Meal Planning Moment

Rereading my old blogs, I got inspired to continue my meal planning tradition of sitting for a moment with my recipe box and pulling out 5-7 main dishes to cook over the next week.

Many years ago I made a recipe card for even the simple dinners we eat, not that I needed to follow the recipe for it, but more as a physical note of the meal.  Once a week, usually Saturday morning while everyone is sleeping or doing their own thing, I sit with my recipe box (and my calendar for the next week) and pull out the cards of the dishes I want to make and keep those cards out, either on the counter or in a cabinet, but somewhere I can flip through them.  I fill up the grocery list on the productivity app my family shares, and by Sunday night I usually have all the ingredients I'll need for the week.  Having that list of meals plus their ingredients on hand makes getting dinner on the table easier.  I tried assigning a meal to a certain day of the week, but I prefer to just cook what I have time for as each day comes.  Some days I'll have more time than others, so I just cook the meal that seems to fit in best at the time.  It saves so much time.

When I'm done with the cards for that week, I file them in the back of their category leaving me with the cards of dishes not recently prepared.  Yes, I do try new recipes, and if there's one that will make the cut into our rotation then I file into my box!

The calendar sits with me so that I get a realistic view of who will be home for dinnertime and which kids need hefty pre-game meals.  

These are just the main dishes; don't be alarmed at the lack of veggies!  I usually make either an Arabic style salad or roast some vegetables, or both.  

This week we travel Friday, so I'm not going to have as full of a list.
~ Zesty BBQ chicken (crock pot or Instant Pot) for lunches
~ Meatloaf      (won't be needed)
~Musaka
~Homemade Lasagna
~ Chicken Shawerma

Nope, we're not vegetarian.

meal plan

Assalamu alaikom.  I know it's been ages since I've posted anything, but I'm just going to jump in and start posting stuff.

With lacrosse season in full swing I've been better at meal planning.  By full swing I mean that Musa plays 5 days a week, Heba plays 4 days a week, and Aisha play 2 days a week.  Lots of extra driving around on top of regular errands and homeschooling classes.

Normally I pull out my recipe box on Sunday (or Saturday) morning and plan what I need from the grocery store for the week in addition to the regular items that always rotate on our grocery lists.  I pretty much sort the meals in my mind as to which days would be better to prepare each one depending on how my 'at home' time looks.  About my recipe box: a few years ago I wrote down even the meals I prepare by memory so that when I meal plan I can pull that card out and keep it on the counter for the week.  It's not always used as a recipe card, but more like a name card.

We're on spring break this week!  This week's plan:

Meatloaf  (some kids put the sliced meatloaf in burger buns); Mixed veggies that were already cooked like sauteed cabbage, roasted brussels sprouts.

Roast chicken with potatoes and garlic;  (roasted at 450 degrees.. wow!)

Grilled chicken skewers

Mejaddara (lentils cooked in rice)

Sloppy Joes

Friday: invited out.

This weekend's work

Some weekends I am really on top of things and get a lot of good food prep done.  This was one of those weekends.  I will recap for the sake of offering suggestions and encouragement to others and to remind myself of what things work for me.

The first good news is that the gluten free mix I make myself and store worked wonderfully in our standby pancake recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that is a tradition in our family.  This good news goes perfectly with the other good news which is that I found and used the griddle attachment to our stove top which has been sitting in the garage since we moved in two years ago.  (You know some of those pancakes went to the freezer for after school snacks during the week)  To continue with the gluten-free theme, my daughter made a batch of iced cookies that just really hit the spot, and now we are both so excited to continue experimenting with our homemade flour mix in other dessert items.

So I got out my biggest pot, bought a 105oz (or so) can of tomatoes, an almost ridiculous amount of tomato paste, and 4 pounds of ground beef.  I stirred a pot of tomato sauce for a few hours on Saturday to achieve 4 portions of meat sauce for the freezer. Some for lasagna and some for spaghetti dinner.  I'm really excited about those.  That was a lot of meat sauce.

Another exciting adventure was making yogurt with one of my daughters Friday night.  It was a success and we are all enjoying the yummy yogurt even though it is not very thick.  I hear this is a common issue in homemade yogurt. Still working on that one.

