In the Storm

August 2021 Menu

It has been quite some time since I've shared a monthly menu plan. I have been creating these menu plans off and on since about 2014 (maybe earlier); mostly on, but I have gone months at a time when I would just prepare a weekly meal plan and call it good. I went back to month this year and have stuck with it.

Jarrod and I have been going through The Magnolia Table Vol. 1 cookbook but I realize we've come to somewhat of a dilemma. There are a batch of recipes that just don't look appetizing, nor do I think they would go over on my family. A bunch of desserts, appetizers, soups, breakfasts I want to make but we are just not in that season of our lives right now. I was able to add one new Magnolia Table recipe to the menu this month, but instead ventured out to my Pinterest saves for some new recipes. Some fairly new recipes have become staple recipes and have found their way into our monthly - bi-monthly rotation of recipe cravings.

The new recipe I am looking forward to the most this month is Mexican Street Tacos by Damn Delicious. It has rave reviews on her blog and that many people could not be wrong. We'll serve it with Pico de Gallo and our homemade salsa and chips.

John was ecstatic when he saw I've added chili to the menu at the end of August. While I prefer eating chili in the fall and winter, it is a huge family favorite and we haven't had it in forever. Plus, it's a super easy crockpot meal. As always I love filling in Tuesday's tacos. We never get tired of our homemade tacos. Most of my extended family still love them but they don't eat them anywhere near as often as we do. I love that my daughter Ashley has introduced them to her friends and they are the most requested meal and everyone is excited when she's making homemade tacos.

Cook through the Magnolia Table.

Happy New Year!!!

New year. New project. 

Jarrod (my culinary arts student) and I are collaborating on a big annual project cooking our way through the Magnolia Table cookbook by Joanna Gaines. It might seem like an unconventional cookbook but we chose it for two reasons, 1) we own it. That might seem intuitive, but I had considered purchasing another cookbook and Jarrod suggested let's use one we already own. And, 2) We chose the Magnolia Table because she shares recipes that are 'tastes like home', recipes that speak to our family's heart and stomach without any, dare I say, foo foo recipes. Sure, we are up for trying new things and testing our palettes but we just aren't in to way out there recipes.

While I hope to be able to cook through the cookbook within a year, I'm pretty sure our train will be derailed a time or two, but I am hoping to make quite the dent in re-creating as many recipes from the Magnolia Table, as possible.

Today, I am sharing our January 2021 menu that, if executed, will give us a giant headstart. Here is our approach to cooking our way through the Magnolia Table cookbook:

Plan a monthly menu. I had gotten out of the habit of creating a monthly meal plan, rather I had been making a weekly plan on the fly. Planning monthly, I can see much easier places on a calendar that I might be able to try a new recipe. It will also help me keep track of the recipes that we complete. Planning is key to execution.

Feel free to replace ingredients, make simple changes to the recipes, to suit our tastes. There are a handful of recipes that have ingredients I doubt my whole family will eat.  Therefore, rather than skip that recipe I am giving ourselves permission to make them our own. Joanna even suggests in her introduction, "I want you to feel inspired to personalize these recipes and adjust them as you need for your family's tastes. If you don't like onions, take them out!..." Here's a for instance: For her Quick Orange-Walnut Sweet Rolls it calls for crescent rolls. Jarrod and I are going to replace that with bread dough and adding heavy cream before baking. Rolling out bread dough is almost just as quick as opening a couple cans of crescent rolls and I know will taste way better.

Taking notes. My goal is to make this cookbook Magnolia Table's and ours, as well. We'll make notes directly in the cookbook of changes we make/made to the recipes, possible changes for next time (maybe with a post it),  write what worked with recipe - and what didn't, and include our personal reviews: is the recipe a keeper, just so-so, make again soon!

Take photos of our creations and blog about it. I, of course, am hoping to keep up with photo-taking (and maybe improve on my foodie photos this year) and blogging about our experience with the recipe and this project.

 

I am super excited about our year-long project and can't wait to try some new scrumptious recipes.

 

March 2020 Menu.

