AKA Granny's Garden Meals
(garden, freezer or pantry items are in parentheses)
.jpg)
Thursday
Ham and Pinto Beans (onion, potato)
Skillet Cornbread with Honey Butter
Baby Romaine Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts (lettuce)
Balsamic Vinaigrette
.jpg)
Friday
Pan Grilled Wild Salmon Filets (dill, parsley)
Baked Potatoes (potatoes) with Butter and Sour Cream
Broccoli Sauteed in Garlic Butter (broccoli, garlic)
Cole Slaw (cabbage, onion)
Raspberry Shortcake (freezer raspberries)
Lemonade
Saturday
Out to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Thank you, daughter Shannon and family, for the Father's Day gift certificate for Mr. Granny!
.jpg)
Sunday
Hamburger-Cabbage Casserole (onions, cabbage, tomato sauce)
Steamed Yellow Crookneck Squash (squash)
Crusty Homemade Bread with Roasted Garlic Butter (garlic)
Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, celery) with Ranch Dressing (garlic, chives, dill, parsley) for him
Salad with Celery, Cranberries and Walnuts (lettuce, celery) and Balsamic Vinaigrette for her
+snack.jpg)
Monday
Warm Zucchini Bread (zucchini) for an afternoon snack
.jpg)
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Grilled Potatoes in Foil (potatoes, onions)
French Filet Green Beans (the first green beans of the year!)
Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, onion)
Ranch Dressing (garlic, chives, dill, parsley)
.jpg)
After that big steak dinner, Mr. Granny talked me into baking these....
.jpg)
For Raspberry Shortcake (raspberries)
Tuesday
We ate leftovers!
.jpg)
Wednesday
Chicken Stir Fry with Brown Rice (snap peas, carrots, summer squash, onions, broccoli, peppers-freezer)
Pineapple and Cottage Cheese Salad
.jpg)
Everything was fresh from the garden, except the frozen peppers from the 2011 garden.
.jpg)
I blanched the broccoli, carrots, snap peas and summer squash for three minutes, then cooled them in ice water and set them aside to drain. I added them to the stir fry for just the last few minutes to heat through, and they held their bright colors beautifully. Thank you to David, The Gastronomic Gardener, for the tip! Even an old dog granny can learn new tricks.
Our hostess for Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard is Robin, The Gardener of Eden. Be sure to check out her blog to see what others have been using from their gardens, pantries and freezers.
The biggest "wake-up" moment on our trip was the fact that most of the people in the age bracket 18-35 seemed to just grab energy drinks/crappy deli sandwiches at the gas stations. We came across so many restaurants closed. Seems no one cooks/eats a meal anymore. How sad. Your meals are beautiful, balanced, nutritious. We are a dying generation.........
ReplyDeleteSue, so true! They also don't seem to have definite meal times. We sit down for dinner at 6 every night, and have done so for the past 50 years! Our children all were served breakfast before the left for school, too. Now the schools have to provide food for the kids, or the enter the classrooms hungry. I find that shameful.
DeleteHave to agree with the school breakfast comment especially. My mom didn't make a cooked breakie but taught us to make it for ourselves or provided healthy options like cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. We did get cooked breakfast when we were little but I can remember a lot of oatmeal (prob on her work days). I loved it though. It's amazing to me what kids have for foods now. Have your seen "Lunchables" for kids' lunches? And have you seen school lunch menus? omg, it's tragic.
DeleteAmy T., I didn't always have cooked breakfast for my kids (and husband), but they always had hot or cold cereals, milk, juice or fruit, and toast. At least they had something in their stomachs when they left for school or work. Yes, I've seen my own kids buy Lunchables for their children....sad.
DeleteNow I make Mr. Granny fix his own breakfast. Why not? It's not like he's overworked ;-)
Such wonderful meals. I didn't cook much this last week. My MIL was in and we mostly went out to her favorite restaurants.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I got two nights off, anyway! Thanks to gift certificates and leftovers. We seldom eat dinner out, but we do go out for lunch once in a while.
DeleteI will have to try that tip about blanching and cooling the stir fry veggies; they look so beautiful. Thanks for passing it on! Your hamburger cabbage casserole is a lot like one I use called Lazy man's stuffed cabbage. We had that last week too as the cabbages are coming in quick now!
