Menu Plan Tuesday: November 29th

It's taken over a month, but my freezer is almost cleared out. This is good news, because I have already scheduled 4 freezer cooking sessions for December to prepare a bunch of holiday treats!

 

This week's plan:

 

• Monday: Lasagna (using Lasagna sauce that I quickly made last week before leaving town to use up my fresh produce. Find more ideas for using up perishables before leaving town here!)
• Tuesday: Soy Glazed Salmon (salmon from the freezer), Sesame Baby Bok Choy, steamed broccoli, and soba noodles
• Wednesday: Sauerbraten over Mashed Potatoes (I'll admit it--I use a Knorr package seasoning for this recipe. I add onions, peas, and sour cream for my own version, the stew meat is from the freezer.)
• Thursday: Black-Eyed Pea Hambone Soup (from the freezer) with cornbread and steamed green beans
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Marinated Flank Steak (from the freezer), Brown Rice Pilaf, Steamed Vegetables
• Sunday: Baked Chicken Tenders (coating from the freezer), Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Steamed Vegetables
• Monday: Leftovers... or Spaghetti and Meatballs (from Trader Joe)

Even thought I'm not trying to, I will add to the freezer this week even while I am clearing it out;

I should have a few pieces of Lasagna left over to freeze for quick lunches--if I manage to freeze it before someone eats it, that is. I'll also freeze some leftover mashed sweet potatoes so that I can make Sweet Potato Biscuits.

Note that none of this menu includes turkey! We were out of town for Thanksgiving, and I wasn't able to bring any leftover turkey home. My relatives did feed some to this 6-foot alligator in the back yard, though. (From a distance!)

I haven't decided whether to make a turkey this holiday season or not. Is it worth it or not?

Find more meal planning inspiration at Orgjunkie.com!

Holiday Prep: Freezer Cooking

I have made a lot of progress clearing out my freezer in the past few weeks--I even found some scones that I froze back in April--still delicious!

Now that I have all of this free space, I am ready for some freezer cooking sessions to help prepare for the holiday season. My friends and I have picked some kid-free mornings throughout the month to focus on bulk food prep:

• Dec 1: Cheese Bites (80 or so; easy to mix up, tedious to roll, so we do it together while talking!) I'll try to post this recipe, very easy and good.
• Dec 6: Lasagna Sauce, and Sauce/mini meatballs for Baked Ziti. The recipes call for similar ingredients, and we'll freeze the sauce/meatballs, then defrost when it's time to assemble the dish. I'll probably serve my Baked Ziti for a family get together during the holidays.
• Dec 13th: Marinated Meats and Fish. Probably some Marinated Flank Steak and Marinated Salmon, possibly some Baked Chicken Tenders coating or other chicken marinades. Anything that will be simple to defrost and/or cook up during the busy season!

• Dec 16th: Cookie Baking Day, as well as Sweet and Spicy Pecans
• Dec 20th: Cutout Cookies! I'm thinking of baking in advance, and devoting this morning to decorating all of them. This is a huge Christmas Tradition for me, and yes, it's a lot of work! It will go faster with company.

Menu Plan Monday: November 7th, 2011

Sunday Dinner: Roasted Chicken with Spinach Rice Stuffing

I fell off the meal planning wagon last week, but fotunately I had a semblance of a plan in my head!

Here's the plan for this week:

• Monday: Creamy Enchilada Casserole, steamed green beans, fresh fruit
• Tuesday: Turkey Chili topped with shredded cheddar and sour cream, homemeade Skillet Cornbread, steamed broccoli
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Dinner Out
• Friday: Dinner out (kids to grandparents')
• Saturday: Cashew Chicken Curry Stir Fry (from the freezer) with vegetables over steamed brown rice
• Sunday: Apple Sausage Risotto with steamed asparagus and baked sweet potatoes
• Monday: Leftovers (or something very simple, such as Bean and Cheese Quesadillas from the freezer)

I also need to get back on track with my Freezer Cooking While Making Dinner plans. I need to make some fresh Bean and Cheese Quesadillas for the freezer, and I'm also hoping to bake an Apple Cake this week (recipe to come). I haven't decided yet how else to use my newly available freezer space, but I will definitely be restocking as the holidays approach!

Find more meal planning inspiration at orgjunkie.com!

Menu Plan Monday: October 24th, 2011

It took a lot of preseverance, including willingness to grill the Sweet Asian Chicken (pictured above) in the rain, but I stuck to my plans and fed my family nearly every night last week. (They got takeout one night.)

