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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Betty's Everything Free Pumpkin Pie!

Everything Free Pumpkin Pie
just in time for the holidays!

With a premade gluten free pie shell this could be made gluten free! It's TNT and it's really good too.

DF/ Soy Free Pumpkin Pie

Use a Pillsbury pie crust or gluten free crust – premade – they have no soy or dairy products in them. This is a very convincing pie—most people will have no idea it’s different than the traditional.

1 14 oz. can pumpkin
1/3 cup agave nectar ( I would double this next time- or could sub 1/3 cup honey, and 1/3 cup brown sugar—if you use honey and brown sugar plan to cover the crust and let it cook longer—takes longer with honey to bake and set up)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs
2/3 cup rice milk- w/ vanilla
3 tsp. tapioca flour
¼ tsp. xanthum gum

375 degrees for 45 min or until it sets up with a knife test just like any other regular pumpkin pie. Cover the edges of the pie crust for most of the cooking time and take the cover off for the last 10 min or so of cooking time to brown.

Why and How I plan menus

Why and How of Menu Planning



This might seem pretty basic -- but planning my menus is the single best way I make the most of what we have and probably saves us the most money.



Here is what I do --

1. At least twice a week I check my fridge, just a quick check to take stock of what we have. Once before I menu plan and once mid-week. Leftovers really shouldn't last in your fridge past a week for safety reasons. (If there is a question about when we had something I can always check the menu plan from the previous week!)

Whole meat peices (things that aren't casseroles or soups) ex: a leftover pork chop get either cut up and served to my toddler for lunch, put into eggs in the morning, or put into a bag labeled "pork" in my freezer inside. ( I usually have bags for all kinds of meats-- beef, pork, chicken, etc...)

Leftover Vegetables like a few green beans leftover from an evening meal get put into a container for garbage soup in the freezer.

Casseroles or soups that are leftover -get pushed to the front of the fridge and either eaten as lunches or if there is enough leftovers I do a leftover smorgasborg night. (Pull all the leftovers out of the fridge and put them on the counter add a veggie or a fruit and everyone chooses whatever they want for dinner) Leftovers from this are usually tossed or if appropriate frozen for individual meals for later.

In addition to checking for leftovers -- I also check the condition of the fresh food. Things like mangos that when I bought them they weren't ripe --but now they are. ( I tell the fruit eaters of the family--"hey there is a mango in there.") If lettuce looks like it only has one day left I put it out that night to go with dinner or have it for lunch, or make tacos that night instead of what is on the menu. If avacados are looking like they need to be used up -- we make guac for snack. Something new I've started doing is making snack plates for the kids. I take a big platter and if the carrots need to be used up --that day I make carrot sticks, rummage through the cabinet and look for other snack items, etc.. so today the kids will come home and the beans leftover from dinner taco night will be on the plate heated up with tortilla chips and salsa, celery sticks, peanut butter for dipping, probably the remainer of the bag of crackers and some yummy white cheddar cheese we got from Thursday shopping and some cut up fresh pears and a cut up mango. That will be snack.



2. I always check my sale ads.

I do this faithfully and watch to see if meats especially are on sale. I refuse to buy meat unless it is a really good sale. In fact I rarely buy anything unless it's on sale to be honest. The key there is that when it is on sale - I buy quite a bit. This is only on things we need and use regularly- tortilla chips, refried beans, canned tomatoes or beans, flour, meat, frozen veggies and juices. Often if an item is on a really good sale--towards the end of the sale the store will run out. If I can't afford very much of the item right then I go ahead and go to the store and then if they are out I get a rain check and go back when we do have money and buy more than I would have.

I keep a good stock of extra meats on hand - and dried and canned goods. If fresh asparagus is on sale that week -- that will be a veggie one night on the menu. I plan around and buy what is in season and on sale.



So-- this week I dug around in my chest freezer and found these dregs --

a bag of beef gravy that was leftover from a meal- pretty old

a ham bone with meat - no date on it

a bag of leftover sweet and sour chicken meat that was slightly dry when I made it originally



From the fridge -

3 packages of celery-ranging in condition from fine and green to yellow and nasty,

2 bags of baby carrots,

lots of pears (they were 2 pounds for $1 this week)

2 older green peppers

a red pepper

a head of green cabbage

a head of red cabbage

3 dried up green onions

half a summer yellow squash

some refried beans

leftover eggplant pie that nobody liked when I made it last week (was going to give it to mom when she came by this week but as it turns out she has a watercolor workshop so she won't be by to get it and it won't freeze well.)

