Happy St Patrick's Week!
Being 3/4 Irish I always look forward to planning my St. Patty's Menu. But I have tired of Corned Beef and Cabbage, so I branched out this year with a springy soup and a twist on Irish Soda Bread.I'm also trying to lose a few pounds from winter and improve my cholesterol, so I'm planning for that too. Oh, and I want to take advantage of spring produce! The Allrecipes.com site is helping me do all that and make my menu-planning faster and more efficient.
I am finally getting the hang of using their new Menu Planner program. It's not the most intuitive design, but it's proving worth the trouble. I open the Menu Planner, give my Menu Plan a name (like Mar 14-Mar21, or St Pat's Day), and save. It asks me if I want a one-meal menu (like a St. Pat's Brunch maybe) or a multi-day plan. After making my selection for multi-day, a window opens with 5 boxes. Into those I drag and drop the recipes that I have either saved in My Recipe Box, or from the page the recipe is on I can choose to click on Add to Menu, and it will drop it in. (I will have to actually drag it to the day I want, but it will be in the queue.) I can add as many days as I want.
The next great part is that the Shopping List is being compiled automatically! When I save it I can edit in or out those ingredients I already have or extra stuff that I also want to pick up like bread.
This service is member-supported, but the reasonable cost is worth it!
So here's what I planned:
Monday. Made with some-lo-fat ingredients, but doesn'y taste that way. We found it very comforting.
Easy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Sliced tomatoes with a vinaigrette dressing
Tuesday. Pioneer Girl Meeting
Frozen Entree
Wednesday
Pasta Primavera with Smoked Gouda
Green salad.
Crusty loaf of bread
Thursday. Happy Vegetarian St. Patrick's Day!
I kept it light and meatless!
Spinach, Leek, and White Bean Soup
Cheddar Onion Soda Bread
Friday.
We are studying Marco Polo and I wanted to try something with the flavors that he would encounter on his travels through the Middle East. While a tagine is traditionally Moroccan, the spices and fruits would be authentic to the spice trade on the Silk Road. Besides I just tried some at a homeschool co-op cooking class and HAD to make it, without or without a Marco Polo study!
Chicken Tagine
I can't find eggplant this week, so am substituting already skinned and chunked butternut squash to replicate the texture, if not the taste. Never knew you could buy it like that!
served with couscous
Saturday.
Traditionally Father R's day to cook simply because he likes to!
Sunday
I'm sure there will be some great leftovers for tonight. A Day of Rest from the kitchen.
Clog over to Organized Junkie and more Menu Plan Mondays!
