Menu Planning

Every Thursday is grocery day. I plan the family menus a week in advance and, usually on Wednesday, I write the menu, check the freezer and pantry, and compile a grocery list. Between Wednesday and Thursday evening, I gather coupons and check the Kroger ads and on Thursday evening after work, I hit the store. Why Thursday? Well, Todd works on Thursday evenings, Amelia is with her dad, and Mike and Gill are at their mom's house. I can take my time at the store and not worry about having little helpers attached to my cart, nor am I thinking that I need to hurry home to the family.

Here is the plan for the upcoming week:

Friday, January 28 (tonight): Veggie Lasagna (containing spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, along with three cheeses: ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella), sauteed swiss chard, and italian bread

Saturday, January 29: Crunchy Turkey Tacos, Guacamole, Roasted Butternut Squash

Sunday, January 30: Bowtie Pasta with Turkey Italian Sausage and Pesto Sauce, Sauteed Collard Greens and Leeks

Monday, January 31: Barbequed Beef Sandwiches, Roasted Red Potatoes, Acorn Squash

Tuesday, February 1: Grommy's Klopsi (big meatballs with brown mushroom gravy), Mashed Potatoes, Carrots

Wednesday, February 2: Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Salad

Thursday, February 3: Leftovers! and time for a new menu plan and grocery list...

Cranberry Relish

The organic produce delivery service we subscribe to, Door to Door Organics (http://michigan.doortodoororganics.com/), gave us several clamshells of fresh, organic cranberries and I finally got around to using them. Below is the recipe I used for some really tasty cranberry relish. The picture I posted is from the website since mine truly did turn out looking just like it, but doesn’t look as well-presented in the Tupperware container!

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients
2 oranges
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, cut in fine julienne
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation
1. Peel 1 orange and cut the zest (orange part only) into a very fine julienne, as thin as possible; set aside. Squeeze both oranges for juice; set aside.
2. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small sauté pan. Heat up slowly and continue cooking until the sugar begins to caramelize. If necessary, wash down the sides of the pan by brushing with a little water to keep the sugar from burning.
3. When the sugar is caramel colored, add the julienned ginger and orange zest. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the cranberries, orange juice and pepper. Continue to cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the cranberries are slightly broken but not mushy (frozen cranberries will take about 7 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool. Yields 3 cups. May be frozen for enjoyment throughout the year.

Credits:
Epicurious November 2000
by Jasper White

Homemade Hot Pretzels

Soft Pretzel Recipe
courtesy of Gale Gand via Foodnetwork .com

2 tablespoons warm water, plus 1 1/3 cups warm water
1 package dry yeast
1/3 cup brown sugar
5 cups flour
1/2 cup baking soda
Kosher salt
Mustard, as an accompaniment

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 tablespoons warm water with the yeast to dissolve it. Then stir in the remaining warm water and brown sugar. Place bowl on a mixer and using a dough hook, gradually add the flour and continue mixing until it forms a ball. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead the dough to make it smooth. Use enough flour on your work surface so the dough is not sticky.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Butter 2 sheet pans. Bring 2 quarts of water and the baking soda to boil in a large saucepan. Cut dough up into golf ball size pieces. Then roll them into 1/2-inch thick worms. Form a U then cross the ends, twisting at the middle. Fold the ends back down to meet the U (which is now an O) and press to secure the dough. Drop it into the boiling water for 30 seconds then fish it out and place it on the greased sheet pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

**I like to sprinkle on a variety of seeds, such as carraway, sesame, poppyseeds, as well as Garlic and Herb Mrs. Dash and/or dehydrated minced onions. Also, it is super important to grease the cookie sheets, as well. I haved tried using waxed paper sprayed with oil and it was a mess! Just LIBERALLY spray your sheet pan and the pretzels will come off perfectly. I have used these pretzels in place of dinner rolls with a lot of success. They also work out well sprinkled with cinnamon sugar instead of the salt. Really make your family happy by drizzling powdered sugar icing over the top of the cinnamon sugared pretzels for breakfast or brunch!

Everything is NOT better with bacon!

Well, the "Bakon" bacon flavored vodka my bro gave us for xmas is fun, but rather disgusting.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

RECIPE:

2 [10 ounce] cans chunk chicken, drained
2 [8 ounce]packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Heat chicken and red hot until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and Ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half the cheddar cheese and transfer mixture to a slow cooker.Sprinkle of the remaining cheese over top, cover, and cook on low setting until hot and bubbly.

Serve with slices of french bread, celery sticks, and/or crackers.

****Note: I like to use leftover chicken breast in this recipe. It tastes a little fresher than the canned.

Cornmeal Pancakes

Well, one new kind of pancake was not enough. It's just the two of us today, but we made two different batches of pancake batter anyway! Not really comparable to the light, delicate apple pancakes described in the previous blog post, these are a nod at the southern classic fried mush or pan-fried polenta.

Hearty and reminiscent of fried mush, these pancakes will be a family standard.

Thanks again to mrbreakfast.com:

Best Cornmeal Pancakes Ever
(4 servings) Printable Version

•1 cup yellow cornmeal
•2 tbp sugar
•1/2 tsp salt
•2 cups boiling water
•1 and 1/3 cups of milk (or buttermilk)
•2 eggs
•1 tbp pure vanilla extract
•2 cups of flour
•2 tsp baking powder
•2 tbp oil.
In a medium bowl mix cornmeal, sugar and salt; add water and let it sit for 10 minutes. When the cornmeal has absorbed the water and thickened, mix the milk in and let it sit for another 5 minutes. Next are the eggs and vanilla extract which should be throughly mixed with the cornmeal. In a separate bowl, measure and mix the flour and baking powder and then combine it with the cornmeal mixture. Preheat a skillet and spread a little bit of oil on it before every pancake is cooked.

http://www.mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.asp?recipeid=1784

Canadian Flapjacks

Todd and I woke up New Year's Day and couldn't quite decide what to make for brunch. Actually, while I slept in, Todd did a web query for new or different pancake recipes. This was the first one we tried...

With grated apple and honey in the batter, these are light and tasty.

Recipe from mrbreakfast.com:

Canadian Flapjacks
(4 servings)

•2 cups flour
•2 eggs
•1 pinch sea salt
•1/2 cup honey
•1 and 1/2 cup apple juice or milk
•2 teaspoons Baking powder
•2 tablespoons oil
•1 Pippin apple - grated
Combine all ingredients except apple with mixer. Add apple and mix by hand. Spoon into oiled fry pan, at medium heat. Turn when bubbles appear and harden. Brown other side. Serve immediately with your choice of topping. Honey is best. Maple syrup is second best.


http://www.mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.asp?recipeid=212