Menu Planning 101

With September comes a resurgence of planning, at least for me.  Summer is a laid back season and we love it don't we?   But now kids are going back to school with their new school supplies and moms are once again faced with the challenge of packing lunches and planning meals.

I'm now a grandmother and those daily challenges are not ones I face anymore, however, I often hear the same complaint from moms with school age kids ... the ever asked question "what is for dinner?"

When our kids were little I was a menu planning freak.  And my system worked and worked well!  In fact it worked so well that the cashier at my supermarket said "I want to eat at your house!"  Nice compliment for sure.

I felt it might be helpful if I shared my menu planning secrets with you.  Disclaimer:  I don't use this system now that my kids are grown although there are some days when I wish I still used it.  But it works!

Supplies:  3 x 5" Index cards, pen, box for cards, paper for shopping list (hint:  if you have extra time, you can  make a master grocery list so you don't have to keep re-writing the same stuff over and over week to week).  Here's a sample I found online:  Master Grocery list

Index cards


Step 1:
This is the fun part.  It's time to scour those favourite recipes that your family loves.  This is when I pour a cup of coffee and pull out my cookbooks too.  I get bored easily so I'm always on the lookout for new recipes.  At one point, I asked my family to give the recipes scores out of 10 so I would know if it was worth repeating.  My hubby said with a chuckle, "who are you kidding?; we're never going to see this again".  Yes, like I said, I get bored easily. :)


Step 2:
On the front of your index card, list the items for your meal.
Example, on mine I have chicken wings, rice and salad.  You can see my well used recipe which I keep handy for the week. 

FRONT OF MENU CARD

BACK OF MENU CARD

On the back of the menu card are the ingredients I need to make the whole dinner.  Note:  Some of these things I may already have in my pantry or fridge so when I go to make my shopping list, I would skip over the things I already have.




Now you've done the hard work.  These cards are reusable and you can add to your library of menus as something strikes your fancy.

Step 3:
Pull all your menu cards for the week and either make a grocery list from scratch or use the master list idea.  Either way, I group items under subheadings such as Dairy, Meat, Produce, etc.

Helpful Hint:  If you happen to have used multiple recipe sources, I also find it helpful to put a note for the source of the recipe.  Abbreviations work great.  For my More With Less Cookbook I would use "MWL, page 69" as an  example.

It's really a simple system and as I've said really works well if you take an hour or two to prepare for the week.  I have been known to use it in panic mode too.  This means I would grab the menu card(s) with the ingredients on the back and head to the store and look at the items on the back as I stroll through the store.  It's not as streamlined as making a list as you can have 'sugar' on both cards and have to mentally make a note about duplicates.

Anyway, that's my menu planning system.  I'd love to hear your feedback!

Mavis

Cappuccino Chip Muffins - Or "Cliff's Favourite" as we call 'em

Yet another of the recipes I make for Extreme Outreach Coffee House.  If you love coffee you might want to try one of these.

Cappuccino Chip Muffins

2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground coffee (espresso on fine grind)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease 12 muffin cups.

In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso coffee powder, salt and cinnamon.  In another bowl, stir together milk, oil, egg and vanilla until blended.  Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove muffins from oven and cool 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.  Serve warm or cool completely.  They freeze well too.

Using what we have on hand...

Today was one of those days where the pantry is almost bare and we need to do a grocery shop.  We also needed lunch.  I knew I had some frozen spinach in the freezer, and we had cheese.  I also spied the leftover tomato and onion slices from last night's epic burgers made by our son.  I asked my hubby if he thought spinach and cheese muffins would suffice for today's "use what we have on hand"  lunch. Affirmative.

So I set to making these muffins --- Savoury spinach, tomato and cheese muffins.

Here you go!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Spinach, Tomato and Cheese Muffins

375 degrees
20 minutes

2 cups flour
3 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder 
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter

1 small onion diced
1/2 cup chopped tomato
3/4 cup of defrosted spinach (you can also use fresh chopped finely if that's what is left in your fridge.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and garlic powder into large mixing bowl.  Melt butter.  Add egg, milk, and veggies.  Stir to mix.

Add to dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.  Fill muffin pans  2/3 full and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until dry when a toothpick is inserted.

Serve warm out of the oven with butter and a bowl of soup or favourite salad!

My hubby loves them with lots of butter. :)

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Pecan Muffins

This is another muffin recipe that I make for Extreme Outreach Coffee House.

Cranberry Orange Pecan Muffins

2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg
2 oranges
2 cups milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1-1 1/2 c. frozen cranberries (or fresh)

Mix dry ingredients.
In blender combine melted butter, egg, milk, and oranges cut into segments with rind on. Make sure to remove any orange pits and white pith as it is bitter.
Add to dry ingredients and mix.
Fold in the chopped pecans and cranberries.
Bake in greased muffin pans at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

This recipe has been requested by many of my friends.  I usually double this recipe and it makes 12 individual scones.  I've also made it in single batches and form circles and score it into pie shapes.  It's really an individual choice.  I make these for Extreme Outreach Coffee House and for them it's a double batch and individual round scones.  They taste delicious either way!

The secret is in not overkneading the dough.

