Menu Plan

In the past, I've balked at menu planning. I felt it would be too restrictive, or something, and, because I wouldn't be using up my leftovers, it wouldn't be cost efficient.

I started using a menu plan this school year, and so far it's working great. There's quite a bit of flexibility worked into the schedule, but at the same time it's nice having guidelines. I especially like having lunches planned out, instead of trying to rely on whatever leftovers might be around.

Here's my schedule:

Breakfasts:

Monday - Oatmeal; Tuesday - Egg Dish; Wednesday - Pancakes; Thursday - Eggs, Bacon or Sausage & Toast; Friday - Smoothies & Peanut Butter Toast; Saturday - Sweet (Cinnamon rolls - it's my bread baking day or coffee cake or custard); Sunday - Leftovers or Cereal

Lunch:

Monday - Creamed Tuna on Toast; Tuesday - Beans & Rice; Wednesday - Rice Cooker Mac & Cheese; Thursday - Leftovers; Friday - Crackers w/ cheese, hummus, spinach dip; Saturday - Leftovers or Sandwiches; Sunday - Leftovers or Sandwiches

Supper:

Monday - Soup or Leftovers; Tuesday - Wraps; Wednesday - Whatever (pork, ethnic, etc.); Thursday - Italian; Friday - Seafood; Saturday - Mexican; Sunday - Roast (beef, pork or chicken)

I also have notes on my plan for when I have to prepare foods ahead, set up bread, pancakes or yogurt, etc.

It's only been a few weeks, but so far I've found it helpful. I've tweeked it a few times already, and I'm sure I'll continue to do so. We'll probably be ready for a different lunch rotation in a few months, too.

Cream Cheese Pancakes

This recipe is very similar to the Cottage Pancakes I posted previously. I prefer these to the cottage cheese ones. I'll have to try to remember to have either jam out or a fruit sauce prepared to serve with them.

These portions were barely enough for 4 of us. I think I'll at least double it next time.

Cream Cheese Pancakes

Whip 2 egg whites and set aside.

In separate bowl or blender, blend together:
4 oz. Cream cheese
2 egg yolks
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. cinnamon
Sweetener of your choice, if desired (I didn't use any)

Fold egg whites into cream cheese mixture. Cook on hot griddle.

Breakfast Pizza

We had this egg dish the other morning for breakfast. I'll post the original recipe first, then add my revisions.

Egg Pizza

4 oz. softened cream cheese
4 eggs
1/3 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
1 T. chives
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 t. chopped garlic
1/2 c. tomato or pizza sauce
1 c. mozzarella cheese, for topping
Additional toppings to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Beat together cream cheese and eggs until smooth (I used a blender). Add cream, parmesan cheese and spices.

Grease a 13 x 9 pan, spread 2 c. shredded cheese in dish and pour egg mixgture over.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven.

Spread with sauce, add toppings and cheese. Bake until brown and bubbly.
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I was certain I had a can of tomato sauce in the cupboard, but I didn't. And I didn't realize that until I had pulled the crust out of the oven. So, I plopped a tomato in the blender, along with some pepperoni and parmesan cheese to thicken it up. It worked pretty well. I also had used up all of my mozzarella cheese on the crust before realizing I would need some for on top. So, I sprinkled some more parmesan on top.

Madeline and I both really like this, and I think Dave liked it heated up the next morning. Grace & Henry weren't that enthused. I think they would have liked it better if they hadn't had to taste the pepperoni in the sauce. Next time, I'll probably have half with just black olives, and half with some more interesting toppings.

A Couple of Peachy Ideas

This year, we bought 2 bushels of peaches. I froze a bunch of them as slices. I also froze a bunch as puree. I peeled and pitted them, then plopped them in the blender. I blended them, and then added enough apple juice to make 2 cups puree. I would estimate 1 1/2 c. of the mixture was peaches, the other 1/2 cup was juice. I froze the puree flat in freezer bags.

One recipe I use the puree for is a Peach Frosty. Put 1 c. cottage cheese in blender. Add 1 c. plain yogurt, and blend until smooth. Add slightly defrosted puree and blend. (You might decide to add a sweetener of your choosing.) If the puree is still cold enough, this will have the consistency of a Wendy's Frosty. I serve them in tea cups with a spoon. Sometimes we have this for breakfast, and sometimes we have this as a dessert.

I also have made smoothies using 1 bag of puree, 1 can of coconut milk, and maybe a cup of yogurt and some honey. This smoothie goes over well with everyone.

Cornbread

Last night we had sweet corn as part of our supper. As Dave was grilling the cobs, I started getting a craving for custard cornbread. It sounded like a good way to used up any leftover corn, plus I somehow ended up with 5 gallons of milk in an already packed refrigerator, so I needed a recipe to use that up as well.

So, I googled a few recipes and tweaked them. We had delicious cornbread for breakfast. Except, we didn't have any leftover corn to put in it and I only ended up using 1 c. of milk.

Here's what I did:

Mix together and let sit overnight:

1 1/2 c. cornmeal
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. evaporated cane juice
4 T. butter
1 c. water
2 T. buttermilk

In the morning, blend in until smooth:

1 c. milk
2 eggs

Add, just until mixed:

1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

I baked it at 350 in a 10 x 6 pan for about 35 minutes.

It wasn't exactly custardy, but it was nice and moist. We also had peaches with it because, well, we're having peaches with everything these days.

I found a more custardlike cornbread recipe using coconut milk. I hope to try it in the not-too-distant future.

Boiled Eggs In The Rice Cooker!

So, I was able to replace my rice cooker with an older model, National Brand 10 c. cooker ($4.99 at Goodwill - it took almost a dozen thrift store trips to find a decent one). It works pretty well, although the rice seems to get darker on the bottom than it did in my last cooker.

As I was looking around on the internet for information on National (a division of Panasonic) rice cookers, I came across an interesting hint. When you're cooking rice, or whatever, you can add eggs along with it, right on top, to get hard boiled eggs. I tried an egg and it worked. I think I'll like this trick especially for when I make oatmeal in the rice cooker, and want to have some added protein along with it.