Menu April 4-10, 2011

It is time for a spring-time menu.  While we are having a blustery and cool day today, it is supposed to warm back up to the 60s by midweek.  I have some left over chili in the fridge that needs to be frozen for another cool day in the future.  I need to start making meals that can “hold” until the Blue-eyed Farmer gets done with his farm work after sundown.
And I’m still trying to be more low-carb, so you will see some dual meals below.

Monday:  Homemade cheese & veggie pizzas, salad.  I’m going to make the dough early in the day and let it rise slowly, hoping for a more complex favored crust.

Tuesday:  Individual breakfast casseroles: eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, vegetables, cheese.  Fruit. 
I plan to double this and make some in muffin cups to flash freeze for quick breakfasts.

Wednesday: Grilled hamburgers, chips, baked beans, cole slaw. Baked Kale Chips for me and grilled veggies.
I may switch Tuesday and Wednesday depending on the weather.  I can’t wait to get the grill fired up again!

Thursday:  Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, salad.  Spaghetti squash with asparagus, mushrooms and peppers, salad. (brought over from last week)
The forecast is for rain on Thursday, so a favorite comfort meal will warm us.  I want to try making the sauce in the crockpot.  Usually my sauce is made on the stove-top, but I’m looking for some slower cooking/less attention needed meals.  We get so busy in the afternoons and evenings this time of year.

Friday:  Date Night for a good Fish Dinner.
Lent is almost over and the fish fries and specials will soon be over for another year.  We are busy the next two Fridays so I hope we can go out this week to enjoy a typical fish fry.  If we end up staying home, I have shrimp and salmon in the freezer for grilling or broiling.

Saturday: Lunch- Chicken strips and french fries. Cobb salad for me.  
Dinner- Oven-roasted root vegetables, bread sticks, salad.  Oven-roasted low-carb veggies, whole-grain crackers, salad or sauteed spinach.
Farmer will probably be doing farm work all day and will need a heartier lunch and supper.

Sunday:  Lunch will be fast.  We have dress rehearsal for our church’s Easter drama and I’ll need to be back to church quickly to help with the costumes.  Supper is always “catch as you can” on Sunday evenings.


Are you wondering how my Pantry Challenge is going?  Last week, I tried to only purchase dairy and produce.  I stopped at my natural foods store yesterday to get some Farm Eggs and picked up some marked down bakery breads: Jewish Rye, French and Wheat Germ.  I’ll double wrap those today and get them in the freezer.  I’ll serve the French bread with the spaghetti meal and the Jewish Rye if I make our seafood meal at home.  The wheat germ loaf will be an everyday bread for Farmer when we finish the loaves we have now.

Looking over my menu,  I anticipate having to get only loss-leaders and a some produce at the end of the week along with my usual dairy (yogurt and half-n-half.)
I’ll be watching for sales on the good canned baked beans; bbq sauce and the good hot dogs/brats for upcoming spring and summer meals.   I'll be looking for some quick healthy snacks for Farmer.  He takes a few minutes between getting home from the factory and going out to do his farmwork and I like him to recharge by eating something healthy (cheese & crackers, apple, homemade cookies, etc…)

How does your menu change in April?  Have you made out your Easter menu yet?  Drop me a line and let me know what you are cooking these days.

Hugs~
Kay

**  “The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.”  ~Bern Williams

Menu March 21-27, 2011

Hey!  I remembered!  I told you I would post my menus and I remembered.   (With my brain these days, I take any victory I can.  ;o) )


Without any further delay or silliness....


