Ordinary Time

Let's talk about food and grocery shopping again. It's one of those topics which fascinate people in regard to large families. I know this because it is one of the usual questions I get when people find out how many children we have. And even just with six children at home now, that is still more than is typical. There are two other reasons, though, that I want to revisit this topic. The first is my grocery bill this past week and because I recently finished reading Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food by Chris Van Tulleken.  [I realize that a definition of ultra-processed should be added here. It is any food that contains ingredients that you wouldn't find in your kitchen or have names you don't recognize and cannot pronounce.] Before I begin, let's just address the elephant in the room and that is that RFK, Jr. has a vendetta against ultra-processed food. Frankly, the man is a loon and shouldn't be in charge of matching his own s...

I've mentioned before that I am easily bored by dinner options, so we tend not to repeat a meal in the sane month. We also are routinely trying out new meals as well. Tonight was one of those nights. I had bought some chorizo sausage on a 2 for 1 deal and thrown them in the freezer. They'd been in there for a while (meaning a few months, in case you were thinking years), so I decided to look up recipes which use chorizo sausage. I found Papas con Chorizo (potatoes with Mexican chorizo) and decided it looked pretty good. L. opted to make it for her night to cook tonight.  Everyone liked it. We served it with corn tortillas, Mexican corn, and diced red bell peppers. It was decided that it would be even better if there was some crema to go with it. I looked for crema when I was at Aldi, but it's an ingredient that is very hit or miss if it's going to be available. This week was a miss. At the end of dinner, J. commented that it would be good with a fried egg on top, to whi...

I keep my weekly meal plans in a cheap spiral notebook, with a week on each page. It's not at all high tech, nor is it particularly beautiful, but it works. This also means that when I reach the end of a notebook, I have quite a few weeks of meal records at my fingertips. When I planned this week's meals yesterday, I realized that I was at the end of the notebook and I was curious about numbers. I've always said that I don't repeat the same meal in a month, but was that really true? I decided to look. Here's how it worked out.  I had 41 weeks of meals in the this particular notebook, giving me about ten full months of meals. It seemed like a pretty decent set of data. The most frequently made meal was spaghetti, coming in at nine times in those ten months, which is just about once a month. This was spaghetti with red sauce, but it would vary between ground beef or meatballs or Italian sausage (and once there were mussels). It kind of depended on what I felt like add...

In Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban (one of my very favorite children's picture books), Frances decides that she only wants to eat bread and jam, so that is what her mother gives her. Eventually, Frances tires of bread and jam and starts to cry when everyone else at the table has spaghetti and meatballs. Her parents ask her why she is crying because they had given her what she had said she wanted, bread and jam. At the point Frances asks them, "How do you know what I'll like if you don't even try me?" Now everyone knows that the trying of new food is not always so simple with children, but sometimes it really does work. Take tonight for example, which is the reason why this phrase has popped into my head. When I was planning the meals earlier in the week, I was feeling very tired of our usual meals. (I tire extremely easily of the same food evidently because we rarely have the same meal in the same month.) When this happens, I will flip through some coo...

Don't worry, I did make a meal plan for the week and went to the grocery store today. If I don't, things can become dire around here. I have a lot of hungry people in my house who are kind of used to having dinner every day. What I really want to know, my dear readers, is if you care. It is not great reading. (Actually it's hardly reading at all.) I am merely listing things and not giving any recipes (usually). Is having our weekly meal plan written out useful or interesting or has the novelty run its course? I think you can probably tell I am feeling very unexcited by posting it each week. But, if there are enough people who actually read it and make use it of, I'll continue. I just have a sneaking suspicion that this isn't the case.  So, my comment-phobic readers, now's your chance. If you really want the meal planning posts to continue, let me know, otherwise, I'm sure I can come up with something else to write about. 