ReplyDeleteNutmeg, m stir fry has always held up flavor wise, but a bit lackluster in color. The three minute blanching kept the veggies fresh tasting and colorful. Oh, my, I will be in cabbage overload in the coming weeks too! Lots of cole slaw on the menu :-)
DeleteHmm pan fried Tilapia tacos topped with coleslaw.
DeleteDavid, Mr. Granny would divorce me. To him, it's a sin to have anything but ground beef tacos (hard shell) with iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. He's really a bit difficult to cook for, hates to try anything different from what he's eaten for the last 77 years! He won't even taste a soft tortilla!
DeleteI definitely need to move to Washington state! Then I can just come over to your place to eat!
ReplyDeleteRobin, c'mon over, I'll get you a community garden!
DeleteI wouldn't need to get a community garden. I think there's a lot of green space left in your yard :) Who needs grass??
DeleteYou arranged everything so prettily on the plates, too. Those meals look delicious! I'll be over later with some fresh bread.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a winner to me, Langela :-D
DeleteI really do want to place a reservation to eat at Granny's Garden Kitchen Diner. Please reserve a regular table as I don't think we could keep away from all those yummy menu options! :D
ReplyDeleteHey, Kitsap, Granny Maitre d' accepts tips!
DeleteYum! I'm going to refer a friend of mine who just found out she has high blood pressure to come here and see all the great stuff you make with your fresh (and frozen) veggies. I'm hoping to steer her toward less packaged meals and canned veg. There is so much unnecessary sodium in them!
ReplyDeleteMy family always sits down to dinner together, but I reserve one night a week for Catch-As-Catch-Can (a night where everyone figures out their own dinners) and one night every two weeks for Pizza Night. It gives me a chance to take a night off from planning and cooking a meal at least once a week. My husband thought it was dumb when we first got together that we had to sit at the table and have dinner every night, but now that we have the two kids I think he appreciates it more.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who insists on "dinner". Mr. granny would eat out every night if he could, I'm the one who balks....such a waste of money!
DeleteI honestly can't remember the last time I bought canned vegetables, other than creamed corn and canned beans (for convenience). I do love canned creamed corn.
It all looks truly tasty. Reminds me to get thinking about what to make for the next Big Cook.
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, I have to plan my menus a week in advance. If I didn't, it would be hamburger-something six nights a week, and chicken on the seventh!
Deletewow everything looks great! Lovely too see that you are able to us a lot of garden veggies!
ReplyDeleteMrs. P., I didn't even go to the grocery store these past two weeks. I have to go today though, I'm out of flour....but not out of veggies!
DeleteBoy lady, do you know how to eat great food! When can we come and spend a week of eating at your place?!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Jody, anytime!
DeleteLooks great! - I've always sat down for dinner, even when I was single. I believe attentive eating is important, not shoving some drive thru garbage down my gullet while I drive through town! (and thanks for the shout out! ;) )
ReplyDeleteDavid, thank you for the tip! And (shhhh)I just came back from shoving some drive through garbage down my gullet. It wasn't too bad though, a plain Arby's roast beef sandwich! Hey, I had a coupon!
DeleteOh, and I ate it while sitting in the Walmart parking lot, I wasn't driving ;-)
DeleteYour dinners were all so wonderful again this week! I had to go back and check them out a second time to decide which would be my favorite... And they all are at the top,of my list, although the green beans were so amazing looking, the ham and beans will be a meal we'll have next week...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gracie. I seem to have a lot of leftovers this week :-0
DeleteLooks like a great week of eating. You and my grandfather would get along well. He makes a big pot of beans and ham about every other week and then that's all he eats for day!! It looks like your garden is really producing well!!
ReplyDeleteStoney, that's the bad thing about cooking beans. As long as you're going through the trouble to soak them and cook them all day, you might just as well make a huge pot of them. Then you wonder why you cooked so many, 'cause you get sick of the leftovers!
DeleteSo nice to see home cooking from the garden. Your season is ahead of ours. Just finished our sweet peas.
ReplyDeleteEveryday-Vegetables, I actually just finished my peas this week, too. My bush beans are a week earlier than last year, but my peas finished up at exactly the same time as last year.
Delete