Weekly menu October 28 - November 3

Our diet has been trending more toward a typical Western diet, and a recent medical visit caught some issues--issues that were previously resolved by following paleo diet guidelines.  So, back to paleo!  Miss Dairy-Free complained a little until I reminded her that she already cut out dairy and gluten, two major no-no's in paleo guidelines.  Here we go!

Breakfasts will include flaxseed pancakes, coconut flour waffles, eggs/veggie scramble, bacon or sausage, and fruit.  Lunches are typically leftovers, but salads using leftovers are also an option.  My husband is worried about snacks, so I have hard-boiled eggs and dill pickles, carrot sticks, and ham slices for roll-ups.

Here's the dinner menu:
Sunday - bacon mushroom spinach frittata
Monday - slow cooker full chicken dinner or chicken Parmesan w/zoodles
Tuesday - shredded beef tacos (salad for me)
Wednesday - slow cooker cranberry apple pork chops
Thursday - chicken bacon ranch spaghetti squash casserole
Friday - slow cooker beef roast dinner
Saturday - bunless chicken BLTs

24 Days of Cookies!

Most of my Christmas cookie recipes came from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book, and I look forward to seeing their 24 Days of Cookies recipes every year!  Be sure to use the "Get Ready" link below to sign up!  I know that I am! (below info shared from an email I received)

Pull out your baking sheets and dust off your rolling pins because Betty’s 24 Days of Cookies is coming! You'll receive a freshly baked recipe to your inbox every day from Nov. 23–Dec. 17.

Butternut Squash Sausage Soup (link)

I made this tonight to use up a cooked butternut squash before it went bad.  I had to add 2 more cups of water to get it beyond mashed potato consistency, and I may or may not have burned up my blender because I didn't do add the water before pureeing.  The taste is something I've never had before, but I like it!

Link:  Butternut Squash Sausage Soup

(pic is not mine)



Note:  I ran a nutritional data analysis based on the squash, carrots, and sausage.  Using a 3 lb. squash and making 8 servings (not adding butter), this has approximately 282 calories, 21g carbs, 16g of fat, 9g protein per serving.

How I am feeding my family of 7 for $80 this week

I see many posts online of "How I Feed My Family of  # for $#".  When I look at these posts, they're often full of cheap fillers like pasta, oatmeal, rice, and dry beans.  Hey, whatever works for them.  I'm not a fan of pasta or rice or dry beans for the main part of meals, and I don't eat oatmeal. However, circumstances limited my grocery budget for next week so I had to compromise.  After taking a quick inventory of my freezers and pantry, here's what I came up with:

Dinners (note that most are dairy-free):

• Slow cooker chicken taco soup (no beer, I'll sub chicken broth instead) and corn chips.  Miss Dairy-Free will take her serving before we add cheese and the leftover sour cream that I found in the refrigerator.  Need canned tomatoes/chilies, can of black beans, can of chili beans, and corn chips.
• Pressure cooker meatloaf, baked potatoes, green beans, tossed salad.  I had all of these ingredients on hand before shopping.
• Pressure cooker hamburger goulash with steamed green peas, the only pasta meal for the week.  I needed canned tomatoes and frozen peas.
• Baked chicken and gravy with mashed potatoes and peas/carrots mix or broccoli/carrots mix.  Use the chicken thighs purchased, need frozen peas if we go that route.  Everything else on hand.
• Chicken pot pie made with leftover chicken from the freezer, homemade crust and gravy, homemade biscuit dough topping (made with almond milk instead of dairy milk), and a bag of frozen mixed veggies.  All ingredients on hand before shopping.
• Pressure cooker beef stew.  All ingredients on hand before shopping.
• Frozen meatballs in a homemade beef/mushroom gravy with mashed potatoes, mixed veggie salad.  Meatballs were made several weeks ago in a freezer-meal-making frenzy, and I had everything else on hand.

Food shopping receipts came to $42.01 at Aldi and $33.62 at Meijer.  That total of $75.63 includes a family pack of 10 chicken thighs @ 69¢/lb. (sale) and 2 family packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.69/lb. (sale).  Those 2 packs of breasts repackaged into 7 quart bags of 2 breasts each, enough for a 7 meals.   It also includes items for lunches, 3 lbs. butter, 2 doz eggs, 1 pkg. bacon, 1 lb. cheese, 1 gallon milk, 1/2 gallon almond milk, coffee and coffee creamer.  Breakfasts are typically eggs,bacon, or pancakes made from scratch with canned fruit or syrup.  Coffee is a must.

I already have the beef needed for the menu, but that was only $3/lb.  Add in $19.50 for the beef (2 lb each for meatloaf and meatballs, 1 lb. for the hamburger goulash, 1 1/2 lb. stew meat) but then take off $15.29 for the chicken breast that I won't be using, and that's just under $80 for hearty, healthy, filling meals for 6 adults and an almost-1-year-old,without a lot of typical fillers.  I feel that this is a pretty economical amount.

Also note that I work outside the home a full 6 days a week, so these are all dinners that can be prepped ahead of time, made in the crock pot, made in the pressure cooker, or are quick to fix.

Dry Brined-Herb Roasted Turkey

Tired of plain ol' turkey, holiday after holiday?  This is a favorite, and well worth the effort.

Dry Brined-Herb Roasted Turkey

3 Tbsp. salt

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. rubbed sage or 1/2 tsp ground sage

2 tsp. dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

12 to 14 lb. turkey

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened

Stir together the first 6 ingredients.

Remove giblets and neck from turkey; pat turkey dry. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. brine into cavity; rub into cavity. Reserve 1 Tbsp. brine, and sprinkle outside of turkey with remaining brine; rub into skin. Chill turkey 10 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together butter and reserved 1 Tbsp. brine. Loosen skin from turkey breast without totally detaching skin; spread butter mixture under skin. Replace skin, securing with wooden picks.

Tie ends of legs together with string; tuck wing tips under. Place turkey, breast side up, on a lightly greased (with cooking spray) rack in a large roasting pan.

Bake at 350°F for 2 hours and 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion of turkey thigh registers 165°F. Remove from oven; let stand 30 minutes before carving.

Pumpkin cake roll

Bringing back a good one!  This is a favorite in my house at holiday gatherings.


Pumpkin cake roll

cake

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CAKE: Preheat oven to 350°F Butter 15x10-inch baking pan. Line pan with wax paper; butter paper. In a large bowl, mix (I used a wisk) the sugar, flour, baking powder, 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin pie spice and salt. Stir in eggs and pumpkin until well blended and smooth. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.Place clean kitchen towel on work surface; dust with 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar. Loosen cake around sides of pan with small knife. Turn out onto sugared towel, wax paper-side up. Fold 1 side of towel over short side of cake, then roll up cake jelly-roll style. Cool cake completely (I did it in the fridge).
FILLING: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, 1 cup confectioners' sugar, butter, and vanilla until well blended and smooth. 
ASSEMBLY: Unroll cake onto towel. Peel off wax paper. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cake. Using towel, roll up cake and place seam-side down on serving platter. Trim ends of cake. Enjoy right away or refrigerate until ready to serve. Sprinkle cake with additional confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Chicken Pot Pie Crescent Braid (link)

I had leftover crescent roll dough from one of the holidays and needed to use it.  This recipe fit the bill and satisfied our tastes!  I double it to not waste the 1/2 can of soup, and any leftovers quickly disappear.  

Not my recipe, not my picture.  Click on the link to the web page, just above the picture


Chicken Pot Pie Crescent Braid