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1 2 {The Cottage Mama} Plans Her Menu fall & winter edition by Kristy Howard © 2013 | All rights reserved. The Cottage Mama Plans Her Menu| littlenaturalcottage.com 3 To MeMe, who taught me to savor this season, that wearing an apron somehow makes your food taste better, and that celebrating the little things makes them big things 4 {6 Ways to Celebrate Meal Time in the Winter} Gather as a family around your meal table. Turn off the computer, television, cell phones, and other electronic distractions and focus on your loved ones! Light two or three tea light candles at the table, or somewhere nearby. Grab a pretty apron to wear while you cook and serve your meal. Serve warming dishes, such as soups, creamy casseroles, steamed vegetables, and savory sauces. Enjoy a cup of hot herbal tea or coffee after your meal. 5 Look for these helpful features throughout this ebook: {Time Saving Tips} {Frugal Habits} {Whole Food Hints} {Allergy Helps} {Kristy Says} 6 “Make a change today that will serve you for many more years.” Emilie Barnes 7 {Contents} The Menus at a Glance {Week One} Grocery & Pantry List Sunday: Homemade Chicken Parmesaign Crunchy Tossed Salad Monday: Toasted Sesame Salmon Parmesan Cauli & Squash Tuesday: Chicken, Broccoli, & Rice Bouillon-free Creamed Soup Wednesday: Easy Chicken & Dumplin's Thursday: Stovetop Brown Rice & Chicken Friday: Personal Pizzas with Whole Grain, Gluten-free Crust Saturday: Chili Verde {Week Two} Grocery & Pantry List Sunday: Black Beans & Rice with Chicken Monday: Slow Cooker Tomato Bisque Tuesday: Home-style Shepherd's Pie Wednesday: Comforting Winter Soup Thursday: After Christmas Salad Friday: Biscuit-Topped Chicken Pot Pie 8 Saturday: Curried Lentils Buckwheat Corn Muffins {Breakfasts} Crunchy Cranberry Chia Granola Baked Oatmeal Winter Cream of “Wheat” Pumpkin Spice Waffles German Pancakes (Dutch Babies) Cinnamon Donut Bake About Whole Foods Resources About the Author Affiliate Program 9 “Take a little time to make ordinary things extraordinary.” Emilie Barnes 10 {The Menu at a Glance} Week 1 Sunday: Casserole Homemade Chicken Parmesaign & Crunchy Tossed Salad Monday: Fish Toasted Sesame Salmon with Parmesan Cauli & Squash Tuesday: Casserole Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Wednesday: Slow Cooker Easy Chicken & Dumplin's Thursday: Skillet Meal Stove Top Brown Rice Casserole Friday: Pizza Personal Pizzas Saturday: Slow Cooker Chili Verde Week 2 Sunday: Casserole/One Dish Meal Black Beans & Rice with Chicken Monday: Slow Cooker/Soup/Meatless Slow Cooker Tomato Bisque Tuesday: One Dish Meal/Beef Home-style Shepherd's Pie Wednesday: Soup/Slow Cooker Comforting Winter Soup Thursday: Salad/Chicken or Turkey After Christmas Salad Friday: One Dish Meal/Chicken Biscuit-Topped Chicken Pot Pie Saturday: Slow Cooker/Meatless Curried Lentils & Buckwheat Corn Muffins 11 Check your pantry, cabinets, and Grocery & Pantry freezer against this list and mark Check List Wk 1 any products you need to buy. Meats Dressings/Oils Frozen Hormone-free chicken thighs or Salad dressings of choice, olive oil Broccoli, peas, corn, breasts, hormone-free chicken fryer, Canadian bacon slices Grains & Legumes Baking Dairy Dried lentils, tortillas of choice Baking powder, powdered milk or Raw cheese, eggs, buttermilk or (corn, rice, or wheat), buckwheat for Dari-free powder, milk substitute, whipping cream, flour (for gluten-free), xanthan gum butter (for gluten-free), whole wheat pastry flour, corn meal or arrowroot powder, long grain brown rice, great northern beans Canned Fresh Produce Pantry/Spices Organic tomato sauce (chunky or Onions, minced garlic, mushrooms, Soy sauce, pine nuts or sliced smooth) romaine or spinach leaves, cabbage, almonds, chicken broth, oregano, carrots, celery basil, cumin, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, parsley 12 {Week 1} “Plan your action, keep it simple, and get into motion.” Emilie Barnes 13 Sunday: Homemade Chicken Parmesaign I like to put this dish together on Saturday night, cover it, and pop it in the fridge. On Sunday morning, I cook it at 250-degrees for about two hours (while we are at church). Dinner is ready when we walk in the door! 1 package hormone-free chicken breasts or thighs 1 tsp oregano 1 scant tsp basil 2 tsp dried parsley sea salt & pepper to taste 1 large onion, sliced into “rings” 2 TBSP minced garlic ½ C mushroom slices, canned or fresh 1 (28-oz) can organic chunky tomato sauce shredded raw Parmesan or cheddar cheese, if desired Pre-heat your oven to 450-degrees. (Or 250-degrees, if you're going to cook it slow and long on a Sunday morning.) Place chicken pieces in a 9x13-inch baking dish and top with spices. Arrange onion, garlic, and mushrooms around chicken. Pour tomato sauce over top of chicken and veggies. Cover loosely with foil or a lid and bake in the oven for 45 minutes; uncover and cook an additional 15 14 minutes, or until juices run clear. Once chicken is cooked, top with freshly grated cheese of your choice. Serve with a tossed salad and garlic toast, if desired. 