To continue, I boiled and shredded a chicken breast to be dressed up and used for lunches, stocked up on fruits, veggies, and a few obligatory salty snack foods for the kids' lunches this week. 

I found a few recipes for the crockpot and made one of them.  It was a sesame chicken recipe that turned out kind of plain.  No one is going to ask for it again, but in a bind I could use it.

That's a lot of cooking and food handling.  Throw in a trip to Costco and Safeway, and we should be good for a while!  Tonight, Monday, there will be leftovers from the not-so-great sesame chicken plus some leftovers from the lunch restaurant we ate at.

Friday recap

This school year has a nice rhythm and schedule that we've never had before.  I'm enjoying the days we spend at home because they come after 3 days of being out of the house and running.

Today is Friday and is a 'stay at home' day.  The girls and I (we are currently the homeschoolers) know it is a home day start the day with a calm tone.  Today I put in a load of darks shortly after I got dressed, but not right away because I knew one of my kids wanted a morning shower.  Breakfast wasn't rushed, and my youngest could take her time eating and getting herself dressed. 

Luckily the two older girls got started pretty close to 8:00 on their first subject (always Math) while I tidied up the kitchen, straightened my hair, and helped the littlest with a fashion emergency (it happens).

I joined the schoolroom around 9am to make sure all was well.  It was.  Youngest One took down the October calendar so that we could change it over to November.  She put the dates back up while naming the numbers and me showing her how they looked on the calendar.  We then talked about the months, how her birthday month is next after November, and then she did the weather chart by pointing the arrow to 'cloudy' (big surprise for Seattle).

 



Like I mentioned earlier, I like the predictable rhythms our weeks take this school year.  On Fridays I can take care of household work, sit by the girls while they focus on work, and I can spend some good, quality time with the youngest in some educational interactions.  I won't call them 'lessons' because they're not really that formal yet with her.  She won't be 5 years old until the end of December, so we just talk about all things preschool such as colors, numbers, patterns, songs, stories, and letter recognition.  I've been using a book called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but in all honesty we've done all of 12 lessons since starting in July.  How's that for laid back?  She is learning how to read from exposure to letters and books, so this book is kind of a guide for me and not The Standard by which I must sit my 4 year old down and drill daily.  She actually read an entire Bob Book today with little help from me, so something is working.

The older girls will be done with most of their independent work soon (plus some time with me during grammar), and then we'll get into an hour-long history lesson.  I read aloud from The Story of the World and then we do map work, place events on a timeline, and read extra books I've already checked out from the library.  After that we'll have lunch and then the girls will spend some time reading from the 'required reading' list (which I make). 

We had been in the habit of attending Friday Prayers at the mosque, but we haven't been in a few weeks.  One masjid is holding a later service at 3:30 to accommodate the school aged kids, so we went to that one time.  The only down side is that it took half an hour to get there after spending 20 minutes picking up my son.  So adding up travel time and prayer time, that outing took us 2 hours which kind of wore everyone to the point of crankiness late on a Friday afternoon... I'm not so encouraged to repeat that.

As for the remainder of the day, I made up some pizza dough for dinner tonight.  I also cooked up some taco meat last night which I'll probably use for Saturday's lunch.  Broccoli is also waiting  in the fridge to be turned into soup.

Have a great day and take it easy.

Crock Pot and Arabic Food

I started using a crock pot, aka slow cooker, only a few years ago.  I quickly noticed that most of the recipes for this appliance were full of canned foods, packets of seasonings, processed cheeses (lots and lots of it).  The meals were very typical "American" foods like shredded ____ (insert type of meat) from which you'd make tacos or sandwiches.  Others were for pots full of noodles, cream, cheese, milk, butter, and maybe some meat.  It was looking gross.

I've figured out a few things I can make successfully in the crock pot without compromising the quality of the meal.  And on top of that, I've figured out how to make a few Arabic dishes in there too!  And that's the main idea about today's post is to share with my friends how to use the crock pot to prepare some of the Arabic foods I've adapted for the crock pot.

