Menu Monday

minimalistmommy@gmail.com — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:00:57 GMT

Monday - Salmon patties and twice baked potatoes that were previously frozen.

Tuesday - Shepherds pie and corn casserole. I do not follow an official recipe for shepherds pie, I simply use what I have and include either cream corn, tomato soup or some other vegetable I have lying around the fridge. By doing this I keep things spicy and interesting....sad, I know.

Wednesday - Chili and cornbread with frozen apple crisp for dessert. I make up several apple crisps to freeze when there are several soft apples that I forgot in my crisper. This time of year the apples are less than stellar and the majority of them end up being used this way as opposed to being eaten as is.

Thursday - Baked spaghetti. Again this is a "fly by the seat of my pants" recipe. I toss spaghetti sauce or whatever pasta sauce I have on hand with some mixed veggies, cheese and pour into a greased casserole dish. Technically it is spaghetti but when I place it in another pan I trick my family into thinking I am super creative....they probably have caught on but they continue to humour me.

Friday - hamburgers and oven fries. I love homemade fries because I can add whatever spices we feel like on that particular night. I usually end up making two pans and seasoning some a little more zesty than the ones I prepare for the kids.

Saturday - potatoes pancakes. My Dad grew up on potato pancakes, actually they grew up on anything pancake related out of financial necessity. He makes them with grated potato's only, no flour or eggs just grilled potatoes topped with ketchup or brown sugar....I can hear the groans now.

Sunday - Oatmeal casserole. There is nothing new to the fact that whole grains are good for you, it just takes me a little longer to catch on. I have been reading and absorbing everything I can on soaking and sprouting whole grains and some of my favourite sites such as Keeper of the home and Nourishing gourmet explain in detail how some of these more complex grains have to be prepared in order to get maximum benefit. After some searching I found this recipe for baked oatmeal using regular oats which could easily be substituted for steel cut. I tweaked it up a bit to reduce the amount of sugar and oil and ultimately use steel cut oats as opposed to regular oats. I soaked 1 1/2 cups of oats in 6 cups of water and added a teaspoon of lemon juice as they suggest adding something acidic such as the juice, yogurt or kefir to neutralize acid. In the morning I drained the oats and poured them into a greased 9x13 inch greased casserole dish and topped with the following that has been previously mixed.

¾ cup applesauce

¼ cup oil

½ cup sugar

½ cup honey

3 eggs

4 t baking. powder

1 t salt

1 t cinnamon

1 cup milk

1 cup yoghurt

Bake for 40 minutes at 375. You can really add any variation to this recipe without doing much harm. Some suggest adding dried fruit and nuts in addition to adding cream or milk once cooked. My little guy could not inhale this fast enough and consumed more than a full cup of the stuff....and he did not share leftovers the next morning either.

For more great recipes and meal ideas visit Organizing Junkies site

The Organizing Blog

Menu Monday