Monthly Menu August 2020

01 Sat Chicken legs, raman salad, beans

02 Sun Grilled kielbasa, broccoli salad, leftover beans, corn bread

03 Mon Leftover chicken, kielbasa, beans, broccoli salad

04 Tue Tortellini with sausage and peppers (use Rao sauce from freezer), tomato and cucumber salad, garlic bread from freezer

05 Wed Hot dogs, home fries, corn on the cob, coleslaw

06 Thu Chick Fil-A

07 Fri Take out pizza

08 Sat Fasting

09 Sun Easter ham from freezer, sweet potatoes, doctored frozen mixed veggies, Uncle Bens wild rice

10 Mon Salmon from freezer, vegetable confetti salad, melting potatoes

11 Tue Sausage tortellini with lentil sauce from freezer, salad

12 Wed Take out from Steak and Shake

13 Thu Take out from Chick Fil-A 

14 Fri Take Out from Bar-B-Cutie

15 Sat  Take Out from Fish Thyme

16 Sun Peach Barbecue chicken legs, doctored baked beans, macaroni salad

17 Mon Barbecue beef from freezer, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli

18 Tue Burgers, leftover chicken, leftover macaroni salad, leftover beans, corn on the cob, corn bread

19 Wed Take out from O'Charley's

20 Thu Asian food take-out

21 Fri Zucchini hummus wraps, brown rice salad

22 Sat Grilled kielbasa, bean salad, coleslaw

23 Sun Leftover salads, steamed brussels sprouts

24 Mon Chick Fil=A grilled chicken sandwiches, leftover bean and brown rice salad

25 Tue Pork tenderloin, mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens

26 Wed Chicken tacos with peppers and onions, refried beans, corn

27 Thu Pasta with meat sauce, cucumber and tomato salad, garlic bread

28 Fri Chicken legs, brown rice pilaf, brussels sprouts

29 Sat Hot dogs, store made potato salad, baked beans

30 Sun Chicken soup, corn bread

31 Mon leftovers or take out

Broccoli Slaw

Again I have found the ultimate recipe for broccoli slaw and the key is the dressing. It's not sweet, although it does call for some sugar. I had to make four times the dressing that the recipe calls for. I started with two large bunches of broccoli crowns and I cannot deal with cutting it in julienne strips so I just chopped it all up in my Ninja. Then I shredded four large carrots and threw in what was left of the slivered almonds I bought for another salad (about 1/2 C?). It made SO MUCH. It filled my largest bowl and we will be eating this for a week. In the future I will just buy the bags of broccoli slaw mix because I cannot judge amounts and it makes such a mess to cut up broccoli.  But this is the recipe I will use. It comes from the website Add A Pinch.

2 12 ounce bags broccoli slaw

1/2 onion, chopped

1/4 C mayonnaise

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

juice of 1 lime - I used a T of lime juice (x 4)

salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 t salt x 4)

(I will add some sunflower seeds if I have them)

I love this dressing! 

Mashed Potatoes

I have been converted to baby potatoes, and for a long time they were the only ones I bought. Super easy to prepare (no peeling) and taste the best to me (less starchy). If I wanted mashed I would simply mash them with a fork on my plate. But the other day I was in the mood for some creamy mashed potatoes and came across instructions on the All Recipes website. I use one more potato that the recipe calls for, but they are still creamy and delicious.

Four large russet potatoes, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

.25 C butter

.5 C whole milk

salt and black pepper to taste (I use about a teaspoon of salt and eyeball the pepper)

Cook potatoes in salted water for about 25 minutes

Drain and place back in pot on stove for 30 seconds to dry them a bit

Mash potatoes twice around the pan

Add butter and milk and continue to mash until smooth

Whisk in salt and pepper

Delicious!

Coleslaw

This is Hellman's mayonnaise's simple coleslaw recipe (and their picture).

My mother in-law's coleslaw is the best but this is so easy to make that it is my go-to. Plus the dressing amounts are catered to a bag of store bought slaw. I cut the amount of sugar in half.

1 lb package coleslaw mix

1 C mayonnaise

2 T lemon juice

1 T sugar

.5 t salt

Mix dressing ingredients and then mix with coleslaw mix.

The Best Bean Salad

I go on quests to find "the" recipe that I will always use. Sometimes I will try something different just for fun but will go back to my standard because it's the best. I shared a recipe for Cowboy Caviar which was pretty good but this is the recipe I will repeatedly use. The ingredients are pretty much the same (this one called for just black beans but the ingredients could be whatever I want) but the key is the dressing. Equal parts oil and vinegar and NO SUGAR. This recipe came from the website CookieandKate but I did not make it exactly like she did. I used canned beans and corn and bottled lime juice but it was still absolutely delicious. (I am still seeking THE go to baked bean recipe.)

VEGGIES

3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or 4.5 C cooked)

1 can corn, drained, or from 2 ears of corn, or 1 C frozen, thawed

chopped peppers (I used 1 orange, 1 yellow, and 1 red this time)

chopped onion

small tomatoes halved or quartered (she called for 1 cup but use as much as you like)

.5 C chopped parsley (or cilantro)

DRESSING

.25 C olive oil

.25 C white vinegar

2 T lime juice

.5 t chili powder

.5 t ground cumin

.5 t salt

Combine veggies, combine dressing ingredients, and mix the two together.

Broccoli Slaw

I was going to just cook broccoli but why do that when I had the ingredients to make this salad when it's 90 degrees outside? Cold foods for the win!

This is adapted from acouplecooks.com

@ 1.5 pounds broccoli florets, chopped

2 medium carrots or as much as you like, shredded

@ 1/3 C sunflower seeds

Dressing:

.5 C mayo

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 T maple syrup (or sugar)

.5 t celery seed

.5 t salt

Mix veggies and seeds. Mix dressing ingredients, pour into veggies, stir, refrigerate. Done. Quick and easy.

Monthly Menu July 2020

01 Wed grilled kielbasa, leftover salads, barbecue beans from freezer, corn on the cob

02 Thu Chick Fil-A

03 Fri Salmon from freezer, coleslaw pasta salad, broccoli, pineapple cobbler

04 Sat Hamburgers, macaroni salad, baked beans

05 Sun Pizza, cake

06 Mon London Broil from freezer, cucumber and tomato salad, rice pilaf from freezer, leftover pasta salad

07 Tue Grilled turkey burgers, homemade baked beans, zucchini

08 Wed Grilled kielbasa, cowboy caviar pasta salad, broccoli, corn bread

09 Thu take out

10 Fri Corned beef, coleslaw, smashed potatoes, cooked carrots

11 Sat Fasting

12 Sun Bbq chicken legs, leftover pasta salad, leftover beans, leftover corn bread

13 Mon beans and veggies over rice

14 Tue Bbq meatballs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, cucumber and tomato salad

15 Wed Chicken Fried Rice, broccoli

16 Thu London Broil from freezer, wild rice pilaf, zucchini, cauliflower

17 Fri Leftover bbq meatballs, baked beans (canned), cauliflower

18 Sat Chick Fil-A

19-24 on vacation

25 Sat ham from freezer, perogies, green beans

26 Sun Food supplied by our church and supplemented with pulled pork, corn, and bbq beans from freezer

27 Mon Salsbury Steak (grilled) with sauteed mushrooms and onions and gravy, mashed potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad, corn on the cob

28 Tue Brisket, coleslaw, sweet potato fries (from freezer)

29 Wed Grilled salmon, black bean salad, wild rice

30 Thu Peach bbq chicken, macaroni salad, baked beans

31 Fri Take out