Menu Plan Monday- May 5

Thank you all for your patience as I took a much needed week "off" from my blog! Overall, it was a fruitful week, as I was able to accomplish or begin most of the tasks on my list, as well as take a bit of a breather from post writing. Although I love to write posts and enjoy blogging so much, it can take a lot out of me to post 6 days a week, and so occasionally a little respite is in order!

But I'm back, with a meal plan and a few reviews from a couple weeks ago as well. Two weeks ago I mentioned that I had received my new Sue Gregg cookbook, "Whole Grain Baking" and that I was going to try four new recipes that week. I plan to write a review of the cookbook shortly, but until then, here are some of my thoughts so far:

1) Whole Grain (Yeast) Bread- Although this recipe takes some forethought and a bit of extra effort, it was so worthwhile! This is the first bread recipe that includes soaking the flour that has worked really well for me, and honestly, I was just ecstatic when I made it. I had been trying to adapt my own recipes, and it just wasn't turning out as I hoped. The directions for her bread are so incredibly detailed (there is a simple recipe page, but before that there is nearly a chapter of very detailed, step-by-step instructions, explaining the science of bread making as it goes along) and they were so helpful to me! I used all spelt the first time I tried it, and spelt with barley the second time, and both times it worked wonderfully, rose well, and tasted great.

2) Whole Grain Dinner Rolls- These are based off of the basic dough for making the bread, and they were also fantastic.

3) Blender Batter Pancakes- This is a two-step soaking recipe, started the night before in the blender. You can use a multitude of different grains and it still turns out great. We really enjoy the taste, and I find it so simple to put together. My only complaint is that the recipe isn't large enough, so I doubled it and found it still not large enough (I like to have extras for the freezer), but my blender can't hold much more. I may be able to triple it with a very, very full blender… I'll have to try it next time.

4) Cinnamon Scones- Again, a soaked recipe that was easy and turned out just as I hoped it would. The only difference was that I substituted honey for the raw sugar (Sucanat or Rapadura), and they could have been slightly sweeter, so I'll add a little more next time. They were crumbly, light, and eaten in no time.

5) Blender Batter Cornbread- A very nice, just sweet enough cornbread. I'm not sure whether I preferred them over the Nourishing Traditions recipe, but they were good nonetheless.

This week I'm excited to try the pizza dough, and make some more dinner rolls as well!

Monday: Dinner with my sister and brother-in-law. She's bringing a soup, and I'm providing the rolls and a large green salad.

Tuesday: Spicy Meatloaf (Nourishing Traditions), 12 Clove Squash, and raw veggies with a yogurt dip.

Wednesday: Pizza! I'll use Sue Gregg's pizza crust recipe, and I make my own sauce with tomato paste, Italian spices, honey, garlic and salt and pepper. We love to have peppers, mushrooms, herbs and chicken on our pizza, and onions for my husband.

Thursday: Shepherd's Pie with a garden salad.

Friday: Favorite Tamalie Pie (from The 15-Minute Meal Planner), topped with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, grated cheese and sour cream.

Saturday: Hosting a huge family dinner! My Mom will be visiting, and we will spend all day cooking for about 14-18 guests. Our menu includes 3 different salads (broccoli, rice/bean, potato), chicken wings, salmon and chicken kebabs with peppers/mushrooms/onions, fresh buns, berries over ice cream, etc. Yum, yum, yum.

Sunday: Leftovers!!!!!

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Organizing Junkie!