Some leftover meatballs and sauce -enough for Toddler and I to have lunch

some great cheese that is getting old



So-- here's what I'll do with it all.

last night was trash night soo--

I tossed out the eggplant pie in the trash

pushed the refried beans to the front to remind me to get them out for snack

chopped veggies

- green bell peppers were cut in half for making stuffed peppers and cleaned of seeds -- put them in my freezer bag so I can use them when I get enough to make a batch of stuffed peppers.

-celery (normally I would chop and freeze but I had two bags of frozen allready) One package got the ends trimmed off and put into aluminum foil in the fridge -it's fine for a week or two. One pack had a couple of yellowish ends--that got turned into celery sticks with the leaves and ends put into my freezer bag of broth making veggies, yellow stuff was cut off and tossed out-could have composted it too. One package was yellow and yucky -- I trimmed off what I could that was still good and put it into my broth making bag. Celery sticks will make it to the snack tray this afternoon- they are in a plastic container in water in the fridge. Might also put them out at dinner for an extra veggie.

-baby carrots will go out onto the snack tray, will also use some in clay pot chicken or the remade sweet and sour chicken on the menu for next week.

green onions -- went to the broth making bag in the freezer

red pepper will be saved for next weeks menu - can be used in the remake of the sweet and sour chicken along with the yellow squash?

leftover meatballs will be lunch for me and Toddler with some rolls from the freezer

cheese will get put out with the kids snacks -- but could just as easily get added to a casserole or put out before dinner as a snack or even cut up and set on the table for snacking during dinner, or --grated and then frozen.

pears will be cut up as they ripen and either eaten as snacks or put out as a side dish for dinner. (If we don't get to that later in the week they can be cut up and frozen for smoothies or pear bread)



The menu next week will include:

some sort of either beef and gravy over toast, rolls, or noodles

or a sheperds pie-- beef gravy, meat and veggies from the freezer or fresh, and then either cornbread or mashed potatoes on top and baked with or without cheese on top.

Ham and bean soup,

Sweet and sour chicken stir fry -- I'll probably add some homemade sweet and sour sauce, some chopped red pepper, some cut up yellow squash, carrots and some ginger and garlic to the chicken in the freezer and serve it over brown rice.

And something that uses cabbage?





As you can see- menu planning allows me to really use what we have on hand to it's maximum potential. Keeping me from wasting food! It's estimated that the average american family throws away about 25% of what they buy in food every year. That may not sound like alot but if you spend $400 a month and you're throwing away $100 of food away every month -- that adds up fast! And if you spend more like $1,000 a month -- well eek! $250 a month that you are tossing in the trashcan.

If I know what is for dinner --I'm much less likely to get to the end of the day 4 or 5 pm and need to go get takeout or go to dinner because everybody's got to run out the door for various events and needs to be fed. Nights where I know we have things during the day or at night I plan easier, frozen meals, crockpot meals,etc and the nights where I know it will be a slow night I can plan more elaborate meals. So I save money that way too.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Menu for Oct 19-22

Menu for Oct 19-22
Since we do the bulk of our shopping on Thursday and often get fresh produce and never really know what we will get - I plan most of my menus later in the week.

Monday-
Turkey Mushroom Stew over Bisquits ( We finally got around to making this one! This had a great flavor -- I used thyme instead of tarragon, cause I don't really like tarragon all that well. I subbed some frozen mushrooms I had instead of fresh that the recipe called for -- it didn't thicken up like we would have liked, but I think if you made it with fresh mushrooms it would thicken better and that would be delicious!)
Cantalope
Leftover Spinach Salad

Tuesday-
Baked Ziti with Sweet Turkey Sausage (Robin Miller Recipe from Food Network)
Green Salad
Leftover Cantalope

Wednesday-
Cabbage Rolls
Baked or Skillet Potatoes
Fruit

Thursday-
Salmon Linguine
Salad or other veggie depending on what we get

Friday-
Breakfast Casserole
Waffles

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Menu for October 12-17

There were some changes in last weeks meal plan -- some things didn't get made so they will make an appearance this week again. Look in last week's menu for the recipes as most of them are there.