It's late, so I'll jump right in. Tuesday, June 15 (G., L., and B.'s birthdays) Lentil dal Naan Store bought red velvet cake Wednesday, June 16 Chicken burgers      J. was taking many people to a Kane County Cougars' game, so we needed a fast and easy dinner so they could get out the door in time. Tater tots Thursday, June 17 Macaroni and cheese Sauteed spinach Friday, June 18 Spicy Moroccan style chicken and lentil soup      Yes, this was on last week's menu, but one night we ended up having pizza for dinner because it was that kind of a day, so this is being recycled to this week. French bread Saturday, June 19 Chicken chilaquiles      A new recipe from my favorite Mexican cookbook Spanish rice Sunday, June 20 (D.'s birthday) I have no idea. D. is still thinking about what he wants for his birthday dinner.  Monday, June 21 (J.'s birthday) Grilled steak salad Homemade rolls

I was right. I am totally done in after a very full day, much of it spent outside in the heat and humidity. So, without further ado... Tuesday, June 8 Cherry chicken salad      This is one of our favorite summer salads. I had cooked chicken in the freezer (which really never happens) and there were dried cherries on sale, so that made it an easy choice. Rolls Wednesday, June 9 Creamy chicken and fig curry      This was a new recipe from Made in India by Meera Sodha. It was very good, even if we didn't use dried figs because I couldn't find them but used date paste instead because that was what we had. Basmati Rice Green beans with mustard seeds and ginger      Also from the same cookbook. Thursday, June 10 Spiced cauliflower with ziti      Another new recipe, this time from my favorite Italian cookbook, The Italian Country Table . Salad Friday, June 11 Grilled hamburgers      I picked up a bunch of premade meat p...

Tuesday, June 1 Braised pork and farro grain bowl      I totally made this up. I discovered some frozen braised pork in the freezer, so decided to use it with a grain bowl. I was going to use millet, but I didn't have enough and neither of stores I went to had any. I did have farro, so that's what we had. We added fresh spinach, sliced radishes, and avocado with a vinaigrette. It was good. Since I'm not entirely sure what recipe I used to make the pork originally, I'm not sure we'll ever have it again. Wednesday, June 2 Spring vegetable pasta with lemon and Parmesan      Asparagus is still in season, so it seemed like a good idea to make use of it. Garlic bread Thursday, June 3 Warm bacon-dijon lentil salad with goat cheese crostini      This was popular the last time we had it, so here it is again. Friday, June 4 Ginger pork and cucumber salad      This is a new recipe for us this week. I was looking for something to use the f...

This week is all about realizing it is the last week we have with TM for a very long time. A lot of the foods on the menu this week are things he either likes or requested. He has planned a last ice cream outing for later in the week, and yesterday was the last forest preserve adventure with him and the six youngest. I love this picture Tuesday, May 25 Chicken gyros      Served with cut-up tomatoes, cucumbers, and yogurt sauce Pita Rice Wednesday, May 26 Spaghetti with Italian sausage      The sauce is from scratch Garlic bread Salad Thursday, May 27 Chicken corn chowder      A new recipe  French bread Friday, May 28 Char sui banh mi      Vietnamese sandwiches Cole slaw Saturday, May 29 Taco salad Sunday, May 30 Meatball pho      It's not real pho... I tried it once and we all agreed it was something that was probably just best to get from a restaurant. This serves in a pinch, though. Egg rolls Monday, May 3...

It's been two days of too much paperwork. Yesterday was transcripts (among other things) and today was bills. I'm kind of done with paperwork at the moment. Planning the menu felt a little bit like a reprieve.  Tuesday, May 18 Yellow chicken curry      This is W.'s recipe and uses chicken and potatoes Rice Naan Wednesday, May 19 Lemon spaghetti      An easy dinner for a day when we aren't sure what time exactly we'll be eating due to J's work schedule. I can pretty much put the water on to boil when he says he's on his way home and have dinner ready in the time it takes to boil the water. Garlic bread Salad Thursday, May 20 Split pea soup      From the ham we had last week. But, why, oh why, does Aldi not carry dried green split peas?? Biscuits      From scratch (I'm hoping I can convince G. to make them) Friday, May 21 BBQ beef sandwiches      Done in the crock pot, which means it's ready when we are. It wi...