The first one is easy; it's a boneless leg of lamb.  This is especially convenient for  days when company is coming because the oven is free for your veggies or other side dishes. 

Leg of Lamb:
Rinse and trim fat off of one leg of lamb (3-5lb).
Season with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and no more than 1/2tsp of allspice.
Sear the lamb in a hot skillet.
Transfer to a cold crock pot. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup water to pot.
Turn it on High for an hour or two and then turn it to low for the remainder of the time.
4-5 hours of total cook time is usually perfect.  If you have a leg smaller than 3 lbs then cook it 3 hours, but the ones that are 4-5lbs can go 4-5 hours.

On a busy school day last year I decided to try prepping for the eggplant dish called Musa'ka and to put in the crockpot rather than have to bake it in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  I wanted to dish to be ready when we got home from being out all day rather than come home and have to preheat the oven and bake the dish.  It worked!

I made my ground beef, onion, green pepper and tomato paste mix.  I broiled the sliced eggplant under the broiler and lightly salted them.  Then I sprayed the crockpot with a nonstick spray and put the eggplant in.  After that I poured in the meat/onion/tomato mixture in.  You don't need to add extra water because the lid keeps the steam in.  And that is it.  I put it on low and it was plenty warm when we returned home 4 hours later.  If you like to top your Musa'ka with a béchamel sauce then this might not give a great result, however, I have read recipes where they say to take the lid off for 30 minutes at the end to allow cheese to cook up and not be gooey.

And finally, I made a great pot of Fasulieh bizZeit (green beans in olive oil) last night.

Green beans in oil:

Wash and trim 1.5 lbs green beans (I'm totally estimating on the amount.  I had a Ziploc bag full of beans from my neighbor's garden, so I just used all that up)

Snap the beans into smaller pieces and set aside.

Pour 2-3 Tbsp olive oil in the crock pot.

Slice a medium onion and put over the oil.  Chop a large tomato or 2-3 smaller ones and put over the onions.

Now put all the beans over the onions and tomatoes.  Sprinkle with a  1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt.

I cooked on high for 4 hours.  Results were fantastic.

I don't have any picture to post right now, but if I snap one I'll come back and add it.

Try some of your dishes in the crock pot and see if it can work for you!

Chicken Salad

Tasty Chicken Salad

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed
3 green onions sliced thinly
handful of pecans, chopped
craisins to taste (if desired)
2 or 3 celery stalks, chopped
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
3 Tbsp plain yogurt
Season with 1/4-1/2 tsp curry powder, salt and pepper.

You could just do the mayo and curry if you're not into the extras!

Taco Soup

This is a pretty standard taco soup recipe, but I'm posting it for those following some of my other posts.

1lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
(brown those two in a skillet)
Add a packet of taco seasoning or make your own
(at this point you can put this and the following ingredients into a crock pot, or you can cook stove top)
Add:
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can hominy
1 can Ro-Tel (diced tomatoes with chiles)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 cup water

Let this simmer on the stove or in a crockpot for a while.  It will taste great for a few days.  Serve with many garnishes such as cheddar cheese, sour cream, chips, hot sauce, cilantro, or cornbread.

A few meal amendments in March

I didn't make a monthly meal plan in March on purpose.  I had a lot of overflow from January and February that I hadn't gotten around to making, so I was loosely using those meals as guides. 

In the meantime, I've come across a really neat website which has given me so many new ideas!!  All this access to information is great and tiresome at the same time.  I want to try new things, I try to fit them into my busy days, I compare them to other things I used to make and do.... sometimes "simpler" might be better!  So here are a few new things I've tried that have also improved the supply and quality of food in my home.

* boil a couple of dozen eggs on a Sunday and keep in the fridge for snacks or breakfasts

* bake 8-10 chicken breasts plainly seasoned.  shred 3-5 of them and make a chicken salad.  slice the rest or cube and freeze or keep in fridge for casseroles, fajitas, or soups.

* make a pot of chili with 2lbs of beef. freeze half and keep the rest for lunches or dinners. this also works for taco soup for a variety.

