Archive for May, 2008
Meal Planning – Desserts
WARNING: The following post is decadent and I don’t apologize in advance.
(from www.emealsforyou.com/Desserts/Croissant Bread Pudding)
The other day my wife told me that it was about time I got busy and filled the freezer with some desserts. I couldn’t talk about meal planning without adding my two cents on how to handle desserts. We usually don’t have dessert with our meals, can’t afford the calories, but on occasion the urge does hit. I have several great dessert recipes that I can always count on to work. I make these when we need a dessert for company. Well, a little confession here; I make several desserts for company, I think people should have a choice if they are going to indulge; besides I enjoy making them. This usually leaves me with leftovers.
In our house each dessert has it’s own following. Each kid or friend has their particular favorite. What I do is take the leftover desserts and cut them into individual serving sizes, wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer, they are just as good thawed as when they were made. When we feel like a dessert or have company I usually have 4 or 5 different desserts, frozen, to choose from. Simply “nuke” them and serve. An added benefit is that I find that our friends’ kids don’t mind coming over for dinner when they can choose their dessert Seriously, this method actually saves me time and money as I make them when I have the time and it certainly beats stopping off at the bakery for a quick dessert for dinner.
I have attached the recipe for Croissant Bread Pudding, this really is easy to make, freezes well and is usually a hit; besides this is a favorite of my wife. On our website emealsforyou.com we have many dessert recipes that will fit the bill for this method of Meal Planning: Profiteroles, Carrot Cake, Flourless Chocolate Cake to name a few. Drop in and take a peek, try making everyone happy tonight!
Croissant Bread Pudding
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | New Neighbors (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 3 | large | egg |
| 8 | large | egg, yolks |
| 5 | cup | cream, half and half |
| 1.5 | cup | sugar, white |
| 1 | Tb | cinnamon. ground |
| 1.5 | tsp | vanilla |
| 1 | cup | raisins |
| 2 | oz | bourbon, Jack Daniels |
| 6 | large | croissants |
| 1 | spritz | PAM |
Slice croissants and leave on counter overnight. Mix all remaining ingredients in large bowl. Dip croissants in mixture, place in large, greased, oven-proof pan, and pour remaining mixture over the top. Bake 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven, or until lightly brown.
Decadent Note: For a quick sauce; melt vanilla ice cream and mix with a shot or so of bourbon, drizzle over bread pudding.
From the New Neighbors Meal Plan (Share-a-Meal Plans) at emealsforyou.com
1 comment May 28, 2008
Recipe of the Week – The Potato Salad Wars
(from www.emealsforyou.com/Salad/Betty’s
German Potato Salad)
(from www.emealsforyou.com/Salad/Jake’s Potato Salad)
Celebrating Memorial Day this weekend brought back fond memories of growing up in New Jersey and experiencing the “Potato Salad Wars”. I guess it all started when one of my kids called and asked us to bring potato salad for a picnic.
My father always made what we called “American Potato Salad”, mayo based, while my mother always made “German Potato Salad”, bacon based. My father’s large, I mean really large, family all made the American style so they always looked forward to my mom’s German style. So you had all these Slovaks fawning over my mom’s salad, not unnoticed by my dad; while all the “other” people bellied up, as it were, to the American. The good news for us kids was that this competition went on for all the time we were at home, this means we got the best of both worlds.
So guess which one I took to the picnic; you have it, I took them both.
1 comment May 27, 2008
Meal Planning – 2 Ways to Answer- How?
(from www.emealsforyou.com/Suzie’s Salisbury Steak)
Many of you look at Meal Planning as if it were a foreign language. It is not your fault, what training did you have? It seemed your mom just put it on autopilot and viola, a complete meal was on the table. You really never paid much attention to how she did this.
In this post I will give you a couple of methods to use to plan your meals; remember the upside of planning is true $$$ savings at the grocery, better food for your family and a better sense of self. I will go to the opposite extremes, you need to find the right mix that works for you.
So let’s discuss what a meal is: first of all let’s try for a balanced meal. We will need an entrée, meat, fish, protein, whatever, some sort of veggie (’cause we really should), and a starch (gotta have those carbs). Some of your meals may contain all of these in one recipe, as in spaghetti with mushrooms.
Method #1 – the “Chinese menu”; one from column A, one from column B and one from column C
This is a lot like the old MadLibs game, pick something and fill in the blanks. Make a list of all the meats you like to cook: chicken, fish, pork, ground beef, etc. On a separate paper make a list of veggies; and on a third make a list of starches, pasta, potatoes, rice, etc. Allow me a quick rant here: you don’t need potatoes with pasta, I see way too many people cooking mac and cheese and then potatoes on the side. Put a veggie into the microwave instead, your thighs will appreciate it.