While I didn't do a whole lot of real cooking, buying a lot of easy to fix food, did a number on the budget (it's all so expensive!) and it wasn't entirely satisfying. Sometimes it takes a week of prepared food to remind myself why I cook. This week we're back to real food, and even though some of the meals have slightly pricier ingredients, my grocery bill was $60+ less than last week, and that was with buying some food for the freezer which was on sale. Cooking from actual ingredients is just the cheaper way to go. Tuesday, May 11 Garlic chicken primavera      My people love asparagus, so this seemed like a good way to have it at least one more time before it stops going on sale. Garlic bread Wednesday, May 12 Roast fish with white beans and green olives      This is done in parchment paper, so stays very moist. We will also use kalamata olives because that is what I have in the refrigerator. I'll cook the beans earlier in the day so they'll be ready to u...

I have a lot brewing inside my head that could make interesting blog posts, but none of it is coherent enough yet. So, it's just the weekly meal plan tonight... such as it is. Can you tell cooking isn't rising very high on my list of things I want to bother about right now? J. has three late nights this week, and when he is not home, I really, really do not want to cook. It makes for kind of a dire meal plan, though everyone will get fed. Monday, May 4 Chicken sandwiches      Store bought with cheap buns Coleslaw      Also store bought Tuesday, May 5 Chicken Paprikash      A dish that takes me about five minutes to put into the crock pot Egg noodles Salad Wednesday, May 6 Chicken tortilla soup      Another crock pot meal that takes me ten minutes to put into the crock pot Friday, May 7 Grilled hot dogs and brats Potato salad      Store bought Saturday, May 8 Grilled salmon       This looks like a r...

I've had a change of schedule, so I'm going to the grocery store on Tuesday afternoons now. That also means that my meal planning post will be moving to Tuesday. Easy and cheap was what I was looking for this week. I was so tired yesterday when I was making the menu that I couldn't fathom doing anything too labor intensive. Tuesday, April 27 Hot sausage and cabbage stir-fry      This is pretty quick and everyone likes it. The stir-fry is served in warmed tortillas along with hoisin sauce Cucumber salad Wednesday, April 28 Skillet chili mac      Would you believe I've never made chili mac before? This is a new recipe for us. I found a few more pounds of frozen ground beef in the refrigerator that was hiding, so I'm using some for this. Salad Thursday, April 29 Lentil dal      We love dal, plus it's pretty easy. Naan      I had some in the freezer from when I bought it on sale a while ago. Friday, April 30 Reuben sandwiches ...

The trick this week was to plan meals I wouldn't be making or eating. I leave on Thursday to go visit my mom in Arizona, and J. is holding down the fort here. He will have plenty to keep him busy, so I wanted to plan meals that wouldn't be too labor intensive. It is supposed to snow tomorrow. Any guilt I might have felt about leaving seems to disappear in a direct correlation with how bad the weather is going to be. I just hope R. can maintain some sense of calm and that everyone can sleep. Monday, April 19 Chicken gyros      We had a lot of leftover pita bread from last night, so it made sense to plan a meal which used it Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers Yogurt sauce Rice Tuesday, April 20 Coconut beef curry      Just because I love it and have all the ingredients on hand Fresh noodles Eggrolls Wednesday, April 21 Macaroni and cheese      Girls who were watching me make the menu were adamant that this is what we needed on the menu Sauteed spina...

The theme for this week while I was planning was 'what is cheap to offset the cost of our Greek feast on Sunday?' It's fun to have a splurge once in a while food-wise, but I still like to keep the budget for the week in the same range. It makes splurges possible. Monday, April 12 Fish chowder      The more eagle eyed among you may notice that this is a meal from last week. I had to do some rearranging of dinners last week because getting ready for my next round of horse classes took far longer than I anticipated one day, so instead of cooking, we got cheap sub sandwiches from the grocery store and chips. This meal got pushed to this week. Sourdough bread Tuesday, April 13 Swedish meatballs      Really the only reason we're having this is because as I was looking through the pantry the other day, I discovered I have another jar of lignonberry sauce which made me want Swedish meatballs. Red potatoes      Writing this list out every week can be ...

