Menu Plan Monday

Its time to work on my menu again. I am trying to empty out my freezer in preparation of making a large meat purchase. Meals will reflect what is in my freezer therefore I will be making minimal purchases for short term and spend instead a little more for long term storage. We didn't get to all the meals on our menu, so a few will carry forward to this week.

Monday:

Breakfast: Sourdough biscuits
Lunch: Sandwiches, chips
Dinner: Chili Beans and Rice, cornbread, salad

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Hot or cold cereal
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Sticky Chicken (Crockpot), Rice, salad

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Sourdough Coffee Cake
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, corn

Thursday:

Breakfast: eggs, bacon, toast
Lunch: Salad or leftovers
Dinner: Mexican Layered Salad

Friday:

Breakfast: Hot or cold cereal
Lunch: Salad, sandwich or leftovers
Dinner: Logan: Pizza, salad Neil and I Potstickers and Fried Rice, salad

Saturday:

Breakfast: eggs, bacon, grits
Lunch: Salad, sandwich or leftovers
Dinner: Turkey Pot Pie, Salad

Sunday:

Breakfast: Sourdough Pancakes
Lunch: Po-boys, chips, pickles
Dinner: Shredded Beef Tacos (crockpot), Pico de Gallo, Refried Beans

For more great menu planning ideas please go to www.orgjunkie.com.

Note: 10,000 step update--I've met my goal for today already this morning. I took it easy this weekend although I did walk both days...more in the 8000 step range. I'm a half a pound down, so it is working. I've also begun to take my measurements for a more accurate, I hope, picture of what I've lost. I haven't adjusted my diet. I'm still following loosely the Weight Watchers plan.

Sunday Sermon

Every Sunday I take notes on the sermon. I'm always finding papers with those notes in odd places. I thought if I posted them, I'd have a place to refer back to them. I don't have commentary, just snippets of the sermon and passages of interest to me.
This summer the Pastor is doing a series called "Ever Wonder?" It is based on questions the congregation submitted over the last few months.

Today's sermon is "Why did God allow sin into the world?"

Roman's 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin' and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

God did not allow sin into the world man did. God gave Adam and Eve a perfect world. By sinning they made it imperfect. Is it fair that we have to deal with sin? Fairness is not a Biblical value. Fairness would be destroying the world. God gave us choices instead.

"How did God respond to sin?"

Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment cam upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He sent his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross.

"Why do I still struggle with sin after I became a Christian?"

We still live in an imperfect world. Romans 7:7-8--What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me a manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

God gives us aid in the form of the Bible. God's law didn't cause disobedience, it gave disobedience a name.

2Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowlegde of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to obedience of Christ;

Thoughts are not the sin--acting on them does. James 1:13 & 14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God for neither tempteth he any man: vs. 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

God does not tempt anyone. Take those thoughts captive, and call them out. If we don't, they become more powerful.

"Do I just give up?"

Romans 6: 1 & 2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? vs. 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

God gave us

1. Justification

Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment cam upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

2. Santification-Process of becoming like Christ-You can tell by the fruits of the person.

Galations 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, vs. 23 Meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.

3. Glorification--this happens in Heaven.

Romans 7: 21-25 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. vs. 22 Fo I delight in the law of God after the inward man; vs. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. vs. 24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? vs. 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. So I find this law at work when I want to do good, evil is right there with me. We must do everything in our power to live a life in the spirit.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sourdough Pancakes

I'm just a few weeks into my sourdough journey. I certainly don't know a lot about using sourdough. I'm still researching and learning. When I bought my sourdough, I was still going to be on the road for a week. I put the sourdough in an ice chest and iced it down daily.
When I brought it home, I set it on the counter and let it warm up for about an hour. Then I add 1/4 cup warm water and stirred well. Then I added 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup warm water. I left it on the counter and fed it daily for about a week. I wanted to make extra sourdough for friends and family who wanted it. After a while, though, it just made more sourdough than I could possibly use. On one blog, the blogger said she only kept about 1/2 cup in her fridge. I had way more than that.
We don't eat a lot of sandwiches, so we don't eat a loaf of bread a day. Maybe a half of a loaf, if the boys come for a visit. I read that you need to take some out regularly, to maintain some kind of chemical balance. So, off I went to find other recipes to use the excess sourdough on. I can't bring myself to throw away perfectly good starter, which is what one sourdough site advised.
Last night I begin the process of soaking my grains to make sourdough pancakes. All I can say is wow! Wow! Is this recipe ever delicious! You must try this. This is very food storage friendly if you use powdered eggs like I did.