So here we go: look at your weekly flier from your grocery store. Pick the things that are on sale that you like. Now go to your first list and pick a meat, go to the veggies and pick one or two veggies and finally pick a starch from your list. Write this down and repeat until you have the desired number of meals planned. Now go through your repertoire of recipes and match up the meals with the recipes. Scale the meals to the right number of people and write down a shopping list; this is important so that you don’t get sidetracked at the store. That wasn’t too hard was it?
Method # 2 – “electronic’ meal planning (okay, I’m a little prejudiced here but you may use any meal/ recipe site you like, if you don’t mind chasing them down all over the Internet, unashamed hint: use: www.emealsforyou.com)
So this method starts out the same, scan your local grocery’s sales flier and decide on what you want to buy. Go to the site you like, on www.emealsforyou.com go to Recipe Finder, and type in the meat, gather the recipes and make your decisions, repeat for veggies and starch. Put the recipes in your Favorite Box, use the automatic(Select) button to scale them to the right number of people and print the shopping list.
Once you get the hang of Meal Planning you will find that it takes very little time and the rewards are huge.
Challenge: Plan your meals for 1 month, use either method, come back here and let us know how it worked. Did you save money? Did you feel better about how you were feeding your family? Did your family notice the food? Was your life a little easier?
For those of you who want to try the www.emealsforyou.com method, sign up using EMEALS-48 in the box on the registration for Sponsoring Identifier and you will receive a $5 discount off the 1-year subscription price of $36; that makes it under $3 per month, you should save 10 times that. I promise you will like it.
Add comment May 23, 2008
Meal Planning – Winning the Trifecta
Growing up, Saturdays were the days my father took over the kitchen. My mother cooked the meals during the week but come the weekend my father would work his magic; creating rich soups, thick stews and wonderful sauces. Anyone entering the house was treated to the smells of garlic and tomatoes simmering, meats stewing and vegetables blending into hunger-causing pots cooking for hours on the stove. Fresh rye bread from the local Polish bakery was passed around and each of us got to sample whatever was cooking by dipping the bread into the pot.
So how does this fit into the Meal Planning theme? We are all searching for a way to feed our families better, to save time in preparation and to save money. Without knowing, he was showing the way. His Saturday rituals are the basics, the Trifecta of what we need. In today’s fast-paced and rushed world we need to take time to save time.
Here is what I suggest. Make a big pot of tomato sauce, the cost is minimal when you do the math: cost of ingredients /number of meals provided. Divide the sauce into meal-size packets; freeze these for use at a later date. One night you can make spaghetti for the family; having friends in for dinner, thaw a packet, add a little cream, maybe a little vodka , if you have it and there you go: Penne Pasta in Vodka Sauce. Put some over ground beef or into a veggie combination; use the leftovers for the kids’ lunch. Please don’t feed your kids “spaghetti o’s” even if they do like them. Of course they like them, read the label. They are mostly sugar, what’s not to like for a 3 year old. You get the point; make it once, serve it many times.
As with the tomato sauce you can buy beef when it is on sale and make a stew. Soups are the same. Ask the person behind the meat counter at the grocery if they have any soup bones. They usually give them away or charge very little and this will help you stretch your budget and also make a good stock. We usually think of soups in the winter to warm up but there is something comforting about a bowl of soup, anytime.
So here it is: Stop opening cans and jars. Start making a big pot of something comforting and maybe a few memories that your kids will take with them when they have kids of their own.
I have listed my father’s tomato sauce recipe below. It calls for boneless pork. If you want to add the pork buy the least expensive piece at the grocery, don’t worry about whether it has a bone or not. Buy the canned tomatoes when they are on sale. Just cook it low and slow and wait for everyone to find a reason to come into the kitchen. Pass the bread please!
Spaghetti Sauce
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | The Other Meat Entrée |
| Meal: | Dinners for New Parents ( leave behind food to feed the viewing public) (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 3 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | lb | pork, boneless roast |
| 1 | large | pepper, green |
| 1 | large | onions, diced |
| 7 | 20 oz can | tomatoes, whole |
| 2 | 16 oz can | tomato, paste |
| 6 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 2 | Tb | oregano, dried |
| 2 | Tb | thyme, dried |
| 4 | medium | bay leaves, whole dried |
| 2 | Tb | salt to taste |
In a large, heavy saucepan put enough olive oil to just cover the bottom. Heat until just beginning to smoke; add pork and brown. Add onions, pepper and sauté until softened, put tomatoes in blender, blend until smooth and then into pot. Add paste, garlic and spices/herbs. Add salt and simmer uncovered over low heat for several hours, the longer the better. Stir every time you pass the pot. Pull pork from sauce and shred with forks, return pork to sauce. May need additional salt to taste May need additional salt to taste.