Monday - "First Warm day of Spring" Chef Salads made with Romain lettuce and various toppings (hard-cooked eggs, good turkey from the deli, good cheese, tomatoes, avocados, homemade dressing for the Farmer) with grilled Ciabata Rolls;


Tuesday - "First Spring Supper Served at 8:30 p.m. because the Farmer was out in the field"  Pancakes made with egg, oil, half dry milk and half creamer since the milk went bad on me; leftover sausages from Saturday's company meal, fresh strawberries & cream (if wanted.);


Wednesday - "What the *%@$^* happened to Spring?"  Bean, Onion & Cheese Enchiladas, Mexican Rice, Pickles Jalapenos, Tomatoes, Avocados, Lettuce and Tapioca Pudding for dessert;


Thursday - "Really??!!  60% chance of SNOW/Rain mixture?!"  Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Frozen Mixed Veggies, Biscuits or Butter Sticks (for him, I plan to use mine for a strawberry shortcake dessert);


Friday - "I'm not Catholic anymore but Fish was made for Fridays"  Pan-fried Nebraska Trout, French Fries or left-over Rice, Cole Slaw or Mennonite Fruit Salad; leftover biscuits or toasted Tuscan Boule, (if there's wine, then no dessert for me) Individual Rhubarb Cobblers;


Saturday - "If I have to spend the day in the pickup doing farm errands there had better be a dinner 'out' at the end of this road!"  Seriously, we plan to go to the town where my sister-in-law lives (the Blue-eyed One's sweet sister), so it's probable we'll take them out for dinner.  At the very least, there will be lunch somewhere on the way and then we'll make do with leftovers for supper;


Sunday - "Sorry, Cook's Day Off"  I rarely have to cook on Sundays, but if I do, I'll make something fast like hamburgers or grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, raw veggies and whatever sweet thing we can find for dessert (cookies, ice cream, pudding, fruit.)

Looking over my menu for the rest of the week, I can see I only need to buy milk, potatoes, cole slaw mix or cabbage.  I like that kind of small shopping list!


Is anyone else doing a Pantry Challenge Week/Month?   I'd love to read your menu.  
And Thanks to Mrs. Mac for the suggestion of making a big Caesar Salad with my bitter romaine with croutons from our extra bread.  I may have to substitute some of the veggies this week for this for me... Farmer-Dear isn't a fan.  Or maybe make myself a Trout Salad on Saturday/Sunday evening.  I had a wonderful one on Sunday at a local bistro, only made with grilled Salmon. 


Happy Pantry Shopping!


Hugs
K~
** "If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept, chocolate will revive you.  But you have no chocolate!  I think of that again and again!  My dear, how will you ever manage?"  ~Marquise de Sévigne

Pantry Challenge Spring 2011

Spring is "Springing Out" on the Prairie Farm

Everyday more perennials are poking their first sprouts out of the ground.  We have a few more calves on the ground.  And the Farmer hooked up to the disk last evening and prepped some oats ground up behind the hill.

Today is a breezy, chilly, humid/damp, unsettled kind of day.  Storms and a change back to winter is in the forecast but I remain hopeful.  I'm getting very spoiled
by these 50-70° highs.

(Update:  It turned out to be a wild day.  Chilly and breezy in the morning.  Humid and warm in the afternoon with a hail storm and a little rain.  Warm and breezy in the evening until the cold front came through.   Farmer-dear was able to finish working up that oats field and then sowed it in the evening.  God willing, the cattle with have oats bales next winter.)

One nice thing about the return of Spring, more daylight and warmer temps, is I have much more interest in cooking again.  I had a few growly days lately (ok... alot of growly days) ... sort of like a bear coming out of hibernation, but adjusting my supplements and adding a few more veggies, fruits and glasses of water to my diet has helped pull me out of that slump.  

We've also been adjusting our budget with the anticipation of the Farming Year beginning and the expenses associated with that.

One item to be cut was our subscription to the local "big city" paper.  I didn't read it on a daily basis but I do miss the ad flyers on Wednesday and Sunday.  I have subscribed online to the weekly grocery ads and I need to get into a habit of looking for the few other stores I find bargains (Menards, Wal-greens, Shopko, etc)

And while I'm sure I've missed a few good sales, I also know I have saved by staying out of the stores.   Except when I don't plan and impulse buy.

We did just that this weekend when a Salad Supper sounded good one day.  Not remembering how much or the condition of the salad greens in the fridge had us buying a large bag of romaine.  I found the bag of romaine hearts I had were perfectly "fine" and what I should have purchased was another jar of Miracle Whip (for Famer).  There was one on the pantry shelf, thank goodness.