Sourdough Pancakes

2 cup of sourdough starter
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup milk powder
2 1/2 cups of whole grain flour
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/4 cup of oil, or melted butter
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt

The night before you want to serve this, combine the starter, water, and flour. Make sure that you have plenty of room for this mixture to rise. The next morning, add the rest of the ingredients, and combine well. The thickness, will depend on the hydration of your starter. If you want thinner pancakes you can thin with water (or milk). Drop about 1/4 of a cup of the batter on a lightly oiled hot griddle (over medium to medium-high heat) until the the top is set, and the bottom lightly browned. Flip the pancake and cook until the pancake is lightly browned on the other side.

Sourdough Pancake Variations:

Blueberry Sourdough Pancakes:
Combine 1 cup blueberries dusted with 2 tablespoons sugar; let stand a few minutes. Gently fold blueberries into the batter just before adding the baking soda mixture.

Apple Pancakes:
Grate some tart apples into the batter before adding the baking soda mixture.

Banana Pancakes:
Thinly slice or mash banana into the batter before adding baking soda mixture.
(Chocolate chips would be a great addition to the banana pancakes for the kiddos)

Try these pancakes. Really, you'll thank me. It will become your go-to pancake recipe. I'm off to throw out my old favorite recipe.

10,000 steps a day and Sourdough French Bread

With dd2's wedding looming in 200 days or so, I have been trying to lose weight. I joined Weight Watcher's and lost 20 lbs, but in the last few months the weight has been especially stubborn. Diet alone is not going to get me to goal weight.

Grudgingly, I have put on my sneakers and hit the road. To begin, I bought a pedometer and wore it a couple of days to see how many steps I took in a regular day. Shockingly, it was only about 2000 steps. I had a lot of work to do. In Louisiana, we tend to fight humidity and heat most of the year, so I also had to get up early...6 am. I set the alarm clock and hit the road. 3 laps around my subdivision in the morning and one lap in the evening, along with my regular chores, and I'm up to 12,000 steps. My joints are screaming, but I hope to kick the weight loss in high gear. I'll post results weekly. I'm going for a half a pound a week. Let's face it, I'm a girl who likes to eat. I'm not going to starve myself. Slow and steady weight loss suits me fine.

I'm continuing to experiment with my sourdough, and yesterday I tried Sourdough French Bread. We're having Mexican Corn Chowder tonight, so with a salad and French Bread, I'll have an easy meal tonight.

Sourdough French Bread

Take your sourdough out of the fridge and set it covered on the counter for about an hour to "wake" it up. Add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour and mix well. It will be lumpy, and that's okay. Cover it and leave it until it starts to bubble.

Measure out 3 cups starter sponge.
2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup warm water
5-6 cups whole wheat flour (or you can use a combination of flours or ap white)
Toss it in the Bread machine on the dough setting. When complete, separate the dough into half. Shape the dough into logs and set on baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cut slashes in the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until double in size. Bake in a 375 degree oven that has a pan on the shelf below with hot water. My bread baked for 35 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when tapped and be golden brown on top and bottom.

Note: To the leftover starter, add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. Stir, cover and place in fridge. If you don't use it at least once a week, throw out 1/2 cup of starter and add 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup flour.

