Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Meal Planning 101: Week 53 and Fresh at Five Week 2

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Decided to put my meal plan and Farmers' Market update in one! I use things I buy from the market in my meal planning, so it made sense. :) I'll note what things I bought at the market or what things you can buy at the market.


Monday: 


Leftover crockpot roast, veggies (take advantage of local fresh veggies from the market), rice, and gravy

Tuesday: 


French dip sandwiches (using leftover pot roast) with roasted squash and zucchini (can be purchased at the market)

Wednesday: 


I'm hosting Missional Community this week! We'll be having a taco bar with several ingredients from the market! 

Thursday: 


Grilled salmon, grilled corn on the cob, and grilled stuffed peppers (peppers can be purchased at the market)

Friday: 


Salmon mango salsa tacos, spicy black beans, mango salsa avocado salad, and baked tortilla chips 

Saturday: 


Leftovers

Sunday: 


Buffalo chicken wrap and roasted sweet potato wedges 


Extras: 


Lunches - tuna salad
Baking - summer bread puddings


Every Tuesday (weather permitting) on Jefferson Street in Clinton, MS!

This week's vendors are: 


Love's Hawaiian Shaved Ice and Snacks - shaved ice
Chuck Jones - blueberries
Smoothie King - smoothie samples
Eat Cities - sauces and rubs
Kazery Farm -
T & R Dairy Farm - hormone free beef, milk, artisan cheeses, cheese spreads
Lee Lee's Garden - plants and seedlings
Dad's Disappearing Salsa - salsa and dip mixes
Amber Farms - tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant
Mississippi Cold Drip - Iced coffee, iced chai, coffee and chai concentrate
Simple Woods and Produce
Kasia's Kitchen - sweet tea and lemonade
Benet Luchion - botanicals
Boyd Farms - squash, zucchini, peppers, eggs, tomatoes
Grumpy Dave's Kettle Corn - kettle corn, caramel corn, local honey
Lilee's Gourmet Bakery - baked goods
LaRose Freshest Produce - kale, squash, zucchini
Pickled Pickin's - pickled things, salsa
The High Heeled Hippie - cherry tomatoes, red, white, and gold potatoes, baby squash, mint and other herbs, beets and carrots

This week's fun extras are: 


Live music by violinist Redin Spann
Canning demonstration by the MSU Extension Service
Cooking demonstration using market ingredients by Marsha Barham, former Viking Cooking School Director
Tote giveaway to Friends of the Market
Best of Sweet Tea with a Flavorful Twist competition

Follow the Mainstreet Clinton Facebook page for more info! 


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Meal Planning 101: Week 52

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Okay so I'm officially really late posting this, but I had to post it anyway because I actually did it and it's week 52! I've officially given you a years worth of meal plans. It took me more than a year to get there, but I'll call that a mile stone. I had a fight with some freakish sickness that the doctor never figured out Thursday-Friday and was still weak through Monday. As a result, everything was a bit hectic, and this was late!


I actually made that crockpot meal last night, but ended up having friends come in town. I was scared I didn't have enough to feed all 5 of us! So we went out to eat. Therefore everything is getting bumped down so you'll see that grilled things meal on next weeks too. The meal plan with adjustments is as follows: 

Monday:


Leftover Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Salad, and Garlic Bread

Tuesday: 


Out with friends (we had Hot Bowl Mongolian Grill)

Wednesday: 


Missional Community Meal (it's the other team's food week)

Thursday: 


Crockpot Roast, Carrots, and Green Beans with Rice and Gravy

Friday: 


Leftover Roast and Veggies

Saturday: 


French Dip Sandwiches (using leftover roast and au jus) and Roasted Squash and Zucchini 

Sunday: 


Leftover French Dip Sandwiches and Veggies

Extras: 


Lunches: veggie heavy chicken salad, avocado halves, crackers, and blueberries
Breakfast: Better Oats oatmeal with a cup of frozen fruit mixed in and a tablespoon of chia seeds
Savory Snacks: fat free cilantro jalapeno ranch dip and assorted veggies
Sweet Snacks: fruit with fat free sweet condensed milk or cool whip

Also, I've been adding frozen fruit to my water and I'm able to drink so much more! I'm up to 96 ounces a day easily! 

