Ugh.  Easter is one of those get-togethers that is focused on the ‘big meal’ and I always end the day feeling like I ate way too much.  Which I did.  Delicious ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed vegetables with cheese sauce, fruit salad, potato salad, and rolls… plus the sweets: bird’s nests, chocolate-peanut butter eggs, candy, candy, candy…  I also made a light elegant dessert I found on Delish.com: Tulipes with Raspberry Sorbet.  The little cookie-cups look like they take a lot of time and effort to make, but they were super easy and I made them the day before in a jiffy.  Aren’t they pretty? 

Although I’m not eating today, I made an appetizer supper for the family with yesterday’s leftovers of ham, cheese sauce, eggs, and mashed potatoes:  Cheesy Potato Pancakes, Deviled Eggs, and Ham-n-Cheese Tortes, all of which I found on AllRecipes and Recipezaar. 

Now for the rest of the week:

• Tuesday:      The traditional post-Easter beans and cornbread;  gotta make good use of that ham bone!
• Wednesday:  Sloppy Joes with sweet potato chips
• Thursday:    Parmesan Chicken with spinach noodles and salad
• Friday:         Leftovers
• Saturday:     Walnut Chicken Skillet with rice and salad

In case you haven’t made your own potato chips, they’re easy and soo tasty.  I use sweet potatoes because they’re higher in fiber and have a unique flavor. 

Sweet Potato Chips:  Wash 2 sweet potatoes well and slice thin.  Heat half-inch olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat.  Carefully add the potato slices and allow to cook until slightly brown, turning over to get both sides done.  When chips are lightly browned, use a slotted spoon and set on paper towel-covered plate; salt immediately.  Allow to cool; the chips will get crispier as they sit.    *These can also be baked in a low-temperature oven or even in the microwave for an even healthier version!

I’m guilty of serving a lot of the same meals, partly because I like to stick to the easy-to-fix meals that I know everyone likes, and partly because I forget about other options.  I realize I’ve fallen into a rut, and with warm weather around the corner (meaning we’ll use the grill more!) I’ve decided that now is a good time to make some changes.

Since a monthly menu can equal less time spent on menu-planning and grocery lists, I wrote down every supper I make on a semi-consistent basis.  This was harder than I expected!  I left my list out and added to it for about 3 days, coming up with almost 40 meals.  40 meals!?  We can go a long time without repeating a meal with 40 different meals to choose from, and here I’ve been rotating every 3 weeks! 

Now I have my list typed, printed, and ready-to-use when I make my menu for the week.  This gives me a mass of meals to choose from so that my family doesn’t get tired of the same old, same old.  And by checking off when I make a meal, I’ll be sure to get to the more time-consuming (yet oh, so tasty) meals that are too often forgotten, like Chicken Walnut Skillet.

Just to help get your mind going for generating a Supper Master List of your own, I’ll share my list with you.  But first, here’s my menu for this week.  We’ve got a ton going on, so I planned very light cooking for me:

• Monday–  pizza with the sitter; Date Night with Nate! 
• Tuesday–  soup & chili from my frozen stash
• Wednesday– pumpkin pancakes; sausage
• Thursday– deli sandwiches for a mini-trip out of town
• Friday–  grill brats; ginger carrots
• Saturday–  grill fish; rice; salad
• Sunday– Easter!  Ham and potatoes for me; the grandmas are bringing the rest.

Supper Menu Master List

• Chicken stir-fry
• Fish broil
• Kabobs
• Salsa chicken
• Chicken/rice casserole
• Teriyaki chicken
• Walnut chicken skillet
• Fried chicken
• Meatloaf
• Grill burgers
• Steak
• Baked potato meal
• Roast turkey
• Chili
• Autumn soup
• Potato soup
• Chicken & dumplings
• Beans & cornbread
• Lentil soup
• Multi-bean soup
• Spaghetti
• Lasagna
• Parmesan chicken
• Manicotti/tortellini
• Chicken pot pie
• Taco salad
• Nachos
• Enchiladas
• Ham roll sandwiches
• Deli sandwiches
• Meatball sandwiches
• Brats
• Sloppy joes
• Biscuits & gravy
• Pancakes & bacon/sausage
• Snack supper
• Shakespeares pizza
• Peachy chicken

 Ok, hopefully my list helped jog your memory; get started on your own!

I’ve struggled with making my menu the last couple of weeks, what with being out of town and then our computer virus.  We ended up having too much pizza!  It was a good reminder of how important a meal plan is to my family’s health and my sanity!

