Meal Plan for 2nd Half of September

Meal Plan 2nd Half of September (2 weeks)

Per the last post meal plan for first half of september, I do things in threes with the exception of lunch to cut down on my time in the kitchen as much as possible. So, if you are seeing something three times, you are seeing it right! :)
Why do I meal plan?
I truly believe it matters what I feed my family.  Nutrient dense foods such as beans and lentils, organic meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and whole grains are what I believe our bodies crave.  Whole foods are free of additives, preservatives, food dyes, chemicals, and are in their original state.   You find whole foods by shopping the outer parts of the grocery store.  I find that if I do not plan, we eat junk, or I run to the store too many times making my grocery budget astronomical.  Have I mentioned how much I like Aldi?! Planning enables me to go to the store little cutting my bill significantly and enables me to feed my family well.  As mentioned in the last post, we try to eat clean 80% of the time. 
Is meal planning easy? 
No and yes.  No, in that I have to be proactive and set aside time to think- not something I can wing or do last minute.  Yes, in that I know what we are having and when we are having it.  There is no scrounging for dinner at the last minute for the most part.  Food is already bought and ready to be made; or better yet, if I doubled or tripled a recipe in the past, I simply pull it out of my freezer!
How to make the daunting task of meal planning a little easier?
Gather recipes you like and put them in a folder on your computer or inbox or a place in your kitchen.  Maybe a folder for ones you like and ones you want to try?   Once you have the recipes you like and want to try gathered, it is so much easier.  You don't have to spend time searching sites unless you just want to.  Next comes the fun part!  Grab a cup of tea and sit down one evening and choose the ones you want for each day and make a grocery list.  I think the whole process takes me 1 hour now.  Then I shop.
Do I do it perfectly?
Heck no!  There are nights I get off, etc.  It is a plan, but plans can easily be broken if we need a night out or get together with friends, or illness hits. 
How much time does it take?
Clearly, it varies, but I find if I make in bulk, freeze when can, stay off social media too much (I waste way too much time here!), listen to music,or enlist a child to help, the time goes quickly and our bellies thank us. 
Certain Ingredients can get expensive: There are many times I leave off ingredients or alter ingredients based on what I have and what my budget looks like.   So for example, if a recipe calls for artichoke hearts and I am running low on money remaining in my budget, I leave it off. 

Breakfasts

Greek yogurt parfaits (3 breakfasts)
layer yogurt, fresh fruit, and top with homemade granola

Egg, bacon, avocado wraps (3 breakfasts)
I will make all the wraps on the first day and then put in fridge and pull out on subsequent days.  Each day, I will put wraps in a fry pan with coconut oil to fry it and then insert avocado pieces. 

Crock Pot Oatmeal (3 breakfasts)

1 cup steel cut oats

4 cups water

1 medium apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

2 TBSP maple syrup

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup whole milk or half and half or other milk substitute

Grease the bowl of your slow cooker with butter.

Add all ingredients and stir well.

Cover and set slow cooker to low.

Cook for 8-9 hours overnight.

In the morning, stir contents of slow cooker well. 

Topping suggestions:

Brown sugar

Blueberries

Toasted almonds or other nuts

Dried fruit

Butter

Milk

Note:  We found the oatmeal to be really good by adding local honey, blueberries, and almonds on top.

Pepper, fried egg, and bacon (3 breakfasts)- my sista's idea
Cook a pepper in the oven on 350 for about 15-20 min, cook a couple eggs per person, and put strips of bacon on top!  Add cheese if you like. 

Refrigerator Oatmeal (2 breakfasts)

Basic Recipe:

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add remaining ingredients and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

*Add to above recipe to make it blueberry maple:
2 teaspoons maple syrup (more or less to taste)
1/4 cup blueberries (or enough to fill jar)

Lunches
(All the lunch recipes and pictures come from my sister's blog http://www.thisdailykitchen.blogspot.com/...she really is a gifted cook and writer!  Sister, please keep posting recipes, pretty please!)

Grilled Cheese with Spinach, Garlic, and Artichoke  (5 lunches)

Ingredients:
 several handfuls of fresh spinach leaves, washed
one can of artichoke hearts, drained
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 c cheese of your choice (I used mozzarella and Monterrey jack)
3 TBSP sour cream (a lot of times I leave out and it is still great)
butter or coconut oil
6 slices of whole wheat bread or corn tortillas or whole wheat wraps
salt and pepper, to taste
 To do:

• Prep the ingredients: mince the garlic, wash the spinach, drain and roughly chop the artichoke hearts, grate your cheese, butter / coconut oil each of the slices of bread, melt a little bit of butter  or coconut oil (a couple tablespoons) in your skillet.
• Very briefly sauté the garlic in the melted butter before adding your spinach. Once the spinach begins to wilt, add the artichoke hearts, heating all the ingredients through. 
• Drain any juices from your pan, and place the veggies in a bowl, adding about 3 TBSP of sour cream to bind the ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Stuff your sandwiches: layer cheese, the veggie mixture, some more cheese, and place the sandwiches in your skillet until the bread is browned on both sides and the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately. 

