The bread bowls I made with the chicken salad last week were such a hit that when it turned a bit on the nippy side this weekend, we decided to have some chili served in bread bowls for dinner tonight. It was great. The recipe I've been using for the bread bowls lends itself to all sorts of uses.
On other fronts, K. has FCAT testing this week. She's been preparing by watching episodes of the old television show Soap (borrowed from the library) and Highlander as well as playing dress-up dolls online. She's also eager to go to the Renaissance Festival next weekend (the 15th, weather permitting).
This weekend A. started making me an excel spreadsheet (full of formulas and drop boxes and all sorts of neat things) to calculate the labor and cost of supplies used in the jewelry and chain maille I make, just in case I ever take the notion to actually try and sell anything (rather than give it all to the kid).
While I haven't been getting much writing done, I have been creative in other ways (like the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings I keep making for K.). And I've been aching to bake again. I've missed baking bread several times a month and am currently researching ways to satisfy that desire but still keep my expenses down (whole wheat and other wholesome grains are just too expensive lately).
And I guess that brings us to a menu for this week.
As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.
Sunday
lunch: foraging on leftovers
dinner: chili in bread bowls
Monday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, pineapple chunks
dinner: chili-filled baked potatoes, salad
Tuesday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, mandarin orange segments
dinner: pork chops (not sure how yet), mashed potatoes, weird peas, salad
Wednesday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, pineapple chunks
dinner: breaded cod fillets, corn nibblets, broccoli, salad
Thursday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, mandarin orange segments
dinner: pasta, salad (possibly bread if I feel froggy enough to make some)
Friday
lunch: leftover pasta (there's always leftovers for some reason)
dinner: beans, rice, hoe cakes, salad
Saturday
lunch: RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
dinner: foraging on leftovers
lunch: foraging on leftovers
dinner: chili in bread bowls
Monday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, pineapple chunks
dinner: chili-filled baked potatoes, salad
Tuesday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, mandarin orange segments
dinner: pork chops (not sure how yet), mashed potatoes, weird peas, salad
Wednesday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, pineapple chunks
dinner: breaded cod fillets, corn nibblets, broccoli, salad
Thursday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, mandarin orange segments
dinner: pasta, salad (possibly bread if I feel froggy enough to make some)
Friday
lunch: leftover pasta (there's always leftovers for some reason)
dinner: beans, rice, hoe cakes, salad
Saturday
lunch: RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
dinner: foraging on leftovers
9 comments:
I love the sound of your spreadsheet. I hav actually added the spreadsheet of my shopiing list to this week's menu plan
What are hoe cakes? They sound interesting!
:)
Your menu sounds yummy! I love that there is foraging going on!! LOL!
I must find a Renaissance Festival to go to...sounds like so much fun.
Have a wonderful week!
@planningqueen:Thank you, and I love your spread sheet!
My menu planning is done in Excel. It started out as a spread sheet page that inventoried the contents of my freezers (chest freezer and refrigerator freezer) with a few columns off to the side for days of the week, dates, and meals (based on what I had in the freezers). It has since expanded to several pages that include an ingredients list, a “when was the last time we ate this” sort of history (along with notations of how well they liked a dish), pantry inventory (which needs updating today), recipe location notations (which book, file name, URL, etc.; working on compiling frequently used recipes into a notebook), and a list of “recipes to try” along with recipe location notation.
My actual shopping list is done in Word. I have two files, one for the 1st half of the month and one for the 2nd half of the month. I have it divided by section (dairy, dry goods, canned goods, produce, personal/hygeine, paper products, feline, etc.) with a legend listing the various stores I shop at. I use the ingredients list from Excel as a pantry/freezer inventory checklist and add whatever didn’t get crossed off to the shopping list. When I add items to the shopping list (either from the marked up ingredients list or from me just noticing something is low) I make notation of which store it will most likely be purchased at as well as if it’s on sale, if I have a coupon, and so forth.
@Niki: Thanks! Hoe cakes are, very simply, corn meal, salt, and boiling water mixed together and fried. The recipe we enjoy the best was found here: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/hoecakes.htm (Just a note on the recipe, I use about half the amount of salt and often fry in bacon drippings or vegetable oil. I've found it takes far too much butter to fry them "properly" and the amount of salt listed in the recipe makes it "almost too salty" for us.)
@Connie: Thank you! I don't think I could survive without at least a little foraging during the week. I love to cook, but I need a break once in a while! (Also, it's a great way to use up leftovers.)
As for the RenFest, I guess I'm lucky. I'm 15 minutes (in traffic) from my apartment to the location of the one that visits this city every year at this time. They're a lot of fun. I hope you can find one to visit.
Your menu sounds fantastic!
Yummy, I LOVE any kind of soup in a bread bowl! Your week sounds great.
I knew the bread bowls would be a hit! I have to put those on the menu for next week.....
Your menu sounds great!
Chili in bread bowls, yum!
I've noticed that a few of the ladies have their menu plans on Excel. Thats a terrific idea.
You and yours have a great, yummy week.
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