The best meal planning sheet

I devote at least one afternoon to planning meals. I usually end up with three different lists. One listing my meals for the week. One for the ingredients needed for those dishes and one made to restock my pantry. I end up taking all those lists to make one big shopping list for the store. It was kinda crazy so when I found this list in the Jan 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine I ripped it out and copied it several times. It has been a lifesaver. Easy to plan and shop for the meals, I mean all you do is have to go down the list in each category! It is also great for keeping record of the meals that we had and what weeks.
You can go here to download your own copy. I made a couple of changes to fit my schedule. I don't commit the meals to certain days because some days I feel like an easier recipes and some days I feel like cooking so I leave the day blank to give me more freedom. It is just nice to have my meals and my shopping list in one. Thought I would share. I think meal planning the hardest part of cooking so something to make it all easier is nice.
A example of my list.

Macaroni Salad

2 cups uncooked shell macaroni
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups finely, diced celery
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 shallot*, thinly sliced
1 cup mayonaise
3 tablespoons evaporated milk or half and half
salt and ground pepper
fresh dill, chopped to taste

Cook macaroni. Drain and rinse and transfer to large bowl. Thaw peas and drain well add to macaroni, Add celery, green onions, shallot, mayonnaise, evaporated milk to macaroni and peas. Add fresh dill, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This tastes the best if chilled for at least an hour.


*1/4 cup red onion can be substituted for the shallots. We love onions so I usually do both the shallots and red onion.

To make it a Tuna Macaroni salad add 1-2 cans drained and flaked tuna when adding the onions and such.
With or without the tuna this salad is great on rolls as a sandwich. Serves 8.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

5 oz canned Tuna, drained and flaked
1 garlic clove, minced or 1 tsp of garlic paste
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red bell pepper, cubed
1/4 cup chopper red onion
fresh basil, chopped to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lemon zest
 Mince garlic and mash to a paste with the back of a spoon. Mix garlic paste with lemon juice, salt and pepper and slowly whisk in olive oil. Toss red pepper, onion, and beans together. Break apart tuna and mix into bean mixture. Add dressing and toss well. Add basil just before serving.
I put this on top of lettuce but would also be great in a wrap or a pita. I used what I had vegetable wise when I first made it using tomatoes and green onions in place of red pepper and red onion it was still tasty.


recipe from  http://www.tunathewonderfish.com/cookbook/ where they have a more fun Tuna recipes.

Cranberries for Thanksgiving 2010

This recipe is also one that will be on the Thanksgiving table this year. I made it last night and tried it out today and loved it! It is just the right amount of that tart cranberry taste. Which is perfect because every year we have cranberry jello salad or some type of jellied cranberries and no one ever takes more than a few bites. I love the cranberry taste with my turkey but always hated how sometimes it was too sweet. This compote does the trick,definitely a keeper.

Fresh Cranberry Compote

2 12oz bags of fresh cranberries
2 oranges, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup white sugar
2 whole cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp fresh shaved nutmeg

Place cranberries,oranges and apple in a food processor (in batches if needed). Pulse 8 to 10 times or until mixture is coarsely chopped. Once pulsed transfer to a large bowl and add the orange juice, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well to incorporate, cover with plastic, refrigerate for at least 6 hours or, ideally overnight. This will allow the fruit to macerate and break down into a sauce.. After 6 hours taste and adjust sweetness with additional sugar if desired. Refrigerate and store up to 2 weeks. Remove cinnamon sticks before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.


Serve left over compote on buttered bread, with pound cake, over ice cream or on leftover turkey sandwiches.

This recipe was by Tyler Florence found in the Better Homes and Garden magazine November 2010 issue

It's that time of year again!

My favorite month and holiday! I love Thanksgiving and everything that it stands for. Wonderful food, family and gratitude. This year I am trying out some new recipes to see if they are good ones to include in the big meal on Thanksgiving. The first recipe I tried out was for green beans. I am a little tired of the usual green bean casserole so I brought this to Sunday dinner last night and everyone agreed this one is a keeper. I like these because they will not take up any of that coveted oven space and they are a lot faster to make, always a plus.These green beans will defiantly be on our Thanksgiving table this year.

Green Beans with Bacon Vinaigrette

Kosher salt and black pepper
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
6 slices bacon
2 shallots, sliced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add green beans and cook until just tender, 4-5 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool, transfer to serving bowl.
Meanwhile in a medium skillet cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, *6-8 minutes transfer to paper towel lined plate. let cool then break into pieces.
Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the skillet and return to medium heat. Add the shallots and cook stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the vinegar, mustard, oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add to the green beans along with the bacon and toss to combine.
Serves 8.

*I cooked my bacon in the microwave and just saved the dripping then added it to the skillet.



Recipe from the Real Simple Magazine Nov/2010 issue.