Menu Plan Monday & My Meal Planning Process

I have a new meal planning process that I thought I would share.

I don't assign meals to specific days of the week. I choose a few meals that I'll make during the week, this leaves me wiggle room. Since my husband seldom eats dinner at home, I end up with leftovers & plan fewer meals. This way I'm planning for what is likely to happen & I don't end up having to toss food that's past it's expiration date.

I've recently begun using the website http://www.workflowy.com for organization. I've integrated it into my meal planning.

This week I began with leftover meat in  my fridge (sale meat for which I had no specific plan when I bought it.)  I listed the meat including the sell by or use by date so that I could easily remember what I had without having to go look in the meat bin of my refrigerator. I also have a link to my grocery list so that I can get there quickly. I mark each meal as completed as I make it (I liked to see items crossed off the list.) The next week when I make a new plan, I delete them. With Workflowy you can choose if you want to display or hide completed items.



This week I have leftover turkey sausage & chicken breasts so I set about meal planning based on those items.  I've added the recipes I will make with each dish & where to find them.

******(Update I no longer use this app or website, it stopped working, it wouldn't sync and started saying certain items like onions were already on my list and simply would not add them!)********
While I was building my meal plan I also have a tab open at http://www.groceryiq.com - This the grocery/shopping list app that I use on my phone. I love it because it's available for Android, iPhone (& iPad), Blackberry & as a website. I have it on my phone (android), my iPad & iPod Touch, and I've shared my list with my husband who has the app on his Blackberry. I can add to my grocery list no matter what device I have in my hand when I think of items to add, and it will be synced to all my devices. I can also send my list to an email address or print it from the website. Grocery IQ has a barcode scanner, so when I run out of a pantry staple I scan the empty box using my phone camera - and it adds that item to my grocery list. I've also found it's handy if my husband goes to the store because he may not know which type of Ritz crackers I buy, but if I've scanned the item it lists specifics and usually shows a picture.


So I've added to my grocery list & will take my phone with me to the market when I go shopping. I used to use a paper list, but I was often losing it, or forgetting to take it with me, thinking of items to add to it while I was at the doctor's office, or leaving it sitting on the seat in the car, in the parking lot of the supermarket. Keeping my grocery list on my phone has been a great solution for me.

This week I chose 1 cookbook - The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond, and a stack of 3 magazines. I knew what my meats were so I looked through the indexes (I love magazines with a recipe index in the back!) for recipes that used those items. When I wasn't finding anything for boneless skinless chicken breasts that tickled my fancy & went well with the potatoes I wanted to make, I searched for chicken recipes on http://www.cookscountry.com a site with which I have a paid membership. The quality of the recipes on this site make it worthwhile (to me) to pay a membership to have access to their full history of recipes (I believe that access to recipes from the current season of their program is free.)  I don't like to waste my time with recipes that turn out to be no good and I find that sites with user submitted recipes have a large percentage of those. I guess I'm picky.

I'm on Menu Plan Monday at http://orgjunkie.com/blog

Quick Weekday Migas

This is the new favored breakfast dish for school mornings in our house. Boy and Mama are equally enthusiastic so I thought I'd share it with you.

2 eggs
salt
cream or half & half
tortilla chips
taco sauce
shredded cheese
butter or olive oil
ham (optional)

Beat the two eggs in a bowl with a dash of salt then add the cream or half and half (if you use milk you will get watery eggs - see my post on Perfect Scrambled Eggs for why.) Don't skip the salt, it goes a long way to eliminating that sulfer egg taste.

Crumble in a handful or two of tortilla chips, a squirt of taco sauce, and a pinch of finely shredded cheese. (A small amount of shredded cheese mixed into the eggs while cooking will melt and flavor throughout instead of just sitting on the top getting rubbery - it's a good way to get the flavor with fewer calories & fat.)  If I have the time I like to go make coffee at this point to let the tortillas soften up a bit in the egg mixture, some mornings I don't have the extra time, they still taste good if you don't.