Recipe from A Couple Cooks blog

Balsamic Chicken Salad (4 lunches)

by Catherine Elder

Ingredients: Balsamic vinegar
olive oil
fresh garlic (one clove per breast, minced)
crushed rosemary
salt and pepper
chicken breasts, pick your number (boneless skinless or bone-in)

Favorite Salad Toppers:

blueberries and strawberries

or 

apples and raisins/craisins

feta/blue cheese/goat cheese 

pecans/almonds/walnuts

Balsamic vinaigrette/Red wine vinaigrette

For the chicken: 
Place the chicken breasts in a casserole dish and lightly coat them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Rub your garlic onto the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with crushed rosemary.
Bake at 350 approximately 45 minutes or until your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees.
Once cooked, allow to cool slightly and then slice. Dredge each slice in the juices in the bottom of the pan for all those flavors that are too good to be missed.
*If you need another option, serve chicken with potatoes or veggies.  This is so moist and tastes like more!

A Very Veggie Sandwich (5 days)


1/3 c mayo

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBSP lemon or lime juice

1/4 to 1/2 c balsamic vinegar

1/8 c olive oil

2 green peppers, chopped (or red, yellow, or orange!)

2 zucchini (and/or squash)

1 purple onion

feta cheese (1/2 to 1 c)

pesto (about 2 TBSP-- really, it just depends how much you like it). 

6 buns

Slice the veggies and soak in the balsamic vinegar for at least 30 minutes. While the veggies are soaking, whip up your garlicky (is that a word?) lemon mayo by combining the lemon/lime juice, minced garlic, and mayo in a small bowl.

Slice your buns in half and spread the garlic lemon mayo on each side. On one side add a layer of feta and on the other spread as much pesto as you please. Leave the buns open-faced, and place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until good and toasty. Layer the sautéed vegetables atop and assemble your sandwich. The leftovers are every bit as good! 

Tip: If making your own pesto and buns, make the pesto the evening before as it keeps very well in the fridge.  With a food processor, it took me about 10 minutes total. .

Pesto recipe:

Combine the following in the food processor:
2 c fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
1/3 c pine nuts
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
While processing, add approximately 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil. 
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bun recipe:

2 TBSP dry active yeast
1 cup plus 2 TBSP warm water that is approximately 110-ish degrees (here's just one more reason that I love and adore my meat thermometer...I don't kill you by serving you salmonella, and I don't kill the yeast by burning it to death)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I subbed coconut oil)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus some for your work surface (here I subbed in some whole wheat flour)
In a medium sized bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warmed water. Then add the oil and sugar and let sit for five minutes. When time is up, go ahead and add your egg, salt, and flour and form a ball of dough with your hands, adding more flour as necessary. On a floured surface, knead the dough for 3-5 minutes until smooth. Do NOT let rise, but divide into 12 pieces. Roll each of these into a ball and place about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Cover and let the rolls rest for 10 minutes. And magic happens.
Bake at 425 for 8-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.
40 minutes have now passed, and you have homemade busy buns. not bad. in fact, quite excellent.
Adapted from Taste of Home

Dinners

Garlic and Lemon Chicken with Red Potatoes and Green Beans (3 meals)

Ingredients: 5 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tbs lemon juice or the juice of one lemon, 4 cloves garlic-minced, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 ts pepper, 3/4 lb green beans, 8 small red potatoes- sliced, 4 chicken breasts cut in half (8 halves so that the breasts are thin) or chicken legs or bone in chicken breasts

Line pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil
mix 5 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and combine with green beans and potatoes, and chicken
*We love the sauce, so I always double it.....and make sure well mixed with chicken, potatoes, and green beans

Preheat oven to 400
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, cover and leave in the oven another 10 minutes with oven off

Beef with brown rice and broccoli (3 meals)

1 lb round steak or deer meat

4 tbsp. soy sauce

2tbsp sugar

4 tbsp. coconut oil

2 green onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced
Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, garlic, and onions in a large bowl and set aside. 
Cut steak or venison into strips and add to bowl.  Cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours.  Cook in wok or frying pan until done. 

Note: Many a time, I will buy the meat, chop it up, and marinate while in freezer, so when I pull it out, all I have to do is put it in the wok.
Additional options: If eating multiple nights in a row, you could add a bell pepper or two to the meat mixture and serve in a wrap  with guacamole and cheese or put the meat on a bed of greens. 

Spinach and Feta pie bake (a recipe my mama shared with me) (3 dinners)

1 9 inch unbaked pie crust (fresh or frozen), tbs olive oil, 1 onion, 1 lb fresh spinach, 2 eggs, 1 cup half and half or whole milk, 1 tsp. lemon zest, 1 tsp. chopped thyme leaves, 6 ounces feta cheese, 8 ounces swiss cheese or cheese of your choice

Skillet fry the veggies then add to whisk egg and milk, thyme, etc. and bake at 375 for 40 minutes

Pizza Night (once every weekend- 2 dinners)

*add in basil, oregano, Italian seasoning to dough

 top dough with sauce, mozzarella cheese, and toppings  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe.html

The Most Amazing Soup EVER: Creamy Red Lentil and Kale Soup (don't let name fool you!) (3 dinners)

http://thehealthyfamilyandhome.com/creamy-red-lentil-and-kale-soup/
My littlest people asked for seconds!  The baby licked her bowl!