This is a day late because the grocery shopping and meal planning happened a day late. I just never got to making a menu and shopping list yesterday, so instead I ran to the major chain grocery store on my way home from my riding lesson. The theme for this week is 'what was on sale at the expensive major chain grocery store.' The other theme is 'what can I come up with in the ten minutes I have before my student arrives.' There was not a lot of forethought this week, but we have food to cook and meals to eat. Monday, April 5 Green chicken curry      There were green beans on sale for a very good price and I found chicken breast on sale as well. I knew I had the other ingredients on hand to make this. Fresh noodles      In the freezer from my last trip to the Asian market Dumplings      Everyone got two dumplings because I wasn't buying more than one extremely over-priced bag of dumplings on the chain store. Good golly they're expensive there....

I am continuing to limp along with my laptop. I had no energy to deal with it after having spent over an hour sorting out why two of our tablets weren't working this afternoon. Technology is against me. Monday, March 29 Sriracha BBQ chicken      It was nice enough out that we could grill, so we did Garlic potatoes Tuesday, March 30 Spaghetti and meatballs      Homemade sauce, store bought meatballs Garlic bread  Salad Wednesday, March 31 (K.'s actual birthday) Calzone      This is one of K.'s favorite dishes and G. agreed to make the dough for it Salad Thursday, April 1 Beef stew of egg noodles      A new recipe for us out of Alice Water's Simple Foods cookbook Salad Friday, April 2 Butter chicken      Because sometimes you just have a craving for Indian food Garlic basmati rice Naan Saturday, April 3 Red beans and rice      As I write this, I'm realizing I forgot to buy the Andouille sausage ...

Another week, another meal plan... Monday, March 22 Potato Leek Soup      Everyone (even those who don't care for potatoes) love this soup. Leeks can be difficult to find, and I essentially bought every leek the store had today. I hope no one needed any. Sourdough bread      Store bought Tuesday, March 23 Crockpot Eggplant Parmesan with Feta      This is tasty... not as tasty as regular Eggplant Parmesan, but a lot easier. Rotini pasta Salad Wednesday, March 24 Stir-fried Lemongrass Chicken      A favorite Vietnamese dish Jasmine Rice Cucumber Salad      We make both spicy and not spicy versions of this Thursday, March 25 Chicken Tortilla Soup      I love this soup! Guacamole      TM came home with a lot of avocados earlier this week, so what is one to do? Tortilla chips Friday, March 26 Panda Orange Chicken      This is a really good copycat version of the orange chic...

Tonight for dinner we had kimchi-bokkeumbap or kimchi fried rice. It's a Korean dish, which you probably figured by the kimchi in the title. Everyone loved it, even those who don't normally appreciate spicy food. (I did use sweet Korean BBQ sauce instead of hot to help cut the spiciness of the kimchi.) None of the family is Korean, but recently we have been really enjoying making Korean food starting with bibimbap on TM's birthday . We all enjoy trying new recipes and food from different countries. It's all part of the adventure of dinner. I also think it helps children develop a sense of adventurous eating and palates that appreciate different foods.  In our refrigerator and pantry we have sauces and condiments and spices and foods from a wide swath of the world... fish sauce, oyster sauce, dried chilies, mole sauce, tahini paste, falafel mix, curry paste, lemongrass, Chinese five spice, garam masala... to name a few. I realize we are unusual in both the amount of cook...

For all of you, who like us, had a major blowing snowstorm today, enjoy a little promise of spring that I discovered under the grow lights today. Now that we have reminded ourselves that the snow won't last, we can move on to the business at hand. Monday, March 15 Reuben sandwiches      March always brings corned beef sales, so I stock up. Reuben sandwiches are pretty much all we ever use them for because we love them so much. (Except the time I corned my own brisket... that we ate straight because it was so good.) Cooked carrots Tuesday, March 16 Rustic fish chowder      If this week has a menu theme, it is "flip through the new food magazines that arrived and pick some meals from those." This chowder sounded good and it served 12 people with only one pound of fish. Who doesn't like that? Biscuits Wednesday, March 17 Beef and cabbage turnovers      Cabbage is on sale, too, this month. My family adores these. It uses the biscuits in a can whi...