Archive for meal planning

Meal Plan for the Week

Yes, something new here for you all. I’m joining in the Just in Time Family Meal Planning challenge at my friend Noel’s blog. For the next 6 weeks I’m going to work hard at showing what my weekly meal plan will look like.

This menu challenge happened at a good time. We had a big snow/ice storm a couple of weeks ago and the power was out for a few days. It came back on in the middle of it for about 10 hours so it kept everything in the freezers cold and frozen, but I want to use up all the food that is in there just to be safe. I’m not doing my usual freezer cooking but more of that will start happening next week for sure. My freezers are looking so bare! Ahh, it kind of creeps me out.

This also means we are eating a ton more beef than we normally do as you’ll see on the menu plans. Since I can’t eat very many cuts of beef (almost none) this means I’ll be doing some double duty for cooking meals. Good thing I have a little more time to play with food this week.

I’d planned on getting this done Monday morning but obviously that didn’t happen. So some of the meals already happened but I want to keep to a Monday to Sunday schedule with the posts so that is what I’m going to start with.

Menu Plan for week of January 30-February 5

  • Monday – We had Selby burgers. No recipe for these, they are just huge burgers that require a sturdy bun to eat. Like a kaiser roll or a hoagie roll. I turned a leftover chicken breast into a sandwich for myself instead.
  • TuesdayCheesesteak sandwiches and side salads. Since I was working on this post I got pictures while cooking last night and wrote the recipe out for you. :)
  • WednesdayGolden Mushroom Beef Stroganoff, side salads and homemade crusty French bread.
  • Thursday – Tofu stir fry w/yakisoba noodles. Recipe will be coming. I think I’ve actually started a post in draft a few months ago.
  • Friday – Cowboy Bake (from week 16 of the menu plan) and side salads.
  • Saturday – This day is up in the air. We have sub-regionals at our school for wrestling on Friday and Saturday. Plus it’s my bday. No idea when we’ll get done and I don’t know if I’ll want to go out to dinner lol OR we may be so tired we come home and just do leftovers.
  • Sunday – Food football stadium. This is my son’s bday AND the super bowl of course. We are excited to build a big food stadium for our lunch and dinner. It’s all planned out and you better believe I’ll post about it. Whether it works or not.

Next week I hope to get some breakfasts in the mix for you as well. Plus I’ll get an inventory of the meat left to use and get some meals planned out for my freezer.

Hitting Cyber Monday Special BIG

Keeping it short as I’m sure you don’t want to sit here and read 100′s of words about my specials.  Here’s a list:

BOGO FREE!

I’m going to run this on the paid in full weekly meal plan. For $45 you will get TWO 6 month memberships. One for you and one for a friend or family member. After purchase I will contact you within 24 hours to find out who you want the second membership to go to and what date you want it to start. I can even contact them with a special customized welcome email for you.

Already a member? You can still take advantage of the special. I’ll contact you within 24 hours of payment to see what two people you would like to give the membership too.

Offer is only good on the paid in full option, not on the monthly subscription. BOGO free offer ends Tuesday morning 11/29 at 10am PST.

party, Party, PARTY!

If you were offline over the holiday weekend then you missed my launch of the Great Dinner Party Ideas ebook. As a Cyber Monday special I’ve bundled it with some awesome bonus ebooks. Not only do you get the Great Dinner Party Ideas ebook, but right now I also have bonuses of Holiday Candy & Fudge recipes, Holiday Tips, 100 Brownie Recipes, and Home Chef Kitchen Management.

All of these ebooks will help you throw a party this holiday season that everyone will be remembering for years!

Ok, see, told you I’d keep it short and sweet.

The Right Recipes for YOUR Family Creates Success

If your kids don’t like spinach, then why try to feed them spinach? Why would you put yourself through the hassle of preparing the food and making it look great, only to have it turned down due to ingredient choices? Not only turned down, but probably causing a major upheaval at meal time. Make life easier on yourself and use recipes that you know they will love. There are better ways to get your family the nutritional balance of certain foods. No, I’m not above hiding foods to get that nutrition.

Depending on what you are trying to hide, there are certain techniques to disguise almost any food. Here are some possibilities:

Almost everyone loves pasta. Why not grate some carrots or finely dice a couple of mushrooms or green peppers into the sauce? The red color will hide any evidence of vegetables and the tomato taste will mask anything that is small enough.  You can take this a step further and hide veggies easily in lasagna. I like to roast the veggies a little first so they don’t make the lasagna soggy.  Dice up that spinach and hide it within the noodles quite easily.

Chili and soups are a great way to hide vegetables. Take a chicken noodle soup and experiment with adding different vegetables to see which one your child likes the best. Chili is a giant mix and match of ingredients, so adding another one to the mix is no big deal.

Any ground meat is begging for some veggies. Mix some shredded carrots, squash or beets into a hamburger or meatball for some added nutrition and also some extra moist meat. It is amazing what a little well-ground vegetable can do to even the driest hamburger.

Pizza is a win-win situation for kids and parents. Kids love to eat it and parents love to hide vegetables within its gooey goodness. Take a little of the tomato sauce described above as well as some finely chopped veggies under a layer of melted cheese and you have a slice of pie that is as nutritionally dense as a full salad, not to mention a winner for everyone.

When all else fails, you will be surprised how far raw veggies with a little dip will get you. There are numerous children, and adults too, who strongly dislike cooked vegetables, but when offered a veggie tray, will devour it in a second. A simple rule is, offer the veggies as-is first to see the initial reaction, then try incorporating them into different foods.

