It's summertime. The hardest decisions I have to make each week are which of the fresh produce we should eat and which I won't have room for...Tough times, huh? I did a pantry inventory last week and mean to do a freezer inventory this week and determine just how much I can put in the freezer of all this good food that's coming in right now. It's this time of year I probably eat the most 'nostalgia' foods since I grew up eating fresh garden produce and I want to cook them the way Mama and Granny and Big Mama did. Put a plate of Squash and onions, sliced tomatoes, green beans with potatoes and coleslaw made from a new head of cabbage before me and bring on the hot cornbread. I cook differently from my family in that I don't toss in a bit of bacon or ham or fatback. I will toss in a little piece of smoked turkey or a drop of liquid smoke to add that hint of flavor from my childhood without the additional fat.
For my own sake, I'm going to put down three meals for each day. I have failed to plan breakfast and supper too often and am just weary of getting caught without a plan. Nothing but a tiny bit of work to cure that bit of struggle.
Mango Orange Juice Smoothie, Morning Glory Muffins
Meatloaf, Red potatoes with lemon butter, Field Peas, Sliced Tomatoes
Leftover meatloaf will make sandwiches during the week.
Pimento Cheese Sandwich, Chips, Peach
Waffles, Turkey Sausage
Chicken Curry, Rice, Tomato and Cucumber Raita, Steamed Broccoli, Naan
As near as I can tell from the recipe, raita is a traditional accompaniment to Curry, and is basically a yogurt dressed salad.
Peanut Butter, Turkey Bacon and Lettuce Sandwiches
If you haven't tried this, do. I got this sandwich idea from my favorite old cookbook and it's really quite good.
Breakfast Burritos with Pico de Gallo
Macaroni and Cheese, Garlic Green Beans, Fried Squash slices, Tossed Salad
Meat loaf Sandwiches, Watermelon Slices
Peanut butter toast with peaches
Roasted Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Fried Green Tomatoes, Cabbage Salad
The cabbage salad is shredded cabbage, diced fresh tomatoes, diced fresh green peppers with a mayonnaise dressing. It's different from coleslaw and tastes so fresh.
BLTs, Yogurt
Breakfast Sausage Strata, Fruit Cups
Strawberries, Blueberries, Cantaloupe and Peaches in the fruit cups. The strata will use up bread end pieces I've got in the freezer.
Beef Kebabs with Peppers and Onions, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans, Wedge Salads
Leftover rice will be used to make the pilaf.
Egg Salad sandwiches, Chips
Egg Bread, Fruit Parfait
Have you had egg bread? Pioneer Woman makes them for her family and it's good for a change of pace. Cut a hole from the center of a slice of bread. Place in a pan with melted butter, crack an egg into the hole and brown. Flip and brown the other side.
Stuffed Peppers, Succotash, Sliced Tomatoes, Ice Cream Cones
Homemade crust with a little olive oil, oregano and garlic topped with thin slices of zucchini, onion, tomato and cheese. It's a nice change up of the usual pizza and tastes so fresh and good.
Turkey Salad Sandwiches, Sliced Melon
Cinnamon rolls and Sausage balls
Burgers on the grill, Corn on Cob, Fixings plate (cheese, lettuce, onion rings, tomato slices, pickles), Dessert (undetermined at this time)
Leftovers
I feel good about all I got done last week. This list is a short one compared to all that I did do. The master bedroom and bath got a full on wall to wall deep cleaning as did the laundry closet and the kitchen sitting area. I've made a good start today, bleaching kitchen counter tops and deep cleaning the floors, taking down the shelf above the stove and cleaning the back-splash and shelf there. I think I'm done for a couple of hours now.
Last Week:
Touch up the furniture paint here and there.
Paint the back door a fresh coat of white.
I also want to:
Make up a few more batches of cookie dough for freezer and perhaps freeze a dozen cupcakes which are always handy to have.
This week:
Deep clean the living and dining areas (it's all one big room). This involves:
Cleaning fans
Washing curtains
Dusting walls
Removing books and dusting then reorganizing them
Culling a few more items and trying to better organize surfaces and undercover
I would also like to:
Bake Challah
Get cookie dough prepared for freezer
Prepare a special cake or dessert for July 4th
Grill out on July 4th even if it is just the two of us. It's John's last holiday at home this year and I want to celebrate and enjoy.
5 comments:
Mmm, my mouth is watering just imagining your vegetable platter. Yum!!
My mom learned to make eggs in a basket (egg cooked in hole in a slice from a bread) from her cousin, she cooked them for us and I cooked them so often for my children when they at home, I had an electric griddle and could cook 8 at a time.
PB and bacon? That is a new one, I used to like butter, brown sugar and peanut butter, Jeff likes PB and maple syrup and my stepson used to eat PB and mustard sandwiches.
We called egg bread, egg in the hole when we were growing up. I have heard other names for it too. I love the buttery toasty 'hole' piece as it is like the desert! Thank you for explaining more of your recipes. They are basic to you but new to me. I am trying to think and make some extra meals for the freezer too. I used to do this but have not done much of it far too long. I do recook hamburger and such to have it ready for quick biscuits and gravy or tacos or whatever but many of the extras I used to do have gone to the way side. I better rev up my thinking again! Especially with the hot weather. During hot spells I could just do with a yoghurt for supper but hubby would not appreciate that. So wether I want it or not I need to cook a full meal. Freezer meals to the rescue! :)
We are enjoying all the summer fruits and veggies too. Especially the fruits! I have dried some of the extras I knew would be wasted. I did not have time to make jams and the freezer is pretty full yet. I hope to find your recipe for the corn off the cob you freeze. You just mentioned it again recently. This time I will write it on a recipe card! :-) The corn has been so sweet and special this year. Last year it was not as good at all. The garden was planted late so we are just now getting veggies from it. Our peach tree did not even leaf out till it should have had peaches on it already. This spring was very odd.
I wrote a comment the other day and it said I made it too long and I kept erasing paragraph. One after the other till it finally said it was 'short' enough to post! So better quit on this! LOL LOL Sarah
Now that we have Jess and the boys living here, I really need to plan all three meals each day for us. One more thing to work on, but won't beat myself up if I don't get to it until next week.
I call the egg bread "toad in a hole" since that's how I learned it. We never had it as kids, but I do make it once in awhile for the boys. That may well be breakfast tomorrow!
We used to call the eggs cooked in a hole in the bread, Toad in a Hole. I still like them that way.
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