Adding to the frustration is that both this new bag of chopped romaine and the bag of romaine hearts are bitter tasting.  Anyone have a good solution to this?   Farmer-dear is a 1000 Island dressing or French (in a pinch) dressing fan and will not eat ranch or vinaigrette and this is just too much lettuce for one woman to eat. 

We have a bread glut also at this time.  We had some wholegrain bread, then I bought milder bread when I thought Farmer was getting the stomach flu and then there were those ciabata rolls & Tuscan Boule on the sale rack.  The rolls are almost gone and the boule I'll stash in the freezer for the next spaghetti night.  I'm planning on a French Toast (or in Farmer's case "German Bread") for a meal this week.  I'd like to make a strata but He's not the biggest fan.

As I posted before we have been stocking up the old Farmhouse pantry while we've had some extra funds.  One thing I purchased, was a large bag of Basmati Rice.  I don't have room for it in my freezer so I'm cooking it, vacuum-sealing it and freezing it.  Then I have it ready to eat more easily during the week for lunches and quick suppers.  

Another plus to a well-supplied pantry & freezer is you can entertain on a whim.  Saturday evening we invited some friends over for a "Breakfast for Supper" meal, spur of the moment.  Except for the eggs, which they provided, (we were not near the natural foods store this week), it was a pantry/freezer pulled meal.  Waffles with butter, jelly & maple syrup, sausage, grapes and juice.  Easy-peasy.  The hardest thing was keeping up with the hot waffles for all the diners.

Speaking of my freezers... I haven't shown you my organized upright freezer.  (I'm so proud of myself!)

The top shelf has all my extra, small baking supplies.  Sugars, coconut, different-flavored chips, decorations, dried fruit and the like.

The second shelf has 2 bins of cheeses.  

The third shelf has other proteins foods -- cooked pork roast, chicken stock, "fake" meat products, and some regular rice (I forgot I had this when I bought the Basmati.  oy~)

The bottom basket has the frozen fruit I put up last year.

The door is a wild and varied place.  Let's see.... I spy more frozen fruit, some purchased frozen veggies, some home-frozen tomato juice, some power bars, bananas, hash browns and apple sauce.

No photos of the chest freezer.  After all, how boring is a big dark hole full of white paper lumps?  lol  Not that I'm complaining!!

So you see, we are not in any danger of starvation.  I'm back to only shopping for produce,  dairy, loss-leaders and only produce until the garden starts growing again.  I whispered a "HURRY UP!" to my asparagus this morning on my way to the mailbox.  

Stay tuned dear Friends.  I hope to start posting my menus again.


Happy Early Spring!
K~


** "Where man sees but withered leaves,
God sees sweet flowers growing."
~Albert Laighton

More Frugal Fun at the Grocery Store

Hi everyone!  I hope you are all keeping warm these cold days & nights?  We’re doing fine here on the Prairie Farm.  Our new windows still are amazing in the way they keep out the cold drafts!  But now we can really feel the lack of good insulation in  the living room and kitchen walls.  Brrr~~ 

I’ve been continuing with my 7-9 hours of sleep per night and I’m trying to get in at least 3 times of sewing/quilting each week.  Just today I downloaded some audio books into iTunes to put on my MP3 player when I’m doing handwork.  Currently I’m listening to “Enchanted April.” 
I’m also trying to read a little every evening.  And I am watching at least a little tv with my Farmer (his favorite form of relaxation) or play some Kinect bowling and not spend as much time on the computer.

With the start of a new year, the economic news and some changes in our farming practices, I’ve been thinking of more ways I can save money.     

One way, is by playing the coupon, loss-leader game at the grocery/discount stores.  Last month, I saved $27.37 by getting the loss-leaders, price matching and coupons. 

Some examples:
Loss-leader Sales
Hormel Thick-cut bacon, less than $3 per pound.
Betty Crocker Family-sized Brownie Mix, 89¢  (woo hoo!)
Store brand Dry Roasted Peanuts, $1.69
Crystal Farms shredded cheeses, 8oz, $1.39 (great price, so I got a lot!)

