I'm late, I know. I just couldn't seem to settle my mind to thinking of meals...and oh does it show in my household because I haven't cooked a thing since I made breakfast Friday morning! Yep, as we were getting ready to come home. It's been scratchin' about and coming up with much of nothing the past two days. Time to get myself pulled back up into routines, planning meals and preparing foods from scratch and grocery shopping. You know, real life stuff. Yup.
We bought a rotisserie chicken for Sunday dinner and a pint container of potato salad. I do need to make a trip to the meat market but that will come later in the week. I noticed the discount grocer in the next town, the one where I found that bulk package of Tennessee Pride Turkey Sausage patties, has whole chickens for $.89pound...of course, I have to add $.9 or 10%, which really makes them $.98/pound but I'll be saving nearly $.80 a pound off the best price at the meat market. These chickens are not guaranteed antibiotic free but they are Carageenan free. I plan to buy about 10 whole chickens. That's one start on building my meats back up.
But I don't really need to plan shopping just yet, which is where my mind wants to go. No, I need desperately to plan meals, so let's us tackle that right now before I travel off down another rabbit trail and forget my whole purpose. All week long the forecast says it shall be 90F...That's hot but not unbearable and it's perfectly seasonable here.
Tuna Pasta Salad, Saltines, Lime Cottage Puddings
I always have used just what we had in the crisper in my pasta salad. Sometimes we have peppers and sometimes we have none. I think I have a bit of green pepper in the crisper this time, certainly I have carrots and onions and celery. Black olive slices are always a nice addition, too. I also have some limes I have been keeping in water for the past two months or so. I want to use up those limes and get some fresh ones. I think making the cottage pudding with the lime juice and zest will be tasty. My recipe makes just enough for four I think. I'll have to dig that one out of the binder where I keep my recipes.
Roast Beef, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Peas, Fruit Cocktail
The roast is smaller but will do nicely for a meal and enough over for sandwiches for supper later in the week.
Club Salads, Cheese Toast Points, Leftover Cottage Pudding
I'll cook some turkey bacon, slice half the breast from the rotisserie chicken we had for Sunday dinner and make up salads for our meal today. I hope at this point to also have tomatoes but if not, then we'll do without.
Chicken Pot Pie, Pineapple Salad
I'll use the second half of that cooked breast meat to make a small pot pie for us. A cold crisp Pineapple salad next to the hot pie will be a nice contrast. I'll add a full compliment of vegetables to the pot pie.
Shish Kebabs, Rice, Roasted Asparagus, Strawberries and Cream
I have a sirloin steak I plan to cut into meaty cubes for the shish kebab. I hope to pick up some fresh produce while at the discount grocers but if I find money is tight, I can skip it and use an onion and peppers from the freezer. And the Berries and cream can become a box of instant pudding with crumbled cookies atop.
Creamy Chicken Noodles, Green Beans, Green Salad, Muffins
I'll use the carcass and any tidbits of meat from the rotisserie chicken to make up this dish. I may toss in a can of drained mushrooms just to add a little more meatiness to the dish without actually using any more meat. I'm going to try to keep the dish light but it begins to seem heavy to me I'll skip the muffins. That should be the last of that chicken.
Well that's meals...Now to get on to planning work...which is still up in the air because really I don't know if we'll be home every day or all days. Meals may vary from what is planned to picnic fare.
Jobs This Week
The pansies are done. I need to take them up from the strawberry jar and put in petunias or something.
Start work on front porch...I need to shop, oh how I need to shop! Wonder if I can manage that this week at all? The front porch must be painted, as well as the furniture.
Make a third pair of shorts out of old pants.
Tag more items for booth and take them to town to put out.
Linen trunk must be straightened up.
Paint cupboard has yet to be sorted out. That's on my list as well.
Minor grocery shop. Chicken tops that list but I do need to pick up a few other items as well.
7 comments:
1. 90 is HOT to me. I told hubby last week I wanted to live somewhere it is 70 year round.
