Menu Plan Monday

 
Christmas is past and it's time to get back into the swing of things around here. November and December were very very hectic months for me and I feel as though life is finally settling down a bit.

We had a houseful of family here for the week of Christmas.Our tiny cottage was jam-packed. But we had a wonderful time together. My parents and brother were here from Oregon and my sister and family visited from Upstate South Carolina. It is rare that we are all together so it was fun and we had our family picture taken(or made as they say down here in the South) while everyone was here.

We had wonderful food to eat. My sister and I prepared a yummy appetizer dinner for Christmas Eve and then we had a delicious ham dinner on Christmas Day. I baked 2 small hams and we ate one and then nibbled on the other for leftovers. We'll still be eating off the 2nd ham this week. Yum!!!

Money Saving Mom and Life As Mom are hosting an Eating From The Pantry Challenge in January and I plan to join in. I may only do it for 2 weeks or maybe the whole month. I'll have to see how it goes. I have plenty of food stocked up in my refrigerator, pantry and freezer so it only makes sense to take a little break from shopping and use up a lot of that yummy food! I'll probably still buy some things like dairy, eggs and fresh produce as needed. The challenge begins January 1st.

Another fun twist is that I'm cutting eggs out of my diet for at least a month to see if I can clear up a pesky rash that keeps hanging around. I have no idea what is causing it. I've already changed to an all-natural soap and a different laundry detergent with really no improvement to speak of so far. Certain jeans have been a likely suspect(maybe the dye?)  so I've stopped wearing those. It could be caused by just about anything. In the past 3-4 years, I've had multiple "mystery outbreaks" of hives or rashes and have not been able to pinpoint the cause. Some come and go quickly and others, like this one, stick around for awhile. I had various allergic reactions to different foods, soaps, detergents, etc. as a child and teenager and it appears that it's returning again. I've noticed that this rash is noticeably worse on some days than others so it's likely that it is food-related.  After eggs, milk and wheat will be the next major food groups that I will eliminate, if needed. And after that, if needed, perhaps some allergy testing!

Anyways, that's probably more than you wanted to know about my rash!!! I wrote all that to say that I will not be eating eggs for a little while.

Here's our menu for the week. The menu items in italics are what I'll be eating if the other contains eggs and anything with ** indicates a prepared item from my freezer.

Sunday
B- Leftover biscuits, oatmeal, clementines
L- Fellowship potluck- veggie plate and leftover pumpkin pie
S- Ham and vegetables

Ham and Vegetables: In crockpot: ham bone with a little meat still on, 3 potatoes, 3 carrots and 2 stalks of celery, half of an onion, all diced. Cover with water and cook on low most of the day. During last hour of cooking, I added 2 cups frozen mixed veggies. Remove ham bone; chop meat and return ham to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste and serve! This is a nice variation to ham and beans and can be made really any way you want it with what you have on hand. Can also be made in a pan on the stove.

Monday:
B-Peanut butter toast, fruit smoothie(banana, pineapple, frozen blueberries and cranberries)
L- Ham and vegetables, homemade bread
S- Church meeting- plate of cookies

Tuesday:
B-Orange Juice Millet, sliced apples
L-Ham sandwiches, veggies and dip
S-Homemade pizza(crust is premade**),steamed broccoli

Wednesday:
B- Muffins**, toast, smoothies
L- Leftovers
S-Stir-fry with chicken**, mixed veggies** and rice**

Thursday:
B-Oatmeal, fruit
L-Hummus**, tortilla chips, veggies, sliced apples
S- Baked Fish Chowder(new recipe), homemade bread, fresh veggies

Friday:
B- Pancakes**, leftover oatmeal, fruit
L-Traditional New Year's lasagna, (made without eggs for yours truly) salad, garlic bread
S- Football Snacks while watching the Rose Bowl: Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State Buckeyes.

Go Ducks!!!

Saturday:

B-Cold cereal, fruit

L-Leftovers

S-Tomato soup, ham bundles( Sooo good!!! I'll be using this egg-free dough instead and making them as crescents.)

What are you eating this week? 

**For more menu plan inspiration, head on over to Organizing Junkie!