Two things are happening for March regarding our menu plans and plans, in general, relating to meal plans. 1) I am in the fray of a sugar fast and I have been doing swimmingly. That means most of those desserts for small group are a no-no. But, not is all lost. For instance. On the 1st of March we served Pound cake, strawberries and homemade whipped cream. I didn't eat the pound cake but I can eat any berries and the whipped cream was made with Monkfruit powdered 'sugar' which isn't sugar at all, yet tastes like it. I have figured out dinners are simple fare these days so multiple chicken recipes that I rotate through our menu plans are my go-to way of eating within a sugar fast.

Which leads me to 2) and those red-highlighted meals are new recipes. I have an unwritten goal this year to create 52 new recipes to add to our family recipe book and these past couple of months have been fruitful and I'm not letting a sugar fast stop me from creating main dishes as well as yummy desserts to serve to our small group. We love our small group and we love serving them up fabulous desserts.

February 2020 Menu

Today I am sharing my menu plans for February 2020. This month I am continuing a Monday chicken dish, Taco Tuesday's, Saturday date nights - of course, and I have added several new chicken recipes that I will serve simply with a side vegetable, either steamed, sautéed, or roasted. The purpose of trying new chicken recipes is to add them into our rotation of Monday chicken dishes.

Where I maybe at one time enjoyed complicated dishes and I have the recipes to prove that, lately I have preferred simple, yet highly enjoyable - tasty and delightfully yummy - fare: ramped up chicken and a vegetable, both of which are most often completely Keto friendly.

Our tacos are not in any way Keto friendly and I have resolved myself to this because I am not willing to give up our tacos, they are our families tradition and, well, they are to die for.

I have an unwritten goal, although now that I have written those words I truly should make it official, that I would like to create 52 new recipes this year, or at least add 52 new recipes to my recipe book. There is a difference, you see? Because I have created new recipes and have yet to add several to our recipe book thus providing wiggle room should I not truly create 52 new recipes but use those recipes I just have added yet. Understand?

Oh, and p.s., although I usually stick to the menu as much as possible, unforeseen circumstances means I reserve the right to change up the menu as I see fit, or as needed.

JANUARY 2020 MENU

It has been sometime now since I posted a menu plan. I am hoping to change that this year. Over the past couple of months I have returned to creating a monthly menu plan after a good year, probably almost 2-year, break from menus. I created weekly menus during that time and would shop off the weekly menus but I felt I needed to get a better handle on our eating habits, thus the monthly menu.

Creating a monthly menu means I can plan ahead for new recipes I find on Pinterest, from my Food Love board or my Keto board. Or, even my SMALL GROUP Desserts board, where I keep all things decadent and where I find those amazing recipes to share with our small (Life) group that meets in our home on Sunday evenings.

Some things I have been doing lately to make menu planning easier:

Monday's are a chicken dish. I have acquired quite the stash of chicken recipes, such as Jalapeno Popper Chicken, Parmesan Crusted Chicken Cordon Bleu with Dijon Sauce, Creamy Tuscan Chicken (recipe to follow), Mushroom Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken (recipe to follow), Baked Crack Chicken (recipe to follow), Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce (recipe to follow), and Balsamic Baked Chicken Breasts with Mozzarella - all of which are delightful and make for an easy rotation and which I simply serve with a vegetable + cauliflower rice and/or rice. 

Tuesday's are always tacos. And, always our homemade tacos. Sure, sometimes we add a batch of Jalapeno Poppers but it's always tacos on Tuesday's and it makes menu planning that much easier.

Date night's are Saturday's. This means Jeff and I eat out and the boys fend for themselves.

Use my stash of tried and true keeper recipes. Because I have been creating menus in one form or another since 2011, and I love to cook, and my family loves to eat I regularly prepare new recipes that become family 'keeper' recipes. Those recipes that we return to over and over. We have a ton. It makes menu planning easy, too. And, because I have been creating menus for so long over the years I can refer to those previous menus for reminders of great dishes.

This month I have a couple of new recipes I am planning on trying, too. One thing I have noticed when I am looking for recipes these days is, Is it easy to prepare? It is almost a necessity. Not because I am in pain but because easy to prepare often means healthier. While we still eat tacos every week I am trying to eat much healthier and as the new year often brings lifestyle changes I want to make sure we're doing just that - eating healthier. So, a dish with a meat and lots of vegetables, or a seafood and lots of vegetables are high on my list when hunting down new recipes.

And, that's a wrap for my January menu plan.

Oh, I do want to say that I almost always follow the menu plan in its entirety but I don't stress about it if there is a day or two that ends up being scratched.