Menu Plan Monday

Breakfast is usually hot or cold cereal or greek yogurt
Lunch is usually leftovers, salad, chicken tenders, fish sticks, or hot dogs (Oscar Meyer makes great smoked turkey dogs)

Monday: Chili Beans (crockpot), rice, cornbread, salad, cookies
Tuesday: Sticky Chicken, rice, salad, green beans
Wednesday: Spaghetti, corn, salad, sourdough garlic bread
Thursday: Mexican Corn Soup, salad, sopapillas
Friday: Logan-pizza and salad Neil and I-Potstickers, salad, fried rice
Saturday: Ham and Noodle casserole, salad
Sunday: Lunch: Po-Boys, chips
Dinner: Grilled Pork fingers and burgers, potato salad, green salad salad,
pork and beans, garlic bread (sourdough)
Dessert for Sunday is Lemon Bars

Sourdough Bread

A couple of weeks ago I was able to tag along with my husband on a business trip to Missouri. On the way from Springfield, Missouri to Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, we passed Mansfield, Missouri. Mansfield is the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wrote her Little House Novels while living there. http://www.lauraingallswilderhome.com/ It's a wonderful museum that I highly recommend. After we went to the museum, we were able to go to Bakerscreek Village. http://rareseeds.com/our-village/ I can't wait to visit again. I hope to go to one of the festivals they have. While I was there, I was able to purchase sourdough starter that was from a batch that came over on a covered wagon. I love that. I have tried to make sourdough bread before with limited success. I would forget to tend it, and it would die. This time it's working like a charm. I have a routine, and that is helping me remember to take care of it. I love that I don't need yeast to make a really awesome sandwich bread. There are many recipes out there, but I decided to make my sourdough based on my regular bread recipe.

In the morning, I take my sourdough starter out of the fridge and set in on the counter, covered with a cloth. It needs to wake up a bit. After about an hour, I put in 1 cup warm water and stir. Then I add 1 cup all-purpose flour. (I think I'm going to start substituting some whole wheat flour to my starter and see how it goes.) I then cover it and let it sit until around 5 in the afternoon. At 5, I measure out 2 cups and pour it in my bread machine.

Sourdough bread recipe

2 cups sourdough starter
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
1/4 cup potato flakes
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup sesame seeds, optional
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, softened
6 plus cups of whole wheat flour, I have substituted 1 cup oats for 1 of the cups of flour with success

I put the ingredients in my bread machine and set it on the dough cycle. In an hour and thirty minutes, I pull it out divide it in half and place in two greased bread pans turning the dough to get oil on all surfaces. I put the bread on the countere with a damp kitchen towel over it. Not paper towel...it will dry out and stick to your dough. I make a slash in the dough down the center. I let the dough rise overnight and bake at 325 for around 45 minutes. In the oven, I have a pan on the shelf below the bread with hot water in it. Also, I cover my dough with aluminium foil for the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning of the top.

Note: On the first post, I left out a couple of ingredients. This is the corrected recipe.

1 week emergency meal plan

I'm currently revamping my food storage. When we were sick in the month of December we noticed that while I have a lot of ingredients, I didn't have meals that could be thrown together with minimal effort. I could barely stand up for more than a few minutes. Scratch cooking was beyond me for a time. So I decided to keep a few packaged items that could be thrown together in a few minutes.

1 week menu plan

1 week menu plan

Breakfast:
1. Oatmeal with raisins, Hot cocoa
2. Pancakes, syrup, canned peaches, box juice
3. Cereal, milk,
4. Nutrigrain bars, canned pears, box juice
5. English Muffin, nut butter, honey, tea
6. Grits, butter
7. Cereal, milk

Lunch:
1. Almond Butter & Jelly, fruit cup, juice
2. Ramen soup, fruit snack,
3. Chicken noodles soup, crackers, almonds, milk
4. Vegetable soup, saltines, cashews,juice
5. Chili, crackers, fruit cup, juice
6. Beef Stew, crackers, pudding cup
7. Tomato soup, crackers, fruit cocktails,

Dinner:
1. Macaroni & cheese, green beans, peaches
2. Rice a Roni Chicken, carrots
3. Chicken salad sandwich, chips, applesauce
4. Lasagna, corn, salad, boxed drink
5. Beef Enchiladas
6. Tortilla soup,
7. Ravioli with extra cheese


Grocery List for 1 week menu:

Milk Products:

Milk-1/2 gallon/week
butter-I keep 8 lbs. in my freezer
sour cream-small container (usually have in fridge)