Add diced ham to and 8 or 7 inch omelet pan, if you are using it. I buy a large ham at the market & use it for breakfasts over the next 2 weeks or so. If I plan to make it into eggs I dice up a few ham steaks and keep the dice in a zip-loc bag ready for using with eggs.  If you saute the ham in the pan a bit it will bring out more flavor.  When the ham is hot, add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan.  Make sure you have a puddle of butter (or oil) that covers the bottom of the pan & pour the eggs into it.

When the edges of the eggs are just set, take a heat safe silicon spatula and pull 3 edges toward the center (See Scrambled Egg Post).  When edges are set again, repeat.  Now turn up the heat in the pan, when the full underside of the eggs looks puffed, turn the eggs. It will break into pieces, just turn each piece, if you wait until you can turn all the eggs in one piece your eggs will get dry.

The eggs will be done nearly as soon as you flip them, turn them out onto a plate, if you leave them in the pan, they will overcook.

Serve, you can add your choice of condiments, some ideas include: taco sauce, salsa, sour cream, avocado slices, guacamole - you get the idea.

A Self Reminder

Why do I feel discouraged?
Why do the shadows come?
Why does my heart feel lonely and long for heaven's home?
For Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is he.
His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me.

From His Eye is on the Sparrow by Civilla D Martin

More Move More Eat Well: One Thing - January

Wordless Wednesday: Move More Eat Well

I know you likely can't read it. I'm not sure I want you to.

Oven Broiler Sandwiches

You don't have to have a panini press to make delicious hot toasty sandwiches at home. I actually DO have a panini press but sometimes I don't want to get it out, or clean it, or add the calories of extra butter or olive oil on the outside of the bread. I have been making oven broiler sandwiches for years, and they are oh so tasty! This is also a good way to make a large batch of sandwiches at one time. This is a great quick meal for Sunday afternoon when we get home, starving & everyone wants lunch QUICK.

I used:
Mortadella as best I can tell it's facy Italian bologna Boar's Head makes a wonderful one, it has bits of pistachios in it. Yumm! You want it sliced very thin.
Genoa Salami - much nicer than hard salami you want one that is a nice deep color, some of the supermarket brands are almost pale pink, they're not as good. Private Selections at Kroger is of a good quality.
Pepperoni - you just can't go wrong with a bit of spicy pepperoni on your sandwich
Provalone is my cheese of choice - but I was out so I used what I had in the fridge, today.
You can also add some ham (which will make the sandwich sweet)
or Turkey (using more turkey and less of the higher fat sausage meats will help the sandwich have fewer calories)
Tomato also makes a nice addition.
I used Sourdough bread, but any kind of bread or roll works well.


Mix up some mayonnaise with Italian Salad dressing and spared it on the bread.

Next I like to add a layer of cheese, this helps the meats adhere to the sandwich & not slip & slide around as much. If you're going to use tomato, add it next. Then add the deli meats, ending up with a bit more cheese, which will serve as sandwich glue.

Position the sandwich halves on a foil lined baking sheet & position under the broiler until the cheese gets melty and the edges of the meats begin to crisp & curl up, you're going to love the way this brings out the flavors of the meat.

Now add any mustard, pickles or other dressings you desire. I drizzled in a bit more of the Italian mayo dressing. Put the two halves together and return to the broiler until the bread is toasted, flip the sandwich over & repeat.

The possibilities are endless with all the different combinations of meat, cheese, veggies, spreads & condiments. Go forth & create your own winning combination!

Chicken Stew With White Wine: Master Recipe Becomes - Chicken & Dumplings, Chicken Noodle Soup or Chicken Pie

Updated Feb 18, 2013

 This recipe comes out of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (Amazon Affiliate Link at bottom of post) It's his Basic Stew recipe the Chicken and White Wine variation. Jamie's base recipe calls for a can of tomatoes, I leave those out, my idea of Chicken comfort food doesn't include tomatoes. My family loves this recipe I have now made it as Chicken & Dumplings & Chicken Noodle Soup. It would also make a wonderful chicken pot pie. I used to make it with boneless chicken breasts, but after using boneless thighs, I will never go back. The thigh meat requires some trimming away of fat, but the results are worth it. The thigh meat remains tender & juicy, by comparison chicken breasts seem a little tough & dry, particularly in leftovers the next Day. As for the wine, I have used Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Vermouth & Sherry all are fine, it seems that just about anything that's light in color will do. This recipe can be made on the stovetop or in the oven. I prefer the oven as it produces a gentler, all over heat & I don't have to adjust the temperature as I would on the stovetop. Be sure that the pot you use is oven safe, you don't want to melt your handles.