Friday-
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Spinach Salad

Saturday-
Fried Catfish (my version of an emmeril recipe) *was yummy
Roasted Asparagus
Rice Pilaf

Sunday-
No Cook Day -- everyone was sick so we stayed home and GMA brought us a tasty homemade soup

Monday-
Leftover Homemade Clam Chowder from last week
Leftover Sunday Soup
Rosemary Potato Bread
Cantalope
Garlicky Roasted Butternut Squash (put too much salt in for the amount of squash so it was kind of ruined :( Had I used less I think it would have been a good recipe. )

Tuesday -
Salmon Asparagus Quiche (recipe below)
Garlic Roasted Green Beans (these were so good that they are being repeated again-- recipe is in last week's menu)
Cantalope

Wednesday -
Turkey Mushroom Stew (Slow Cooker Cookbook--recipe in last weeks menu)
over bisquits (LLL cookbook)
Spaghetti Squash and Home canned fruit

Thursday-
Grandma Jean's Olive Oven Baked Sandwiches (kind of like a sloppy joe with chopped olives added and then baked in hot dog rolls with cheese on top-- check back later for the recipe I'll try and post it as my week allows me the time) This one can be prepped ahead of time and put in the fridge- then heated in time for dinner.
We Had:
Cooked Carrots
Eggplant Pie
Cantalope (3 for $1 at Sunflower this week)
and Italian Beef Sandwiches -- recipe below

Friday-
Hamburgers
Homemade Baked French Fries
Veggie
Leftover Salads

Saturday-
Sesame Chicken
Homemade Shrimp Potstickers (will post the link as the week progresses)
Crockpot Brown Rice (recipe below)

Italian Beef Sandwiches (Grandma Jean's Olive Oven Baked Sandwiches)

1 onion chopped
1 # hamburger
1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 sm can of black olives chopped
original recipe also calls for 2 tomatoes which I never add
1 pkg of hot dog buns - or whatever buns you have on hand or want to make
Mozzarella cheese for the tops of the buns- shredded

Cook the hamburger and onion in a skillet. Add olives, spices, tomato sauce, and tomatoes (opt). Spoon the mix into the buns and put in a greased 10x13 pan. Sprinkle cheese over the tops and cover the pan with foil. Bake at 325 for 30-35 min.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Mashed Potatoes in the crockpot!

Mashed Potatoes in the crockpot.... ok so really how much easier is that? Making mashed potatoes is a pain in the neck in all seriousness, much to the chagrin of my DD Briana, who gets them once in a great while.(She loves potatoes of all sorts-- mostly the mashed variety) (And commercial easy preps just don't meet my standards of chemical free, and tastiness, besides being affordable in large enough quantitites to feed my crew.) Ah.. ha .. I'm betting right now you're nodding your head, saying, "Yep, it's a pain in the neck..chopping, peeling, and cooking in a big pot of water, which usually boils over, then you drain the water off -- lugging a big hot pot, then there is the mashing, either by hand or using the mixer -- and more bowls, etc... ICK! Who has time for that?! " HA HA .. my friend that is where you are wrong!
Enter the new and improved way of making mashed potatoes! You cut up the potatoes-- no peeling, put them in the crock pot with a few ingredients, then let them cook. Then pull out the hand blender, and add some milk, chicken broth or rice milk and woosh-- you have mashed potatoes. All in one pot, which doesn't require watching, which doesn't boil over! No colander to clean! And believe it or not they taste better than the ones made the old fashioned way because all the nutrients are still in the pot where you put them and they have been roasting in them most of the day. "It's possible for mashed potatoes to taste better, you are asking." (yes, it is!) Just think--No lugging a hot pot of boiling water. One dish and two hand beaters to clean and walla -- mashed potatoes-easy! I can even coax my girls to chop the potatoes if they happen to be home , so it's even less work! Seriously -- you have got to try this. The recipe is in the bottom of this weeks menu plan if you are so inclined, let me know what you think! -- Me-- I'm thinkin' we're having mashed potatoes alot more often!! (DD will be so delighted)
The recipe is from Home Tested Slow Cooker Recipes-- well worth the $2.42 at the thrift store!