15 Crunchy Tossed Salad Cabbage is generally inexpensive and adds tons of flavor, nutrition, and crunch to your salads! It also makes your salad go a lot further. 3 C romaine lettuce or spinach leaves, hand torn 3 C grated cabbage 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated 1 C frozen organic sweet corn ½ C thinly sliced celery toasted almonds or pine nuts Toss all ingredients and serve in a pretty serving bowl. Drizzle with your favorite dressing before serving! 16 Monday: Toasted Sesame Salmon with Parmesan Cauli & Squash I buy wild-caught salmon at Aldi's! If you're not a fan of salmon, or if it's not affordable in your area, substitute the salmon for wild caught tilapia or other white, flaky fish. Toasted Sesame Salmon 1 family-size bag wild-caught salmon (about 8 fillets) butter 3 or 4 cloves garlic lemon juice toasted sesame oil sea salt and pepper If salmon fillets are frozen, thaw in water about an hour before you begin your meal. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat just until hot, then add a few pats of butter. Once butter has melted: add sliced cloves of garlic and cook for about two minutes, then add as many salmon fillets as will fit in your skillet. Cook in butter until fillets are flaky, about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining fillets. Remove from skillet to a serving platter. Drizzle generously with lemon juice and toasted sesame oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper corns to taste. Serve with a fresh, green salad and Parmesan Cauli & Squash. 17 Parmesan Cauli & Squash several pieces yellow neck squash fresh or frozen cauliflower butter fresh Parmesan cheese sea salt and pepper Heat butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. While skillet heats, wash and slice enough squash for your family. If you are using a fresh head of cauliflower, wash and remove as many florets as your family needs. Add veggies to the skillet. I like to scrape a few cooked garlic pieces from the salmon skillet and add them to the vegetables for additional flavor. Stir, then cover and cook 7 or minutes. When veggies are almost tender, grate enough Parmesan cheese to nicely cover the tops of the veggies. Replace lid and continue cooking until cheese is melted and vegetables are tender. Add sea salt and pepper to taste and serve in a pretty bowl. 18 Tuesday: Chicken, Broccoli & Rice 3 C cooked brown rice 2 to 3 C cooked chicken 3 C fresh or frozen broccoli florets ¼ C minced onions (cooked or dried) sea salt and black pepper to taste 2 tsp onion powder 1 tsp garlic powder 2 batches Creamed Soup Base (recipe following) 6 TBSP butter, cubed shredded cheese In a 9x-13-inch casserole dish, combine cooked rice and chicken, and broccoli florets. Sprinkle minced onions and spices. Prepare two batches of Creamed Soup Base (4 cups total); pour over casserole and stir to combine. Top with cubed butter. Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and add shredded cheese over the top. Cook an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. 19 Bouillon-free Creamed Soup Mix If you have wheat or milk allergies, creamed soups are a big no-no! This recipe is simple to throw together, and is much healthier than canned soups. Use Vance's Dari-Free powder (available online) if you are allergic to dairy products. 2 C organic powdered milk or Dari-Free powder ¾ C cornstarch or arrowroot powder or flour of choice 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp dried basil ½ tsp dried thyme ½ tsp garlic powder 1 TBSP dried parsley 1 tsp sea salt ½ tsp black pepper Blend all ingredients until well combine. Store in an air-tight container or jar. To use: Combine 1/3 C of Creamed Soup Mix with 1 ¼ C chicken, beef, or vegetable stock. One batch equals 1 15-oz can of creamed soup. 20 Wednesday: Easy Chicken & Dumplin's This is my family's favorite way to enjoy chicken and dumplings! It super quick to prepare and tastes so yummy! I buy rice tortillas at Trader Joe's. Whole chicken fryer, uncooked twelve brown rice tortillas one medium onion, chopped several stalks of celery, diced 1 TBSP organic cornstarch or flour dissolved in 1 C of water In a large saucepan or pot, boil the chicken until cooked (be sure to save the broth!). Once chicken is thoroughly cooked, cool and remove skin and bones. Dice and cube chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Saute onions, celery, and garlic in 1 or 2 TBSP chicken broth.