We started here (this picture is taken from my living room):

we went to here:

Pretty soon, the Kitchen will be finished and we’ll be back on our menu planning, money saving track! And boy, will our pocketbook need it after this.   Can’t wait!!!

As most of you know (or could learn by reading recent posts), I lost my oven at the beginning of December. Since we have to do a kitchen reno in order to replace it, it’s taking us a little time to get things done. In the meantime, I am emptying out my stockpile (finished that this past week) and creatively cooking with my electric skillet, microwave and toaster oven.

Today, however, I’m headed down the street to my mother-in-law’s, whose oven has two sections and is fully functional. She’s giving me the space to use today to cook my buns off. So, this month, I am an accidental Once A Month Cook. I’m cooking everything I can today using her kitchen and freezing for the month of January. I’m giving the full month today but I”ll still post weekly MPMs just to keep the blog active.   Items with asterisks (*) show ones that were cooked or prepared today.

Monday, January 4-  FFY Buffet – I am at a mom’s club event*
Tuesday – turkey cobb burgers
Wednesday – garlic, herb and wine marinated chicken breasts (grilled)*
Thursday – haddock baked in the toaster oven
Friday – I’m gone for company meeting, I’m leaving suitNtie fixins for a marinated chicken club sandwich.
Saturday – I’m gone for company meeting, suitNtie will have chili con carne*
Sunday - sloppy joes*
Monday, January 11 – crockpot pot roast with veggies, mom’s club meeting for me
Tuesday -  carnitas*
Wednesday – shredded beef enchiladas*
Thursday – maple dijon pork tenderloin
Friday – roasted butternut squash and corn chowder, suitNtie gone for boys’ weekend*
Saturday- doing a home party, eating on the run
Sunday- crockpot beef stroganoff
Monday, January 18 – chili con carne for suitNtie, roasted butternut squash and corn chowder for me*
Tuesday – peanut butter pork tenderloin
Wednesday – crockpot applesauce chicken
Thursday – turkey cobb burgers
Friday – crunchy parmesan chicken tenders
Saturday – chili con carne for suitNtie, I have a home party, so I’ll be eating on the run*
Sunday - bbq meatballs for me and carnitas for suitNtie*
Monday, January 25 – FFY buffet
Tuesday – mini meatloaves*
Wednesday – breakfast burritos
Thursday – marinated chicken breasts*
Friday – shredded beef enchiladas*
Saturday - crockpot beef stroganoff
Sunday- FFY Buffet

Ranked in order of preference.  I wonder if some of these might surprise you? Some really great dishes are not on my list simply because they aren’t my personal favorites.  You can curse out my palate in the comments.  You will find suitNtie’s list later on this week.

1.  Asian Peanut Butter Pork Tenderloin

2.  Roasted Butternut Squash and Corn Chowder

3.  Chicken Cobb Burgers

4.  Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders

5.  Shredded Beef Enchiladas

6.   BBQ Meatballs

7.    Coq Au Vin (take 2)

8.  Romaine Pesto & Egg Stuffed Tomatoes

9.  Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

10.  Lemon Chicken Scallopini

]]> http://www.mygrandcentralkitchen.com/2009/12/28/the-year-in-review-2009-part-1/feed/ 0 http://www.mygrandcentralkitchen.com/2009/12/27/menu-plan-monday-december-28/ http://www.mygrandcentralkitchen.com/2009/12/27/menu-plan-monday-december-28/#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:29:53 +0000 twobarefeet http://www.mygrandcentralkitchen.com/?p=702 The final MPM for 2009!!! I can’t believe this is it. The first New Year’s Resolution that I successfully carried out for the entire year. I am so proud of myself.

Yes, menu planning will continue into 2010. It will be a messy start due to kitchen renovations and our current lack of a stove, but we hit rough patches this year, too. I am confident that we’ll get through it!

This week, keep an eye out for some posting about the year to come on the Kitchen. We’ll be incorporating some new content and features in the New Year!

