List of Meals for the 30 Day Pantry Challenge

I was a bit busy last night setting up for the first day of school and reviewing my Teacher's Notes, so didn't get a chance to do my "inventory" and menu for this 30 Day Clean out the Pantry Challenge that I've given myself.

After a great first day of school, and a trip to Chick Fil A to get some free ice cream by turning in some unopened Kids' Meal toys/books, I was ready to begin!

Here is what I think I've got supplies in the pantry, fridge, and freezer, to make... (again, short of the perishables like fruits/veggies, milk, eggs, and cheese)

4x Italian meals - spaghetti, lasagna, baked ziti etc.
Chicken, Potato, and cheese soup (tonight's dinner)
Corn and Potato Chowder
White Chicken Chili
Beef Enchiladas
Corn Bread Taco Bake
Chicken Pot Pie
Roast Chicken with Okra
2x Venison Sausage breakfast wraps
Leftover Frozen Rot. Chicken thawed and put on a salad
Asparagus, Artichoke, Spinach dip
Tilapia with Alfredo sauce
Tortellini with ground venison and spaghetti sauce
Bavarian pretzels topped with chili
Pork Chops with Gnocchi
Mandarin Orange Chicken with brown rice
Kung Pao Chicken with brown rice
Pizza and taquitos
2x Venison Steak with poutine
1x Venison Steak with blue cheese and potatoes

I also have the makings for ...
pecan pie
pumpkin pie
tang pie
2 cakes (good thing we have 2 birthdays this month :))
quick breads like zucchini and banana (plus several frozen loaves and muffins already made)

Also on hand are several boxes of cereal, oats to make oatmeal, breakfast bars, chips, flour and sugar and baking supplies.

To buy is the following ...
Sandwich meat and cheese for lunches (we have about 6 loaves of frozen bread we need to use up)
Canned corn (I need 1 more can to make the corn chowder)
Beans/chili mix for the corn bread taco bake and white chicken chili, everything else is on hand
Pesto and chicken for a Chicken Pesto Pasta that Sissi has specifically asked for for her birthday dinner meal...I can certainly accomodate that.
Perishables each week, like milk, eggs, cheese, fruits and veggies.

So, what do you think? Any other ideas?

A Week of Mostly New Recipes

I thought that for this past week, I would try some new recipes.  I get a daily email from http://allrecipes.com/ and if something looks good, I save it in my "recipes" folder in my email account.  Every once in a while, I go and take a look, and get some new ideas.  Here is what we had to eat this past week.

Monday - Penne and 'Vodka' Sauce with steamed broccoli (though, obviously, I left out the vodka :))  I also replaced the special meat with some average, easier to find around here, bacon.  Very good dish, everyone enjoyed it.

Tuesday - Tilapia Fish Tacos - a favorite, so I left it in this week.  Recipe to follow next Monday.

Wednesday - Chicken Pesto with roasted potatoes

Thursday - Slow Cooker Beef Vegetable Soup - I made this in my pressure cooker, since I didn't bring a slow cooker to Tanzania.

Friday - Garlic Alfredo Tilapia with a salad.  This was a great homemade alfredo sauce.  I'll be using it in other dishes.

Saturday - Grilled Lemon Chicken Stir Fry for "Saturday at the Stamps"

Leftovers on Sunday

I hope that one of these recipes will give you a new idea, or that you go and check out allrecipes.com  It's really a very good site, and it's free!  Enjoy cooking this week.

Menu Monday and a Recipe

It's been a few weeks since I've shared some of our menu choices, so, thought I would take a moment and update everyone! .... And, while I'm at it, share one of the latest "good" recipes I've discovered.

Enjoy!

Monday - Spaghetti and Meatballs with salad
Tuesday - Fish Tacos
Wednesday - German Schnitzel with Noodles
Thursday - Chicken Noodle Soup
Friday - Mexican Night at Verna's
Saturday - Brown Sugar Chicken over Rice
Sunday - Leftovers

Monday - Ziti Pasta with salad
Tuesday - Sandwich Night
Wednesday - Lentil Quiche (stay tuned for the recipe in a moment)
Thursday - Corn and Bacon Chowder with Dumplings (we're at the end of our corn season...so, the corn recipes won't be quite as prevalent)
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday - Italian Meatloaf
Sunday - Leftovers

