19 January 2015

the menu plan mojo

During the summer we eat anything. Everything. Anywhere. During the school year, especially during the winter months, I like to get back to my weekly menu planning because not only is it more economical but it's healthier than finding myself in a drive-thru at dinnertime bringing food in boxes home! When springtime arrives with soccer and baseball commitments, it's great to already be in this frame of mind.

So, a few years back I bought 4 of these fabulous chalkboard placemats from Leslie, who has the lovely blog, a friend to knit with. I used, and still do!, use them as placemats on birthdays, holidays, etc but mainly they display the weekly menu for all 3 of my guys so they won't bug me constantly with that nagging question, What's for dinner? Also ... it keeps me fixed to a PLAN and I'm all for plans and list making. Makes my life much easier.

This week's board:

It just happened to be a crockpot recipe kinda week! Makes for nice lunch leftovers the next day and I've come to love my crockpot because it can do most the cooking for me even when I'm not home. (Fridays are usually pizza nights)

CROCKPOT GARLIC CHICKEN
1 whole chicken (3.5-4lbs) cut up and patted dry
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
6 garlic cloves, halved
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all purpose flour
fresh Italian parsley, for serving

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high. Cook chicken, skin side-down, until skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Combine onion slices and garlic and dried thyme in crockpot - season with salt and pepper. Top with chicken pieces, skin side up, in a tight layer. In small bowl, whisk together wine and flour until smooth and add to crockpot.

Cover and cook on HIGH until chicken is tender, for 3.5 hours OR 7 hours on LOW.
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CROCKPOT SAGE TURKEY BREAST
1 goodly sized turkey breast
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white wine
olive oil
ground sage

Rinse and pat turkey breast dry. Rub with olive oil and sage. Combine butter and wine and baste turkey with mixture. Put in crockpot and cook on HIGH for an hour and then on LOW for 6 hours or until done. Baste occasionally.
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Do you have a weekly menu? I welcome your recipes - thank you in advance!!

4 comments:

  1. We do the menu every week on Saturday before we go shopping for our weekly purchases. It has saved us money for sure, it has saved me headaches definitely and it has saved my mood because I don't have to answer a million times: What's for dinner! :) I follow Damned Delicious on Pinterest and I've used LOTS of her recipes and not a one of them is bad. This weekend we made crab rangoons. EASY and more delicious than at a Chinese restaurant. Her Beef and Broccoli is FABULOUS! and tonight we are "trying out" her Potstickers!

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  2. How lovely - all looks scrummy x

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  3. I love this idea and am going to give it a try. I waste so much time trying to come up with dinner ideas either the night before or in the morning so this would be a huge improvement for me. The blackboard is great too :-)

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