2012 food goals

I am often amazed when I look back on the dinners that my mom served us on a nightly basis. There was always a main dish, and usually three sides. Of course as a child/teen I took it for granted, and now that I am in this role of family chef I am in awe that she could do this and not run away (kidding, thanks Mom!!).

JH has really enjoyed cooking lately, his favorites to make are his famous veggie pizza (half pesto half tomato sauce) and homemade pasta and sauce

I have found that the more I put into pre-planning each week the easier it is to provide the family with some good eats. My new system is working (for now) is that every Saturday I go look around different food blogs, leaf through my favorite magazine, and come up with a workable list. Saturday or Sunday I will shop and do a couple hour marathon of cooking. I got this idea for a "baking day" from this great blog.




yummy granola in the making


Yesterday I made pizza dough, granola, berry muffins, and applesauce.  Today I am making clementine granita, only because we got a bunch for Christmas and they are beginning to look pretty sad. I also want to make yogurt but sometimes it just doesn't happen.

This Weeks Menu:

Breakfasts (we try to have a green smoothie each morning, we freeze leftovers in our new popsicle molds for JH)
oatmeal x 2
eggs and toast
muffins
yogurt and granola 2
pancakes by Pete

Snacks:
veggies and hummus
crackers and cheese
muffins
freezer cinnamon rolls
frozen berries with yogurt and granola
ice pops

Lunch : for the most part this is leftovers, if there are none we will have either a snack tray lunch, soup that I have pre-made and froze or a grilled sandwich. I have a sweet potato as my lunch almost daily and have some leftovers with it.

Dinners (I don't regulate a night for each meal, we kind of just go with what works that night)
:::broccoli and tomato Stromboli, sliced apples, spinach salad
::: roasted organic chicken**, roasted carrots & parsnips, biscuits
::: spinach and cheese quiche, applesauce, bread
::: chicken quesadillas, spinach salad, rice
::: potato latkes, applesauce, steamed cauliflower
::: vegetable pizza, sliced pears, kale chips
:::homemade pasta with homemade tomato sauce, steamed broccoli





new xmas tradition: Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls

 Notes:

**In order to save grocery money and to be able to buy organic meat only, we are buying one organic whole chicken each week, and using it wisely as we can. Making chicken stock that we freeze for soups, roasting it for one meal and using the rest for other dishes or sandwiches. We do mix things up occasionally and get organic beef or pork for Italian Minestrone, meatballs (Pete & JH's fav) etc. We have tried going vegetarian a couple times but have never stuck with it.

***We found a CSA for this year (fingers crossed we get a coveted spot) that also has eggs, chicken & pork. We intend to get all our meat, eggs, and produce from them this year. If that doesn't pan out we will do another CSA or grocery shop at the public market.

****We are also going to put a lot of effort into having our own garden and put up food from that effort. Still looking into a local dairy source, and will continue to go to our local grocery store for staples and treats.

What are your 2012 food goals?