Plath’s Adventures

Sunday: take out grinders
Monday: crockpot beef ragu over quinoa, lima beans
Tuesday: honey-glazed ham in the crockpot, honey balsamic carrots and parsnips, cranberry sauce, mini king cakes
Wednesday: chicken pot pie
Thursday: roast chicken, roasted beets
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: scrambled eggs with peppers, onion and ham, dutch babies

Other: homemade yogurt, cortido, sweet and salty roasted chickpeas

Sunday: nachos, pretzel bites, kale chips
Monday: salmon cakes, baked potatoes
Tuesday: bun-less cheeseburgers, pan fried carrots
Wednesday: wholewheat pasta (from last week ~ I froze half the batch) with cheese sauce, lima beans
Thursday: dutch babies, bacon and eggs
Friday: homemade pizza on wholewheat crust
Saturday: simple baked salmon with basil, garlic and olive oil, corn (frozen from last summer)

Other: wholewheat bagels– I add two TB vital wheat gluten and sub honey for the sugar
Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Breakfast Bake
yogurt with my yogurt starter from cultures for health! I have finally figured out a routine for my yogurt that seems to be working (knock on wood!). The starter I got says you can make it at room temp, but I find I get a better texture if I heat the milk to 180, then cool to about 110, mix in the yogurt from the last batch (or the starter), pour into jars, then put them into a soft side cooler with a jar of hot tap water and let them culture for 6 hours. My last batch was perfection!

Wish me luck! I joined the Sugar Cleanse Challenge over at The Nourishing Gourmet. It’s all about cutting out sugar and refined flour for two weeks. There are three levels of “strict-ness,”and I’m officially joining under the Category 1 level ~ no refined sugar or white flour, however I’m going to *try* to do it at a category 2 level ~ only 2 tsp of all natural sugar per day. If that doesn’t work out for me, then I won’t feel bad, but I really hope I can at least stay with category 1! Since before Christmas, I’ve already cut sweetener out of my coffee, which was a big step for me!

Sunday: burritos with homemade refried beans
Monday: smoky tomato soup with candied bacon (using maple syrup to “candy” bacon), grilled cheese on homemade whole wheat bread
Tuesday: palak paneer over brown rice
Wednesday: sweet potato hash
Thursday: Spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and pepper flakes (using homemade whole wheat spaghetti)
Friday: homemade pizza on wholewheat crust
Saturday: salmon patties, quinoa (this got moved from last week as we had leftovers one night)

Breakfasts/Other:
Rich Whole Grain crackers (using homemade yogurt and maybe almond, flax and whole wheat flour)
cheesy quinoa bites
Elder Rosehip syrup~ just opened the last jar of elderberry syrup last week

With our effort to try and get most processed food out of our diet, I make oatmeal at least once a week. However, I never know how much to make and almost always have leftovers. Since Eleanore refuses to eat oatmeal more than once a week (even with wonderful mix-ins like homemade jam), these two recipes are perfect to use up all the leftovers we invariably have! I found this bread “recipe” and knew I could tweak it for our own use.

Leftover Oatmeal Bread
makes one loaf

1 1/2 c. cooked oatmeal (I used steel cut oats soaked overnight and then cooked in water kefir)
1 c. water
2 1/2-3 c. freshly ground flour
1/4 c. raw honey or maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast

Place all ingredients in your bread machine in the order recommended and let it do the work for you. Check as it’s mixing for the right texture. If it looks too “batter-like” add more flour until the dough is pulling pretty cleanly from the side of the pan as it mixes. You can also mix this in a stand mixer, or by hand. If you’re working by hand or in the mixer, let it rise in a covered, greased bowl for 30 minutes. When the dough cycle is finished, gently form it into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan to let rise again for 30 minutes, or until doubled. Bake at 375* for 40-45 minutes.
It makes amazing toast and is great for sandwiches, too!

Eleanore may not enjoy oatmeal as a “porridge” too often, but she definitely loves pancakes. This was my little recipe to “market” oatmeal in a different way for her. Adelaide really enjoyed them, too.

Leftover Oatmeal Cakes

2 c. leftover cooked oatmeal
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. melted coconut oil or butter
maple syrup

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add oatmeal, coconut oil or butter and eggs and mix well.
Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium heat, adding a bit of coconut oil or butter to grease pan. Pour batter into pan (I do about 1/4c size). Cook cakes for 2-3 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Regrease your skillet and repeat with rest of batter. Serve with maple syrup.

Check out the other recipes and ideas in the blog carnival by clicking the picture below!

Sunday: clam chowder (can’t share the recipe, as I’m testing recipes for someone’s cookbook!)
Monday: sesame noodles, baked egg rolls in honor of Chinese New Year (soak grits for polenta tomorrow)
Tuesday: Jason’s pulled pork recipe in crockpot, soft polenta, peas (make ricotta for tomorrow’s dinner)
Wednesday: stuffed shells with homemade ricotta and spinach ~ make easy spaghetti sauce, salad with tomatoes
Thursday: fried cabbage, quinoa, salmon cakes
Friday: deep dish pizza with homemade sauce, chopped salad
Saturday: pan fried pheasant, lima beans, orzo

Snacks/Breakfasts:
Steel cut oats with homemade jam to flavor
Cheesy Quinoa bites
Leftover oatmeal bread

Sunday: Mexican stuffed shells (I do not top with crushed chips, it’s just as yummy without), dirty rice
Monday: Italian beef sandwiches in crockpot (cook chip beef in crockpot with a chopped onion, green pepper and italian seasoning ~ eat on sandwich buns with banana peppers and provolone), broccoli
Tuesday: Spicy Beef Stew from Nourishing Traditions cookbook, quinoa, pan fried, buttery carrots
Wednesday: pesto crusted salmon, green beans
Thursday: Alton’s meatloaf (I sub whole wheat breadcrumbs for the croutons), mashed potatoes (leftover from Thanksgiving and frozen), peas
Friday: roast chicken, cranberry sauce, veg
Saturday: sausage, maybe homemade noodles with butter, veg?

Other:
Yogurt with the yogurt starter I bought a while ago. Every batch of yogurt I’ve tried to make the “traditional” way (using store bought yogurt) has not set
cook garbanzo beans in crockpot for future hummus batches
start a batch of home-cured corned beef using recipe in Nourishing Traditions
oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
homemade whole wheat crackers
lots of green smoothies in the vitamix for lunches
healthy mint chocolate chip ice cream (made with bananas and spinach!)

Sunday:
Monday: burritos/nachos
Tuesday: curried beef and potatoes with peas
*make beef stock in crockpot and french bread
Wednesday: french onion soup
Thursday: homemade pasta with parsley and butter ~ I got a pasta roller for Christmas I’m dying to try out! broccoli
Friday: breakfast for dinner- pancakes and eggs
Saturday: cheese steaks

Other/Snacks:
granola bars with coconut, raisins, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
flatbread crackers (I’m thinking of using another herb… maybe oregano?)

Welcome to 2012!

Sunday: chicken sausage with butternut squash sauce and spaghetti
Monday: grass fed burgers with cheese, peas, hummus and whole wheat pita
Tuesday: goulash, lima beans, salad with homemade ranch
Wednesday: roast chicken, sweet potatoes (frozen from Thanksgiving), cranberry sauce
Thursday: turkey enchiladas (leftover Thanksgiving turkey), beans
Friday: thin crust pizza with onions and leftover roast chicken
Saturday: Venison stroganoff (made with venison roast leftovers in freezer), roast carrots

Other/snacks/breakfasts:
applesauce steel cut oats in crockpot
homemade yogurt
beef stock (making a batch in crockpot)