Week Six menus

This is the final week of menus. The food was pretty good, but it was obvious that I was running out of lots of things. I was also sick. Considering I was sick, I still did pretty well. Normally I would have used restaurant food and its subsequent leftovers as our meals!

Monday: Savory Herb & Garlic Chops, brown rice, carrot salad

Tuesday: Restaurant soup 'cause I was sick

Wednesday: Roast Chicken, creamed corn, cole slaw

Thursday: PW's Hamburgers, baked beans, cole slaw

Friday: Ground Turkey and Barley soup

Saturday and Sunday: Leftovers and Eat Out

Monday: Cream of Summer Squash soup, homemade rolls

FINAL RECIPE of Project: Homemade Pasta Alfredo, salad

MY LAST MEAL!! Week Six: Tuesday (Day 30)

This is it. The final meal of the 30-meals-from-my-pantry project. It took a little over six weeks to get here, but the day has finally arrived.

I'm going to be making Homemade Pasta Alfredo again. I made it once before HERE. Go to that link for the directions.

I have a hand-crank pasta maker, but it isn't necessary for this recipe. At the points where I put it through the machine, one could simply use a rolling pin and make it very, very thin. My pasta shape will be fettuccine which is very easy to cut with a knife if you don't have a machine.

This recipe came from a lovely lady I knew in Panama City, FL. She grew up in the same town as Sophia Loren, and her sister competed in a beauty contest against Sophia. I don't remember the outcome.

Guilia invited me to her house one day and took me step by step through the process. She also made a simple sauce recipe, stressing the importance of using ITALIAN canned tomatoes LOL!

I've decided that I want some help in my celebrating this accomplishment. My next post will layout the details.

Week Six: Monday (Day 29)

I can't believe I'm FINALLY nearing the end. Originally I thought I'd do 30 days of menus but quickly realized that I wouldn't be cooking every single day for a month. Stretching it to 30 meals extended the time by a little over two weeks!


Tonight recipe should be warming and comforting and full of veggies. We're having Cream of Summer Squash Soup. I'm using THIS recipe and adapting it to my needs.


The Recipe:

4 T butter
4 T flour
4 cups milk
4 cups chicken broth
2 T butter
1 c chopped onion
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice (I did not use.)
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups shredded yellow squash
1/2 cup sour cream or cream (I had to omit.)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh Parsley, Tarragon, or chives (as desired)

• Make a roux with the flour and butter.
• Slowly add 2 cups of the milk, stirring continuously.
• Let boil for 1 minute, set aside.
• Saute onion and rice in the other 2 T of butter.
• Add 4 cups of broth and bring to boil.
• Simmer rice until done (40-50 minutes)
• Add shredded zucchini and yellow squash the last 10 minutes or so. Cook until soft.
• Add other two cups of milk.
• Stir in white sauce and heat through. Remove from heat.
• (Add sour cream or cream at this point, if needed.)
• Season and top with fresh herbs.
• Stir in

I made some biscuits to go with this.

The Verdict:

Me: My changes made the soup nice and thick. I didn't have any sour cream or cream to use, but it might not need any. I DO wish I'd had some fresh herbs to go on top. That would have been really nice.

Hubby: I prefer thick soups. The curry soup we had the other night was full of flavor, but this was nice and thick as well as having flavor.

Week Six: Friday (Day 28)

I had a little trepidation about this recipe for Ground Turkey and Barley Soup. It really looked like odd ingredients, but since I'm at the end of this experiment, that's pretty much what I have left LOL!

It certainly went together well. See my "verdict" below for the results.

The Recipe:

1 pound ground turkey
4 cups water
4 cubes beef bouillon cube
1 can creamed corn
1 cup pureed cooked winter squash
1/4 cup pearl barley
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Bay leaf
1 tsp. curry powder

• Cook barley according to package directions (takes about 15 minutes).
• Brown turkey.
• Add all ingredients together.
• Bring to a boil to heat through.

