Friday
barbecued chicken leg quarters with a homemade marinade of soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger powder, and red pepper flakes
canned corn (dented can from the markdown rack at Fred Meyer)
salad of garden greens in scratch homemade dressing
fruit salad of garden blueberries, raspberries, and a banana in a yogurt and honey dressing
Saturday
basic lentils and rice
cooked carrots
garden greens salad with homemade dressing
Sunday
lentil and vegetable soup using chicken stock made from the bones of Friday's BBQ chicken
homemade French bread
Monday
Swiss chard quiche, using a scratch crust, frozen eggs, milk, garden greens, onions, and cheese
garden greens salad
homemade bread and butter
Tuesday
refried beans and cheese
corny cornbread (using leftover corn in a scratch cornbread batter)
leftover soup from Sunday
fruit salad using last of the watermelon, banana, and some garden berries
Wednesday
falafel (I had leftover cooked lentils from making the curry, so turned them into falafel)
coconut curried lentils with homemade chutney
multi-grain and vegetable pilaf, using leftover rice, leftover bulgur wheat, and some millet, plus carrots, peas, and seasonings, all cooked in chicken stock
cucumber salad in yogurt, garlic, cumin, salt, and mint dressing
homemade ginger snaps (I had to bake a big batch of cookies to take to our church's coffee hour this Sunday-- these were from the reject pile)
Thursday
leftovers of falafel, curry, pilaf, and refried beans
red grapes (bargain-priced at 49 cents/lb at a local ethnic market)
ginger snaps
This was a typical week of summer menus for our household. As you can see, I cook less meat in summer. It just doesn't sound as good to me as bean or lentil-based meals. But, one of my family members mentioned missing meat, so tonight I'll make spaghetti in a meat sauce.
A second thing that's pretty evident is how much I cook using basic ingredients and rarely use mixes or convenience foods. It saves us a ton of money, and also means we can tailor the ingredients to what works for our own bodies. This past week, not only did I cook completely from scratch, but so did my two daughters and husband on their nights. I've tried to teach my kids how to scratch-cook as much as possible. I've shown them how to make salad dressings, pasta and pizza sauces, flour tortillas, pie pastry and so much more. When you are young and starting out in a career, paychecks can be small. As a result, food costs can seem to take up a large chunk of meager pay, especially if you're eating out or buying prepared, convenience foods. By learning how to cook from scratch, my daughters will at least have the choice to spend less on food. It will be up to them to make that choice, but I feel I have given them the tools.
I have another batch of cookies to bake for Sunday's coffee hour. Since I still have pretzel sticks and now have peanuts, I think I'll make the caramel nutty bars using peanuts and pretzels. I think they'll be a hit.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
