Menu Plan Monday 1.30.11

errrrrr, Menu Plan Tuesday....

Yet another menu plan...I'm on a roll. If only I could keep this up for the rest of the year!

Monday: Sesame noodles w/chicken and sauteed red peppers

Tuesday: Beef barley stew, homemade bread

Wednesday: Slow-cooker pot roast (w/carrots, potatoes & onions) homemade bread

photo credit

Thursday: Pico de Gallo chicken quesadillas, salad

Friday: Beef curry (using leftover roast meat and curry from the jar!), rice, naan (I use a mix of white and wheat flours)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Chili, cornbread, salad

Menu Plan Monday: Getting back in the kitchen edition

Since little Silas came along, friends and family have seriously blessed our socks off providing delicious meals for us several times a week. I have been spoiled not having to spend much time in the kitchen over the last 6 weeks, freeing me up to rest and snuggle with my kiddos. But, all good things come to an end, and it's time to fire up the oven and feed my family once more. Here's what we've got cookin':

Monday:: Veggie & chicken stir-fry, rice

Tuesday:: Slow cooker lasagna, mixed greens salad w/homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Wednesday:: Chicken and dumplings, spinach salad

Thursday:: Soy sauce-glazed salmon, miso soup, stir-fried bok choy

Friday:: Beef barley stew, wheat bread (see video below!)

Saturday:: Baked ziti casserole, breadsticks, mixed green salad

We have been enjoying lots of soups lately...what could be better than a hardy, steaming bowl of soup on a frigid, snowy day, right?! And what goes better with soup than some yummy, crusty bread. I've used the 5 minutes a day method in the past, but recently found the authors have come up with some healthier versions I'd like to try out. Here's the simple wheat bread I think I'll be using:

Snow Day(s)!

Omaha finally received its first major snowfall this past week...9 inches overall. So, Thang got to stay home for a couple of days with school cancelled. YAY! I get just about as excited for snow days with Thang as I did as a school girl. We stayed busy! While Silas and I stayed cozied up inside...

Thang and Nora enjoyed the snow...

Making snow angels...I just love the look of delight on her face.

And then warmed up inside by baking some yummy soft pretzels with Mommy...

Like a warm hug on a cold day! Here's the recipe we used to make these tasty treats.

Heavenly Homemaker's Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

1 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. salt
8 cups whole wheat flour (more if necessary)
butter
salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey. Stir together. Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.

Melt a stick of butter in a large saucepan.

Add 1/2 cup honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups of milk. Heat to 120 degrees (use your candy thermometer for this).

Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir.

Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. (add more if you need it)

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.

Plop it into a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Pull it out of the bowl and knead it a few times to get the air out. Pull a ball of dough, about the size of your fist.

Roll it into a long snake. Twist into pretzel shape (see Laura's pics for the how-to).

After you shape each pretzel, put them on a cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Melt a stick of butter in a saucepan. Right when you take the pretzels out of the oven, slather them with butter, then sprinkle salt over them. We also did brown sugar and cinnamon.

These were so tasty, we scarfed them down before getting a good pic of the finished product! These also freeze well (a good strategy to keep yourself from scarfing them all down!).

Aaaaand, because what's a blog without some gratuitous cute baby pics...

What a sweet face for someone who just poo'd all over me!

"Real food" resources

We've made a lot of changes to the way we eat around here over the past year-and-a-half after doing a lot of reading on health, nutrition and food production. While I've always tried to eat on the healthier side, since becoming a full-time homemaker, I've been able to move towards a more "real food" diet, aka less processed foods and more homemade/whole foods. Don't get me wrong, we eat our fair share of pre-made stuff (Nora and I enjoyed some Costco frozen egg rolls for lunch today...YUM!). But, I've had a few friends ask me about our changes and our food sources, so thought I'd compile the info. in one place.

Some of the major changes we've made:

Skim milk to whole milk (preferably non-homogenized if we can find it) and we're even transitioning to half-and-half

Low-fat dairy to full-fat diary (yogurt, sour cream, cheeses, etc.)

Cooking and baking with vegetable oils (i.e. canola) and shortening to coconut oil and butter

Factory-farm raised eggs to local, free-range eggs (when we can get them)

Factory-farm raised chicken to local, hormone/antibiotic-free, free-range chickens

Conventionally-raised beef to hormone/antibiotic-free, grassfed beef (indeed, this former vegetarian just filled our deep freeze with 1/4 of a cow...I love me some steak!)