I spent time today, though, planning the menu and making mixes for bread and pancakes.  I even got some granola made, and am sharing the recipe with you.  It’s my mom’s recipe; it’s delish and sooo filling.  The great thing about granola is that you can add in whatever extra nuts, seeds, or dried fruit you’ve got in your pantry; it’s different every time I make it and good every time! 

JANET’S GRANOLA

6 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup wheat germ (or oat bran)

1 cup roasted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

Mix together thoroughly and spread on 2 cookie sheets/jelly roll pans.  Bake (300*) about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.  Let cool and stir again before storing in a sealed container.

     *Optional additions: 1 cup pecans, walnuts, almonds, raisins, pumpkin seeds, etc.  The more, the better!

     *I also like to add several shakes of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Now for my menu; this week I’m doing better than pizza :) 

• Monday:     tortellini, meat sauce, salad
• Tuesday:     appetizer supper (meatballs, cheese, crackers, fruit)  *This meal is to eat up some of the 15 pounds of cheese we got on sale at the Amish bulk foods store!
• Wednesday: burritos, nachos, fruit
• Thursday:    lentil soup, toast
• Friday:        salsa chicken, rice, tamales
• Saturday:    leftovers from the week

This is Clean-Out-the-Fridge-N-Pantry Week!  When searching my cupboards I keep finding bits and pieces of full meals, so it’s time to clean them all out and make a few hodge-podge suppers out of all the various items.  My family never seems to notice weeks like this; just some of the meals are a little different than our norm.  

Not only do our cupboards get cleaned out, but I save a lot of money.  All I’ll need to get for groceries this week is milk; I’m even going to skip getting fresh fruit because we’ve got a bunch of canned fruit to clear out.  Here we go:

•  Sunday–   Our Small Group had breakfast foods, so I took apples and hard-boiled eggs.  The leftover eggs will be a couple of breakfasts this week!
• Monday–   Supper at my parents’ house (big bro visisting) so I’ll take the chips and chili we’ve got left from Saturday’s party.  Normally I’d freeze the chili, but as it’s getting warmer I think we’ll eat it up now.
• Tuesday–   Chicken Pot Pie
• Wednesday–   Steak (mix-n-match of various cuts,) baked sweet potatoes
• Thursday–   Various pastas that are dwindling, meat sauce, green beans
• Friday–   Hot dogs and seasoned fries, corn
• Saturday–   Nachos

 I might have another week’s worth of meals in this house, so we might do this again next week! 

What do you do with your ‘extras’?  Do you have a trick or recipe you use?

This week is a little crazier than usual; getting back from our retreat put me a little behind schedule on planning and groceries, plus this Saturday is Josiah’s birthday party.  I’m aiming for easy dishes– well, I always aim for easy dishes, but this week’s meals take even less prep time than normal.  Except for that Pad Thai!  I didn’t make it last week, so I’m going to try again Thursday.

The Plan:

• Monday–          cheddar muffins, eggs, and sausage
• Tuesday–          15-bean soup, toast
• Wednesday–      chicken and rice casserole, veggie 
• Thursday–         that darn pad thai
• Friday–             meatloaf, brown rice, salad
• Saturday–         chili/hot dogs/chili dogs, baked beans

Since my mouth is watering at the thought of Friday’s meatloaf, I’ll share the recipe with you.  Nate found the recipe on a bottle of a locally-made condiment, Show-Me Barbeque Sauce.  It’s the easiest and tastiest meatloaf I’ve ever made or had, and my kids eat it up!  There’s no chopping necessary; the recipe suggests adding an optional 1/2 c. onion or green peppers, but I add some dried green pepper flakes that I get from an Amish bulk foods store and a couple of shakes of onion powder and it’s fantastic! 

Show-Me Meatloaf

• 1/3 c. Show-Me barbeque sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 c. bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. salt

Mix ingredients together and add to 1 and 1/2 lbs. ground beef.  Form into loaf and put into bread pan.  Bake 350* for 45 minutes.  Add 1/3 c. sauce on top and bake 15 minutes more.

Since I’m on a 10-day commitment to eat differently, I’m changing up some of next week’s menu and serving things I’m not too interested in on the days I’m not eating much.  Hey, that’s one of the perks of being Queen of this kitchen castle!

The Plan:

• Sunday-               fresh fruit (at Small Group– pizzas)
• Monday-              pizza (kids) restaurant (me & Nate Date Night)
• Tuesday-             baked potato soup, toast
• Wednesday-         pad thai (first time for everything– wish me luck!)
• Thursday-            beans, cornbread (skipped it last week)
• Friday-                taco salad
• Saturday-             Small Group Retreat, no cooking for me!  :)

Awesome, that mess is out of my head!  I’ve got a list of groceries still to get, but the thinkin’ part is done!