One of the things we strive for when planning our menus is making everything fit together into one nice, neat little package. We look to use ingredients in different ways throughout the week so that we’re benefiting from the ability of do-aheads and being able to buy in bulk. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry.
I have to tell you that I’m not feeling much like menu planning. We had a mock Thanksgiving dinner over the weekend, and after a marathon day of cooking and testing recipes, three loads of dishes and a fridge full of leftovers, I’m kind of menu’d out, but I will push on. I will persevere. Plus, leftovers make easy school lunches…or easy work lunches if you’re Ole.
Also, I’ve been cooking with raw honey lately, courtesy of the kind folks at the Mohawk Valley Trading Company. I’ve made muffins and pannenkoeken, and I’ve also incorporated them into my everyday cooking, tossing a bit in to sweeten teriyaki sauces and using it on toast in the morning. The honey is fragrant and smooth, and I’ve found it perfect for use as a natural sweetener.
Raw honey hasn’t been heated like the honey that comes in the bear, and that gives it a silky consistency. We also use honey as a cough suppressant and to relieve sore throats, and I can tell you that these raw honeys are a treat even in the midst of the aches and pains.
They would love to share some with you as well. Mohawk Valley Trading Company is providing a lucky reader 16-ounce jars of each: Raw Wildflower Summer Honey, Raw Orange Blossom Honey, Raw Blueberry Blossom Honey and Raw Apple Blossom Honey! The giveaway will run now through 10/4 at 8:00 a.m., when I’ll pick and post the winner in next week’s menu.
To enter, (1) just leave a comment telling me what recipes you cook with honey or which ones you’d like to try cooking with honey as the sweetener or you can (2) join the Food for My Family community on Facebook or on Twitter where I will entertain you with my amazing wit and say hi to me either place. Then just come back and let me know you’ve done so by commenting here!
Monday – Cauliflower Mushroom Leek Soup with Butter Fish
Tuesday – Tuna Bruschetta with Spinach
Wednesday – Fish Tacos
Thursday – Spinach and Sausage Soup
Friday – Potato Pizza with Garlic and Rosemary
The Preparation Shortcuts:
1. Buy or make extra loaves of bread for the soup and the bruschetta. Look for a good family pack deal or just grow that sourdough starter a little bit bigger.
2. Leftover fish from Monday’s meal can be used in Wednesday’s tacos.
3. Spinach is used in the bruschetta and the soup, but if you have a lot of it, it can also go on top of pizza.
4. All of the leftover vegetables from the week can be used to top your pizza: potatoes from Thursday’s soup, tomatoes from several meals, extra shallots or onions pieces. Try slicing them all and making small pizzas that everyone can personalize with their favorite toppings.
The Shopping List:
3 pounds black cod
1 pound mild Italian sausage
3 limes
2-3 shallots
1 head romaine lettuce
3 large leeks
1 head celery
1 head cauliflower
1 bunch cilantro
2 pounds red potatoes
1/2 cup mixed dried mushrooms
10 flour tortillas
3-4 avocados for guacamole
4 ounces cheddar cheese
1 jar mango salsa (or make your own mango salsa)
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth unless you make your own
2 5-oz cans tuna in oil
1/2 c bread and butter pickles
Pantry Items:
garlic
olive oil
flour
soy sauce
aioli or mayonnaise
cumin
tumeric
salt
pepper
barley
Garden Items:
parsley
tomatoes
spinach
thyme
Last week from Food for My Family:
Thai Red Curry Shrimp
Smithfield: Saving Money with Your Meal Plan
A quick note: Our friends had their baby early last night (at 29 weeks and 3 days) via emergency c-section. Mom and baby could really use prayers this week and in the following weeks as they are both recovering from some major events. Huge hugs, Rick and Heidi and Big Brother Cam. Lillian is adorable!
More from Food for My Family
I think your idea of making muffins is really fantastic.
I love to make Honey Pork Chops with honey and brown sugar as a glaze. The chops cook up in the skillet quick and everyone loves them. The recipe came from my $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook. We love it.
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Honey Whole Wheat Bread – would love to use their raw honey!
I am sending the link for this post to my daughter. This is exactly the kind of post she would enjoy reading and can relate to as a young wife.
valerie
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I use honey every day as a sweetener in tea and on toast (the usual stuff) but also like to add it to savory dishes like asian-style stir fry. It’s especially good in a peanut sauce.
I have every intention to try baklava soon, and honey is a main ingredient! I also use honey in tea, more so of late, as everyone I know has had colds. :-\
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I have not cooked with honey, other than a recipe that may explicitely call for it. I’d be interested in trying it in quick breads, such as pumpkin bread. Muffins would be another interesting candidate for baking with honey.
