Menu Plan Monday

Back here, I mentioned that we were going to try to be dairy free over the winter to help with skin issues. Our son that has eczema has not has as much trouble this year, so we are going to be adding in some dairy back into their diets, as evidenced by some of the freezer cooking here and from this menu below.

Also, I just wanted to let you know that the meals that I list here are meals for the whole family. If the meal that I have selected is not vegan I will make something else for myself. I don’t list those things here. I tend to do it on the fly.

Breakfast ideas:
1. banana chocolate chip muffins
2. cereal
3. creamy blueberry oatmeal
4. eggs and toast x 2
5. waffles
6. whole wheat blender pancakes

We also have a green smoothie every other day with our breakfast. On the days we don’t we serve the boys fruit.

Lunch ideas:
1. quesadillas
2. PB, banana, and honey sandwiches
3. Corn Dog Muffins (made dairy free w/soy buttermilk)
4. Sandwich Sushi
5. mac/cheese
6. chick pea and pasta soup
7. pastina w/chicken broth


We try to serve veggies and fruit with each lunch. Choices with week include red peppers, cucumbers, carrots, celery, and salad. Fruit choices will be pineapple, banana, apples, and oranges.

Dinner ideas:
1. Pasta Fagioli
2. Buffalo Chicken Pasta
3. Spicy Black Beans and Rice w/Mango Salsa (crockpot)
4. Bean and Barley Soup (crockpot) I am going to use beans from my freezer and quick cooking barley as substitutions in this recipe.
5. Baked Ziti (Fellowship at Small Group)
6. Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish
7. Taco Cups

We will be having salad and bread or rolls with most dinners.

Snack ideas:
-cheese and crackers
-Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Popcorn
-vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
-Cranberry Orange Bread
-veggies w/dip
-fruit
-guacamole and chips

For more great menu ideas, check out http://www.orgjunkie.com/

Have a great week!

Jen

Freezer Day 3 - French Toast Sticks

I finished up my freezer cooking with these French Toast Sticks. Everyone enjoyed them and they freeze well.

I do not have a formal recipe, I just wing it. Here goes!

I sliced up a couple loaves of the whole wheat bread I made a couple of days ago into thick slices. I mixed up some egg, soymilk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Then I coated each and put them in a greased stone as you see below.

Then I baked them at 350 for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through.

These are great for little hands, they just love the dipping.

This was my husband's breakfast. The smoothie you see is made from the following:

- 2 1/2 bananas

-1 orange

-1 apple

-a small handful of frozen raspberries

-a large handful of frozen cranberries

-1 mango

Instead of the French Toast I had a smoothie along with this.

-vegan -Vanilla Coconut Yogurt

-mango (on bottom)

-vegan choc chips

-walnuts

-frozen raspberries

Super Delish!

Have a great one!

Freezer Day #2 - Not for the faint hearted!

This was a little harder than I expected. The transition from my usual plan of cooking just baked goods to more dinners and sides was a little tough. The hardest part was the dishes. I had to run the dishwasher 3 times! Not sure how ladies do it for the whole month! My hats off to you!

I am happy though...I think this is really going to help me out during the week, especially the nights when we have small group and basketball.

I was able to get everything done on my list except for the French Toast Sticks, which I am going to make tomorrow morning for breakfast and then freeze. Plus, I added a few things and tried some new recipes. Overall, a great experience!

Here is what I got done (links for recipes are here):

-1 batch of whole wheat bagels (We samples some for lunch and they were yummy!)

-whole wheat waffles x2

-Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole (I think the boys are going to like this!)

-Pasta Casserole

-1 lb taco meat

-1 lb browned ground beef



-6 hamburgers

- meatballs (half went in the freezer, half went into the sauce)


-mashed potatoes x3 (I tasted this and I think I like my own recipe better, we'll see what the boys think)

-vegan cranberry orange bread x2 (This was delish! I substitued ww pastry flour, omitted the zest, and used cornstarch for the egg replacer. I highly recommend this recipe!)

-1 1/2 dozen vegan Banana Blueberry Coconut Muffins (I used all ww pastry flour and frozen blueberries. YUM!)

-1 1/2 dozen vegan Garlic Basil muffins (I haven't tried them yet, but Chuck liked them! We are having with dinner tonight. Getting a thumbs down from the boys. Won't make these again!)