The Verdict:

Me: It tasted great! I love curry and this was a nice change from the other spices I've been using. If I had my "druthers" though, I would either increase the barley or just substitute a small pasta shape. It was a nice warm, tasty, wintry thin soup. Perhaps more barley would thicken it up if that floats your boat.

Hubby: Curry is NOT my favorite, but this had lots of flavor (other than curry) going for it.

Week Six: Thursday (Day 27)

I can't believe I'm FINALLY closing in on Day 30. I have to say that I am VERY ready to replenish certain items in the pantry.

It is so gratifying to see space in my freezers and shelves. They have mocked me for months. Well, I have prevailed!

Tonight I made hamburgers. Not JUST hamburgers, mind you, but Pioneer Woman's Hamburgers. Click on the link and see her amazing pictures. Try not to drool on your keyboard.

Because I had only smoked cheddar, that's the cheese I used. I also didn't buy the bread (thought I WANTED to!) and did not make the mayo (wanted to do that, too) since I'm doing this project and I'm also on a diet.

Didn't matter. The hamburgers were SO good. Yes, I said hamburgers. I ate two. My total calorie intake today was higher, but it was worth it.

I heated baked beans and had salad as well. But the hamburgers were the star of the evening.

I won't bother with the "Verdict" tag. I've already waxed eloquently enough above!

Week Six: Wednesday (Day 26)

I made Roast Chicken a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to copy and paste the directions here:

The directions I use for roasting a chicken come from a book called "Nourishing Traditions." It's one of the most amazing cookbooks I've ever read. I recommend it highly. They added veggies underneath the rack so that a gravy could be made. I usually don't do that.

The Recipes:

1 whole chicken
3 T unsalted butter, melted
Salt and Pepper
Cayenne
Any other herbs desired

• Place chicken "face-down" on rack in roasting pan.
• Brush butter all over back of chicken
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cayenne, other spices.
• Bake 1 hour at 375 degrees.
• Insert wooden spoon and turn chicken over (like a spit).
• Brush with butter and sprinkle seasonings.
• Bake for another hour at 375.

Succulent, awesome, tasty roasted chicken. And easy, too.

I'm serving this with cole slaw and creamed corn. Since I'm on a diet I'll not eat the creamed corn.

Yes, I'm still on my diet. Yesterday was precarious but y'all talked me off the pizza ledge.

Thank you.

The Verdict:

Me: Always tasty. Slow roasting brings out all sorts of flavors in meats and veggies.

Hubby: WAY better than the pizza I had last night.

Week Six: Monday (Day 25)

I have a packet of Lipton Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic. The recipe on the box called for chicken. I have Pork chops. My mind whirled and I cried, "What the heck! I'll use the pork chops!"

I went online and found a recipe for pork chops with the Golden Onion soup mix as the coating. But wait...a small line down at the bottom said, "Also terrific with Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix."

Eureka! My life is complete.

The Recipe:

1 envelope Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
4 bone-in pork chops, 1 inch thick
1 egg, well beaten

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Combine Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix with bread crumbs in small bowl.
• Dip chops in egg, then bread crumb mixture, until evenly coated.
• Arrange chops on baking sheet. Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until done.

The Verdict:

Me: I had high hopes for this. Those hopes were dashed. If I could do it again (and I can't because there was only one packet in my pantry), I would use TWO packets of the mix and really, really blend those breadcrumbs to practically powder. Otherwise the taste was really good in the ONE chop that soaked up practically all of the soup mix.

Hubby: They got a little dry trying to make sure they were done inside. Keep an eye out for that so they cook through but don't go too far.

Week Five: Saturday (Day 24)

I decided to make a Broccoli and Swiss Cheese Quiche with my final frozen pie crust. I got a little over ambitious about the amount of broccoli. Beware: Don't do that. Consider yourself warned.

Here is the recipe that I used. Next time I will cut the broccoli down to 1 cup rather than 3. Otherwise it was quite good.