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday - Fish with a Coconut Sauce, Rice and Beans
Wednesday - 4th of July at the Ellis' - my contribution was deviled eggs and chips
Thursday - French Dip Sandwiches with Broccoli, Potato, and Cheddar Cheese Soup
Friday - Delectable Marinade Chicken over leftover Rice and Beans with Mchicha (local spinach)
Saturday - Fried Rice with bacon and veggies
Sunday - Leftovers

Monday - Pizza
Tuesday - Canneloni with Boerwors sauce and garlic bread with tomatoes, garlic, onions, balsamic vinegar
Wednesday - Aussie Chicken with steamed broccoli
Thursday - Soup Night
Friday - Mexican Night at Verna's
Saturday - Saturday Movie Night at the Stamps...Potluck style
Sunday - Frittata

Now...the recipe for the Lentil Quiche....

Remember, I never really stick with a recipe; but, I got the original idea from www.allrecipes.com.  You can do a search there on Lentil Quiche to find the original.

Chopped Onion
Pressed Garlic
Olive Oil
Lentils
Water
Chopped Broccoli
Chopped Tomatoes (and any other veggies you have on hand)
4 Eggs
1 Cup of Milk
Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning
Cheddar Cheese
BACON :)

First, I put the onions, garlic, olive oil, and bacon in a pie dish and put them in the oven, at 375 F, to cook for about 15 minutes.

I then took a frying pan and put the lentils in some water and set them to steam for a bit.  When the lentils seemed to be done, in about 15 minutes or so, I drained most of the water and put the broccoli on top to steam a bit as well.

I then added the lentils, broccoli, and tomatoes to the dish with the onion, garlic, and bacon (after taking a moment to tear up the bacon into bite size bits.)  I also threw in some chopped up carrots and zucchini that I had on hand.  You can use whatever veggies you have to supplement and chunk up the dish.

On top of this, I put the seasonings, about a cup of milk, the 4 eggs and the shredded cheddar cheese.  I then put it back in the oven for about 45 minutes.

It was firm at this time, and I left it on the counter for a few minutes to cool before serving it to the children.  It was a hit, all around!

Dinner and Menus

Tonight, for dinner, I had planned something light.  I knew we would be out and about for most of the day between church, lunch, and a going away party.  I had seen a friend posting many new recipes on her Facebook page and one in particular jumped out at me.  A Vegetable Frittata.  Now, anyone who knows how I cook, knows that I'm not one for following any recipe exactly, and I almost never measure anything....so, here goes...tonight's dinner!

I grated up 3 potatoes for 6 people.  I then mixed in 4 eggs and added a clove of garlic, some onion, tomato, green pepper, grated carrots, and about 4 slices of bacon all chopped up (I had pre-cooked those last night with dinner, we did Aussie Chicken from "The Outback Steakhouse")

I poured some olive oil in the pan to heat it up, then scooped the mixture into the pan and flattened it out evenly.  I let it cook on the one side for about a minute or so, then flipped it for a couple of minutes.  Then I flipped it back again, put some freshly grated cheddar cheese on top, and let it melt.  It was excellent.

We also had our fresh strawberries tonight.  The container had 12, so we each had about 2 strawberries; but, they were an excellent end to the meal!

Here's my menu for this past week and the next couple...  Hope it gives you some ideas, too.  Be free to change and add as you like.  I can't tell you the number of times that something that someone has said, or posted, has given me an idea and I just go with it...be creative, have fun!  That's what our cooking journey is all about!

Monday - Red Snapper Fish with mango/tomato salsa, side of Asian salad and bread rolls

Tuesday - Fish Tacos with leftover fish from Monday (Tuesdays are one of our busiest days.  We are helping with the Sala Sala Ministry team until about 5:30/6pm and so by the time we get home, we just want to eat.  I have Mama Rose, our house help, make tortillas this day, some rice, and beans.  We leave them on the stove top so that when we come home, we can just reheat the fish from the previous day, put in all the fixins, toss some cheese, tomatoes, and avocado on top and we're good to go in the dinner department)

Wednesday - Pesto Canneloni with garlic bread

Thursday - Corn and Chicken Chowder with bread rolls

Friday - Chicken Pot Pie with a salad

Saturday - Aussie Chicken (recipe from www.allrecipes.com) with steamed broccoli, salad, and bread rolls.

