Monday, January 28, 2013

Menu Plan: Winter (Jan. 27 - Feb 2)



    Hubby gave me two new cookbooks (pictured below on left) for my birthday. The Better Homes cookbook has some really nice educational elements to it. Cooking to me is not just producing an edible dish, but also being knowledgeable about the characteristics of the ingredients and the techniques for assembling them. The second cookbook by Betty Crocker is  also educational in my opinion but in a different way. I enjoy books like this in how they demonstrate how to use an ingredient several ways and economical options for ingredients or dishes. My biggest complaint about typical "budget" meals is that they are usually loaded with convenience/packaged/processed ingredients. This particular book doesn't seem to have that emphasis. For the few meals that do incorporate that type of ingredient I can continue to find real food substitutions like normal. 
    My other favorite cooking book is by Taste of Home (pictured below on right). This book is phenomenal in teaching how to pair meals of similar ingredients in a way that you're ingredients are used up but you're not eating the same thing all week.
     I highly recommend these books for learning how to properly plan a menu and cook economically! 



Breakfasts
- Egg Sandwich (scrambled eggs &  cheddar cheese on toast), grapefruit
- Winter Oatmeal (oats, diced apple, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, drizzle honey)
- Egg & Veggie Omelet (eggs, swiss cheese, diced tomato, sliced mushrooms, diced bell pepper, S &P to taste), toast, orange
- Toast with peanut butter and diced apples 

Lunches
- Creamy Penne with bacon,  mushrooms and spinach (I made a dish with these ingredients once before and it was delicious. Of course, I have no clue where the recipe went or what else goes in the dish other than four ingredients. I'll just create as I go. :)
- Repeat shephard's pie meal
- Multi-bean soup (Our pantry container for beans is overflowing. A multi-bean soup will help take care of some of the excess)
- Spaghetti squash with spaghetti (Spaghetti squash spaghetti is typically done with just the vegetable, but we're going to add some pasta noodles to it as well to make it a little more filling.)
- Veggie "cheesesteak" sandwiches (We're doing a take on the Philly cheesesteak sandwich. However, instead of the steak we're using sliced portabello mushrooms), sweet potato fries

Dinners
- Shephard's Pie (using leftover meatloaf from Friday's meal)
-Chicken and Rice Skillet (One dish meal that is good for when time is short)
-Fish Tacos with homemade guacamole and slaw
-Repeat bean soup meal
-Veggie Calzones
Snacks
- Almonds
-Carrots
-Yogurt
-celery with peanut butter
-Cottage cheese with strawberries
-Banana with peanut butter
-Cheese slices
-Roasted chickpeas (seasoned with cumin, paprika and cayenne)
-Remaining birthday cake from last week. (yum!)




*Note: Reviving Homemaking is not affiliated with Better Homes & Garden, Betty Crocker or Taste of Home and was not asked to include or recommend them or their recipes in this post. (I simply like what they have to offer!)

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