The Recipe:

3 cups broccoli, diced
1 T butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
1 pie crust

• Steam broccoli until bright green. Uncover and set aside.
• Saute onion in butter.
• Combine all ingredients.
• Pour into Pre-BAKED pie crust (8 minutes at 450 degrees)

Cook quiche at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are set.

I served this with shredded carrot salad.

The Verdict:

Me: Too much broccoli.

Hubby: Too much broccoli. Oh--she already said that.

Week Five Menus

It was a delicious week. That's amazing considering I'm starting to have complete outages in certain ingredients and the shelves have an echo. Remembering that pasta and dumplings are made from flour, water, and eggs certainly boosted the variety potential.


For week five I made:

Monday: Homemade pasta alfredo, salad

Tuesday: Chicken and Dumplings, carrot salad

Wednesday: Cabbage Skillet Dinner

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Chicken Tampa, orzo, carrot salad

Saturday: Quiche

Sunday: Eat Out/Leftovers

Week Five: Friday (Days 23)

Well, Thursday was a bust.

Due to very strange schedule problems, I ended up NOT making the quiche. We had some leftovers and I decided that I would make the quiche on Saturday. Circumstances sometimes intervene!

I still kept with Friday's meal of Chicken Tampa, orzo, and carrot salad. I grew up in Tampa, so I was attracted to the name. I've made this many times over the years and it's always nice. I will indicate my changes, due to the project restrictions, in red:

The Recipe:

1 ½ C couscous (I used orzo)
1 ½ C chicken broth (I used water)
2 T butter
1 T oil
4 BLSL Breasts, flattened
1 bunch green onions (I used onion)
¾ C orange juice
½ C heavy cream (I used whole milk)
¼ tsp. salt
1 orange, thinly sliced

• Cook couscous in broth and 1 T butter. (If using small pasta, just cook according to package directions and use water and no butter.)
• Melt 1 T butter and oil in skillet on medium high. Saute chicken, turning once, 5-6 minutes.
• Remove. Cover and keep warm.
• Add white part of green onions, OJ, cream and salt to skillet. (Or, add regular onions to 1 T butter and saute. THEN add the OJ, cream/milk, and salt.)
• Boil and deglze for 2 minutes to reduce sauce.
• Add orange slices and remove from heat.
• Stir in green part of onions into couscous.
• Plate the couscous, top with chicken, orange slices, and sauce.

Week Five: Wednesday (Day 23)

I've made tonight's meal before. I love it every time I have it, but I always have to talk myself into making it. It's because I HATE the name: Cabbage Skillet Dinner. It just sounds awful. Can anyone suggest a more appetizing name? The meal is worth a more suitable moniker. I just can't think of one!

The Recipe

1 lb. Ground beef
¾ C chopped onion
1 cup juice (See Note Below.)
4 C chopped cabbage
2 T brown sugar or honey
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp pepper

• Brown beef and onion.
• Add other ingredients.
• Heat to boiling then simmer, covered, for 25-30 minutes.

NOTE: I have oranges, so I squeezed enough juice to make a cup. Because the OJ was so sweet, I could have left out the brown sugar. You could also use cider or apple juice, but my FAVORITE way to make this is with cranberry juice. So versatile!

Another NOTE: I just realized that this recipe could be a FAST FOOD meal. If you brown all of your ground beef and freeze in 1 pound portions AND if you chop and saute a bunch of onions and freeze in meal size baggies, it's practically a throw together meal!

Yet Another NOTE: I need to think this through and figure out what needs to be on hand to provide that "Fast Food" possibility to keep me away from the drive-thru. Soon, I'll do it soon.

The Verdict

Me: As I said above, the OJ was too sweet. Otherwise the textures and flavors were wonderful with the crunchy cabbage, the beefiness of the beef, and the sweetness of the juice.

Hubby: Too sweet. Seconds, please?

Week Five: Tuesday (Day 22)

The Great Dumpling Debate.