This recipe makes enough sauce for several large meals.
Freeze in plastic containers for individual use.
From: Dinners for New Parents ( leave behind food to feed the viewing public) (Share-a-Meal Plans) at emealsforyou.com
3 comments May 22, 2008
Recipe of the Week – Honey Moist Cornbread
(from www.emealsforyou.com/Breads/Honey Moist Cornbread)
My first introduction to cornbread was years ago when I was working as a Sheriff’s Officer at the county courthouse. We would stop at the coffee shop across the street and get toasted corn muffins with grape jelly. Now I am not a “jelly person”; usually too sweet for me but on that toasted muffin it seemed to go just fine. Jump ahead 20 years and my partner, Chef Teresa, posts this Honey Moist Cornbread recipe on www.emealsforyou.com and I figure what the heck, let’s give it a try. Well, my wife just loves it, says it is really moist and sweet and all the things you want in a cornbread.
Many make cornbread the “new-fashioned” way, open a box of mix, stir in water and pop it in the oven. Why not try it from scratch just once, you can always go back to the”easy” way but my money is on you really liking our recipe more. Cornbread is a very versatile staple; serve it with ribs, chili, chicken, or almost anything, even grape jelly. Enjoy!
Honey Moist Cornbread
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | Good Cheer for Homebound (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 1 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 1 | cup | corn meal, yellow |
| 0.33 | cup | sugar, white |
| 1 | Tb | baking powder |
| 0.33 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 8 | oz | cream, whipping |
| 0.25 | cup | oil, vegetable |
| 3 | large | egg |
| 0.25 | cup | honey |
Heat oven to 400 degrees
Stir all dry ingredients then add the remaining ingredients
Pour onto a greased 9-inch pan
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
From the Good Cheer for Homebound (Share-a-Meal Plans) at emealsforyou.com
1 comment May 20, 2008
Promo – Free Asparagus Peeler
Flame-roasted asparagus
So let me tell you why you would go the extra step and peel the asparagus. First of all is the fact that nobody really likes the tough outer skin of the asparagus– it’s a bit stringy isn’t it? You go to the market and you spend time picking through the pile of asparagus to find the skinniest stalks to avoid the problem. Now you get home and you cut off most of the stalk anyway, leaving the tip and maybe a little of the stalk… a little wasteful don’t you think; besides the Asparagus Council says that thicker asparagus is better tasting.
Enter the amazing asparagus peeler. A simple device designed to peel only the outer most layer of the stalk leaving you with only the tender, tasteful inner soul. No need to pick through the pile anymore… buy the biggest stalks you can find, peel them and you will be amazed at the taste. I am such an advocate of the asparagus peeler that I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. Sign up for www.emealsforyou.com using the Sponsoring Identifier PEELER-37; not only will you get $5 off the membership price but I will send you an asparagus peeler for free.
Add comment May 19, 2008
Meal Planning – Let’s Start with the Chicken
In Why Meal Planning – The First Step we discussed putting a little money aside to fund those sale items that you can stock up on and use latter. So, let’s begin there with chicken. I see tons of requests from harried housewives complaining about the high cost of feeding their families and then in the same breath they are asking for some recipes for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I guess their thinking is that they bought them on sale, you know in the freezer section, Tyson breasts on sale, $3 off. Well how about we do the math; divide the sale price by the total weight, i.e. $9.99 divided by 3 lbs equals $3.33 per pound. Wow! Actually not picking on Tyson, they all do it, they usually put 2.5 lbs in a bag; just to make the math harder. If you must buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts I strongly suggest you wait until they go on sale. Usually once a month or so you will find fresh chicken breasts at around $1.39 per pound or less. Buy them and put them on a cookie sheet in your freezer for about an hour. Once they firm up you can put them in a large baggie in the freezer and they won’t stick together. Now you have the convenience of just using what you need and the cost savings of doing this small task yourself; I am sure Tyson will survive without the $5 profit you denied them.
But seriously folks; there is a lot more to chicken then skinless, boneless breasts. Watch for sales on leg quarters; thighs and legs together. A quick sharp knife stroke and you have chicken drumsticks and thighs that can be boned and stir-fried or BBQ’d. Still want those chicken breast? Buy them on sale with the skin on and remove the skin and bones yourself. I know, gross; you will get over this just as you got over changing diapers. Lastly, buy the whole chicken, learn to cut it up and save a bundle.