White flour to fresh-milled, whole-wheat flour (when I can get it, otherwise, I'll use prepackaged whole wheat flour)

White sugar to honey, Grade B maple syrup and Sucanut (a less-processed sugar)

Ok, reading this list sounds overwhelming even to me. It's been a slow process making these changes, but you'll still find white flour and sugar in our pantry (cause they just work better in some recipes). We're not super strict about this stuff, just trying to eat this way when we can.

Some of the books that influenced my decisions to make these changes (including returning to omnivore status after 16 years as a vegetarian):

The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin

Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck

Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability by Lierre Keith

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (a cookbook, but also packed with nutritional info.)

I quickly realized once we decided to make some of these changes, that finding whole foods is sometimes not as easy (or cheap) as conventional foods. It took a bit of searching around the web and asking friends to find the most frugal sources I could. So, here is what I've found so far:

Unrefined, organic coconut oil at Soaper's Choice - Although this company markets their products for soapmakers, their coconut oil and many other oils are food grade. I can get a 7 lb. bottle for $27.30, the cheapest I've found yet.

Pastured chickens and eggs from Hayden Farm in Mondamin, Iowa. I like to buy 3 or 4 whole chickens several times a year to keep in our deep freeze. And, their eggs are amazing, the yolks are nearly flourescent orange they are so chock-full of Omega-3's! When I asked Mr. Hayden what they eat, he said "oh, you know, bugs, seeds, whatever they find in the pasture" - just like chickens are meant to eat! The Haydens make trips to Omaha about once-a-month, so I call to find out when they'll be coming through and then meet them to pick up my loot. I found this farm through a site called Local Harvest which is a great source for finding local farmers in your area that you can buy directly from.

Hormone/antibiotic-free grassfed beef from Sobotka Farm in Inman, Nebraska. They also make monthly drops in Omaha and often have fresh produce and other products as well. We've only ordered the beef from them, I haven't price checked on their chicken and eggs. I found these folks by word-of-mouth, but another great source for finding grass-fed beef and more natural animal products is a site called Eat Wild.

Natural cheeses, whole grains and other bulk natural foods from Azure Standard. This company is based in Oregon and makes semi-truck deliveries across the country once a month. While some things are cheaper to buy locally, I've been buying 5 lb. packages of raw cheddar cheese and 25 lb. bags of organic oats and black beans from this company and have saved a ton. I shred the cheese and freeze it in smaller portions and keep the grains and beans in big buckets in our basement.

Fresh-milled whole-wheat flour - I was pleasantly surprised to find a grain milling station at my local Hy-Vee (76th & Cass location only). I don't usually shop at this store, but I'll make a special trip when I need to. I put the flour in my freezer as soon as I get home to preserve as much of the nutrients as possible and to keep it from going rancid. In fact, this reminds me I really need to stock up! I aspire someday to have my own grain mill, but boy are those puppies expensive!

I buy the bulk of our weekly groceries from Whole Foods and Costco. We just recently joined Costco and I was super-pleasantly surprised to see a large selection of organic foods - frozen broccolli, salads, milk, butter, bread, etc. We also just recently got a Trader Joe's here in Omaha and I can't wait to check them out as I've heard they are less pricey than Whole Foods.

I hope these resources are helpful! I am always looking for cheaper options to eat healthy...so if you have any suggestions or better resources, send them my way!

Menu Plan - Week of July 19th

I am posting my menu for this week, not because you are all on the edge of your seats wondering what the Tran family will be eating, but because this is literally the first menu I've planned for 3 months!!! I am back in the kitchen this week and starting slow.

Photo credit

Monday

No-knife pasta (my friend, Sarah, passed on this recipe to me before I went to grad school and I honestly ate it at least 3 nights a week, so quick and easy! I like to substitute shredded parmesan for the fresh mozzarella for a little different flavor. Yum-my!)

Salad

Tuesday

Rotisserie chicken in the crockpot

risotto w/tomato, corn and basil (Thang has been craving basil lately!)

Wednesday

Small group potluck (waiting to hear what the theme is to choose my dish)

Thursday

Chicken, spinach and tomato pesto pasta

Salad

Friday

Grilled pizza

grilled asparagus

Saturday

Marinated tuna steak

grilled summer veggies

crusty homemade bread

Sunday

Quinoa soup w/avocado, corn and chicken (I also got this recipe from Sarah, but found it at this link as well)

crusty homemade bread

My new arm workout.

