Favorite Recipe of the Week
Every week I sit down with a few of the hundreds (no I’m not exagerating - we inherited a lot of books from Jason’s Grandfather, who collected them) of cookbooks we own, and figure out a meal plan for the week.
Since it’s just Jason and I know, it’s much harder to create meals that don’t end up with waste. Luckily, Jason loves a “left-over”! He usually takes them for lunch the next day. Since most recipes are for 4, that works out for us.
There are a few other things I do to try and reduce the waste created with cooking every day - those include:
- Make the whole recipe and freeze half
- Create individual servings and freeze for future lunches
- Half recipes (like fish and such that won’t be appreciated in Jason’s office setting!)
What are some of the ways that you control wasted food?
We are also fortunate that we now have pigs! Between the pigs and chickens, food waste is generally taken care of by them! (Just don’t give them moldy food!)
So I’ve decided to post my menu plan for the week, along with which meal was our favorite! For the favorite meal, I’ll also post the recipe and a link to purchase the cookbook!
Weekly Menu
Monday - Savory Beef Stew with Homemade Bread and Cesar Salad
Tuesday - Lemon BBQ Pork Chops with Green Beans and Tossed Salad (w/Tomato Vinegrette)
Wednesday - Chicken A La King with buttered noodles and Cesar Salad
Thursday - Steak and Onions with Mashed Potatoes and Tossed Salad (w/Tomato Vinegrette)
Friday - Pineapple Brats with Potato Salad (& homemade buns)
Saturday - Country Fried Chicken with Green Beans and Coleslaw (& pan gravy)
Sunday - Roast Beef with rice and corn
And the Winner is:
SATURDAY! Country Fried Chicken with Green Beans and Coleslaw
I also made a quick peach cobbler and fresh baked bread to go with it! Now Sunday almost won, but in the end…we loved several meals from the week, and ended up picking Saturday!
And as promised, here are the recipes! If I got the recipe from a book, you can click on the recipe name to see it available for purchase!
Country Fried Chicken - Cooking for Two
Oil
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 lbs chicken (we used chicken breast from our Freedom Rangers)
Heat 1/4 inch oil in a deep skillet. Mix flour salt, pepper and paprika, and then coat the chicken with the flour mixture.
Cook chicken in oil, over MEDIUM heat until light brow, 15 - 20 minutes for bone in pieces. Reduce heat, and cover tightly. Simmer until thickest pieces are tender - 25 to 30 minutes for bone in pieces. Turn chicken once or twice to ensure even cooking. Remove cover for the last 5 minutes to crisp chicken.
If you’d like to make pan gravy, remove all remaining oil except 1 tbsp. Add 1 tbsp of flour. Cook flour in oil for 2 minutes, whisking well. While continuing to whisk, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water or chicken stock, slowly. Continue to stir until thickened.
Green Beans
1 can green beans
1 tbsp of bacon pieces
1 tsp of bacon grease (if you have it - if not, skip)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Add drained green beans and all other ingredients to a small pot. Add water, just to cover beans. Bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes.
And as promised, here are the recipes! If I got the recipe from a book, you can click on the recipe name to see it available for purchase!
Coleslaw - Woman’s Home Companion Cook Book
4 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 c mayonnaise
2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice (I used vinegar - I DO NOT RECOMMEND using Apple Cider Vinegar - just use white vinegar)
1 tbsp grated onion (this is just what it sounds like - I used a fine cheese grater)
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Combine all ingredients except cabbage and mix thourougly. Add cabbage, mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
Let me know if you try out any of these recipes! The fried chicken is very much “old style” there is not a deep coating of crust on the chicken, it’s very light, but absolutely delicious!
Have an amazing day!!