Tonight we are having Chicken and Dumplings. I've been using this recipe for years. When I was growing up, my mother made the drop dumplings. I did not like the drop dumplings as it was like a huge wad of sticky dough. I moved to the panhandle of Florida and discovered "Rolled Dumplings." All of a sudden I hearted Chicken and Dumplings!

When I was researching about this topic, I came across THIS WEBSITE that hilariously discusses the whole "dumpling type" issue (Northern, Southern, Rolled, Drop...). Her recipe was way more involved than mine. It is probably great, but mine is faster! Below is my recipe:

The Recipes

The Chicken part:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (see notes below)
2 T butter (optional)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
4 cups stock
3 cups water

Bring water to a boil and then simmer chicken until done. Remove chicken, cool, and dice. Return stock to boil.

The Dumpling part:

2 cups flour (I used spelt)
3/4 cups warm water
1 T salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Combine in a bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface, adding flour to keep it from being sticking. Press out or roll out into a thin layer. Cut into 1" by 2" pieces (put the ruler away, it's just a small rectangular-like shape!), and add, a few at a time, to the boiling stock. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Return the chicken to the pot and heat through.

I served this with a carrot salad.

***MY NOTES:

• I was planning on using the tenders and realized that I had already earmarked them for the Chicken Tampa I'll be making later this week. What to do? I had some ground chicken in the freezer from THIS meal and used that!
• Most people use the whole chicken to make chicken and dumplings. That's more time consuming, but it is obviously great as well.
• My version worked out to be sort of a "fast food" with the pre-cooked ground chicken. I might have to keep that on hand just for this recipe...after I find out what Hubby thinks, that is!

The Verdict:

Me: I put too much cayenne in my batch of dumplings. I used 1/2 teaspoon. There was definitely heat! I guess that's one way to get my daily allotment of water down--fix mouth-burning food! I adjusted the recipe above to 1/4 teaspoon which should be just right.

Hubby: Next time I would like THREE times the amount of dumplings. You can move the chicken out of the way if there's not enough room...

Week Five: Monday (Day 21)

Today I am going to make Homemade Pasta using a recipe that a real Italian lady gave me. She even invited me over to watch and help her make it. Thank you, Guilia!

I chose this because I was lamenting that I had not stocked up on dried pasta before I began this experiment. Then, revelation hit. Pasta is made from flour and eggs. My brain began to churn. Soon the thought came: I. Have. Flour. And. Eggs.

Cool.

The Recipes

Homemade Pasta

2 ¼ C flour
3 eggs
(You can stop at the above OR you can add things. See list below.)

• Make well in center of flour and add eggs.
• Incorporate with fork about half way and then begin to knead.
• Push in finger. Should come back up slightly sticky.
• Cut in half and flatten. Knead in a little more flour.
• Fold in half and put through machine at widest setting.
• Dust with flour each time and put through 3-4 times more.
• Begin to reduce setting up to #5, dusting each time.
• Let dry for a few minutes. Repeat with other half.
• Bring water to a boil
• Carefully drop in pasta.
• Cook al dente--it won't take long at all since it's fresh.

Alfredo Sauce

1 stick butter

1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups whole milk (cream is better)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup cheese (mozzarella is best)

• Melt butter.
• Gradually stir in flour to make roux.
• Add milk and stir constantly until smooth.
• Boil one minute. It should begin to thicken.
• Add the garlic powder and white pepper.
• Remove from heat and stir in cheese until smooth.
• Salt to taste.

LIST OF ADDITIONS for the pasta:

• 1-2 T of tomato paste
• 1-2 T of cooked, well-squeezed-out spinach
• Cracked Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese
• Cayenne
• Lemon Pepper
• Any other spice--just adjust according to heat level desired!

The Verdict:

Me: Delicious!

Hubby: I've actually missed pasta. We used to have it TOO much. This was great.

Week Four Meals

Overall a tasty week. My son was begging me to make the taco salad again. I told him I would soon. It certainly is versitile and healthy. Don't tell anyone, but Hubby brought a pizza home on Friday when Friday's meal ended up becoming Saturday's meal due to poor planning.

