What this is all About

We are a mom and her daughters who like to experiment with making good meals and snacks for our families. This is mostly a collection of our recipes and thoughts on eating. Our highs and lows of trying to nourish our families.


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Backward Menu Planning

I am going to tell about the meals we have, after we have them, and let you know whether or not I liked it. I'm experimenting with recipes this week, trying to use the food we have on-hand, rather than buying more. Do you ever have those times where you run out of grocery money and need to use what you already have? Well, this is one of those times. Between our freezer and our pantry and our food storage, we have a lot of food to choose from, so it's not a big deal. I just have to be creative.

Saturday January 14: Jim's birthday dinner request
  • Sloppy joes seasoned with Wal-mart brand sloppy joe seasoning packets and tomato sauce
  • Macaroni salad
  • Potato salad
  • Green Salad
  • Potato chips
  • Apple pie and ice cream
This is not my favorite menu, but Jim likes it, so that's good.

Sunday January 15
  • Chicken Rice Casserole made with 3 cups of rice, 6 cups of water, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2 or 3 cups of baby carrots, 8 chicken thighs, and a package of onion soup mix--all baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours.
  • Green Salad
  • Peach Cobbler and ice cream
We had company over for dinner on Sunday, and this is what we served. It's always a big hit.

Monday January 16
  • Chicken Mexican Soup: I'm not sure what recipe I altered from the Campbell's Soup Recipe website, but it may have been along these lines: Santa Fe Chicken Tortilla Soup or maybe it was this one: Slow-Simmered Chicken Rice Soup. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was neither of those. But I sauteed a large onion and a red bell pepper, then added a can of tomatoes and a can of water, a teaspoon or two of chicken bouillon granules, and half a teaspoon each of cumin and garlic powder, then simmered those for ten minutes before adding a can of chicken and simmering it for another ten minutes. After that I stirred in about a cup and a half of leftover rice from the chicken-rice dinner we had the day before. After we put the soup in our bowls, we sprinkled a little grated cheese on top. It was a little heavy on the chicken, in my opinion, but really good. (I don't generally like cumin, because it smells like stinky tennis shoes, but the recipe called for it so I put in about half of what it called for, and it wasn't bad at all.)
  • Country Cornbread from the Lean and Free 2000 Plus book (Thanks, Josie, for telling me the recipe.) This recipe does not call for any sugar, but I assumed that the canned creamed corn would help to sweeten it a bit. Well, we ate it with lots of honey. And maybe it could have used a little more salt, too--but then, I didn't measure the salt.
  • Bottled Pears for dessert

Tuesday January 17
  • Baked salmon fillets (no seasonings other than the sauteed stuff below)
  • Baked potatoes
  • Baked acorn squash
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Sauteed onions, mushrooms, canned tomatoes, garlic powder, dill weed, and lemon juice--served over the top of the salmon. This is a recipe from one of the menu mailers from Leanne Ely, so I'm not going to give the proportions here as that would be breaking copyright laws.
  • Experimental Pineapple Ranger Cookies
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon powdered eggs
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup crushed honey bunches of oats with cinnamon crunches
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix all the ingredients together, creaming shortening and sugars, then adding the others one at a time. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
I started making these Ranger cookies, (with my substitutions, as usual) and when I got in the fridge to find the coconut, I saw the leftover crushed pineapple sitting in there, begging to be used, so I added it. Big mistake! The pineapple turned this chewy cookie into a cake-like cookie. Also, the honey bunches of oats that no one has liked did not help it. Even so, I'm sure we'll eat them. Just not a keeper.
As for the rest of the dinner, the topping for the fish was pretty flavorful on the dill and lemon side, but I liked the texture of the onions, and it was nice to have something to flavor the fish. And I like baked potatoes and squash and broccoli, so the rest of the meal is a keeper.

1 comment:

Josie and Wayne said...

Dad's meal sounds really good to me. Not one I would ever make for my little family, but it reminds me of get togethers and lots of yummy food.