Well, I thought I would share my menu for the week today and offer up a few recipes from it for your enjoyment. Maybe next week I’ll actually post it on Monday for Menu Planning Monday. I actually plan my menu and go grocery shopping every two weeks, which has saved me a lot of time and energy. It does take a longer time to plan a two-week menu, but for me it is worth it. It has worked beautifully for me. I do get my produce through another local source, which comes fresh to me on a bi-weekly basis as well. I try to plan around a theme for each night (i.e. Monday is stir fry, Tuesday is soup, Wednesday is chicken dish or Mexican, Thursday is Main Dish Salad, Friday is Italian or casserole, Sat is leftovers). This helps me greatly as I organize my menu, I can work around the theme.
If you are interested in any of my recipes beyond what are provided, please let me know. I would love to share them with you!
Week of December 10
Monday – we spent the evening with my brother and his wife
Tuesday – Curry Split Pea Soup, spelt biscouts (I love using different kinds of grains in my baking, and spelt is an excellent one!), fresh green salad
Wednesday – Chicken Enchiladas, refried beans, corn (I like to buy whole chickens from a local farmer and make several meals with it – this will be the first for the next two weeks!)
Thursday – Chicken Ceasar Salad (marinate the chicken breasts throughout the day and then BBQ them before throwing it all together! Yum!)
Friday – Shepherd’s Pie (a great simple and healthy casserole)
Saturday – leftovers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shepherd’s Pie (thanks to Sue Gregg!) -this is a very healthy and low fat version!
8 medium potatoes, peeled or unpeeled (I prefer unpeeled, as there are alot of nutrients in the peels)
8 medium carrots
2 Tbls butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups water
6 oz. tomato paste
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1 bay leaf
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups (10 oz) frozen green beans, green peas, or corn (I like to do a combo of all!)
1/2-1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, optional
Boil potatoes and carrots until soft and tender. Using a mixer, blend together to make mashed potatoes and season as desired with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Brown the turkey and onion in a separate pan. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the cheese), bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes (add mushrooms and beans the last 5 minutes). Remove bay leaf from sauce and pour into 9 x 13 baking pan. Top with the mashed potatoes and carrots. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes. Top with grated cheese and bake for 10 minutes longer. Makes 6-8 servings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsay,
Can you give me the contact info for Dee Creek Farms? I love cooking whole chickens but I never know where to buy them.
Thanks!
I am not able to fit 50 chickens either in my freezer. I buy 10 at a time…I have yet to figure out how long these last me. Check out Dee Creek Farms in Ridgefield. They have lots of chickens right now and butcher them throughout the year, I believe.
Hey Lindsay,
I didn’t know you could get whole chickens at this time of year?!?
I have a tiny freezer and so couldn’t take advantage of the “buy 50 chickens to use all year long” thing.
Thank you for your encouraging posts!
Samara