* wash a few head of the romaine hearts, dry, and keep in ziploc to make salad prep easier.  you could also slice up some veggies, just not too many in advance.

These few ideas helped me a lot in the last two weeks, and that along with some meal planning have kept things moving along smoothly.  I might try to simplify the actual cooking for the month of May, so I will hopefully make a thoughtful post on that later on. 

This is the great website from where I've gotten ideas, recipes, and inspiration!  I follow her on facebook and love to see what she packs for her kids' lunches!  I even bought some lunch boxes like the ones she uses because they're just too cool.  This recipe for granola bars lasts very little here.  Over half of it will disappear within 24 hours, masha'Allah, and the rest soon follows.  I've made it 3 times just this month.

I hope I can pass along just some of this excitement in making food planning easier on those of us who are in the thick of it.  My growing children need the benefit of wholesome foods, and of a good balance of protein vs. carbs.  It takes planning and dedication, but I do believe it is very worth it!

February Meal Plan

 

It worked so great in January that I cannot go without it in February.  I did mostly follow the order on the list.  On the weekend I'd look ahead at the next 5-7 meals on the list and make a grocery list to match.  If there was anything I wanted to skip or replace I could easily do it.  A few dishes didn't get made in January, so I put them in February.  A couple of others were such hits that I'll be making them again.  I noted certain days of the week because those are days I'm out of the house and need dinner to be ready when I get back.  I picked foods that are either crock pot or easy to make ahead and reaheat.
Side note: I always make sides, so just because they're not listed doesn't mean we don't eat greens. 

February Meal Plan

1.      Hamburgers  Friday

2.      Koshari

3.      Grilled Salmon, veggies, rice

4.      Shepherd’s Pie

5.      Broccoli Soup w/ Cornbread   Tue

6.      Broiled Chicken, Veggies

7.      Crockpot: BBQ Zesty Chicken  Thurs

8.      Lentil Curry  Friday

9.      Kafta Waraq

10.   Roast Leg of Lamb  Sunday

11.   Whole roasted chicken in crockpot, salad, rice

12.   Molokhieh (when Abed is travelling)  Tuesday

13.   Mujaddara

14.   Chicken Paprika  Thursday

15.   Kafta Balls with veggies  Friday

16.   Chicken Nuggets in skillet  Saturday

17.   Malfoof  Sunday

18.   Musaka

19.   Fasulia, Rice  Tuesday

20.   Chicken Burgers

21.   Broccoli Rice Casserole  Thursday

22.   Baked potatoes  Friday

23.   Roast chicken pieces, potatoes, carrots, any other veggie  Saturday

24.   Spaghetti and Sauce, Salad

25.   Roasted veggies over pasta

26.   Italian chicken with rice (crockpot)

27.   Sloppy Joes

28.   Curried chickpeas, rice

this is a picture of my rice cooker with an attempt at making makloobeh in it.  i cooked the meat separately, oven-fried the eggplant separately, then combined everything in the rice cooker to cook.  it turned out great!  (makloobeh wasn't even on my january meal plan)

Day 15's Crock Pot dinner

Right in the middle of my monthly meal experiment and things are going swimmingly.  Even though I'm not going in the exact order of the list, I am still following it along.  Yesterday I made the meatloaf that was originally slotted for the 9th, and today I got out the chicken leg quarters for the BBQ Chicken Pieces in Crockpot which was for day 10.  The leftovers of the meatloaf went to work with  my husband, and we still have a little bit left. 

When I was ready to assemble the meal, I realized I was going to use a new recipe for this BBQ chicken in the crock pot, but I couldn't remember where I saw it.  I started looking things up on my pinterest board and on the homeschool forums I frequent (and from where I got this terrific idea).  I couldn't find it.  But that was OK with me because I know my family has had enough BBQ flavored food (they're not hot on it in the first place), so I browsed pinterest (more specifically, the blog of the lady who cooked for 365 days in her crockpot) and decided to sprinkle the leg quarters with a packet of dry italian salad dressing like this one:

I added a little more garlic powder and onion powder, about a cup of water, and turned it on high.  Once it started to smell good (not longer than an hour later) I decided to put some veggies in.  I put some cut carrots (like 6 big carrots since my peeps like 'em).  I walked out to the garage where I have a big bag of reddish potatoes from Costco sitting in the cool temperature and grabbed only 3 of those because my peeps aren't so in to those.  So I just cut those up in big pieces and threw them in.  Then I whipped out my new BFF, remember who that is, yes, my rice cooker!  Set that baby up for 6:40pm and got ready to head out for the afternoon.  Oh, my 10yr old and I made a tray of brownies first, so we all had a little yummy snack before finally walking out the door. :)

Verdict: the chicken was falling off the bone when we got home at 7pm.  Rice was steaming hot.  The seasonings and spices were fantastic and we all loved it.  I used two forks to take the meat off the bone, but I did not add it back to the crockpot.  I kept it on the side and then we just served the rice, then chicken, and a spoon of the saucy vegetables.  It was great, and I'll make it again. 

Day 12 of Monthly Meal Plan

Last week was our first week back to the full school routine, and I wasn't sure if the January Meal Plan was going to be stressful or a relief.  It turned out to be a relief.  I wasn't burdened with not having the right meat or veggie to complete a meal, nor was I stumped trying to decide what to make.  On the contrary, I made good use of small pockets of time here and there to prepare the ingredients that I would finally assemble at the end of the day.

What ended up being a tremendous help is my rice cooker with timer.  I set it up with rice and it was ready at dinner time.  I used the crock pot a lot, too, and I even prepared the Musa'ka like I normally would (all parts separate) but assembled it into the slow cooker and turned it on before leaving the house for the afternoon.  It was warm and bubbly for dinner, and the rice cooked on the timer and was ready too.

A huge bonus, too, was that my husband was able to take lunch to work from our leftovers.  He was very happy about that, and so was I, actually!   

Making the grocery lists was easy this weekend.  I didn't buy anything I didn't need, and I was confident in what the plan was.  Our weekly schedule changed from what I expected it to be, so I won't need Thursdays to be crock pot nights like I thought I would.  Now I'll need Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday to be crock pot nights!  It's been easy to arrange for that, though, because I can also put my oven on a timed bake and have it turn on and off on a timer.  (thank you automation!)

So, all in all, the list is working out well.  I've been going in order, mostly, with just a switcheroo here and there.  When I made the list I didn't pay much attention to the distribution of chicken and beef, but now I see that I have a some days where it is beef, beef, and then beef.  So if I do this for February I will be a little more careful about that.  Also, don't forget that I plan on some type of salad and/or side veggie to go along with the dinners. 

I've enjoyed this experiment, and I hope it's encouraged any of my readers to find a way to simplify their routines or to at least make them easier!

Day 4 : Shepherd's Pie

Dutifully following along, today was Shepherd's Pie.  I've made something similar only once before, so this is almost the first time I've ever made this.  Thanks to the plan, the ingredients were ready to roll this morning.  I assembled the dish... here is a peek:

I covered it, put it in the fridge, and left the house till almost 5pm.  Popped in the oven for an hour, and dinner was ready.  What I didn't tell you earlier is that I also chopped up a big green salad this morning and kept IT in the fridge (tomatoes separate, of course) until dinner time.  Here is the after (I do not even pretend one of those glamour bloggers with gorgeously-lit dishes on clean surfaces with the afternoon sun artistically streaming in through the window... you get my kitchen counter.)

 

I think we should have sufficient leftovers to cover for tomorrow.  I'll take that time to prep a little for the following day and for anything coming up during the next week.  We'll see how this pressure holds up once I start back to homeschool on Monday. 

This whole 'plan' is an experiment to see if it will help me or not.  What I might try next month is, let's use Sheperd's Pie for example, make two of them at one time and either freeze one for later, or keep it to bake the next day.  Then I could freeze those leftovers.  It will be more clear after another week or two.

Day 3 Meal Plan

So here we are on day 3.  I learned my lesson from the frozen chicken fiasco yesterday and pulled out the beef for stew yesterday for today (at the same time I took out the chicken).  It was ready to go this morning, and since I knew I'd be out of the house from 10am-6pm I got to work while still sipping my first cup of coffee (this is not something I like to do, but it was an unusual circumstance).