To get some grains into your family, try making grilled cheese with whole grain bread. They will adapt quite easily to the new texture when it’s ooey-gooey with cheese. Another possibility is making toast with wheat bread. The color will be masked when the bread is toasted or grilled and who doesn’t love bread smothered with butter and jelly or with a piece of melted cheese slapped in between.

There is no child that will refuse to eat his or her own baked goods. By letting your little one participates when it comes to baking and throwing in a few whole grains, some unbleached flour and some dried fruit. The kids will have a blast making and then devouring their creation.

No matter what you choose, try and keep the recipes simple. While incorporating different fruits and veggies in, to see what your family prefers. Maybe they like softer vegetables or those cooked with butter and brown sugar. The point is you will never know until you start trying, and there is no better time to start than the present.

It’s My Anniversary!

Happy 4 year anniversary to Once a Week Cooking!

Usually on your anniversary you may be expecting a present. Heck no, not me. I’m looking to give to you instead!

As a thank you to my readers I’m giving you 24 hours of savings.

I always have my weekly meal plan at an awesome deal of $45 if you buy the 24 weeks in full. That’s a savings of $15 for the 6 months of meal plans.

But for the next 24 hours I’m offering a big thank you to you for being my readers. Until tomorrow, Friday November 18th at 8am PST you can get all 24 weeks for only $35!  Normally $10 a month that is 42% off.

Click here to see the sales page for the weekly meal plans if you , but don’t buy there if you want the deal. You’ve got to order below to get it for only $35.

However, that’s not a gift, that’s just a great deal. So for those of you signing up for the special, you will also get three ebooks.  Once orders are confirmed I will send you a copy of Creating a Traditional Thanksgiving, Good Food & Drink Ideas ($16.00), and the Appetizer Collection ($11.97).

Two of these are in a rougher form but full of information. They will be going up on the site for sale next year, but I’d love feedback about the recipes and ideas used before their launches. I value your opinion so this is a perfect solution!

Now don’t wait to purchase, I will be up in the morning and taking this button down promptly at 8am PST. For those of you in different time zones, that’s 11am EST and 10am CST. So grab it now and enjoy 24 weeks of meal plans and many more recipes and tips in the ebook bonuses.

Sorry, you missed the special. But you don’t have to miss out on the convenience of meal planning or the next products launched. Join the once a week cooking club for only $4.95 for the first month. And make sure and sign up for the newsletter so you know when I launch the new products or run another sale.

Thanksgiving Day Dishes Done Easy

A lot of preparation and planning goes onto a Thanksgiving Day meal. From what the appetizers will be to which wine will be served. Take some of the stress out of it all by preparing these Thanksgiving Day dishes ahead of time, so that you can spend more quality time with family and friends.

Orange-Scented Cranberry Sauce

This delicious Martha Stewart recipe for cranberry sauce can be made up to a week before Thanksgiving when stored in an air tight container.

Ingredients:

  • 2 bags (12 ounces each) fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 wide strips orange zest, plus 1 cup fresh orange juice
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

  • In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, orange zest, and 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper.
  • Bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and stir in orange juice.

Source: MarthaStewart.com

Dinner Rolls

When making your own rolls for Thanksgiving Day dinner, you actually can do everything, but the baking of the rolls ahead of time. Once the dough is formed and shaped, it can keep in the freezer for up to two months.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup warm water (115 degrees)
  • 2 packets (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups warm whole milk (115 degrees)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for bowl and pans
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface

Directions:

  • Place water in a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 2 eggs. Whisk in yeast mixture.
  • Using a wooden spoon, stir in 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft, shaggy dough (if necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour). Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Butter the inside of a large bowl; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours.
  • Butter two 13-by-9-inch baking pans. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 15-inch rope; cut each rope into 15 1-inch pieces. Press each piece into a disk, then shape into a ball. Arrange dough balls in prepared pans. (To make ahead: Wrap pans well, and freeze, up to 2 months.) Cover pans loosely with plastic; let stand in a warm spot until rolls have doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours (2 hours more if frozen).
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg until blended; brush onto rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Let rolls cool 15 minutes before serving.

Source: MarthaStewart.com

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Thanksgiving Day dessert is a cinch when you decide to make this pumpkin cheesecake. This recipe can be made a few days before the big day even made a few weeks ahead so it can be frozen.

Crust Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling Ingredients:

  • 4 packages (8 ounces each) bar cream cheese, very soft
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick springform pan, with the raised side of the bottom part facing up.
  • Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overmix). Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.
  • Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening).
  • Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving.

Source: MarthaStewart.com

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

This delicious recipe for mashed potatoes can be prepared up to a day ahead and then simply reheated in the oven.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, warmed

Directions:

  • In a large pot, cover potatoes by 2 inches with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Drain thoroughly and pass potatoes through a ricer or food mill into pot.
  • Over low heat, add butter and stir until melted. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until potatoes are stiff, about 1 minute. Gradually add cream, stirring constantly to combine. Using a rubber spatula, pass potatoes through a fine-mesh sieve. Season with salt and pepper.

Source: MarthaStewart.com

It is quite easy to prepare your own Thanksgiving Day feast by planning ahead and preparing a few easy side dishes in advance.

Ann Martin is a writer for Dinnerware Center, which offers a line of exquisite dinnerware styles and flatware sets, such as the Noritake colorwave and Noritake china sets. Ann is a writer for travel, home, and wedding-related websites. When Ann is not writing, she enjoys spending time in her kitchen preparing hearty meals for all to enjoy.