made a menu last week for the first time in a while, and was able to stick with it all week. I plan to make another one tonight or tomorrow, since it helps me so much to know what to cook when I'm busy if I have it written down.
ReplyDeleteHi. I've never heard of Salmon pudding sandwiches. This recipe sounds very intriguing. But I grew up with my mom making many things from canned salmon because there were 8 of us to feed. I never had fresh salmon until I was an adult. Anyway, she used to make salmon patties from a large can of salmon. It had chopped onion, dried dill, cracker crumbs and an egg for a binder. She formed the patties and rolled them in flour to make a crispy coating and fried in some oil until heated through. She would also form said recipe into a loaf and bake it. Sometimes she would put mashed potato on the bottom of the loaf pan, then cover with the salmon mixture. For a variation on the salmon-potato ingredients, she'd mix them together, and placed in a pie crust, and topped with another pie crust - Salmon Potato Pie. She'd also serve it with a white sauce with peas on the side. She was born in 1930 and frugal foods were a staple growing up. I still make these dishes today to feed my family and we all love them.
ReplyDeleteAnd as Sarah commented, meat is very expensive where I live. I also must stretch it in my menus to feed my family with at least 2-3 days a week having meatless meals. My husband would just love your menu because of the meat content in it. :)
Happy Eating!
I love salmon cakes. My mom makes them and so do I. I also se be them with mashed potatoes and a veggie. I can get 4 nice sized cakes from one can of salmon. The cakes also freeze well so I usually make 2 cans worth and freeze a batch for another night.
ReplyDeleteHi Erika-
ReplyDeleteJust FYI, your Amazon associate link doesn't show up in Chrome anymore for me. The words "Amazon.com Associate Link" do show up, but nothing below them (no link or pic). It still worked in Firefox, though.
Hope you're having a good week.