Sunday - Veggie and Bacon Frittata with strawberries

Monday - Red Snapper with Coconut and Veggie Sauce, roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli

Tuesday - Fish Tacos with leftover fish from Monday and mchicha (the local spinach here in Tanzania, super good!)

Wednesday - Lasagna with boerwors (a South African sausage) and mince (the word here for ground beef), side salad, and bruschetta

Thursday - Potato, Boerwors, and Cheddar soup with salad and bread rolls

Friday - Mexican Night at Verna's!

Saturday - ???  Up in the air, because we want to take Carol somewhere

Sunday - Pizza night, Buffalo Chicken on half, Pepperoni on the other half

Monday - Garlic and Veggie Shrimp over pasta, with salad and bread rolls

Tuesday - Chili with rice and bread rolls (we can make this before hand and eat it when we get home from Sala Sala)

Wednesday - Asian Pork with Asian salad and fried rice

Thursday - Bacon, Chicken, and Dumpling Soup with salad and bread rolls

Friday - Chicken Pesto Pasta for the kids and Carol (Jeff and I will be at the HOPAC Staff Appreciation Dinner)

Saturday - Taking Carol to the airport, Jeff will take the kids and get burgers?

....Make a new menu, lol!

Menus

I have had several questions lately about meal planning here, and many hits on my old menu planning post.

It's different here; but, isn't most everything...

-- I can't really do the whole idea of freezer meals with hit or miss electricity.  I would devastated by the waste of effort, time, and money if I had to toss stuff.
-- Buying things in bulk is not a good idea because the bugs seem to find ways to get into it, or it goes stale, or it melts in the heat. Again, I'm not a big fan of waste.
-- Produce is fresh here; but, due to the heat, it goes bad very quickly.  You can't buy for anything more than a few days out.
-- You have to go to several stores or dukas to get what you need...and what was there last time, won't necessarily be there again...so if you want it, buy it when you see it, and you have to be flexible with your meal plan.

So, instead of monthly planning, which I did for years, I am now planning a week at a time.

Here is last week's Menu...

Monday - Hamburgers and fries
Tuesday - Fish and rosemary roasted potatoes
Wednesday - Date Night, leftover fish tacos for the kids and the babysitters
Thursday - Boerwors and Lentil Soup with rolls
Friday - Pilau with fresh fruit and cheese fondue (a bit of a late family Valentine's Day dinner)
Saturday - Dinner at a friend's house
Sunday - Leftover Eisbein and Mushroom Soup with French Bread

We usually go shopping on Sundays, after church, since we're already down in town.  This is what I've got scheduled for this week...


Monday - Spaghetti and Meatballs
Tuesday - Wraps with rice, beans, veggies and cheese after Sala Sala
Wednesday - Friends for dinner, Chicken Curry with a side and a salad
Thursday - Alice Springs Chicken with a side
Friday - Verna's Mexican Night
Saturday - Homemade Pizza for Saturday at the Stamps
Sunday - Lasagna

For breakfast and lunch, I just keep staples on hand and we rotate through a few tried and trues depending on what we want to eat that day.

Breakfast...
French Toast, pancakes, banana bread, cinnamon rolls, eggs, yogurt, smoothies, fresh fruit, toast, etc.

Lunch...
Tuna or egg sandwiches (this is something that I really miss...sandwich meat here is super duper expensive and that is for the cheap processed stuff that I won't buy anyway. It galls me that I could spend less, at home, for the good Boarshead meat, which isn't even available here, with no preservatives, at the Sunflower Market...ughhh...ok, onto another topic), quesadillas, grilled cheese, noodles, lunch at HOPAC with Daddy, etc.

How do you do your menus, has "where you live" dictated that you change things away from an old, established routine?  I'll try to post a few of these, every once in awhile.  You never know, it might give you some new ideas!

Menu Planning - April 2011

Funny, I just start thinking about letting you all see my meal planning process and then we're moving!  So, this will be my last "menu" for a few months, I'll pick up again once we get settled in Tanzania.  We've also had lots of "unexpected" events come up this month and so I re-used about half a dozen or so menus because the ingredients weren't used/the meal wasn't made last month.  Hope this helps you, as it helps me, God Bless!

