Dinner this Week - 01.04.15

I am so excited to be back to a schedule this week! While the holidays and some time off have been fabulous, it will be nice for life to return to normal, whatever that is.

One of the big adventures of the week was the death of our downstairs chest freezer. A morning of cold sorting, discarding and rearranging ensued. The bright side is I now have a very clear idea of what we have to move forward planning the coming week's meals to utilize stores and cut the grocery budget for awhile. Since we have a smaller chest freezer on the main level, we have opted to not replace it at this time. All in all, the process made me feel a bit like a hoarder. Replacing the storage space will just allow for storing more food than we really need to have on hand at one time. I like to preserve fresh produce, especially fruit for pies, crisps and smoothies, as well as summer's sweet corn and tomatoes whenever said things are fresh and available affordably, but I've maybe gotten a bit carried away the last few years. How much freezer storage do you have? How full is it? We were lucky, my in-laws were only using about a quarter of their freezer so my three laundry tubs of frozen fruits and veggies are hanging out there until we can get our food supply under control.

One last note on the freezer thing ... fortunately G was in the basement when the freezer made the clunky sound of death. We were able to respond immediately without any concern for the safety of the food in the freezer. If this happens to you, only food that is still firm is safe to return to the freezer. Food that is 40° or colder can be refrigerated and used within standard refrigeration time frames. Food that has thawed and been warmer than 40° should be discarded. Your safety is more important than whatever the value of the food lost.

Finally, you'll notice we eat a lot of oranges these days. Not only are they in season, but we have a half a case to work through. It is a common fundraiser for local FFA chapters to sell fruit and this year we got oranges plus a few apples. Luckily, I knew that I had plenty of apples from a summer pick and freeze and had not ordered a case of apples to freeze as I have the last few years. :)

Sunday

Garlic Butter Baked Crab Legs

Farro with Pistachios and Herbs (I used a wild rice blend and a dried herb blend as they were in my pantry.)

Steamed Cauliflower

Oranges

Monday

Chili and Cornbread

Oranges

Tuesday

Leftover Chili and Cornbread

Oranges

Wednesday

Pork Chops with Mushroom Pan Gravy

Leftover Rice with Pistachios

Steamed Broccoli

Apple Wedges

Thursday

Breakfast for Dinner

Scrambled Eggs

Bacon

Toast

Oranges

Friday

Chicken Fajitas

Oranges

Saturday

Dinner out or takeout

Have a great week!

A little late with the menu this week ....

This week's post is a day late.  I work for a university so for me, this weekend was a three-day weekend.  It is also the first weekend in awhile that we didn't have a work, extended family or some other commitment that ate the whole weekend!  I love hosting FLL tournaments, and all, but it is nice to have a weekend!

On Saturday I took Anne to her first tumbling class.  What a blast!  She can be a little shy so it would not have surprised me if we spent the whole session standing in a corner observing, but she dove right in, literally.  At the end of the half hour, it was a good thing I had a trip to the small town bakery for doughnuts and the library up my sleeve.

Yesterday was free after worship and the church's annual meeting.  We spent the day reading, playing with the Minnie Puppy and hanging out on the Big Girl Potty.  Today, we are off to the local children's museum.  I know, it will be crazy as many local schools are off today and so are lots of parents ....

This week is a little bit of quiet before the storm.  On Saturday, I get to fly to Anchorage.  Yes, Anchorage, Alaska.  I am so excited!  I get to be there for a little over a week, mostly training a new site for work, but I hope to get to do a little exploring along the way.  Because of crazy airfares, it was cheaper, a lot cheaper, for me to fly in on Saturday rather than Sunday so I get one whole day to explore!  It will also be the only explore day I'll have during daylight hours.  This week is pretty quiet with a regular work schedule and only one night activity.

To give you the full week's menu plan, I'll start with last night.  Last week's plan was mostly from Pinterest. This week, I've got a couple of sources, but a couple of meals are coming from what has become my go-to cookbook the last few years, Rachel Ray's 365: No Repeats.

• Sunday:  Pork Chops with Bacon and Cabbage from Everyday Food via the Bitten Word.  Delish!  And, since the hubs isn't so fond of cabbage, two days of lunch leftovers for me!
• Monday: "Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs ... and That's a Compliment" RR 365, page 46
• Tuesday:  Thyme Pork Chops with Roasted Cauliflower.  This link is similar to a recipe I've made enough times that I cannot find the book in which it is published.  I thought it was the RR 365 book ....
• Wednesday:  Swiss Mushroom Melts from Perry's Plate.  I have some leftover roasted chicken I think I'll use instead of the turkey.
• Thursday:  Spring Rush for the sorority I advise
• Friday:  Beef Goulash, RR 365 page 3
• Saturday:  I am off to Alaska!

Have a great week!  I am posting this to Good, Cheap Eats Pantry Challenge.

dinner this week ...

Many of the blog and Facebook posts I've read over the last few weeks have focused on deep winter purging. While parts of my house, especially the toy room, could benefit from this, I am choosing to focus January on the pantry and freezers - yes, freezers. We have three. The itty bitty one above the refrigerator that holds mostly opened things like bags of frozen veggies, the current toaster strudel box, batteries, etc. The hand-me-down little chest freezer that lives in kitchen room #3 (another post for another day) with a lot of flours, grains and I don't know what in it. And, finally, the big beast that came with the house. It is by far the most organized, inventoried as it is, at times, empty. Recently, it has been the primary home of meals I have prepared for easy microwave nights, bags ready to dump in the slow cooker and some supplies for an upcoming work event. So, my goal in January is not only to cook more than eating out or eating cereal for dinner, but to go shopping in my own freezers and pantry for the bulk of my supplies.

So, with the week's calendar in mind, here is my plan for the week of January 8, 2012:

Sunday >> Pappardelle alla Bolognese with a tossed salad and baked apples

Monday >> I have quilt guild and George has to work ...

Tuesday >> Shrimp Fra Diavolo with a tossed salad and oranges

Wednesday >> I have a dinner for work and George has to work ...

Thursday >> Quick and Easy Leftover Chicken Fajita Melts with black bean and corn salad and baked apples

Friday >> Blackened salmon, baked potatoes, steamed veggies and oranges

Saturday >> Braised Pork and Cabbage with warm chocolate pots de creme

Wow, this process always makes me hungry. It is good that dinner is coming up soon!

I am linking up to Good Cheap Eats.