I cooked up the beef stew in the pressure cooker and had it cooling around 9am.  Before I left the house I set up the rice in my new rice cooker (my new BFF), and I pulled out the beloved crock pot.
In it I put a bag of frozen french style green beans, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, and all the broth from the meat I just cooked.  I shook in a little garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, closed the lid, and set it to low.  I put the meat in a bowl in the fridge since it didn't need to be sitting in the crock pot all day.  I popped in the house for about 1 minute around 4:10pm at which time the meat got dumped into the crockpot to warm it up in time for dinner. 

Side note:  my husband went home around lunchtime while I was not there, so I asked him to set the crock pot to "warm" instead of "low" because I know it cooks too hot.  I will probably do that again when I will be gone that many hours with the crock pot since it really doesn't need to be on 'low'.

One glitch in today's dinner.... turns out my rice cooker is on a 24 hour clock and not a 12 hour one.  So when I set the timer to be ready at 6:00, it was thinking AM and I was thinking PM.   Silly rice cooker.....  I got a phone call from my husband who was home (while I was not) asking me what's up with the rice.  It was 6:08 (pm, haha) and it sure didn't look like it was ready.  I was bummed, but we both laughed when we realized the mess-up.  He was able to successfully press the "Cooking" button which activated the rice making magic, and we ate a hot meal eventually, just not at 6:00, or should I say, not at 18:00.

Look at the picture.  Again, notice how un-messy the kitchen is? Nice.  Alhamdullah, the food tasted great, and leftovers will be going to work with my husband tomorrow.  I was able to get a few ingredients prepped for tomorrow night's dinner which I will assemble after breakfast tomorrow and bake once I get home at 4:00 insha'Allah.  Nope, I'm not telling what the dish is (ok, you could scroll down and read my other blog entry), but I will say it won't be in the crock pot.  Are you relieved?

 

 

 

Adventures in my new meal plan

The paper listing the January meals hangs on the fridge.  It's a delight, really.

A funny thing happened.  January 1 came.  We happened to have a lot of leftovers that I did not want to throw out, so I made everyone eat them without cooking the meal listed on day 1.  Turns out nobody really felt like trying Koshari which was scheduled for that day, so we just went ahead to day 2 the next day which was Zesty BBQ Chicken Sandwiches.  Maybe I'll try the Koshari next month.

Since it was the first time to try this, and it was the new year, and I wasn't really on my game, I forgot to actually pull the frozen chicken out of the freezer on that day.  I also kinda thought I might be making that Koshari anyways, but I wasn't, so why I didn't pull the chicken out, I don't know.  However, a few hours in a bowl of cold water defrosted those little bird breasts in no time, and I was able to put them in the crock pot around 1:30pm.  My crock pot cooks really hot, so I wasn't worried about a few skinless, boneless chicken breasts getting cooked in time for dinner.  I followed the recipe exactly, and I had to just help myself to dinner shortly after 5pm (instead of waiting till 6) because it looked and smelled too good! (if you do the math, you'll see that I did not cook the chicken the recommended 6-8 hours on low)  It was a treat for me.  I've been craving something with BBQ flavor, so this shredded chicken really hit the spot.  By the way, I just pulled out two forks and shredded the chicken right there in the pot.  The sauce mixed in with it perfectly and wasn't too messy once in the buns!  Sadly, my husband wasn't too impressed, but I will be making it again whether for lunch or maybe as a backup on a "leftovers" night if we have a little bit of this and that but not enough for everyone.  Look at my picture below.  See how un-messy the kitchen is? It's beautiful.  We had some salad in the fridge from the day before, in case you're worried about the lack of greenery.  Also, I often serve raw carrots with meals since some of my kids prefer raw veggies to cooked ones.  No problem!

A monthly meal plan!

I have never done something like this, but the homeschooling forums I read daily had a topic about planning all of January's meals ahead of time.  >gulp<

As you know, I've made weekly plans before, and I loved what that did for my schedule and my peace of mind, but imagine knowing what you'll need, generally, for a whole month!

