Meals From Scratch Meal Planning - June 2012

One of the most gruelling tasks for me following a from scratch lifestyle has actually been the meal planning.  I mean, it takes considerable effort sometimes to plan the meals out in which we are going to eat. After that, I have to create my shopping list, and then I have to buy the groceries and find time to cook everything.  In my house, we eat 6 times a day which while good for you makes planning and shopping time consuming at times! 

Pinterest has become my friend as of late, because it has given me fresh new ideas for summer and reminded me of some old recipes that I know. 

I am clearing out my stock of some things that I have in my pantry and I have planned out my meals for June.  I challenge everyone to do the same and to start a from scratch lifestyle this summer.  I will post my meal plan, weekly shopping list, recipes, etc., and the bulk of the work will be done for you.  All you have to do is go to the grocery store to buy the groceries (something you have to do anyway) and make the meals (making everything from scratch might be a little more time consuming, but I am planning meals which mostly you can prepare and cook in one day and then freeze/refrigerate and reheat for the week).  If this seems like a lot of work, grab a neighbor or friend.  It makes the time go by faster and the extra hand in the kitchen is always a plus. 

I will be grabbing my neighbor and good friend Angie this summer.  We are going to try and bake our bread, make and prepare our snacks and meals for the week on Mondays - which I have also conveniently dubbed crockpot day! 

So, clean out your kitchen this week, and get ready for a from scratch summer with me!  I promise you will feel better if you do it!  I will post in the next couple of days the 1st weeks' meal plan, shopping list and recipes. 

5 Minute Homemade Salsa: Secret Ingredient - Hungarian Wax Pepper

The Hungarian Wax Pepper, is a wonderful pepper.  Although it looks a lot like a Banana Pepper, it is hardly the same.  The to easiest way to tell a Banana Pepper from a Hungarian Wax Pepper, other than tasting it, is the tip of the pepper.  The Hungarian Wax Pepper is rounded.  As far as flavor goes, it is considered a mild-hot pepper, not a sweet pepper like the Banana Pepper.  This guy, about 6 inches in length, is the secret ingredient to my homemade salsa (recipe below).  

Salsa:

3 cans petite diced tomatoes OR 4 cups diced Roma tomatoes
1 Hungarian Wax Pepper
3 jalapenos
1/2 Yellow Onion
6 leaves fresh Cilantro
3-4 cloves garlic
garlic salt, to taste

Dice the peppers, onion and cilantro.  Mince the garlic.  Add all the ingredients to the tomato, then add garlic salt to taste.  

The Magical Fruit - Beans

I can bake and cook a lot of things, but beans has never been one of them.  Thanks to my WONDERFUL neighbor, Angie, I now know how to prepare beans.  Her recipe, below, was a big hit...

2 bags of beans (or a couple cans)
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce (or make your own - I use Roma tomatoes to make my own)
1 bunch cilantro
Water

Brown the chopped onion and garlic.  Remove from heat and put in blender with Cilantro.  Blend until smooth.  Place blended mixture, tomato sauce and beans in crockpot and add just enough water to cover.  Cook on low heat for 8 - 9 hours.

I made this, froze what I thought I wasn't going to use this week and had to go get more out!  My boys ate them up after I informed them that beans make them fart.  They think farting is was the best thing ever, so they kept asking for more!  Gotta love boys - well, at least I do, because I have 4 of them now, sigh! ;) 

Things to take from this week - neighbors and friends are always a great source of information and if you inform your young male children their vegetables will make them fart, they will eat them!  LOL!!!

Our Local Co-op

Like most parents, I’m sure you too try to eat healthy and lead a healthy lifestyle and provide great healthy meals for your family, on a budget.  I've been talking to neighbors and friends lately about the co-op I belong to, because I love it so much.  As it turns out, few people know that we even have a local co-op, so I thought I'd dedicate a blog post to it (I know I've mentioned it in passing too, but it is more than worthy of an entire blog post).

The Neighborhood Garden doesn't have any sign-up fees (the "fee" is the donation of 2 reusable grocery bags), it's flexible - you don't have to order every week, it's inexpensive and there is always a great selection of ORGANIC produce!!  Oh, and if you can't make it to pick-up (I pick up at Durbin Creek Elementary on Monday at 5p), in some locations you can have it delivered for an extra $5 (I did this when I was working). 

This past Monday I received the following (a full-bag) for $33 (half bags are also available):

6oz Blueberries

2 Tangelos

3 Peaches

1 bunch Bananas (about 3 pounds)

2 Alexander Lucas Pears

Green Leaf Lettuce

5 Yukon Gold Potatoes

Green Peppers

Broccoli

1lb. Carrots

2 Roma Tomatoes

2 Yellow Onions

I also ordered the following:

3lb. bag Fuji Apples $5.50

Pineapple $4.50

We use the fruit for breakfast and snacks.  I am eating salads for lunch, and as you can see above, I have two vegetables for the week. 

This may be for you, and it may not, but I wanted to share.  Oh, and feel free to spread the word, because not only do I think it's a great deal (my grocery bill has decreased and I'm making healthier food choices, like salad) , but each week at least 3 families in need receive a free bag of fresh produce! 

If you're not one of my local friends, I strongly encourage seeing if you have a local co-op or even starting one of your own!  It's well worth it! 

Summer Veggies

It has been a little while since I last blogged.  As you all can tell from my "announcements" that I posted, I had a baby.  That left little time for blogging.  Mason is two months old now, so although we are still sleepless, we are falling into a little bit more of a normal routine.

Now that it's summer, there are so many WONDERFUL VEGGIES, which is great, because I've decided to go vegetarian.  As much as I love the taste of meat, I think I felt better not eating it.  I don't want to "torture" (that's what my husband calls it) the rest of my family by not including meat at dinner time, but I am determined to add more vegetables to everyone's diet - especially the kid's.

One of my favorite summer vegetables is yellow squash.  Thus far, I have breaded and fried them, but a healthier option is to make Squash Tots.  The best part about Squash Tots is they are kid approved.

This basically is a twist on my zucchini pancakes, and it compliments barbeque dishes very well.

Squash Tots

1 squash, grated
1 potato grated
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste (I also add a little garlic and onion powder)

Preheat oven to 400F.  Grate the zucchini and potato then place in a dish towel to squeeze out the excess water.  In a bowl combine, the egg, onion, cheese, bread crumbs, zucchini, potato, salt and pepper. Grease a mini muffin pan.  Fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the top is brown.

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