September 2019 Menu

It has been a couple of years since I created a monthly menu plan. I've been working off of a scratch sheet of paper making a weekly menu plus grocery list, which I suppose I'll still need to do for my grocery list. A friend was sharing recently how she was struggling with what to cook for her family every week. I had given the her women quite a few new chicken recipes already, which her family adored and I went on to share what I used to do, making a monthly menu and solving that 'what are we going to have for dinner' craziness.

Planning a monthly menu means I sit down one time, uninterrupted, for a couple of hours. Pull out those recipe books, bring up that food Pinterest board, open up those cookbooks, and re-visit family favorite recipes. With your family schedule in mind (traveling, date nights, dinner's out to eat, ball practice, etc...) begin plugging in meals on a monthly calendar.

I use a calendar template strictly for my menu.

I added in desserts for our evenings with our small group. I included those travel dates which will impact what we eat - at home or out to eat. I included visitors, because that too would direct what we eat for dinner. I added in a few older favorites we haven't had in a while which I can 'see' more clearly when creating a monthly menu versus a weekly. Having a Taco Tuesday quickly filled in those days. Having a regular fare on a specific day makes it easier to create your menu. For instance, one could have a breakfast for dinner day, or Friday's are pizza night. Or Mondays are meatless. Endless possibilities.

I haven't made a new recipe in awhile so I incorporated a few I've been wanting to try into September's menu as well. Please note: It was with intention that I included Jalapeno Popper Chicken twice in one month!

welcome fall.

I ache for the oppressive Savannah heat and humidity to fade into cool, clean, crisp days when the leaves begin to see a touch of rich warm vibrant colors and the skies clear of the summer filth and haze becoming brilliant blue once again.

And, I can breathe again.

There is nothing like a dutch oven filled to the brim of bubbly hot and fragrant tomato basil soup with specialty gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches to welcome fall.

This glorious meal is on the menu this week.

I can't wait to smell the tomatoes and garlic drizzled with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper roasting in the oven; see the plump tomatoes bubbling in the steaming pot of chicken stock; and pick the fresh basil and rosemary from the window garden giving the herbs a brisk chop thereby releasing their rustic, sweet aromatic smell, then adding them to the brimming pot where the flavors will mingle and marinade. 

It is mouth-watering goodness.

The best finisher to this gourmet soup is grated Pecorino Romano cheese. My boys would say a few toasted crunchy croutons but, me, I like to finish this soup with the deep nutty flavors of Romano cheese.

But, the culminating meal-finisher-extraordinaire is the crusty grilled cheese sandwiches where the 'crusty' equals rich sweet creamy butter, shredded Parmesan cheese, and lots of finely chopped garlic pressed together and lathered on thick sourdough bread slices. The glorious sandwiches are then filled with sweet smokey delicatessen ham and spicy chipotle cheese and a layer of flavor-bursting Roma tomatoes sprinkled with Italian seasonings.  

Divine.

Excited.

Can't wait.

Welcome fall. You've been a long time coming.

 

 Deeply entrenched into the Word of God as I continue an in-depth study of 1 & 2 Peter with a small group of ladies, I felt the urge for even more. Not wanting to miss any Bible study Beth Moore has to offer, because she takes me to the brink and sends me careening over into the far-reaches of the Word of God, I downloaded her brand new video series, Entrusted and ordered the companion study book. I will dwell in 2 Timothy. I cried when I read the introduction to the study.

Where will this study take me?

And there's more.

Just as summer moves into glorious fall I must move into a season of speak-able gratitude. Laying on my heart, pressing in hard, is the unmistakable desire to acknowledge the One who gives it all.

Every. Single. Gift.

Beginning in October, and for as long as necessary, I am going to record one-thousand gifts God has blessed me with. Inspired by the words penned by Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience and One Thousand Gifts, I, too, will pen one-thousand gifts.

I want to see Him move.

I want to know He is God.

I want to hear a fresh sound from Heaven.

I want to feel the very Presence of God.

I want to be changed.

Welcome fall. It's a brand new season.

 

 

 

 

 

august menu plan

For August's menu it's all about bringing back the old and introducing some new. 

A couple old favorites that we haven't had in a very long time, maybe even a half a year or so is Evil Meatball Subs. These delightfully decadent and evil subs are made with ground chuck and - wait for it - wait for it -

Bacon.