Coupons
Hershey’s candy bars, BOGOFree:  saved $1.48 and got 2 FREE!
Ziplock sandwich bags: $1.00 off 2 packages
Contact solution 2-pack: $4.00 off pack
Rayovac D Batteries, 6-pack: $1.00 off multi-pack


Price-matching
Russet baking potatoes: 59¢ per pound, saved $1.11 on 3.6#
Land O Lakes Milk, 1/2 gal: $1.39, saved $1.20 on 2 and $1.00 C on 2 containers
Crest toothpaste, 6.4 oz: 99¢, saved 40¢, $1.00 C (FREE!)
Old Orchard frozen all juice: $1.00, saved 48¢ on 4
Orowheat Bread: $1.99, saved 50¢
Hefty garbage bags: $5.99, saved 90¢ PM and $1.00 C

I saved $4.59 in price matching and $11.95 in coupons alone!

During last month we took the opportunity of a little extra in the budget funds to stock up on pantry staples.  We purchased that $1.39 cheese, unbleached flour, sugars, ziplock bags and toilet paper.  All items I can store for several months and they will be available for leaner times later this year.

On Monday this week as I mentally took stock of my pantries before the “Major Winter Storm” set upon us. I decided we were stocked up except for Half-n-Half for my coffee.  So, I did a little price-matching on sale items that would be going off-sale on Tuesday.   I got the following: Yoplait yogurt for 50¢ each and with a 40¢ off on 6 coupon
Era laundry soup, 96 loads, price-matched for $8.69 (Very good price, normally I pay $10.88)
Fresh asparagus (regularly $2.94#) price-matched at $1.79#
Heinz Ketchup, 40oz, $1.69 (was on sale for $1.98)
Pepsi products, 12-packs, $2.50, regularly $3.98 and I was able to get the “throw backs” made with real sugar for this price.

That was a savings of $10.08 on price-matching and coupons.  Plus I saved the ads for the Era and Pepsi products and will get more before those ads expire.  Of course the store I price-match at **cough** (wal-mart) **cough** has a tendency to pull items with too large of a price difference off the shelf and then say they are “out.” 
It pays to check all the ads as the Era was at a big box “lumber” store and the Pepsi at a higher-end discount store (did that make sense?? )

(oh, and guess what one thing I forgot to pick up at the store... yes, the Half-n-Half!! >_<  )

And while I’ve been doing a bit of grocery shopping, at the same time, I’m shopping my pantry and freezer too.  Our chest freezer is almost bare!  We bought a hog from a co-worker and our beef goes in to be butchered in 2 weeks, so we want to eat all the remaining meat.  Right now I have 3 packages of pork chops, 3# of sausage, 4# of ground beef and 3 packages of short ribs, plus several chickens, some fish, 1# of bacon and a few packages of leftover spiral ham.  My upright freezer is full of cheese, some easy lunch items (ravioli, chicken strips) and frozen fruit, veggies and chicken odds and ends to make stock.
Our pantry has a nice variety yet and I want to use up the canned goods I bought last fall and start to bring in some new stock.

Also I’ve been buying a few more staples in bulk, such as Real Maple Syrup, EVOO and vanilla at the natural foods store.  I get my eggs there from the bulk cartons too.  I filled 2 containers of EVOO (5.46#) for $8.49#.  Seems high but this is cold-expressed oil and always tastes fresh.
I also got a little over an ounce of crystalized ginger for $1.17 ($14.59#)  The same amount (or less) in the small jars at the grocery stores was over $7!  I’ll be going back soon for more eggs and I need cayenne pepper.  I’m eager to see the price difference on that!

I know this is a long post with a lot of numbers.  I didn’t write it to brag, but to encourage you to read the ads, cut the coupons, read the saving blogs and start cutting that grocery budget.  Create a pantry (even a small one) and start saving for a small chest freezer. 
Remember that “Mega Winter Storm”.... a friend of ours in Missouri shared a photo of the empty bread aisle at his local Wal-mart.  I read several other friends status updates on needing to go get “supplies” just a day after the storm passed here. 
I’m not belittling anyone, but just want to pass on some peace of mind.  If your pantries are well-stocked with easy to prepare foods and the ingredients to make staples (like bread), you won’t have to worry about being snowed- or iced-in. Then you can concentrate on filling water jugs, maintaining an alternate heat source and light sources. 

