Planning to Plan

So I am trying a real deal menu planning plan! HEHE I am hoping to come up with new recipies as I go.

The recipies I choose will be from my cook books and websites, and will try to keep these three things as my general guidelines.

#1 Healthy-ish-meaning well balanced, I am not counting calories here nor am I a nutritinist so I will do my best in this area taking the lead from other cooks I know.

#2 Family Friendly- even if the kids don't like the main dish there will be something else on the table that they will eat..such as fruit or the side dish.

#3 Hopefully Budget Friendly- and by this I mean I am not trying to feed my family on $20 a week. However I do menu plan based on what is on sale at the store I shop.

Happy Cooking!

Menu 5-3-2010

I always plan my menus and try to base them on what is on sale at the store I am shopping at that week!


Monday-Grilled Chicken, Rice, Salad
Tuesday-Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Potatoes, & Salad
Wednesday-Chicken Salads & Garlic Bread
Thursday- Homemade Pizza
Friday-Ocean Perch with Mango Salsa, Rice,& Salad
Saturday-Soft Tacos
Sunday-Blt's Tater Tots, and Stawberry Shortcakes

Jan 7th Dinner- Old Time Beef Stew

Thursday nights dinner wasn't so great. The recipe sounded great I made some changes and what I ended up with was not a Veggie Beef Stoup I would not make again.

I always trust Paula Deen's recipes. They have always been spot on right! I am sure this was just user error.

Anyway here is the recipe I used

OLD TIME BEEF STEW

Prep Time 5 Minutes Cook Time 2 Hours 15 Min Servings 6

Ingredients
2 pounds stew beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Directions

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

It might have been the meat I used...I also did this in my new crock pot...
My stew didn't thicken like it should have...so I added a bit more cornstarch than the recipe called for...MISTAKE! We could taste the cornstarch YUCK!The veggies we tasty however most of my family thought this was a bit too spicy. Ah well there are millions of Beef Stew recipes out there!

Jan 6, 2010

So after a nice Chrsitmas break with the kids and Tyson, they are back to school and work.

I saw the movie Julie and Julia over the break and loved it!

So I thought why NOT do a blog....

So this is the start...I won't blog everyday but will blog new recipies, talk about family stuff, kids, food, wine.

So why the name Dancing in the Kitchen...

Well it just seemed right. I love to cook, I love to dance, and most of the family fun and family business takes place in our kitchens! As a mother I feel like I am dancing alot of days just to keep up!

Thanks to Kacey, Betsey, Cat for doing it first!