I like to use honey as a sweetener in spicy stir fry sauces, like thai peanut noodles. Also my husband is from North Africa and we make several of his native dishes that include honey, particularly in savory meat dishes. Its so delicious
I’ve been wanting to make Baklava, using raw honey would be lovely with it! Also, I recently made a peanutbutter and honey cookie where the honey flavor was a prominent note. I found your blog from Tasty Kitchen, can’t wait to explore more of your recipes!
Just got back from WDW and our favorite restaurant had a delicious honey lime salad dressing that was out of this world. I was able to get the recipe, so I was able to recreate it. Yum!
Also recently made honey peanut butter balls for some healthy after school treats. By the way, loving your blog.
I would like to explore using honey more as a sweetener. Right now my recipe repertoire is limited to granola and honey butter. My kids do like honey and peanut butter sandwiches as well as tea with honey.
Christine
dazed1821@aol.com
We love honey in oatmeal and on homemade bread. I like mine in tea and on english muffins..mmm! And my kiddo loves it on his cheerios and of course a spoon:)
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I LOVE raw honey and its all we use. We discovered it when looking for a solution to help heal my 5 year old daughter’s dry skin. It’s the best natural solution thus far. We use it just by the spoonful or in tea as a sweetener. Also, I’ve been baking wheat bread w/honey too. Yum!
I would make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies or just put it on our home made bread.
I love making peanut butter/coconut candies that use honey as the sweetener. Nothing tastes better!
I love sautee’d butternut squash…tossed in honey and chopped walnuts!
I use honey in my wheat bread and granola. What a great giveaway!
Living in S. Fla, we grew up eating/loving Orange blossom honey…but, these last few years having a harder time finding good quality. Lack of honey bees and sadly over development. Would love to try the blueberry. And, one of our favorite recipes is Baklava. Honey is so versatile…great sugar substitute and healthy too. Try it on oatmeal and yogurt with berries, nuts, wheatgerm and vanilla. So good!
I am a fan on face book. Just love your recipes.
I make honey baked chicken. My hubby came up with the recipe. I love using all kinds of honey, which shakes up the recipe and flavor a bit.
I am a mom of a beautiful 3 1/2 year old daughter who I am teaching the art of healthy cooking! Honey is great to use as a substitute for sugar and it is better for you. Here are some of our favorite ways to use honey: add some honey to low fat butter and now you have honey butter. Use some on toast or make a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Put some honey butter on veggies. We also make honey chicken, honey mustard, honey mustard dressing, and a glaze to go on carrots (taste like the ones at the Cracker Barrel) oh yeah then there is honey cake! Happy cooking!
I used honey yesterday to sweeten a pineapple ginger margarita…yum! Not the healthiest, but a nice little adult beverage treat.
Since I’ve had to cut out sugar due to health reasons, I can’t have much of it BUT…..I do love to use a bit of honey as the sweetener in tea!! It’s also a great sweetener for oatmeal in the morning….yum!
I have joined your facebook site and I look forward to your interesting recipe and cooking ideas. I love Honey Whole Wheat bread too, and I really like pure honey on a warm piece of homemade bread. Yum! I’d love to try this pure uncooked honey in a bowl of cooked cereal. Thanks!
I use honey in homemade granola and in my Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole. I have recently run out and would like to try the raw honey. Thanks for sharing it with us!
I like to make honey chicken
It sounds boring, but I learned the simple trick of drizzling sliced apples with honey. I didn’t really care for honey before that, now I’m trying to put it in everything!
I make my own BBQ sauce and honey is a main ingredient. Of course, I use it on muffins, toast, and in hot tea too.
my husband loves peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I’d like to try this honey in making granola and bread machine recipes. Thanks!
I use honey mostly to sweeten tea and as an addition to sauces. It’s also great when drizzled over my morning cereal.
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I’d like to try making muffins or pancakes with honey.
Honey is always good in tea or with peanut butter on a sandwich, and it also is very good in homemade bread!
I use honey everyday to sweeten tea but, also use for many cooking projects like honey ham and salad dressings.
I like honey instead of sugar when making bread.
I love a warm lemon and honey drink.
I use honey in my apple pie!
I always use honey as a sweetener in hot tea.
[...] winner of last week’s Mohawk Valley Trading Company raw honey giveaway is Kel! Let me know when you make the baklava! Yum! Thanks for commenting, everyone! Never miss a [...]
would love the honey for bread making and muffins!
yum!!
I use honey for Honey Whole Wheat Bread and as the sweetener in homemade bagels. We use over pancakes and in tea. The family would love some raw honey. We’ve recently invested in several jars of local honey and each jar we buy is better than the last.
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