Single:
2 cups unsifted regular flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup whipping cream
4 oz. white chocolate chips
3/4 cup frozen raspberries
2 tsp sugar for sprinkling on top of scones

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with a shelf in the middle.
Combine the flour, baking, sugar and salt.
Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

In separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and cream.

Pour eggs and cream into the dry ingredients, reserving 1 tbsp for brushing on top of scones.
Knead lightly just until the dough sticks together.
Divide the dough in two parts.
Roll or pat each part out to make a circle about 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.
Cut each circle into even quarters or sixths.
Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet (I use parchment paper) about 1 inch apart.
Brush the tops with the reserved egg/cream mixture.
Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 20 mins or until golden brown.
Serve immediately.
#whitechocolateraspberryscones

Summer Salad - Peach Coleslaw

Coleslaw has always been my last choice of  salad at a picnic or potluck ... until recently. A few days ago we were flipping through the channels and heard someone refer to peach coleslaw.  Whaaat?!  I had to find out what this was because it certainly sounded better than the coleslaw I was used to!   And there is indeed a thing called Peach Coleslaw.

This week I’ve been experimenting and here’s a recipe I’ve come up with:

1 bag of pre-packaged  coleslaw (or cut your own)
2 fresh peaches (or nectarines) chopped into bite sized pieces
3 green onions chopped
3/4 cup salted sunflower seeds unshelled
1 avocado chopped
1 each chopped red and yellow pepper
1/2 English cucumber chopped
(Any additional veggies you like)

Place all salad fixings into bowl.

Dressing:
1/3 cup oil. I used avocado oil
1:4 cup sesame oil
1/3 cup mayo
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp peach or apricot jam
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Whirl in blender or magic bullet. Pour over salad and toss.

We serve this with barbecued chicken and whatever veggie we feel like for a simple but sensational summer salad.

If you try it please use a hashtag #peachcoleslaw.

Enjoy !

Baking on another snowy day

In the last couple of days I've been baking.  It may not be a big deal but there is something about the snow falling (which is a major 'thing' when it happens on the West Coast) that is accompanied by the mentality of hunkering down, sitting for a spell, and definitely a more relaxed and less stressed pace.  This is usually when I give myself permission to let the schedule slide a bit and turn my attention to the kitchen and specifically ... baking.

I have a favourite blueberry muffin recipe which is my go to and earned rave reviews in our Bed & Breakfast a few years ago.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Oven:  400 degrees
Time:  20-25 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick.
*Note, oven temperatures vary.  You may find 425 degrees is better.  It was in my former oven.  This one is better at 400 so know your oven!

2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Rind of one lemon

Combine these above ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter

Melt the butter and add the cold milk first then the egg.  This stops the egg from cooking from the hot butter.  Whisk them together and add them to the dry ingredients.

1 cup frozen blueberries.

I find that fresh blueberries aren't actually as good in these muffins as frozen blueberries.  If you can get the wild blueberries which are smaller, they are even better. Canned blueberries make your muffins purple.  Don't get me wrong, I love PURPLE but not in my muffins. :)


Once the  muffin mixture has been combined add the frozen blueberries to the mixture.  This prevents dry flour from hiding inside the blueberry stem etc.

Grease your muffin pan or use muffin liners and spoon the muffin cups about 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These won't have a chance to get stale as they disappear very quickly!  However, they do freeze very well.

Bon Appetit!
Mavis

Tuscan Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This blog has been on a hiatus for a few years but I am feeling like it's time again to share some of my favourite recipes and tips in the kitchen.

Since my last post, we downsized from 6800 square feet where we hosted a bed & breakfast, to a comfortable 2300 square feet close to the ocean.  Needless to say we had a furniture and guy shop stuff liquidation of epic proportions and this also meant culling a lot of kitchen stuff and outdated pantry goods.

I haven't been baking much at all but now that I'm retired I'm back to enjoying cooking again.  I made a twist on a grilled cheese for lunch the other day which sparked the idea that it was time to share these recipes again.

So for today, I present to you Tuscan Grilled Cheese sandwich.  Guys...this is good enough to serve to company.

Ingredients:
Your favourite sandwich bread.  We used Portofino's Phillips Maltygrain (not a typo). Phillips is a local brewery.
Baby spinach
Roma Tomato
Butter
Sharp Cheddar cheese slices (or your favourite)

Olive Tapenade.   We used Epicure's Tapenede Mix which we love. At this point here is a shameless plug for my daughter's Epicure business.  Their products are amazing.  http://elizabethreynolds.epicure.com

Start by buttering the outside of the first slice of bread and putting it in your heated frying pan.  I do it this way so it stays together until the cheese melts. I've tried loading the assembled sandwich into the frying pan and it was a disaster.  Put a tablespoon (or to taste) of the olive tapenade and spread it on the unbuttered side of the bread.  Next add your cheese slices.  Next add your spinach.  The warm cheese will help wilt the spinach.  Alternatively you can pre-saute your spinach.  I've done it both ways.  Last layer is the tomato.  Now put the second piece of bread with the buttered side out on top of the sandwich in the frying pan.  I keep the heat at medium low so we get a good melt on the cheese.  I also put a lid over the frying pan for the same reason.

My motto:  Why have plain grilled cheese when you can add some other goodness to it ?  I predict you're gonna love this sandwich.

Bon appetit!

Mavis