Menu for week of Oct. 5-11

Menu for Oct. 5-11

Monday
Sloppy Joes
Corn on the Cob
Leftover Salads from BarBQ on Sat

Tuesday
Bok Choy Chicken Stir Fry
Brown Rice (in crockpot)(recipe below)
Fresh Grapes

Wednesday
Sausage and Peppers
Rustic Garlic Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes (recipe below)
Roasted Green Beans (recipe below)this one is new this week!

Thursday
Asparagus Salmon Pie (recipe below)
Garlicky Butternut Squash (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garlicky-Baked-Butternut-Squash/Detail.aspx) trying this one new this week!
Green Salad
*** this changed to homemade clam chowder and rosemary potato bread-- OH Man was it ever good! (my 1st try at clam chowder from scratch too:))

Friday
Turkey Mushroom Stew (recipe below) new this week!
over Bisquits (from LLL cookbook)
Green Salad
Home Canned Fruit

Saturday
Spaghetti and Meatballs (from freezer stash)
French Bread
Green Salad

Recipes:

Brown Rice in Crockpot
3 cups rice
5 cups water
Put everything in the crockpot. Start it on high for about the first two hours then for the remaining 1.5 hours have the pot on low. Cooks beautifully with no burning or boiling over!

Rustic Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2 pounds of baking potatoes, unpeeled, cut in ½ inch cubes
¼ cup water
2 T. butter, cut into pieces
1 ¼ tsp salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 cup milk

Place all ingredients except milk in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or on high for 4 hours. Add milk to slow cooker. Mash potatoes with electric mixer until smooth.

Garlic-Parmesan Green Beans

1 14 oz. pkg of frozen green beans
3 cloves of garlic-minced
2T. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put frozen beans on a cookie sheet w/ sides. Roast for 10 min to evaporate liquid and thaw beans. Remove beans from oven and change temp to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle beans w/ other ingredients and toss to coat w/ tongs. Roast for 10-15 min longer or until beans are tender and cheese has melted.
*** from The Everything Meals on a Budget cookbook.
( this one is a keeper! )


Asparagus Salmon Pie

1 pound of fresh asparagus
½ cup chopped onion
2 T. butter
3 eggs beaten
½ cup milk
2 T. minced fresh parsely
½ tsp basil
½ tsp salt
1 can of salmon (14- ¾ oz) drained boned and flaked
1 pastry shell –unbaked

Cook asparagus until tender. Drain well and cut into bite size pieces. Set aside. In a small saucepan saut̩ onion in butter. Set Aside. In a small bowl mix eggs, milk, parsely, basil, salt and salmon. Add saut̩ed onion. Place cut asparagus in pastry shell: top with salmon mixture. Cover edges of crust with foil to prevent them from browning too much. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 min or until filling is set. Р6 servings
I added a bit of swiss cheese to this and it was really tasty but it would have been fine without it too.

When made with butter and 1% milk, this has 20.82 grams of protein per serving and would count as a leafy green, a lean meat. Partial egg and milk serving as well –when made with cheese.

Turkey Mushroom Stew

1 pound of turkey cutlets, cut into 4x1 inch strips
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 T of minced green onion w/ tops
½ lb. of sliced mushrooms
2-3 T. of all purpose flour
1 cup half and half or milk
1 tsp. dried tarragon leaves
1 tsp salt
Black pepper
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup sour cream (opt)
Puff pastry shells (opt.)

Layer turkey, onions,and mushrooms in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 4 hours. Remove turkey and vegetables to serving bowl. Turn slow cooker to high.

Blend flour into half and half until smooth; pour into slow cooker. Add tarragon, salt and pepper to slow cooker. Return cooked vegetables and turkey to slow cooker. Stir in peas. Cover and cook one hour or until sauce thickens and peas are hot.

Stir in sour cream just before serving and serve over puff pastry shells, if desired. Garnish, if desired.