The Menu Plan for week 83 relies on many tried, true and proven recipes.  We have a variety of projects underway and I want to keep the menu plan fairly simple.  I have found over these past months that many of the meals can be stretched much further than anticipated, especially the soups and the breakfast casseroles.  Unbeknownst to all of you, there have been many adjustments in the menu plan over the course of the past weeks.  Some meals have been dropped completely in order to continue enjoying those already prepared.

I have tried a variety of breakfast egg concoctions over the past months.  While eating the Tex Mex Scramble last week, the ‘Ole Buckeye suggested going back to some original favorites, casually mentioning that the mufflets I made during the initial introduction to THM were one of his favorites.  Since the frozen mufflet supply has been reduced, I will include them once again in week 83.  The giant pancake has become one of his ultimate favorites, although he also includes soft boiled eggs or cereal with his slice of pancake. He treats the pancake more as a breakfast sweet, than a protein packed E meal.  Oh to have his metabolism!  You may have noticed that Tuesdays are always my Yogurt Power Bowl.  Tuesday mornings the ‘Ole Buckeye volunteers early at the USO, so no formal meal is needed.  The only new breakfast recipe that I have on the docket is an interesting omelet that is baked, and I am anxious to give it a try.

Rustic Farmer’s Omelet  THM S

Mufflets  Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook page 237  THM S

Berry Creamy Grains Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook page 252  THM E

The lunches for week 83 are based on massive amounts of left over soups.  I ended up cooking the white chicken chili for much longer in the crock pot because the beans just didn’t soften.  Ever happen to you?  That being said, we may be eating white chicken chili for days!!  If a change is needed, I will prepare a new simple recipe for a “strawberry” chicken salad.  I have found that pre prepping lunches works best for us.  I am not a fan of stopping in the middle of the day to make lunch.  I have also found that my heaviest cooking days have evolved into Tuesdays and Saturdays.  I am not sure exactly why, but that is my current schedule.

Peanut Butter Milkshake   THM S

Strawberry Chicken Salad  THM S

The dinners planned for week 83 are super easy, mainly because I have two nights out with the girls.  During sailing season (soon to commence…if the NorEasters ever stop) the ‘Ole Buckeye has guys’ night out at least every Wednesday.  I have Bunco once a month, but this group of ladies has proven to be a crazy, fun loving, carefree group, and I have enjoyed sharing time with them.

I have several cook once/eat twice dinners planned, including our old standby sausage, onions and peppers (peppers and sausage both on sale) and the cod dinner which I thoroughly enjoy (cod on sale every Friday at Fresh Market).   I found gorgeous leeks for the Creamy Leek and Mushroom Chicken, a family favorite meal that I have not made in quite some time.

The week ahead looks to be filled with good eating.  It is a little heavy on S meals.  I have set a goal to find more E meals, fit for all meal times.

I do need to do a recap of last week since it was filled with quite a few successful additions.

The Tex Mex breakfast was very tasty…at least to me.  It was during this breakfast that the ‘Ole Buckeye requested that I return to some of the original egg dishes.  Actually, this Scramble might be much better as a lunch or a breakfast for dinner.  I loved the seasonings on the zucchini, and might prepare the zucchini this way in the future as a side to other Tex Mex dishes (without the eggs).

Tex Mex Breakfast Scramble  THM Deep S

The Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Jalapeño Cream Sauce was good, although I found the chicken to be dry.  I am guessing that happens since it is fried wrapped in the bacon.  The flavors were excellent, but the dish definitely needed the cream sauce (mild Jalapeño flavor by the way).  I served the chicken with roasted asparagus and the cream sauce was great with asparagus as well.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Jalapeño Cream Sauce  THM S

Let me just say something about Hungarian Goulash.  I have made it for years, a recipe right out of the red and white checked BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS COOKBOOK.  It happens to be a favorite of my daughter’s….why, I don’t know.  I added this dinner to the menu plan because I wanted to do something special and unexpected for her after a particularly difficult week in her life.  Sometimes providing a special meal and taking the time to make it is more meaningful than anything money can buy.  I still have my tattered cookbook with the recipe, but it took some research to find a link to it online.

Hungarian Goulash  THM S

The Creamy Mushroom and Leek Chicken Breast have been a favorite of ours for some time now.  I am remiss by not making it more often since the recipe is fairly simple and quite delicious.  This time I used chicken tenders rather than breasts, which I may continue to use in the future.  I found beautiful leeks this week that made this dinner possible.

Creamy Mushroom and Leek Chicken Breasts  THM S

Last but not least was the attempt to make a “bread” that could be used with both an E or an S meal.  I will admit that if I hadn’t been on this diet for a period of time and craving a vehicle to make a sandwich with peanut butter or to accompany my soup, I may not have appreciated this bread.  It doesn’t have much taste, but it does lend itself to a layer of nut butter or cheese.  It can even be toasted to eat with eggs.  I will do some tweaking, but this is a definite start to another breakthrough on this journey.

Nuke Queen’s Awesome Bread   THM FP

As the journey continues I find that our taste in foods changes as well.  I often hear the ‘Ole Buckeye say “This seems a little too sweet”.  It is obvious to me that removing real sugar from our diet has made huge differences not only in our cravings, but also in our enjoyment of other flavors.  This way of eating is a process and definitely takes time and effort, but it is so worth it.

Here’s to another week of good eating.  Bon Appetit!