This week on the Kitchen table:

Monday – grilled cheeses and tomato soup (comfort food to recover from the hectic holiday celebrations)
Tuesday – buffalo style turkey burgers
Wednesday – breakfast for dinner- crockpot steel cut oatmeal with pork sausage
Thursday – Chinese takeout (yes, I know, but it’s tradition)
Friday – FFY Buffet
Saturday – dinner at a friend’s house (Thanks, Kerri!) I’m bringing a dessert TBD. No bake, of course.
Sunday – dijon crusted pork cutlets

For those new to the Kitchen, I link recipes that are linkable in my Monday post, but always post the recipe the day it is made and when I can, post a picture as well as my review of it in the comments. So if you are intrigued by a dinner, come on back to see what we thought!

Also, not every day is a new recipe. On days where I’m cooking something we already know and love, I try to link to the original post so that you can still try it, but I pose a Question of the Day that I would love feedback on. On days where we are doing Fend For Yourself (FFY) Buffet, I post something that I “covet” for your review and commentary.

Now that the weekly disclaimer is out, it’s week #2 of being stove-less. I have hopes that we will resolve this soon!  I’m still in microwave slash toaster oven slash electric skillet cooking.  Thank goodness I keep my freezer stocked with reheatable leftovers and overage from recipes that have made big amounts.  That’s saving us right now!

As far as the blog goes, bear with me.  The Kitchen is struggling right now with the lack of stovetop and oven, but we’ll be back soon and better than ever! In the meantime, I am keeping up with the menu planning posts!

Monday – garlic pork (a Wanchai Ferry box that I’m substituting pork in for chicken)
Tuesday – butternut squash and corn chowder (leftover frozen portion!)
Wednesday – FFY Buffet (of course, right?)
Thursday – Feast of Seven Fishes- our annual Christmas Eve tradition! We’ll be joining about 20 of our closest friends and family. I bring the Christmas Eve Haddock that I bring every year. This year I’m sending it over to my mother-in-law’s to bake.
Friday – Merry Christmas! Prime Rib and tenderloin with roasted veggies (cooked at my mother-in-law’s)
Saturday – hot dogs and baked beans (oh, how the mighty have fallen. Filet one day, hot dogs the next)
Sunday – turkey burgers

Monday – turkey pot pie
Tuesday – roast beef ** (crockpot)
Wednesday – chicken and french onion dip pizza
Thursday- kielbasa and baked beans ** (electric skillet/microwave)
Friday – butternut squash and sage lasagna
Saturday – baked chicken breasts ** (toaster oven, microwave)
Sunday – FFY buffet ***

This week is a little more interesting than usual. Items that have an asterisk are still getting made. Unfortunately, my stove died on Thanksgiving…but then it completely crapped out just before we left on vacation. For a variety of reasons, it’s necessary for us to bulldoze our kitchen island and rebuild it to accommodate a new stove.  So, we are completely without oven and cooktop for the forseeable future (although I expect to get quotes today).  We’re living on crockpot, electric griddle and microwave.  Mmmmm.  So the rest of the week is still being re-planned (as is the rest of the whole year that I had planned).

Sigh.  Bear with me!

For those new to the Kitchen, I link recipes that are linkable in my Monday post, but always post the recipe the day it is made and when I can, post a picture as well as my review of it in the comments. So if you are intrigued by a dinner, come on back to see what we thought!

Also, not every day is a new recipe. On days where I’m cooking something we already know and love, I try to link to the original post so that you can still try it, but I pose a Question of the Day that I would love feedback on. On days where we are doing Fend For Yourself (FFY) Buffet, I post something that I “covet” for your review and commentary.

This is an abbreviated MPM since I am away in Puerto Rico to celebrate my 30th birthday. I’ll be easing myself back into cooking upon our return.

Monday – Puerto Rico!
Tuesday – Puerto Rico… and Happy Birthday to ME!!!
Wednesday – we’re landing at the airport at 5pm, so we’re grabbing a bite in the city before we head home in hopes that we’ll miss traffic.
Thursday – chicken fricassee (from freezer)
Friday – soup and sandwiches
Saturday – breakfast for dinner
Sunday – Kielbasa and baked beans

Deli ham
pulled roasted pork (the leftovers from yesterday)
swiss cheese
pickle slices
yellow mustard
thick, crusty bread

I’m not going to tell you how to assemble this sandwich. It should be relatively obvious, no?

…YUM! (once more, with feeling!)