Ha! That's what kneading 8 pounds of dough will do for you! 100 years ago, this probably was the only arm workout most homemakers needed to keep their arms and shoulders fit, now we need bicep curls and pushups to do the same thing! : )

I would love to make bread-baking a regular habit around here. There's just something so homey and comforting about the smell of fresh-baked bread, not to mention all the health benefits. I am trying to take this time while things are relatively simple around our house to learn some of these skills, before more kids come along and life gets complicated again.

A friend recently lent me her grain mill and 2 bins of wheat grain while she is in the midst of a move. I've been eager to try my hand at bread-baking with a mix of whole grains using the soaking method. I have been reading recently about the benefits of soaking grains before baking or cooking with them. In short, traditionally, grains were always soaked for long periods of time to allow for better digestion and nutrient absorption. You'll often hear whole grains recommended for a healthy diet, however, without preparing them properly, they can be hard on our digestive systems and may even be the cause of some food sensitivities. With the advent of commercial white flour, many of these methods have been forgotten.

A couple of good places to read up on reasons for soaking your grains:

Nourishing Practices: Soaking Your Grains

Be Kind to Your Grains

Here is the recipe I used (I know it looks complicated, but is really much easier than I thought it would be):

Combine the following, cover and soak for 12-24 hours (I soaked for 24 hours):

1 cup kefir (like yogurt, can be found in dairy case - or use cultured buttermilk or whey)

3 cups of water

11 cups of ground flour (I used 9 cups of whole wheat and 2 cups of kamut)

2 1/2 cups oats

1 cup honey

3/4 cup coconut oil, melted (can also use butter or olive oil)

1/3 cup flax seed (optional)

After soaking, activate the yeast by combining:

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. honey

2 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast

Combine the activated yeast with the soaked flour and add the following:

1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt

I didn't include these, but you can also add 2-4 Tbsp dough enhancer, 1 cup unbleached white flour, sunflower seeds, if desired.

Kneed for 8-10 minutes. Remove to a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let sit until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down and divide into 4 loaves. Roll out each loaf into a rectangle and roll up to make a well-formed loaf. Place in greased bread pans and rise again until doubled (about 30-45 minutes). Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let

cool.

Yum-yum! I think this is by far the best recipe I've ever used with a very rich flavor. The only problem was that some of the ingredients I added after soaking did not completely mix into the dough - a few slices were a bit salty or sweet (from the honey). I think a larger mixer might fix this problem, or halving the recipe for a smaller amount of dough. I may try that next time.  I originally found this recipe at Passionate Homemaking.

An added benefit to baking bread during the cold, wet and dreary days we've had around here is that the oven makes the house extra warm and cozy!

What are some of your favorite comfort foods to make when it's cold and dreary out?

Menu Plan Monday.

If any of my readers are mommy bloggers or mommy-/homemaking blog readers, you are probably familiar with "Menu Plan Mondays". Started at one of my favorite blogs, Organizing Junkie, this blog "carnival" is intended to help the cook in the family plan ahead so that we aren't scrambling to figure out dinner every night, give up and just head for the Taco Bell drive-thru (because this neeeeeeever happens at our house).

Menu planning has, by far, been one of the best ways to pinch pennies with our budget and has really cut down on the panic I used to feel at 4:00 when I would think "OH NO! What in the world should I make for dinner tonight?!". Hence the Taco Bell runs.

So here's this week's menu:

Monday: cheese ravioli w/pumpkin sage sauce, salad

Tuesday: marinated tuna steak, root vegetable medley, sourdough bread

Wednesday: black bean chilaquile, salad

Thursday: calzones, salad

Friday: peppered steak, oven-roasted asiago cauliflower, creamy spinach, chocolate pudding cake

Saturday: leftovers/eat out

Sunday: spicy rapid roast chicken, summer squash casserole, herbed oven potatoes, broccolli

In recent months, I've started doing a monthly menu plan that I repeat for the season (i.e. summer menu, fall menu). Making a menu plan each week was WAY STRESSFUL for me, so instead I make up the plan for a month and repeat it several times. This has worked really well and allows me to double up on some recipes and freeze half, cutting down on cooking for the next month.

I eat this stuff up, so hopefully it will spark some menu planning in your households!

Now, it's just a matter of sticking to it!!!

From the Farmer's Market.