I was up for trying it out, so I spent a few hours this weekend going through meals and recipes we actually like and that don't take forever to prepare.  Thursdays I'm  out of the house till 7pm, so I set aside the crock pot recipes for those days.  I didn't allow for any eating out or invitations, so of course this plan is flexible.  At least I'll know I can 'do the next thing' though when it comes time to.

So here it is...

January Meal Plan

Dinners

1.     Koshari

2.     Zesty BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

3.     Fasulia, Rice  (Thursday)

4.     Shepherd’s Pie

5.     Musaka, Rice

6.     Lasagne, Salad

7.     Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Cornbread or Homemade bread

8.     Broiled Chicken, Salad, Veggie

9.     Meatloaf, Salad, Rice

10. BBQ Chicken Pieces in Crockpot, Veggies, Salad (Thursday)

11. Laban, Rice

12. Taco Soup, Cornbread

13. Salmon, Rice

14. Malfoof, Salad

15. Memaw’s Casserole, Salad

16. Kafta Waraq

17. Chicken Stew (Thursday)

18. Chili and Cornbread

19. Oven Fried Chicken, Salad, Veggies

20. Chicken Burgers, Veggie

21. Spaghetti and Sauce

22. Dawud Basha, Rice

23. Roast Chicken with Red Peppers & Garlic, Rice

24. Roast Leg of Lamb, Rice, Veggies (Thursday)

25. Meatballs baked with turnips, carrots, roasted eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes; Rice

26. Fava Bean Ratatouilee (p. 201 Forks over Knives)

27. Skillet Fried Chicken Strips, Salad, Veggies, Rice

28. White Chicken Chili

Lunches (ideas in addition to the regular standby's like sandwiches)

1.      Tacos

2.     Red Beans and Rice

3.     Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

4.     Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

5.     Quesadillas

Ramadan is half over

Before Ramadan starts it is easy to feel apprehensive about it. 
"How hard will this be?"
"I don't want to give my morning coffee"
"Argh, taking care of 4 children while fasting will be a disaster"
"Iftar is so late, how can we have just one meal a day?"

Then Ramadan begins.  As soon as it is announced that the moon is sighted I get a little chill run through my body. I'm a little excited.  A special time is here.  Will I be present enough to get some benefits from it?  I sure hope so!  And even if I can't do all the 'extra' worshipping that many people do I know that taking care of my children and my husband is worship in and of itself.  One day I'll have more free time to stay up in prayer or to sit and read during the day, but for now I'm going to take it as it comes, one day at a time.

Since last weekend I've taken a little break from cooking.  My husband was out of town, so that took some pressure off :)  There was also a day-long seminar (I guess you could call it that) at a friend's house and at the mosque that included great sisterhood, lectures, and shared meals.  I ate at her house Wednesday night and Thursday night and got some of that encouragement I blogged about not too long ago.  It was refreshing to hear words of faith from a lady who has studied Islam and shared the beauty and hope of it.  It was also fulfulling to be around a couple of dozen other women, some I knew, some I didn't, who were there for similar reasons as I.  We visited, laughed, shared, and ate together.  It was a much needed couple of days with friends.

Now on to the food ... you knew that was coming...
Monday night was frozen pizzas and leftovers.
Tuesday night was dinner at a local pizza place the kids love.
Wed and Thursday were at the friend's house. For the potluck on Wednesday I took Chicken Paprika, Rice, and some Taco Soup.  Thursday Iftar was catered by Kabab Palace.

And that brings us to this weekend.
Friday, today, I'm making a carrot soup, zucchini quiche, salad, and if I find a bag in the freezer I'll heat up spaghetti sauce and make spaghetti (mostly this is for my husband).

Saturday we'll have our first guests over for this month of Ramadan.  At the first of Ramadan, Iftar started out at 9pm, but tomorrow it will be around 8:40.  That's easier for us with our little ones needing to sleep, so we're excited to have company over tomorrow!  I'll be making a leg of lamb which I season, sear, and put in the crock pot for a few hours.  Sides dishes will be roasted veggies, salad, soup, rice, and maybe a potato casserole. 