I also must confess my meal planning has taken a turn for the... well, I think better, but some non-planners may say worse. I now have a spreadsheet! The new job is once a month pay vs my previouw every other week pay. I wanted to plan monthly, but buy every other week since I share a fridge with two other people. In order to do that and not overspend, planning a month out in the beginning seemed like a good idea to me. And I'll have roommates moving in soon who want to eat meals together. Thus the spreadsheet came about! Helps me plan for dinners, lunches, and be sure I write down all the groceries that correspond. Downside... Google spreadsheets apparently doesn't do spell check yet... Don't judge any major typos. Who can spell zucchini or pancetta without spell check?? If you have Google docs I can share a copy with you, just let me know! :) 




Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Fresh at Five Week 1

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You've surely heard me talk about my love for my Stars' Hollow-esque town, Clinton, MS. The whole town is great, but by far, the Olde Towne area is the best! In Olde Towne the streets are made of brick, the shops are local and adorable, there is a perfect outdoor courtyard with string lights, the locals are the friendliest, and it truly looks like it could have come from a movie or tv show! Our Main Street Clinton promotions committee plans events to add to the magical feeling of the town. We have outdoor movie nights on the brickstreets in the spring and fall. On Saturdays in spring and fall there are huge outdoor markets with handmade things. I love it all! Buy by far, my favorite thing my lovely little down does is the summer farmers' market, Fresh at Five. It's every Tuesday in June, July, and August from 5:00 - 7:00. As a huge advocate for the market, I volunteered to use my blog to post to promote before the markets! I will very likely be doing a Fresh at Five Finds follow up post. AND, I'm actually a vendor this year, providing sweet tea and lemonade for $1 for the thirsty shoppers! If you live in Clinton or the Jackson-Metro area, join us! 



This week's fun extras are: 
   
The Fire v. Police Grill-off
Live music by Jason Smith
Dinner options from Garden to Fire Pizza and 303 Jefferson

This week's vendors are: 

*NEW* T&R Dairy Farm: hormone free beef, milk, artisan cheeses, cheese spreads
*NEW* Lee Lee's Garden: strawberry plants, jade plants, purple heart plants, vegetable plant seedlings
*NEW* Kasia's Kitchen: sweet tea, lemonade
*NEW* Love's Hawaiian Ice: shaved ice
*NEW* Amber Farms: tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant
Garden to Fire: brick oven pizzas
Boyd Farms: squash, zucchini, peppers, eggs, tomatoes
The High Heeled Hippie: heirloom tomato plants, beets, baby carrots, radishes, cabbage, lettuce, mint, parsley, oregano, rosemary, dill
Pickled Pickin's: pickles, salsa
Mississippi Cold Drip: cold brew ice coffee concentrate, flavored sweeteners
Little Leaf Farm: green and red lettuce, beets, chard, pak choi Asian greens, basil, mint, dill, cilantro, cherry tomatoes
Dave Bufkin: kettle korn
Footprint Farms: lettuce, cherry tomatoes, onions, herbs, beets, turnips
Dad's Disappearing Salsa: salsa mix
Lilee's Gourmet Bakery: zucchini bread (gluten free and low calorie available)
LaRose Freshest Produce: kale, squash, zucchini
Benet Luchion: botanicals
Make Mine Fabulous: baked goods


Summer 2014 Market Dates:

June 3, 10, 17, 24
July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
August 5, 12, 19, 26


Meal Planning 101: Week 51

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I tried so hard to get the meal plan posted on Monday for #mealplanmonday! Between working 8:00 - 4:30, having 2 posts posting on 2 other blogs, making 3 gallons of sweet tea and 3 gallons of lemonade, making dinner, hosting an on-line fundraising party for a friend's adoption, cellular data not working, and being determined to get "self pedicure" marked off the to do list, it just didn't happen. BUT, I feel somewhat transitioned now and ready to be blogging again. I promise to TRY and post regularly and get some recipes coming at you soon. I meal plan for every week anyway, so this post should be easy to make happen again. There is also a life update post in the works!

I scored some MAJOR managers special deals that shaped my meal plan a little. I also discovered I have a weakness... Manager special breads. Well, managers special anything really. But my freezer has quite a few bread purchases acquired from managers special deals. I have a multigrain nut loaf and a cranberry walnut loaf that will become a bread pudding concoction very soon! Some wheat rolls will be used for french dip sandwiches next week. AND a sourdough square is becoming some fancy grilled cheeses this week. I don't know if this is a hard and fast rule, but my Kroger marks LOTS down on Sundays. If you live in Clinton, pretend I didn't just reveal my secret to you... But if you live elsewhere, check your stores out!