Smothered in a peppery, spicy tomato sauce on crusty rolls, these subs are truly evil.

Chicken Enchiladas is another favorite we haven't had in months. So long ago the men in my house are asking, "When are we going to have chicken enchiladas again?" I promised to put them on the menu this month. They're an old favorite filled with chicken, green chilies, sour cream, and cheese smothered in more cheese. They are delicious!

Shrimp and Grits with Andouille sausage and red eye gravy. This is mostly an old favorite of mine. Jeff likes it and the boys will eat it (they eat the grits separate from the shrimp and sausage gravy - they're nuts! But, I still love them). This is a Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives highlighted restaurant recipe that I was so glad it was posted on Food Networks website. I made little change to the original recipe because it is just so good as is.

Spaghetti. I know, right? It's crazy, but we hardly ever eat spaghetti anymore. Just plain, ole spaghetti with meat sauce. So it's back on the menu.

Not surprising, I have one new recipe each week to look forward to: Smothered Green Beans, smothered with bacon and onions, of course; Funeral Potatoes. Seriously, I've never made this old time traditional side dish that people take to funerals - so I'm told. I do remember a wonderful dish served at Jeff's Dad's funeral that was yummy! I think it had cream cheese in it. It was a rich and cheesy potato dish. Wish I had the recipe. Balsamic Honey and Mustard Pork Chops, an exciting mix of flavors but very simple to make. Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken, I mean - come on, bacon and jalapeno and cheese - YES! And, finally, Blackened Shrimp with Cajun Garlic Butter. You had me at blackened. And if that wouldn't have done it - Shrimp!

Menu Plans | July 2016

Summer is for salads. No less than three main dish salads plus three side salads planned for the month of July. I will make extra Sunday morning Elevate breakfasts of Cowboy Quiche and Monterrey Sausage pie for us to munch on through the week for our own breakfasts. Lots of sandwich-type meals in store: Reubens, an old favorite - and super easy, Patty melts to die for, and a new recipe: a steak sandwich with grilled onions and arugula - yum! Simple fare like the new recipe of Shrimp with Honey Garlic sauce with a loaf of crusty bread for scooping up the sauce and a salad; easy on the budget with salads and breakfasts for dinner, easy on the preparation, or cooking like Jalisco Taco Salad, and just plain ole' good.

I decided not to shake things up this month because our lives are already shaking up elsewhere. Amidst the rampant changes, simple fare sounds just fine to me and adds to my calm.

 

50 States 50 Recipes | Alabama

I have begun my newest cooking project 50 States, 50 Recipes in which I research those iconic recipes each of the fifty states are often known for, such as, Key Lime Pie from Florida, Kentucky's Hot Browns, or Alaska's King Salmon...I'm perusing Pinterest, favorite recipe blogs, and pulling out my dusty cookbooks and adding those state recipes to our monthly menu, cooking up the new fare, and serving them for my families meal or even as a small group dessert. I haven't given myself a time limit, like all 50 states in a year, but, I wouldn't be surprised if it takes just about that to eat through all 50 states tastes. I already have three states recipes selected for the month of May. But, today I begin with...

 

First up, I baptized some chicken, as the tale goes, in an Alabama White Gold BBQ Sauce. I was inspired to create this tangy, peppery, non-tomato based sauce from quite a few different recipes I scoped out on the internet using the original Alabama White BBQ Sauce as a basic recipe. Alabama White BBQ Sauce is an iconic northern Alabama staple for various barbecue meats including chicken and pork, created in Decatur, Alabama by Big Bob Gibson's BBQ in 1925. Normally, a tangy BBQ sauce is not our families favorite but after one taste of the mouth-watering, basted-with-white gold BBQ sauce-grilled chicken, we were hooked. Super moist, smokey chicken grilled slow and steady, which we smothered in the sauce at the table. Delicious!

 

Alabama White Gold BBQ Sauce

 

2 Cups Mayonnaise (Duke's is best)

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons freshly grated, or prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 clove garlic, minced

Whisk all ingredients together.

Use with Grilled Chicken: Pour half of the mixture over thawed chicken and marinade for 2-3 hours. Reserve remaining sauce. Grill chicken slowly, basting with marinade. Serve with remaining sauce. Store remaining in refrigerator.

 

 

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