Food for Friday! 2/13 – 2/26

Making a soy free menu is getting a little easier now that I know what ingredients I can use and what I can’t.  I did find that either Rachel Ray or Emeril (can’t remember which, but it was one of the 2) makes a soy free stock, so I can still make beef stew or chicken soup.  I use a lot of bullion, so cutting that out was going to to pretty tough.

I’ve been eating a lot of homemade pumpernickel bread.  While it’s not a dinner item, it’s good for breakfast or a snack drizzled with a little honey or even smeared with my beloved chocolate peanut butter (Dark Chocolate Dreams by Peanut Butter and Co.)  YUM!

Monday - Baked Fried Chicken, veggies and oven roasted potatoes
Tuesday – Craft Night – My turn to cook – Pizza roll-up or cheeseburger roll-up (I’ll decide once I find out if I can have the velveeta…I’m thinking not…lol)
Wednesday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce, homemade meatballs, and homemade Italian bread
Thursday – Biryani
Friday – Homemade hamburgers, homemade buns, homemade fries/sweet potato fries and veggies
Saturday – Cordon bleu (ham and swiss stuffed chicken breasts breaded with panko), mashed or baked potatoes, veggies
Sunday - Pasta, broccoli and homemade cheese sauce

Monday – Ginger-Orange Glazed Cornish Game Hens, broccoli and white rice.
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday – Beef Stew (subbing out the broth for soy free stock)
Thursday – Game Night -  Pork Ragu
Friday -  Ham steaks and eggs
Saturday – Shepherd’s pie made with the beef stew
Sunday – Pork chops,  rice and veggies

Food for Friday! 1/30 – 2/12

Trying to make a menu this time around has been pretty tough.  Trying to find soy free alternatives has been pretty tough, but I’ve got a good start.  I’ve found I’ll be making my own bread, hamburger buns, taco seasoning, french fries, and chicken nuggets.

Monday – Bug’s 7th birthday – as per his request – Tacos – I’ll be making my own seasoning.  Found I have shells that are soy free (Old El Passo).
Tuesday – Craft Night – Leana’s turn – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday -pizza (homemade crust)
Thursday – Rotisserie chicken with brown rice and broccoli
Friday – Homemade hamburgers, homemade buns, homemade fries and veggies
Saturday -  Bug’s birthday party day.  After the party I’ll make Chicken over salad with homemade dressing or wraps for the boys.
Sunday -  Cube steak in tomato sauce, rice and veggies

Monday – Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday – Homemade chicken nuggets (using cornflakes), homemade fries and veggies
Thursday – Game Night – Chili and Frito’s Scoops (Clear Value (Price Chopper) chili seasoning packets and Frito’s Scoops are soy free)
Friday – Bacon and eggs (hopefully the bacon is soy free – won’t know til I’m at the store)
Saturday – Frito Pie using leftover chili and Fritos
Sunday -Leftovers/FFY

Food for Friday! 11/21-12/4

Monday – Steak, carrots, rice
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn to cook (probably Hamburger Helper for home)
Wednesday – Bacon and French Toast
Thursday – Chili with tortilla chips
Friday – Friendly’s for dinner followed by Lights in the Park
Saturday – Tacos
Sunday – Christmas Dinner – Rotisserie Chicken, Rosemary Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes & gravy, Crescent Rolls and homemade cranberry sauce

Monday – Chicken Soup
Tuesday – Craft Night – my turn to cook – Barber’s Chicken Cordon Bleu, Fries and veggies
Wednesday – Mini Calzones
Thursday – Game Night – Chicken Alfredo
Friday – Sausage, biscuits and gravy
Saturday – Fend for yourself/leftovers
Sunday – Fend for yourself/leftovers

Food for Friday! 12/5-12/18

Since I didn’t get to make all the menu items from my last 2 weeks for various reasons (mostly cause we had a ton of leftovers!), I’m reusing those ideas for this 2 week period…I’m hoping for a non-expensive week at the store this time around.  Most of the items on my grocery list this week seem to be staple items like soy sauce, peanut butter, flour and personal care items…not much in the way of fresh meat (since I have a lot in the freezer that needs to be used so we can defrost it.)

Monday – Spanish Rice and tortilla chips
Tuesday – Craft Night – my turn to cook – Subs
Wednesday – Pizza
Thursday – Bacon and French Toast
Friday – Chicken Alfredo
Saturday – Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Sunday – Fish Fillets, french Fries and veggies

Monday – Steak, scalloped potatoes and veggies
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose or Leana’s turn to cook (leftovers or Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday – Cheeseburger Roll-up
Thursday – Game Night – homemade macaroni and cheese with ham
Friday – Pork chops, rice and veggies
Saturday – Dinner with family for an early Christmas
Sunday – Dinner with family for an early Christmas

Thanksgiving Dinner Meatloaf

When someone mentions comfort food, I usually think of Thanksgiving dinner, and with Thanksgiving in 2 weeks I’m already drooling for the roast turkey (check out Alton Brown’s Roast Turkey – it’s the best, ever!), mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes with toasted mini marshmallows (or baked since Darling Hubby doesn’t care for the marshmallows), green beans and who could forget cranberry sauce.  Mmm…makes my tummy rumble just thinking about it…But, in today’s busy world, who has time to cook a turkey with all the fixin’s for dinner during the work week when you are craving that comfort food?  Well, aside from me, being a stay at home mom, not many people do.

I don’t know if this recipe exists in the world already, but it’s something that I made up based on another meatloaf recipe.  I like to call it Thanksgiving Dinner Meatloaf.  It’s nice served with mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes and marshmallows if you desire) and veggies to round out your weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

2lbs ground turkey
1 6oz package of your favorite stuffing mix (turkey flavored)
1 cup water
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce, divided
1/4 cup of dried cranberries (optional)
2 eggs, beaten

Mix the turkey, dried stuffing mix, water, 1/4 cup of the cranberry sauce, dried cranberries and the eggs together until well combined.  I do this in a bowl with my hands, but you can also put everything in a large zip top bag and mix it that way.  Shape into a loaf and place on a rack on a sheet pan (or on another pan that will allow for drainage of any grease).  Top with remaining cranberry sauce.  Bake for 1 – 1.5 hours at 375*F until internal temperature reaches 165*F.

Slice and serve with your desired fixin’s and enjoy!