Basic Stew Recipe Chicken With White Wine

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled & sliced (I sometimes use 3 or 4 it adds more color)
2 celery stalks (use up to 4, celery adds a lot of flavor)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 chicken bouillon cube (I use Knorr – this item is my addition)
1 Tablespoon of flour (see the variation you are making for possible alteration)
1 – 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed & cut into pieces
2 cups of white wine
2 cups of chicken broth or stock (this makes up for the liquid in the can of tomatoes I omit)
1 teaspoon of salt
pepper to taste

If using your oven move position a rack in the center of the oven & preheat to 350 F.

Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven or stock pot & heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot add the veggies to the pan and cook until softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally as needed (I like to use a bamboo paddle for this purpose) When the veggies are nearly ready add the thyme, bouillon cube and flour and stir frequently to cook off the raw taste of the flour.

Add the chicken pieces to the pan & stir. Add the white wine, chicken broth, salt & pepper, stir and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, they add flavor. Increase the heat if needed and bring to a bubble. Place the lid on the pot & either place in the oven, or reduce the heat to barely a simmer. Cook for 1 and ½ hours more (see notes for the variation you are making.)
Serves 4, generously



Chicken & Dumplings
If you want a thicker stew you can add an extra 2 teaspoons of flour at the stage where you added the flour (for a total of 1 Tbs + 2 teaspoons)
30 minutes before the stew is due to be removed from the oven remove the lid & check on it. Add more liquid if desired. It's now time to mix up your dumpling batter. I use Bisquick Baking mix & follow the directions on the box which calls for 2 cups of baking mix to be mixed with ¾ cup of milk (I use lactose free milk since I have some dairy issues.) Mix it up in a bowl with a fork. Pull the pot out of the oven & add dumpling batter to the top of the stew liquid – a large ice cream dipper works wonderful for this purpose & produces uniformly sized dumplings. Cook on the stovetop (or return to the oven) uncovered for 10 minutes. Then replace the lid and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Ladle into large soup bowls and enjoy!

You may have misgivings about using Bisquick but that's how my Aunt Virginia always makes them, and she was a caterer. If it was good enough for her, it's good enough for me – and it produces wonderful fluffy dumplings.



Chicken Noodle Soup
For Chicken Noodle Soup check on the pot 30 minutes before it will be ready (after 1 hour of simmer time) Depending on how much broth is in the pot you may wish to add more chicken broth at this point. The soup will thicken a little bit after you add the noodles as they will add starch to the water.
I find that 3 oz of dried fettuccine noodles broken into 4 pieces produce the amount and size of noodles that I like. Add them to the pot at the 1 hour and 10 minutes point & return to oven with the lid on (or continue to cook on the stove-top, covered) until the noodles are soft, then serve. I found my noodles were ready after 20 minutes of cooking in the oven.


Chicken Pot Pie
Add 1 Tablespoon of flour at the point where you added the flour (2 Tablespoons total). When the stew is ready remove thyme stems, add 1 cup of cream & 1 cup of frozen peas. Remove from heat and allow to cool (hot stew will make the pie crust melt and fall into the broth, then it will not get crisp.)
Roll out pie dough to the size of dish you are using for your pie (be it one large pie – or two individual pies) I find that rolling together 2 rounds of Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough produces a thicker crust that is hearty & pleasing for chicken pie. Place dough on top of dish & crimp, then cut 4 or more slits in the dough to allow the steam to vent away brush with milk. Bake until browned and done, consult your pie dough recipe for an idea of how long and what temperature to bake.

A short cut to Chicken Pot Pie is to cut shapes or rounds out of the pie crust, brush with milk & bake on a baking sheet. Serve the stew in large bowls & float the pie crust shapes on the top. This is a great way to prevent having soggy pie crust if you're serving again as leftovers.
(photo coming soon Chicken in White Wine with Cream & Pie Crust Crackers.)

Wordless Wednesday: Something New for 2012