As a final point I want to take you back to your grandmother’s or maybe for some of you, great-grandmother’s day. Back then nothing was waisted; you cut up the chicken and anything you didn’t use became soup. Save the tops off the celery stalks, the end pieces off the onions you use and some pieces of carrots in a baggie in the freezer. Now when you buy that whole chicken put anything that is left over, the back and icky stuff, into a large pot with a little oil. Brown the bones and skin and add the frozen veggies, , stir until they begin to color. Now add some water to cover them, maybe some salt and a little pepper, and cook for 25 minutes or so. don’t worry if you put in too much water, just cook it longer to concentrate it until you like the taste of it. Remove the bones and skin and add some noodles and you have a great lunch or broth for cooking. If you really are adventuresome, pick the meat off the bones to add back to the soup or for a chicken salad sandwich.
The bottom line you need to get a little more resourceful to stretch your budget. I am betting that once you get the hang of this it will become second nature and you will take pride in your new-found cooking skills.
2 comments May 14, 2008
Recipe of the Week – Chicken Paprikash
(from www.emealsforyou.com/Chicken Entrees/Chicken Paprikash)
Tradition, not quite the loud and strong TRADITION sung about by Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof; but tradition none the less. Most of us probably have a meal that remains in our memory from our youth. One of those meals that always brings a smile to our lips. One we hopefully have continued today, passing along the comfort to the next generation and possibly, no hopefully, the one beyond that. Tradition.
My father had a rather large, 15 inch, copper-bottomed frying pan. About twice a month he would put that “puppy” on the stove and make wonderful, comforting Chicken Paprikash and dumplings. You knew what he was cooking as soon as you opened the back door. It was always amazing how many of us could get around the kitchen table and eat the seemingly bottomless pan of wonderful chicken and sour cream gravy. The chicken was always complimented by an endless supply of dumplings; solid, toothsome dumplings; not the light and fluffy kind made with Bisquik, but belly bombs, fulfilling, satisfying.
After my father died I beat my siblings to the pan; they still don’t forgive me. We continued to make the chicken and dumplings when our kids were growing up. It soon became their favorite as well; the “birthday” dinner of choice, in fact it became the dinner of choice of our neighbors’ kids. I am now happy to inform you that our kids make chicken and dumplings all the time themselves. I am sure that when their kids are old enough to ask for their own” birthday” dinner they too will choose the Chicken Paprikash. Tradition!
The dish is good, in fact it is very good, but I am not sure whether it is the food or the tradition that makes it special. Either way I invite you to start a “Tradition” in your home.
P.S. I have included the dumpling recipe as well, just in case.
Chicken Paprikash
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Chicken Entrée |
| Meal: | New Neighbors (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | large | chicken breasts cut in half |
| 4 | medium | chicken thighs |
| 4 | medium | chicken legs |
| 1 | large | onion, yellow ,quartered |
| 1 | 15 oz can | chicken broth |
| 2 | Tb | paprika, sweet |
| 3 | Tb | flour |
| 8 | oz | sour cream |
| 3 | Tb | water |
Place oil in large pan, brown chicken, add onions and sauté for 3 minutes. Add broth to just cover chicken, sprinkle paprika on chicken. Reduce heat to simmer, cook for 20 minutes, until chicken is tender. Remove chicken to platter. Mix flour, sour cream and water in bowl, add some of the juice from the pan to temper, add to gravy to thicken. Salt to taste. Spoon over chicken and serve with dumplings.
Serve with a small side salad.
Dumplings
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Starch |
| Meal: | New Neighbors (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 3 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 0.25 | tsp | salt, table |
| 0.25 | tsp | baking powder |
| 2 | large | egg |
| 4 | oz | water, hot |
Mix flour, salt, baking powder and eggs in mixer or food processor. Add just enough water to make a loose dough. Drop teaspoonfuls into salted, boiling water. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Dumplings will float. Drain and serve.
From the New Neighbors (Share-a-Meal Plans) at emealsforyou.com
Add comment May 12, 2008
Testimonials
Here are a few testimonials from some of our “happy campers” who are now members of www.emealsforyou.com. We also encourage you to visit their website.
Melanie Minor wrote on 9/10/2009:
I signed up for e-mealz.com a couple of weeks ago. Believe it or not, I think I’m spending MORE at the grocery store after signing up for e-mealz! Their plan does not follow my local grocery store sales at all.
After signing up with e-mealz.com, I came across your site. I’d like to switch to your program instead, and I was wondering if you could offer me any additional discounts.
Thanks so much!
Stacy Guthrie wrote on 9/9/2008:
I am first timer of your blog and website and I love it! It inspires me to do better and try new things out! Could you please send me your excel meal planning worksheet?
