My pantry and freezers are getting pretty full, so my goal for this week’s menu was to cook with what I already have. The only things I needed to get from the store this week were avocados, fresh tomatoes, and bell peppers. I found a head of cabbage rolling around in the crisper drawer of one of my two extra refrigerators and made sure I integrated that into the menu to get it used. When I have cabbage rolling around, my Polish heritage always comes into play and I make Haluski, a fried cabbage and noodle dish. And yes, you did read that right up there… I have an extra full sized refrigerator, my husband has a beverage fridge, and we have a large chest freezer, in addition to the refrigerator in the kitchen.
My husband’s last duty station on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington was rather remote, where the closest Wal-Mart, Costco, and Safeway were over an hour away. I would buy enough groceries to last my family about a month to save us making the 120 plus mile round trip drive around the beautiful Lake Crescent . The town we lived in did have a local grocery store that was higher priced and had a smaller selection, so I could pick up produce or last minute items there when I needed to. That store also had the best doughnuts and friendliest people I’ve ever encountered. Going to the local Thrify was always like a social gathering because you were bound to run into someone you knew in the small town of about 3,000 residents. I always said I spent more time chatting than actually shopping at the store in Forks. (Yes, the Forks from the Twilight Series.) Anyway, old habits die hard, so I still keep a large pantry of grocery and household items even though we are only about 10 minutes away from a Costco now. I know I can just run to the pantry and grab something to throw together a quick meal, and the other Coastie wives know that if they are missing an ingredient for dinner, chance are that I have it. But without further ado, here is what I planned mostly out of my pantry for dinner this week…
Friday
- Chinese orange chicken ( I used frozen orange juice concentrate) * Make an extra batch of marinated chicken for the freezer for a dump crock pot version for busy nights
- Veggie fried rice
- Lemon bars
Saturday
- Missed meal from last week, Mussgo, or freezer meal
Sunday
- Pork loin roast with grainy mustard rub
- Haulski ( fried cabbage and egg noodles, see included recipe)
- Rye bread (caraway seeds ommitted from personal preference) with butter and jam
Monday
- Black bean burgers
- Stir fried sweet potatoes
- Fresh green bean salad with dried cranberries and apple cider vinaigrette (green beans steamed for 2 minutes in the microwave, then cooled before assembling salad)
Tuesday
- Chicken Fajitas
- Avocado, tomato, and corn salad
- Mexi rice ( 1 can of Rotel in place of 1/2 cup of the water when cooking 1 cup of rice, top with shredded cheese and sour cream when serving)
Wednesday
- Citrus sambal oelek grilled shrimp ( I
halved this recipe and only used lime juice for all citrus juices) - One pot peanut sesame noodles and veggies ( I used the rest of that cabbage I was talking about instead of bok choy and Napa cabbage and also subbed in whole wheat noodles)
Thursday
- Mussgo
- Make avocado shrimp tacos using leftover shrimp from Wednesday and avocado salad from Tuesday
- Add leftover pork from Sunday to Wednesday’s noodle dish to make a cold salad
Haluski Recipe
8 oz egg noodles
1/2 head green cabbage
1 large onion
1 stick of butter
salt and pepper to taste
Vinegar (optional)
Instructions:
Boil egg noodles until al dente and drain well. Melt butter in large skillet, add in onions and boiled egg noodles and cook until onions are tender and noodles are getting browned. Add in cabbage and saute until tender crisp and season with salt and pepper. We like our cabbage to have a bit of crunch left, otherwise you can add everything into the pan at once to get more tender cabbage. I like to serve Haluski with a splash of vinegar (white or apple cider) to give it an extra layer of flavor.
I must go tend to Baby, but I leave you with one of my favorite food quotes that rings o so true in my life…“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.”-Alan D. Wolfelt
-Mussgo Momma
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