Here's the plan for this week:

• Monday: Leftovers--we have lots of Baked Ziti with Mini Meatballs to still enjoy! With leftover steamed broccoli
• Tuesday: Molasses Glazed Chicken Thighs with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans--and it better not start raining while I'm cooking the chicken on the grill!
• Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner sliding from last week: Eggs, sausage, bacon, mini whole wheat bagels, fresh cut fruit, steamed asparagus
• Thursday: Leftovers
• Friday: (Parents out) Hotdogs on whole wheat buns with steamed vegetables and fresh cut fruit
• Saturday: Soup (Minestrone from the freezer) with Grilled Cheese, fresh cut fruit
• Sunday: Beef Stew with peas served over egg noodles, salad
• Monday: Halloween! Bean and Cheese Quesadillas (from the freezer) with steamed vegetables, fresh cut fruit

Find more meal planning inspiration at orgjunkie.com!

Sweet Asian Chicken Marinade

From the Cookbook Fix, Freeze, Feast: The Delicious, Money-Saving Way to Feed Your Family.

This is our favorite chicken marinade from this cookbook so far. Prepare it in bulk so that with this recipe you will have 3 meals of chicken prepared--one for dinner tonight, and two for your freezer! To test the recipe, or to just make a single meal, divide the ingredient measures by 3.

Ingredients:

• 6 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup tamari/soy sauce
• 1/4 lime juice or juice of 1 fresh lime (I recommend fresh lime if possible)
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 3 Tablespoons minced garlic--about 25 cloves (I recommend fresh--process in a food processor to reduce prep time)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste, more if you prefer spicy)
• 3 freezer containers or freezer bags--I find if I use smaller chicken breasts I can fit this meal in a quart-size bag.

1. Divide chicken between 3 freezer containers.
2. Combine sugar, tamari, lime juice, and curry powder in a pourable mixing bowl, whisk to combine. 3. Divide and pour marinade evenly into 3 freezer containers.
4. Add 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to each container. Mix chicken, marinade, garlic, and flakes, then freeze until needed or marinate for a minimum of 6-8 hours.

To cook: First defrost chicken fully in refrigerator.

To grill (recommended): cook chicken over medium low heat, turning every 5 minutes and basting with extra marinade. Stop basting at least 5 minutes before removing from grill. Cook until center temp of chicken reaches 165 degrees on a meat thermometer. Cover cooked chicken with foil, let stand for 5 minutes. Slice chicken into 1/2 inch strips against the grain.

On the Stove: Slice into 1/2 strips against the grain, then stir fry in a wok or large pan over med-high heat with oil such as peanut oil, until pieces are no longer pink in the center.

Freezer Cooking While Making Dinner: Pumpkin Puree

While assembling and baking Baked Ziti with Mini Meatballs, I hacked my 4 garden pumpkins in half, scooped out the seeds, and baked them for over an hour, then pureed them, ending up with 8 cups of puree, just what I need to make lots of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins! (I ate the extra puree... delicious!)

While making dinner on Thursday I assembled a dozen extra Bean and Cheese Quesadillas, and froze them--7 are left, which is enough for 2 meals when combined with other things.

This week I want to use my pumpkin puree to bake mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, and then store them in the freezer until I have the Kindergarten classroom parents over for morning coffee. I'll bake some Whole Wheat Banana Bread as we get closer to the event, too.

As for Freezer Cooking While Making Dinner, this week is another intense one, so I'll be whittling down the freezer supply a bit more rather than making plans to add to it.

Menu Plan Monday: October 17th, 2011

Whole Wheat Couscous with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes

I'm continuing to lean on my freezer stash this week! My aim is to use the oldest items, as well as the items taking up the most space this week.

• Monday: Soy Glazed Salmon (sliding from two weeks ago, never even defrosted the fish!) with leftover brown rice pilaf, salad, and fresh fruit.
• Tuesday: Sweet Asian Chicken (from the freezer) with Whole Wheat Couscous with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes and salad (and possibly some roasted pumpkin if my plan goes well)...
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Bean and Cheese Quesadillas (need to restock my freezer supply of these) with steamed vegetables, fresh fruit, quacamole (from freezer), sour cream, and salsa
• Friday: Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs, courtesey of Trader Joe, with steamed broccoli
• Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner: Scrambled Eggs (topped with Eggplant Stew from the freezer), mini whole wheat bagels, steamed asparagus, fresh fruit, and turkey sausage
• Sunday: Baked Ziti with Mini Meatballs (just need to assemble and bake), salad, fresh fruit
• Monday: Leftovers

Find more meal planning inspiration at orgjunkie.com!