Just a little wisdom, I’ve learned through the years, living on the Farm.


And just in case anyone is looking at those candy bars, brownie mixes, soda with a critical eye... what can I say... it’s mid-Winter and my Farmer has a sweet-tooth. 

Stay warm and safe, my Puffins!

Hugs
K~

**Thrift comes too late when you find it at the bottom of your purse.  ~Seneca

Menu for the week

I'm home today and have tons to do, but thought I'd take few moments while eating my lunch (yes, at the computer. It's my computer and I'm an adult, so Hush! lol).

Sunday- Lunch at Famous Dave's with BFFs, we left stuffed so supper ended up being the candy/snackies we ate in the afternoon during our Wii tournament.

Monday- Homemade pizza with whole-wheat crust, our beef and some mini pepperonis we got as samples at the Wine & Food Expo. They added some flavor without being a big greasy piece of pepperoni. I still prefer turkey pepperoni.
And no vegetable or salad. We were tired and hungry after doing some cattle work outside. It was all I could do to get the pizza done.

Tuesday- our typical Breakfast for Supper night (B4S). French toast to use up the loaf of store bread on the counter; canned fruit or applesauce; and some of our new bacon, making enough for 2 more recipes. Our new bacon less salty than store bacon which is good because Blue-eyed Farmer just salts his French Toast. I know.... it's a genetic thing with him. His dad used to do that and his sister still does. I need to ask his aunt if she eats it that way. Too weird, but I still love him.

Wednesday- Broiled Salmon, broccoli-raisin-bacon salad (for me)/bag salad (for him), rice pilaf, rye bread (if needed) and individual apple crisps. It's suppose to be really cold on Wed. so I'll use my oven to heat the kitchen. I'll bake some potatoes for soup on Thursday & fried potatoes on Friday and bake some brownies or bars for dessert later in the week.

Thursday- Baked Potato Soup, baby carrots and brownie/bars for dessert.

Friday- Pan-roasted chicken, hash browns/fried potatoes, steamed broccoli (for me)/canned peas (for him), biscuits, bars or ice cream for dessert.

Saturday- Lunch: Chicken salad wraps, carrots, chips (for him), apple for dessert; Dinner: Tacos (either beef or chicken if there is alot of chicken left from Friday), Mexican rice (using leftover pilaf) and custard for dessert.

We are implimenting another month or so of Pantry Challenge menus, due to some upcoming bills and watching "Horders" on History Challenge.
OMStars!!! I believe in having a well-stocked pantry but I need to move some food out and replace it with new and cut down on the amounts. I'd like to have a firmer grasp on exactly what we eat in a 3-month time span.
I'm going to be culling out some kitchenware too. Who needs a small, medium and large food processor? (Granted the small is a handy chopper and the other 2, they were thrift store purchases but seriously.... 3?!)
It's time to go through the food magazines and cookbooks again. And I've gotten away from storing most leftovers in plasticware. I'll keep a few small bowls for lunch salads, but we use glass for anything that needs reheating. I do use tupperware for storage but am on the lookout for large glass jars.

Lunchtime is over and I need to go check on a mama cow in the north pen.
Anyone else planning menus today or planning another Pantry Challenge month?

Hugs!
Kay~

** "We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink..."
~Epicurus


[Update: Found a recipe for Quiche HERE and it sounds soooo good. Zoomie's posts almost always make me hungry! lol I need something quick for breakfasts as I've been doing with a protein bar and a piece of cheese lately. So since Blue-eyed One will enjoy his French toast, I think I'll see what I can find to make individual quiches in muffin tins. I know I have some asparagus in the fridge, some garlic cheese curds and bacon. I don't need crust, unless I'd line the cups with some olive oil brushed tortillas? I'll let you know...]



[Update to the update: Ended up going into town with B-E Farmer, after we chored. He had a chiropractor appointment and then he stopped at W-m. I got bare essentials, like rye bread & crisp rice cereal for his treats. And then since I made some phone calls for him, he took me out for salads and bread sticks. The menu above will just be moved down a day.]