2. What's the deal with limes in water?
3. I saw a post on a coupon site the other day for turkey sausage for $1.25 and thought 'I wonder if Terri saw that?' :)
4. When I asked my family if they wanted to try cheese and peanut butter sandwiches, they declined.
I am working hard on using up all the perishables in my fridge before we leave here on Wed morning for 11 days. When we return home at the end of the month it will be time to restock everything. It is still in the 60's in Boston where we are headed and it is going to be a welcome relief from the southern heat. My biggest task before leaving is trying to pull together the right clothing to pack for all sorts of weather without overdoing it and packing everything I own.
I don't think we've hit 90 here in Oklahoma yet which is somewhat unusual but today's been close at 84. We've had a lot of storms and rain lately which has kept the temps lower for longer. That's been a welcome relief from the norm and we've needed all the rain!
Reading your menu mentioning had me questioning what Lime Cottage Puddings are. I did a Google search and came across an old newspaper clipping recipe that described it as sort of a cake type thing. Just curious!
Also you mentioned pineapple so I thought I'd share my reuse recipe involving pineapple this week. I splurged on a fresh pineapple last week and also had the last bits of a few strawberries and blueberries in the fridge (I love blueberries in my yogurt for breakfast). I made a lovely fruit salad of it for Saturday. It didn't get eaten as much as I'd hoped. Yesterday I was looking for a non-chocolate dessert since our youngest daughter was over for lunch and she's newly allergic to chocolate. I had a pound cake and thought - hey why not make a fruit compote out of the fruit salad!? It was wonderful and took juts 5 minutes to throw together. It was a stretch for me because I've never used pineapple that way before but it was sure delicious!
My work list this week involves continuing the declutter process and this weekend spending some time moving furniture around. Since we have an empty bedroom (youngest daughter moved out on Mother's Day), I am turning it into our Holy of Holies that will have a lovely devotional area and a study feel. I think I mentioned that before but that's my big chore for the Memorial weekend.
My what a great price for chicken! I don't think I've seen chicken at that low of a price around here in a LONG time. I need to start paying better attention as I regain my frugal ways!
Just came across something else I wanted to share! Was just browsing my Google+ feed and saw Food Network list a recipe for Sweet & Saltines. I think they got it from you. I've never seen that before your blog. LOL You're inspiring the nation, Terri!
A bit off this post subject but I wanted to add something. The subject of protein in our diets came up in back post. I recently bought a used copy of the revised 1975 issue of the book Diet For a Small Plane.
It is chock full of information of non meat proteins. The science of it and recipes. They may have an even newer update than this 1975 one as this one still advocates using only a bit of eggs when they were still thinking we should curtail much use of them. There are though many pages of information on how much protein{complete or not} each veggie or such has and as I said tons of information.This one also uses prices for foods in 1975 and we know that has changed! :-) That was when the average women weighed 128 lbs. and men 154 too!
This book is written by Frances Moore Lappe. This book also mentions in the back other books to read on the subject. It is not a vegetarian cookbook but mainly about getting protein from foods. I liked the recipe ideas. Ellen Ewald wrote a companion book on the use of complementary protein recipes called Recipes for a Small Planet too in 1973. I don't know if it was ever updated at all. I will check Amazon later on them.
Now I need to actually read this post as I realized just now it is new!!! What fun!!!!! :-) Sarah
We had a frost last night. I was out covering peonies and iris that are just in the bud stage. I'll be planting marigolds today. Hopefully, that was our last frost but one never knows. I'll take cooler over hotter any day. God put me in the perfect place! Smile.
Made my menu for May, but so far I've changed it out due to being gone or it being too cold for what I'd planned. Kids will be here this week and then we're gone for a wedding this weekend and May is almost gone!!! Oh my.
Hubs and I took out our deck getting the space ready for a new one. Good thing! It was so rotten underneath, we could have fallen through it. Our contractor will be here around the first of June for one more house update and then we are good. So thankful for all we've done in the past 4 years. I love my home and yard. God has been so good to us. Pam
Terri, How do you keep limes in water? Just submerge in a jar or something? And this keeps them from drying out? Never heard of this- you really can teach an old housewife something new. haha Angela
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