Tuesday's REAL menu, and Wednesday's new plan.

My menu post on Sunday has already seen some changes.

Change #1 has been breakfast. It turns out that Office Man has been going to work about 2 hours later than normal (normal is 6am, he leaves our house at 5:15am) so I've not only had Pookie home from school sick, I've had Office Man here for breakfast as well. So I've cooked bacon or sausage with our eggs, and today I discovered 6 slices of Udi's bread in the fridge, so we were treated to cinnamon toast!

The second big change is re-ordering my menu. Here is the original plan for Tuesday and Wednesday;

Tuesday
B; some sort of eggs
L; Leftovers (this is getting exciting right?)
D; Ground beef and rice casserole topped with *fake* Cheese (AKA Dayia)

Wednesday;
B; take a guess ;)
L; guess again!
D; fish tacos with avacado slices, pinto beans (someone remind me to start cooking these at lunch time PLEASE?) and spanish rice
My Avocados I bought 3 for $1 were finally ripe yesterday, so I switched Fish tacos to last nights dinner. YUM!
Here is how I make fish tacos:

Ingredients
8 small filets, or 4 large filets of a mild white fish. Last nights was Swai, normally its Tilapia. These are also amazing with Salmon or Shrimp, but our budget can rarely accomodate these.
1tsp garlic powder, or 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
juice of 1/2 a small lemon
12 taco shells or 24 soft corn tortillas
1 large or 2 small ripe avocados, sliced
shredded cabbage, or other favorite fresh leafy greens
diced tomatoes

Sauce;
1 cup mayonnaise (I know, I know, not healthy, but it really MAKES this sauce) I prefer to use a safflower oil based mayo, but this time I just had normal Hellmans on hand.
2TBSP Milk-like substance (I prefer almond)
1 TBSP dried dill weed or oregano
1/2 -2 tsp cayenne (depending on how hot you like it, or leave it out)
Squeeze of lime juice, optional

For the sauce, mix all ingredients well and set aside. the longer it sits, the better it gets. I've made it up to a day ahead, it works great!

Preheat oven to 350

Make the sauce first, if you haven't made it ahead of time.

For the tacos, simply sautee the fish in some EVOO, add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. When it starts to get flaky, break it up in the pan with your spatula, and squeeze the lemon over it.

Depending on the size and type of fish you use, it's done very fast, within 10 minutes. My Swai was completely frozen last night, and it took closer to 30 to cook.

While your fish is cooking, spread taco shells on a cookie sheet. Put them in the oven when the fish has 5-7 minutes left. (If you're using the soft corn tortillas instead, they are easier to handle in the microwave, but they also work in the oven, spread in a single layer covered with foil. They take a bit longer to warm than the shells)

When everything is ready, layer your taco starting with the fish, then cabbage, avocado slice and diced tomatos. Top with sauce (my kids do not like the sauce)

Serve with rice and beans of your choice. Last night we had black beans and a basmati blend of rice from Trader Joes.


Since I cooked tonights dinner yesterday, I will just make the casserole tonight, but I am still going to make the pinto beans!

Monday's REAL menu

Well, it's day one of my weekly menu, and I've already deviated somewhat. Pookie is home sick from school yet again. This makes 16 days this semester. Since my menu plan only accounts for me and Deedle Bug for breakfast and lunch, I had to make some changes.

For breakfast I cut up bacon, and mixed it in scrambled eggs for breakfast soft tacos. Pookie doesn't like eggs by themselves.

For lunch I used the last of a loaf of Udi's gluten free bread for PB&J sandwiches. A treat for us, we don't buy bread very often.

Dinner I am sticking to my guns, and I am just about to pull it out of the oven. I am using OfficeMan's recipe, or trying to. He seasons first with salt and pepper, adds sauce, and turns with a sauce addition every 10-15 minutes baking at 350 for about an hour. Let me tell you, you've never had BAKED chicken this good ;)

My veggies I took the last of a bag of california mixed vegetables from Sams club, they are in a cast iron dutch oven over med-high heat with EVOO, salt, pepper and some dill. I love dill, how it tastes, how it smells how fresh it looks in my food.

So here is todays true rundown from my menu plan. I didn't deviate THAT much, right?

Menu plan, Feb 26- Mar 3

Well, I see tons of blogs out there with "Menu Plan Monday's" but it's Sunday, and I'm vegging in the living room while Pookie plays the Wii, Deedle Bug is being a 2 yearold girl, and the puppy is outside. So I figured, Why not write my menu? And then I thought again, why not use that blog that's sitting there with nothing posted???
Here Goes;
Sunday (yes, today)
B; Pancakes, sausage patties, eggs and orange juice
L; Leftover Potato chowder soup from 2 nights ago
D; Leftover swedish meatballs and pasta, with mixed vegetables

Monday
B; poached eggs for me and Deedle
L; what ever leftovers didn't get eaten Sunday
D; baked BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, steamed peas

Tuesday
B; some sort of eggs
L; Leftovers (this is getting exciting right?)
D; Ground beef and rice casserole topped with *fake* Cheese (AKA Dayia)

Wednesday;
B; take a guess ;)
L; guess again!
D; fish tacos with avacado slices, pinto beans (someone remind me to start cooking these at lunch time PLEASE?) and spanish rice

Thursday
B; maybe we'll be adventurous and put some bacon in our eggs
L; Fish tacos dont hold over well, so Deedle and I will have pinto beans and rice
D; Crockpot chicken and potatoes with our "house" seasoning rub, california blend mixed veggies and green beans

Friday;
B; cereal
L; leftovers
D; baked chicken nuggets, oven fries, and peas

Saturday;
omlette with bacon and sausage and Dayia cheese
L; leftovers
D; hamburgers or a sandwich (splurge meal!!)

And there you have it, a menu with only what's on hand right now (not much) + a couple containers of Almond milk but totally doable, it's also 100% gluten and dairy free.

Snacks for the week include, avocado, Trader Joes snack mix, raisins, Cashews, apples and peanut butter, little cutie oranges, stovetop popcorn, banana bread, tortilla chips. PB&J rice cracker sandwiches, and smoothies from frozen fruit and spinach with added vitamins.