Here is Cal, fresh in from sledding enjoying some raspberry tea and sampling the baked goods!

I also made a big pot of sauce that is not pictured. We'll be having it for dinner and leftover sauce will go in the freezer. I will be blogging on how I made the sauce this week.

How did your baking day go?
Blessings, Jen

Freezer Cooking Day 1 - It's in the books!

I was able to get everything done on my list for Day 1! I am excited about tomorrow! The snow and the cooking! I am not sure I'll be able to get it all done, but I am going to give it an honest try!

Stay tuned!!

Freezer Cooking in February!

Money Saving Mom and Life As MOM are teaming up again for their monthly Freezer Cooking Day. I am so excited that we are supposed to have bad weather because I am hoping that this will be my largest Freezer Cooking Day yet!

I know I made a plan not to grocery shop until the February 1st, but then the weather report said that we were going to get snow and when you live in North Carolina, you MUST go to the grocery store before it snows, so I did! Plus, it turns out that there was a little miscommunication between Chuck and I on the budget, but I'll clear that up later. It also didn't hurt that Kroger and Harris Teeter had some great deals that I couldn't pass up (I saved about $130), that were desperately needed to restock my pantry for this Freezer Cooking Day. Additionally, when I have a large portion of the dinner ready to take out of the freezer for my men, I can focus on cooking my meal separately if theirs has dairy and meat.


Here is what I have planned to make over the next few days:

Breakfast:

-vegan - Banana Berry Coconut Muffins

-French Toast Sticks

-Whole Wheat Waffles

-Whole Wheat Bagels



Dinners/Sides:

-tomato sauce

-meatballs

-Baked Pasta Casserole

-cook and cube/shred chicken

-brown ground beef

-Freezer Mashed Potatoes

-Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole

-Sweet Potatoes

-black beans

-chicken broth



Snacks/Baked Goods:

-vegan - garlic basil muffins

-vegan - Cranberry Orange Bread x 2


Plan:
Day 1 - January 29th

1. Make Whole Wheat Bread for French Toast Sticks
2. Bake sweet potatoes
3. Cook chicken in crockpot.
4. Cook black beans in crockpot.
5. Assemble Sweet Potato Casserole and freeze.

Day 2 - January 30th

1. Peel, cube and cook potatoes in crockpot for Freezer Mashed Potatoes
2. Begin Sauce and make meatballs.
3. Brown the rest of the beef.
4. Cook pasta and make bagel dough.
5. Assemble Freezer Mashed Potatoes, Baked Pasta Casserole and Chicken Enchilada Casserole.
6. Mix up waffle mix and cook as I make all the other muffins and breads.

Day 3 - January 31st

1. Finish up anything that didn't get done and RELAX!!

We'll see how it goes!

Blessings, Jennifer

Chocolate Cherry Valentine Cake

Tanya from this blog, was the winner of the Pampered Chef Cake pan give away and she has graciously agreed to share her recipe for her Chocolate Cherry Valentine Cake with us! She even sent us a picture!

Chocolate Love Cake

What you need:

-One chocolate cake mix
-One 16 oz. container of cool whip
-Two 21 oz. cans of cherry pie filling


What you do:


1. Make the cake as directed on the box. You can pour the cake into either two round pans or if you don’t have the round pans (but can’t wait to get them from a giveaway!) you can make it in a sheet cake and cute out the round circles.
2.Next layer cake, cool whip and then one can of cherries.


3. Repeat the layering until you end with the cherries on top.


4. I garnished my cake with shaved Hershey candy bars. Serve and then refrigerate the leftovers.


Cook Tips:

-You can replace the cherry pie filling with a fruit topping of choice or crushed candy bar such as Butterfingers (this is my favorite).

-I put this cake in the Pampered Chef trifle bowl. It makes for a great display and easier to transport. You can also place it on a decorative plate, it looks really pretty with the cherries flowing over the cake.


YUM! Thanks so much Tanya! I think my boys would love this cake!


Enjoy!

Give Away Winner!

The random number generator says that #12 is our winner!! That is Tanya from over here. I am looking forward to sharing her Chocolate Cherry Valentine Cake with you! Just in time for Valentine's Day.

Thank you all for your entries, I wish I had a set for everyone! Your cakes sounded delicious.

Thanks again for reading this blog and your encouraging comments! You have made it very fun for me!

Jennifer