I wasn't too sad.

Leftovers are meager this weekend as we polished everything off for lunches. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that the roast ended up being Saturday's meal!

Monday: Baked beans, brown bread, salad

Tuesday: Split Pea Soup, cornbread

Wednesday: Taco Salad

Thursday: Chicken Scallopini, salad

Friday: BBQ Pulled Beef, sweet potatoes, salad

Saturday and Sunday: Leftovers

Week Four: Friday (Day 20)

Ten more meals to go! I've been thinking about where I will go after that. I still have quite a bit of meat, but I've also got a clearer idea of some basics that I didn't know I need to have on hand. I might do a "basics" grocery run and go from there.

I'll ponder that and write a post about it soon.

Tonight's meal was supposed to be BBQ Pulled Beef. Normally it's pulled pork, but I had a beef roast. It works, too. Sadly, I forgot to get it started last night when I meant to and now it won't be tonight's supper.

OK--Please don't get upset but...............Hubby is bringing home a pizza. There, I admit it. Do you forgive me?

But, TOMORROW it will be BBQ Pulled Beef! I have two crockpots, so the other will be steaming sweet potatoes (scroll down for sweet potato directions).

Here's my recipe of many years:

The Recipe

1 roast (beef or pork)
Granulated Garlic
Apple Cider Vinegar
BBQ sauce
Lots of elbow grease

• Place roast in crockpot on low.
• Sprinkle granulated garlic all over.
• Pour AC Vinegar into bottom so that it comes up about 1 inch on the roast.
• Cook overnight
• If it is cooked, it will shred easily. Continue cooking if it doesn't

Here's the part where you need the elbow grease:

• Place roast on a large platter and allow to cool down.
• Discard vinegar.
• Remove any fat pieces and layers.
• With two forks, begin to shred the beef.
• Return shredded meat to crockpot.
• Add BBQ sauce and any other seasonings (eg hot sauce).
• Turn to high and stir to heat through.

Serve with buns (or without). The vinegar gives it an extra little "kick." I've been told that it is a North Carolina specialty to use vinegar. I'm the one that added the BBQ sauce to it.

Should I name it "Roxanne Roast" or "RoxBQ"?

Or not.

Week Four: Thursday (Day 19)

I've made Chicken Scallopini before and it is delish. I'm out of jarred pasta sauce, however. I'm going to approach (with trepidation) that last can of tomato puree and see if I can coax it to become pasta sauce. It looks promising.

The Recipe

4 flattened boneless, skinless chicken pieces (I'm using tenders)
2 C pasta sauce (tomato puree--I'm scared.)
1 egg
bread crumbs
T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (out of)
slices mozzarella or Muenster cheese (I'm using Swiss)
Grated Parmesan

• Dip chicken into beaten egg, then bread crumbs until completely coated.
• In a large skillet, saute the garlic. Add the chicken and saute 4 minutes on each side.
• Top each piece with a cheese slice.
• Pour pasta sauce around chicken.
• Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Sprinkle Parmesan on top.

Homemade Pasta Sauce

I found a really nice page of pasta sauce recipes HERE. I'm going to use the Tomato Sauce with Butter recipe since I have all the ingredients.

• 28 oz. can tomato puree
• 4 oz. butter, cut into pieces
• 1 med. onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 med. carrot, peeled and quartered
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt to taste

Combine in saucepan and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove onion and carrot pieces. Serve.

The Verdict:

Me: The sauce was still "tomato-y" but passable. I probably won't use that again. The chicken was good. I ended up making it into "nuggets" because I wanted to make sure it was done and I was in a hurry. I didn't plan well and dinner was upon me sooner than I was ready for!

Hubby: I'm not a sauce guy. The chicken, however, was very moist. I wouldn't want it every week but every once in a while would be fine. The breadcrumbs were great. (I used sprouted wheat bread that I toasted and crumbled.)