Canned Goods:
powdered eggs-I keep 4 #10 cans in long term food storage
powdered milk-I have a goal of 200 lbs in long term food storage
cocoa mix-I keep 6 # 10 cans (from the cannery, yum) in long term food storage
dehydrated celery—After Thanksgiving, I dehydrate around 8 pkg. celery to use throughout the year. Celery is on sale for @ .25/pkg. after thanksgiving
1 lb. can peaches-I have a goal of 24 cans
1 lb. can fruit cocktail-I have a goal of 24 cans
Rotel style tomatoes-I keep 12 cans in food storage, but I may increase as this is a high use item in my house.
Black Beans-6 cans-I generally cook large pots of beans and freeze in 1 ½ cup pkgs. For cooking purposes, but I see the benefit of having a few cans in the pantry.
Corn-I keep 48 cans in my pantry as this is a high use item. I may increase the amount after revamping my menu plan. I also keep dehydrated corn and frozen corn.
chicken noodle soup-I keep about 12 cans in food storage (it routinely goes on sale .50/can Cambells )
cream of chicken soup-I keep 6 cans in food storage (we prefer to make from scratch)
vegetable soup-Just keep 2-3 ( we prefer homemade)
beef stew-Just keep 2-3 ( we prefer homemade)
tomato soup-I keep 12-15 cans in food storage. (it routinely goes on sale .50/can Cambells)
green beans-I keep 24 cans in my food storage
carrots-I just keep 2 cans in pantry as we prefer fresh or dehydrated
Ravioli-2 large cans
chicken--20 cans
Beef cubes-20 cans
Refried beans-6 cans (we prefer homemade)

Dry goods:
regular oats-I keep 50 pounds in long term food storage
regular grits-I keep 25 pounds in long term food storage
unbleached all-purpose flour-I keep 100 pounds in long term food storage
baking powder-I keep 8 lbs. in my food storage
baking soda-I keep 4 lbs. in my food storage
brown sugar-I keep 24 lbs. in my food storage

Packaged Goods:

cereal--I have a goal of 5 boxes/person in long term food storage
nutrigrain bars--I keep 4 boxes in 3 month storage (1 box/family member)
Nut Butter-keep 4 pounds/person/year (I keep a mix of peanut, almond and hazelnut butters)
Jelly-I keep about 3 jars/person
fruit cup-I keep 4-4 pkg. in food storage.
applesauce cup-keep 2-6 cup pkg. as I prefer to keep larger jars.
coffee mate-12 containers in food storage
fruit snack-2 boxes individual pkgs.
almonds--I keep a couple of cans in my food storage
Raisins-Goal is 5-1 lb. bags
cashews--I keep a couple of cans in my food storage
ramen--I keep 4 cases in my food storage.
crackers--I keep 12 boxes in my food storage.
pudding cup-2-6 cup packages as we prefer homemade
macaroni and cheese--I keep 12 boxes in my food storage
Rice-a-Roni--6 boxes—We prefer homemade.
Chips-we usually have tortilla chips on hand as well as low fat individual pkg. of chips.

Freezer Goods:

ravioli-keep 1 in freezer
lasagna-keep 1 in freezer
mozzerella cheese-I buy 5# bags and freeze in smaller bags.
cheddar cheese-I buy 5# bags and freeze in smaller bags.
tortillas-1 pkg. homemade or store bought

Beverages:

cranberry juice
pineapple juice
crystal light
tea
coffee



Breads:

English Muffins-these are easy to make and freeze, but you can purchase ready made and freeze.


Spices:
Orange peel—I keep a couple of jars in the pantry, but you can dehydrate this also. I would only use fresh oranges from local trees because oranges is stores are sometimes dyed to appear “orangeier”

Condiments:

white vinegar--I keep 2 gallons in long term food storage
syrup--I keep both 4-regular and 4-sugar free (2 per fam member/year)
honey-My goal is 3 lbs./person/year
soy sauce-I keep 1 open and 1 in pantry.
sesame chile oil-keep 1 open and 1 in pantry.
Salt-I have 25 lbs. salt in pantry (from Sam’s) and 8 boxes salt.
pepper-large container from sam’s
garlic-large container from sam’s
chili powder—I buy a large container from sam’s
Onion Powder-I buy a large container from Sam’s.
Cumin-I buy a large container from Sam’s
mayonnaise-I keep 8 quarts in my food storage.
dill pickles relish-I keep 2 jars in my pantry.