Menu Plans– April 26, 2016

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Last evening when I was taking my nightly walk on the treadmill, I looked through my latest Taste of Home magazine for inspiration.  I found several recipes that I though I could make, using items that need to be used up.  Again, this is a really busy week (what’s new?) and so the crock pot will be used part of the time.

Tuesday:  Chicken wings in crock pot.  I found a couple of bags we’ve had for a LONG time, and thawed them. They look ok to me.  I’ll put some kind of soy sauce mixture on top.

Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Beef Tostadas (from the TOH April-May magazine, p. 33)  I will modify and put in whatever peppers I have frozen, and probably won’t have time to make the tortillas into tostadas, as I work until dinner time, bolt my food, and head off to Bible study class.  Because it takes an hour to get there, sometimes I eat in the car while Rob drives, which is much more restful. The rest of the family will eat while I finish up lessons.  This will be the last Wednesday that I do that, as I am stopping work after this week to focus on the move.  Every time we go, we will take a van load of boxes for the storage unit.

Thursday:  Mandarin Pork Stir Fry (p. 20)  I will sub out some snow peas frozen from last fall’s garden, some whole grain rice (I have several part packages of brown/mix/forbidden/etc.) and might add frozen sweet peppers as well.  I will make this earlier in the day and warm when we get back from dance.

Friday:  chicken soup in crock pot–(I have several appointments for the kids, plus a piano recital that night)  corn bread (frozen)

Saturday:  Chicken nuggets (p 25)  Basil salad dressing (p 12)  I need to address the basil plant my aunt gave me to make the kitchen look nice for the showings.  It’s going to bloom and looks kind of sad now.  So, we will eat the good parts and that will be that.

Sunday:  Family Sunday dinner: Spaghetti (make sauce on Saturday in crock pot), l.o. basil salad dressing on salad my aunt is bringing, green beans, fruit crisp if I get time Saturday.

Monday:  Leftovers

As always, I have many frozen and canned vegetables we will add to these meals.  I was feeling stressed because I didn’t have a plan, so I made one.  If I am not able to stick to it, I’m ok with that. I wonder if I might have a lot of leftovers in the middle of this plan, but if I do, I’ll adjust. For me, having the plan removes stress during super busy times because  I don’t have to think, I just have to start cooking.  Also, when I check it ahead of time, I can thaw what’s needed and I’m good to go.  It takes me less time to cook this way than it does to drive to a restaurant and order food, and eat it, unless I’m driving around anyway.

You many notice I do a lot of cooking ahead of time, i.e. earlier in the day, the day before, etc. and re-warm.  Yesterday, that’s what Rob did.  He took the roast beef from a few days ago (stored in the crock pot container) and just popped those leftovers back into the crock pot and warmed them up that way.  It was delicious, and saved us time.  On Saturday, he barbecued 3 chickens and we had chicken that night, for Sunday dinner, and I had some for lunch yesterday.

8 thoughts on “Menu Plans– April 26, 2016”

  1. Becky, that is my kind of list making. If all goes well you know what’s coming next but if a problem arises, you just adjust. I’m wondering if you are thinking about moving closer to your new church? You do a lot of driving to get to there as well as other lessons, etc. that the girls are involved in. I live in a big city so an hour drive is not unheard of, however, it does get old if you have to do it repeatedly. Just wondering.

    1. That’s the true dilemma, isn’t it? My sister’s house (the one we are going to park at) is only 30 minutes from our new church. That will help a lot during the transition. The girls will not be in dance this summer at all.

      We will look closer to Salem (Oregon) for a house, because I already have a little work lined up there for fall, but I need to be closer or I will spend all my money on gas. The church is there, as well.

      However, we SO love living in the country, so we want a piece of property (even if tiny and house is awful) or a really, really big lot. It is going to be a challenge. So, one day at a time. It seems like property we can afford is way out in the hills, or the house is seriously not livable if it is closer to the town. So, I will be praying that God will give me the contentment for which ever place I get and the ability to make the best of it. I’m not very picky about the house, so that will help. I’ll take land anytime over a nice house. I’ve just been blessed with both for these last few years.

  2. You inspired me…I grabbed my Taste of Home Magazine (what would we do without that wonderful publication!) and bought a roast for my crock pot (for later this week…btw your husband sounds wonderful!). We have a hard time house-hunting (which is on hold now until my husband retires which hopefully is still soon) because we also try to be near a church we like! I also will take land over a house! Andrea

    1. I know! I love that magazine. Even though I’m totally gluten free (it makes me sick, not a preference), there are so many recipes that I can still use, or modify. I had a little unexpected time last evening and tried the leek/potato soup out. I will say it was good, but very plain, so I left out the lemon juice, and added some sour cream and cheese:) Then, it tasted like a twice-baked potato to me. I loved that it had cauliflower in it and I was able to use up some frozen I’d clearly lost for a while, since it was labeled “12.”

  3. Your menu sounds delicious. Let us know if you like the recipes.
    My Mom and Dad used to give me a subscription to taste of home, and I used to love the recipes in it, so it may be time to start a new subscription.
    Hope you have a great week

    1. Tonight, we had the Mexican tostadas (check the post for the page number), where I put peppers (I had Ancho frozen), onion, lime juice, and spices in the bottom of the crock pot. Then the round steak. I topped it with a jar of home-canned salsa verde and cooked all day. (not in the recipe, but oh, so yummy) Today was my last day of work for now, so I was working when the others ate. They just put it on chips and salad ingredients. I ate in the car, and I basically made a taco salad, with that shredded beef mixture on top, in a big hurry from what was left on the counter, since my lesson went long and we were in a hurry. I liked it a lot.

      I’ve used so many recipes from Taste of Home for 4H over the years, too. I print them off of their website and have kids cook them. You can’t get the recipes from the current issue until a certain amount of time has passed, I know that our library has this magazine, so you might check yours, or get a subscription. It’s pretty inexpensive to buy.

      1. How cool is that! I didn’t realize the library had magazines online with zinio…happily looking at taste of home recipes again. 😀 Thanks!

        1. I didn’t know they were online, either. I was referring to a paper copy, but good to know! I do check out books on the kindle from the library at times, nice to know magazines would be available!

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