Week Four: Wednesday (Day 18)

The larder is getting less full (yay!). I still have a surplus of meat but the sides are starting to get sparse. I suppose that just means I'll have to be more creative.

Confession time: I asked my husband to bring home a bag of carrots tonight. My salads are starting to depress me. I wanted to ask for more things, but I stopped myself. I really want to stick to my guns and release the hiddent ability to MAKE DO.

My grocery bill came to $8.44. My "extra" buys (bag of carrots and a baguette for the split pea soup) came to $5.00. (It's all Hubby's fault. He asked me if there was anything I wanted him to bring home from the store.)

I actually DID have salad tonight--Taco Salad. It was pretty good! Due to my limitations it wasn't as good as it COULD have been, but it definitely was nice. Someone gave us a bag of tortilla chips that were leftover at a church function last week. They came into play in this recipe. (Hubby got into them before I was able to tell him they were for tonight's supper, so half of the jar of picante is gone. Pesky, hungry hubbies...)

The Recipe

Lettuce
Cheese, shredded
Onion, diced
1 pound ground beef, cooked
1/2 jar picante sauce (see above)
tortilla chips

Directions: Toss.

I'm all "tucker tired" (as my son used to say) after making that meal.

The Verdict

Me: Not bad. Not bad at all. Who knew that taco salad is sort of a throw together sort of thing?

Hubby:

Week Four: Tuesday (Day 17)

I'm really looking forward to tonight's supper of Split Pea Soup. The recipe I found for this involved the crockpot. I heart my crockpot. The original is HERE.

The Recipe

1 16oz. bag of split green peas
4 cups stock
2 1/2 cups water
1 onion, finely diced
2 T butter
1 cup shredded yellow squash
Salt and pepper
Any other seasonings that float your boat
Bacon, fried and crumbled

• Set crockpot on high and add dried peas and the water/stock.
• Cook 4 hours.
• Saute onions in butter until translucent.
• Add shredded squash and heat through.
• Turn crockpot to low and add veggies. Cook 2 hours.
• Add seasonings.
• Top each serving with crumbled bacon or stir into pot.

I will probably make cornbread to go with this with the last of my cornmeal.

The Verdict

Me: You almost can't go wrong with this. I would have preferred ham, but this definitely hit the spot. I was very impressed with myself for adding extra veggies and having them fit right in.

Hubby: Excellent. Would have been EVEN better with smoked ham.

Week Four: Monday (Day 16)

We're having a repeat. It's easy and I actually froze the bread from the last time because we didn't eat it then! Directions are: open cans, heat, consume.

Baked Beans, Brown Bread, Salad.

Short and to the point.

Week Three: Sunday (Day 15)

I'm just a Cookin' Fool this week! After two duds (Monday and Thursday), I was in serious trouble for the weekend.

I went shopping for my minimal groceries (shopping bill came to $7.76) and was eyeing the cans of soup that were on sale. I spotted the Corn Chowder and inspiration hit! I HAVE all the ingredients (almost) for Corn Chowder!

The Recipe

4 potatoes (I was out.)
Butter
4 T flour
4 T butter
1 onion, chopped
2 T butter
4 Cups milk
1 Cup water
3 boulion cubes
4 Cans creamed corn
2 Cans whole kernal corn
20 drops of hot sauce (or to taste)
salt
pepper

• Peel and cube pototoes and cook until tender (20 minutes), set aside
• Saute onions in 2 T butter, set aside
• Make roux with 4 T butter and 4 T flour
• Slowly add milk, stirring to keep smooth
• Add water (hot) with cubes crushed in the water
• Add potatoes
• Add onions
• Add all six cans of corn
• Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper
• Put in a crockpot on low until ready to eat

I didn't have pototoes which I think would have added to the overall happiness of this meal. It was still VERY good. More hot sauce can be added in the individual dishes to increase the heat.

The Verdict:

Me: I'm so proud of myself for coming up with this one! It was definite comfort food for hardly any effort and ZERO price!

Hubby: It was really, really good--the potatoes would have made it great.