Thanks,
Stacy
Pam M. on August 17, 2008 said,
I do a lot of purchasing over the internet and I have to say that you have the best customer service I’ve experienced.
by Miranda1127 on May. 6, 2008 at 12:34 AM
I did my shopping for the month .. and it only cost $150. I usually am a sale shopper. I shop based on sales and cater my plan around the sales. With http://www.emealsforyou.com/ I was able to get a list together for the month (instead of the week) and it really had a big difference on my spending. This way I’m only spending for what we need (no extras…if we have extras we will eat them) so it actually worked out to be less (next month I will work better w/ the sales so I should see a drop as I get better).
So far I have gotten all my meat (except 1), all of my hard goods, breads (I freeze them so they keep), all of my …well basically everything except produce/milk for $150 (and about $50 of this stuff is pantry stuff…spices etc…. b/c my pantry was empty) . I also did this weeks produce/milk run for just over $25, and plan to make the weekly runs for my produce (b/c you really can’t store them, at least I can’t…I wont eat them unless they are fresh…pet peeve…lol.). I’m a little upset w/ the produce market, everything was in bulk. I wanted 4 bananas and got 4 bundles (about 16 or so). Yes it was only $2 but like I said I really can’t store them so it’s more than we needed. I’ll be looking for a new one, and hopefully bring the $25 down to about $15.
Well anyway I’m really excited, if I can do this every month than I’ll wind up saving a ton. We usually spend anywhere from $75-$100 per week ($300-$400 per month). This way we will spend $175 week one and $25 on weeks 2,3, and 4 ($200-$250 per month)…which is a whopping $100-$150 savings. And I feel awesome about this…mostly b/c I know I’ll actually be spending less than $200-$250 a month once I can get a good routine down and find a non bulk produce/farmers market.
Ok so I guess my point is …this site was so worth it for me, and will become more worth it the more I work at my new and improved system.
Julie Elkeshen wrote:
Ok what I think is that I could stay on that site for hours…..an addiction…love it. Thank you for sharing with me. let us talk, I think that moms would love this!!!! Ok I am off to browse more… http://sf.citymommy.com/ http://citymommy.com ( invite code mommy)
Lisa of Cafemom
Hi, Thank you! I’ve signed up and started looking around. What a neat idea.
Elizabeth Edwards www.momcooks.net
I’m looking forward to working with you. If there’s one thing I can definitely get enthusiastic about, it’s other people helping me plan my meals.
Lori http://www.mywoodenspoon.com
I just signed up and man, it does soooo much more than I thought!
1 comment May 9, 2008
Retail Mentality versus Return On Investment – Rant
The personal world sometimes mimics the business world, when it comes to running the business of our homes this is especially true. In business, when money matters tighten up; businesses revert to a “Retail Mentality”. This simply means they tend to focus on, “What’s it cost” as opposed to, “What’s my return on investment (ROI)?” Well, I don’t have to tell you times are tough in the real world, the world we call home. The cost of living has risen rapidly while our paychecks seem to shrink. So were tend to follow the business world and look at our cost rather then our ROI.
A simple exercise in this theory is our car. Maybe it is getting a little old, maybe it needs some work. Putting Best Business Practices , another business term, to work we should evaluate how much it would cost to bring it back to decent shape versus how much a new car cost. There are many programs designed to help you with this equation. It just may be that all things considered you may have to spend some money to save more money in the long run (ROI).
I know all of you are now sitting on the edge of your seats wondering how this ties into www.emealsforyou.com . Well friends, the wait is over. Meal planning is a lot like looking at something through the ROI glasses. It may require some work on your part, a departure from your normal routine. It may require spending a few bucks to save even more down the line. As with the car decision above there are tools to help you transition from Retail Mentality to ROI. www.emealsforyou.com is one of those tools.
We did a recent survey of moms on another blog. We asked them to tell us how much they spent on Fast Food each month. We further broke this number down by money spent on Pizza, Mc D’s and other (Chinese, ribs, takeout). Our sampling had both ends of the spectrum as to income. Our highest spent each month was $400 and our lowest was $30. The averages are: Total spent per month $98, pizza = $24, Mc D’s = $46 and other came in at $29. Most of the respondents mentioned that they thought they were spending too much on take out and should try to be better in the future; many saying they should be making better food decisions for their families.
So it all comes back to ROI. If I spend $36 on a 1-year membership to www.emealsforyou.com ( $31if you use the promo code on the right) how much will I save in the long run? I think the more important question is,” How much better will I be feeding my family?”
Add comment May 9, 2008