M, 4 Apr – Baked Ham and Pineapple w/ carrots and fresh bread

T – Immunization Day…Pizza night

W – Caleb’s Birthday – by request…Chicken Pesto Pasta

R – Antelope Goulash

F – Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

S – Mommy at Scrapbooking Retreat…leftovers

Sun – Black beans, rice and chicken soup

M, 11th– Crab legs w/ steamed broccoli and cheese rice

T – BBQ Chicken

W – Groc Shop and Sushi Night

R – Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

F – Pizza night before “The Thorn”

S – Bernadette for dinner – Pork Tenderloin with cranberry sauce, veggies and homemade stuffing

Sun – Fondue w/ Rice Balls Ala Tim

M, 18th– Salmon with quinoa and veggies

T – Buffalo chicken dip

W – Steaks w/ rosemary potatoes and veggies

R – Beef and veggie soup

F – Seder Meal at church

S – Perogies w/ homemade ragu

Sun –Easter – Ham and the fixings

M, 25th – Shrimp

T – Shepherd’s Pie

W – Spaghetti and Meatballs

R – Soup from leftovers

F – Pizza night

S – Anything else left???

Sun – Lasagna

M, May 2 – Movers are arriving, moving to Bartons'

Menu Planning - March 2011

I know that I still haven't updated my "Recipes" section on the blog and have been asked about it by several people.  Well, rather than do that, I'll be honest with you, about 25% of my recipes are from a half dozen books laying around the house, about 25% is from allrecipes.com and the other half...well, they're in my head ;)!

Yes, it's true, it's true, I'm a dab of this and a 'shake, shake' of that kind of cook (or 'cooker' as my kids affectionately call me!)  I rarely follow a recipe as printed and quite often make stuff up as I go based on ingredients around the house.

Don't despair though, I do have a technique that helps me so that I don't get stuck in a rut when it comes to menu planning.  I tend to make a menu for a month at a time and I save them.  That way, other than some tried and true favorites, I try to not repeat things for months on end.  I'll start posting my menus each month so that you can get some ideas.  Oh, and most items aren't necessarily stuck to a day...though again, I do have a "plan"...we TEND to have fish/seafood on Monday, pasta on Tuesday or Wednesday, soup night is Thursday, pizza night is Friday, and I save more complex or bigger recipes for weekends when we might have company or I have more time to cook.

Read on and take what you want and leave the rest, I won't ever know or be offended.

You can do searches and find most of these recipes on allrecipes.com or maybe take an idea and fly home to your own cookbook collection with a new perspective!

Blessings on you all...

March 2011 Menu

W, 2 Mar - Sushi and Shrimp night after Groc Shop

R – French Onion soup in a bread bowl (make bowls that afternoon, freeze extras for chili next wk.)

F – Pizza night –white w/ chicken, bacon and garlic

S – Date night out at the Y!!!  Elephant Bar for us!

Sun – Monte Cristo Sandwiches and fries

M, 7th– Seafood Enchiladas w/ guac and chips

T – Schnitzel with noodles

W – Chicken Pesto Pasta

R – Colorado Buffalo Chili in a bread bowl

F – Pizza night – 3 cheese and pepperoni

S – Denver for St. Patty’s Day Parade, eat out w/ Bernadette

Sun – Fondue w/ Rice Balls Ala Tim

M, 14th– Lemon and Garlic Swordfish steaks with cheese quinoa and steamed veggie

T – Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry sauce and veggie

W – Tomato Soup and grilled cheese

R – St. Patty’s Day - Cheesy Corned Beef Hash and Irish Soda Bread

F – Pizza night

S – Blue Cheese Buffalo Burgers and fries

Sun – Steaks with rosemary potatoes and a fruit

M, 21st – Crab legs and steamed brocc cheese pasta or rice

T – BBQ chicken w/ homemade mac and cheese

W – Spaghetti and Meatballs

R – Black beans, rice and chicken soup

F – Pizza night – leftover BBQ chicken with red onions, etc.

S – Baked Ham with stuffing and pineapple rings

Sun – Lasagna

M, 28th – Tuna steaks w/ rice and a veggie

T – Turkey and Blue Cheese Meatballs over pasta

W – Antelope Goulash

R – Split pea and ham soup

F – Pizza night –Hawaiian (w/ leftover ham)

S – Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

Sun – Meatloaf, potatoes and green beans

M, 4th – Tequila Shrimp w/ Mexican rice and guac

Tues – Groc Shopping