We finally made it downtown to the Old Market Farmer's Market. It was our first time there this year. I so love walking the crowded "aisles" filled with empty-nesters with their baskets of fresh produce, young moms with babes strapped to them in various fashions, fiddlers and accordion-players, and dogs of all sizes. Today we stocked up on some red bell peppers (a steal compared to grocery store prices), fresh basil and some farm-fresh eggs.

Our sad excuse for a garden (looks more like a jungle) has managed to produce an abundance of tomatoes. So, I put them to use and thought I would share with you the recipe for one of my favorite uses for fresh tomatoes and basil - bruschetta! This recipe comes from Toast to Omaha: A Cookbook.

Tasting Room Bruschetta

10 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt (this can be cut back)

1/4 cup shallot, minced

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sugar

8 basil leaves, chiffonade cut (click here for how-to, I didn't know what this was either)

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, onion, shallot, vinegar, sugar, basil leaves, oregano and olive oil together and taste. Season with salt and peppers. Mixture will hold for 4-5 days, but is best served fresh. Serve on toasted baguette slices. Serves 6.

We didn't have any baguettes on hand, so I used the recipe in this video. It's awesome. You can either pull out a couple of fist-fulls of dough to make fresh bread each day, or make them all at once and freeze, they keep well. Makes about 4 small loaves. By the way, they don't tell you in the video, but loaves should be baked at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meat.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/cordery/ / CC BY 2.0

As a junior in high school, I read The End of Nature, by Bill McKibbon. After finishing the book I decided to never eat meat again. Then my mom made spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner, mmmm my favorite. So, I decided I would stop eating meat tomorrow. And, until Tuesday night I didn't. That was almost 16 years ago.

Since then many changes have occurred in my life...I majored in Environmental Studies in college, started following Christ, got married, had a baby. All through this, I never ate meat. And, honestly, I never missed it. Half the time I forget I'm a vegetarian. Usually it means there are only 1 or 2 menu choices when we eat out, but I'm ok with that, pretty easy to please. It does become awkward when we're invited to friends' houses for dinner and I have to tell them of my "dietary restrictions" - I feel so high maintenance, that's the worst.

Anyway, I've been doing more and more reading on nutrition and food production lately. You can see from the books I'm reading and blogs I frequent some of the info. I've been looking at. Most of my reasons for becoming a vegetarian were because of the environmental destruction that meat production caused and because I believed it was a healthier lifestyle. I never got on the animal rights bandwagon. As I became a Christian, I found it fascinating that, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were only given plants to eat (Genesis 2:16). It wasn't until after the Great Flood that God gave Noah and his descendants animals to eat (Genesis 9:3).

While I don't totally discredit my initial reasons for becoming a vegetarian, I really don't believe there is anything morally or biblically wrong with eating meat. As I've begun to question my non-meat-eating ways, and started to think about eating meat again, the idea of it became such a big deal for me that I've realized my vegetarianism has been a sort of idol. Being a vegetarian is a deeply ingrained part of my identity and, honestly, a source of pride (not the good kind).

So, I ate some salmon. Thang said he was a little bit sad for me. Honestly, it wasn't anything to write home about. I'd take some well-prepared tofu over that anyday. But, I needed to do it. I am by no means ready to start loading my plate with meatloaf, turkey legs and pig's feet. I'm still reading and praying and trying to determine what's healthiest and most beneficial.

And, I may never eat meat again, or maybe I'll just wait 16 more years.

Risotto -TDF!

I've been trying to be resourceful and use up some stockpiled foods we have in our pantry. I browsed Allrecipes.com and came up with this delish dish and thought I would share. However, I think I will probably save it for the winter months as it does take some time on the stovetop which is no fun on a 90 degree day! If you want to print the recipe out in a 3x5 card format, click here.

Risotto with Tomato, Corn and Basil

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 3 tablespoons white wine
• 1 medium tomato - peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 1/3 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (instead of adding grated parmesan, I added the "butt" of a parmesan cheese wedge, which infused it with yummy flavor)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips (I didn't have any fresh basil, so skipped this and it still tasted great!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the water and milk in a medium size pot or saucepan, heat the water and milk to a simmer. Keep the pan over low heat.
2. Melt the butter in a large casserole or skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and the rice, stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir until completely absorbed.
3. Begin to add the heated milk-water mixture 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next. When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes and most of the liquid has been incorporated, add the corn kernels and tomatoes along with the end of the milk-water mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender but still slightly chewy.
4. The risotto should take 18 to 20 minutes of cooking all together. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, most of the basil, and the salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto immediately onto plates, top with the remaining basil strands, and serve.