May the rest of Ramadan be filled with blessings!

Meal notes

I've missed doing my menu plans here, but don't you think I haven't been cooking!
I'm going to back track and note what we had this first week of Ramadan.
When you haven't eaten since before the crack of dawn, a proper meal is in order come sunset.  Thankfully my husband isn't too set in any traditional foods, so there's no pressure to create 'feasts' each night like many homes do.  We've been sticking with a main dish and either a salad or a veggie side dish.  I made a soup one day but no one ate from it.  Desserts aren't a problem, either, now that I have an eager 9yr old chef in the house!

Last Friday: Shakrieh (beef cubes in cooked yogurt with rice on side)

Saturday: Seasoned chicken and veggies in an oven bag.

Sunday:  Salad, I can't remember the main dish

Monday:  Spaghetti and Sauce

Tuesday:  Hamburgers

Wednesday:  Leftover spaghetti, macaroni with behamel, leftovers

Thursday:  Musa'ka

Friday:  More Musa'aka, rice, and a salad.

Meals for next week

I know, it's still Friday, but I'm planning for next week.  We have to get lots of groceries this weekend b/c we slacked off last weekend.  Here's what I have lined up so far, but I'm going to have to add a few more main dishes. I'm at a complete loss... I'm so not enjoying being the one in charge of food for the family :(

Sweet Potato Soup
BBQ Chicken
Malfoof (wrapped cabbage leaves)
Shakrieh (cooked yogurt dish) with rice
*something in crockpot but what can it beeeeee??* help me!!

Might make this cabbage salad. Cabbage is nicely priced right now, especially at Sprouts, and I've loved this salad since Mom made it for me after I had delivered Aisha (cough, three years ago).

Recipe for Cabbage Salad:

Coarsely chop about half a head of cabbage

Add a handful of coarsely chopped almonds

Add a handful of craisins (dried cranberries)

Add a chopped apple

Dressing:

(amounts vary to taste)

Plain yogurt (about half a cup)

Orange Juice (couple of tbsps)

Maple Syrup (1 Tbsp if you like)

edited to add: for next week:  leg of lamb seared then slow cooked in crock pot, sides of rice and veggies

 green salad (Sunday night's dinner) with options of cheese, tuna, Stacy's pita chips

mexican type chicken in crockpot on Monday since hubby won't be joining us for dinner

menu

Hey Everyone, I've been redecorating my blog; hope you like it!

I've had a tremendously busy and fun week.  My mom's been in town which means more help with cooking, more things to eat, and also more out-of-the-house things to do.  So it's been nonstop.  I'll back post our meals since Sunday since I can't remember as far back in time as Saturday :P


Sunday: Chicken Tikka; Rice
Monday: Fried Chicken, Brussels Sprouts, French Fries
Tuesday:  Meatballs baked with turnips, carrots, roasted eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes; Rice
Wednesday:  leftovers for some plus dinner at my dad's house
Thursday: Green Salad, Spaghetti and Sauce
Friday:  Tenderloin, salad, veggies
Saturday: Picnic lunch

Lunches: 
frozen pizza
broccoli/potato/cheese soup
leftovers
tuna sandwiches

Menu's up

I have a tentative idea of what we'll be eating this week:

Lunches:
~I'm making a couple of extra loaves of bread, slicing them, and putting them in the freezer so that we can get back into having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch!  I know, that's not very exciting, but we haven't eaten those in months and months, so I hope they'll be a happy change. 
~ Baked macaroni and cheese (new recipe I'm waiting to try)
~ leftovers or something from the freezer
~ tacos if necessary

Dinner:
Sunday: Tenderloin steak, roasted veggies
Monday: Making a pot of White Chili for the first time, some leftover steak for the skeptics
Tuesday: Probably more white chili for me, feel like frying some chicken thighs, more roasted veggies
Wednesday: Taco soup, steamed broccoli
Thursday: Soup, not sure.. I have a lot of broccoli and potatoes, so probably that.
Friday: Meatballs in a tray with veggies and tomato sauce, side of rice

Insha'Allah, that's the plan.