Menu Plan & A Call For Your Recipes
There are only a few weeks left before the official growing season is through here so we are taking full advantage of the seasonal bounty before everything freezes. I spent my morning chore hours making 3/4 gallon each of cortido and lacto-fermented beets. We now have somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 winter squash of different varieties lining a bookshelf in our home. Our freezer is full of grass-fed ground beef that we were able to purchase at 30% off this past week due to an anniversary sale at our local health food store.
With all of these yummy foods comes the time it takes to procure and prepare these foods for storage. I have had requests for my pumpkin coconut flour muffins and coconut flour biscuits – both of which I hope to recipe test again soon. I just haven’t yet. I’m hoping this week’s round of biscuits will be the last test before I share it with you all. I know when the papa says "mmm… you should put this on the blog" that it’s ready for final testing. So soon it will be on the blog :).
In doing a pantry inventory yesterday I also discovered way more legumes than I knew we had. I was wondering if y’all could share your favorite recipes in any of the following categories:
- containing lentils
- containing garbanzo beans
- containing pinto beans
- using a slow cooker or oven
Sunday
- breakfast: eggs
- dinner: leftover Chipotle, baked potatoes + butter
- prep: prepare squash for storage, start beef stock and catch up on cleaning
Monday
- breakfast: eggs + crispy nuts
- dinner: Meatloaf, brussel sprouts, beets, carrots & butternut squash roasted in coconut oil
- prep: lacto-ferment beets & cabbage, soak oats & chia seeds, sprout garbanzos
Tuesday
- breakfast: soaked oats & chia seeds + butter, crispy walnuts, raw milk
- dinner: Fajitas (using ground beef) + cultured salsa, steamed or roasted veggies
- prep: sprout lentils
Wednesday
- breakfast: eggs, fruit
- dinner: Beef stew: grass-fed beef, homemade beef stock, csa vegetables, roasted squash w/ butter
- prep: pick up csa & milk from farm, soak oats
Thursday
- breakfast: soaked oats & chia seeds + butter, crispy walnuts, raw milk
- dinner: something with sprouted garbanzos
- prep:
Friday
- breakfast: eggs + sausage + fruit + toast
- dinner: Chili w/ sprouted lentils, coconut flour biscuits (another recipe test)
- prep: bake biscuits in morning
For hundreds of menus visit Laura.
Hi there! I just found your blog via Menu Plan Mondays. I’m just starting down the path toward more natural foods, and I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts!
You could make a delicious lentil soup by cooking the lentils until soft, then adding chicken stock and whatever else you want. We had that fairly recently at our house, and everyone loved it!
I like to add lentils and garbanzo beans to my chili! You could make a big pot will all three legumes and some of your beef, in your slow cooker, and then can it for later 🙂
Have you tried beet kvass, and which fermented beet recipe did you use? I’ve got a bunch of beets waiting to come in from the garden (along with everything else). Busy days.
Here’s my favorite lentil recipe for Masoor Daal (http://lifeincincinnati.com/?p=2015). It does use red lentils. For brown lentils, we like this casserole (http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/07/frugal-food-carnival-dinners.html). It cooks for a long time in the oven, so it is pretty easy to fix & forget.
I just made my regular meat loaf recipe and cooked it in my crockpot and it was delicious! 1 1/2 pounds ground meat cooked for 5 – 6 hours on low, then if you like a sauce on top pour it over and cook on high for 15 minutes. Mine was nice and tender.
I’ve not tried it myself, but this will be on my menu next week:
http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/component/garyscookbook/index.php?option=com_garyscookbook&Itemid=0&func=detail&id=163
I have a yummy one that uses lentils in a crock pot, so it takes care of two of your requests. I also have another yummy one that uses lentils & butternut squash in a crockpot, so bonus there if that’s one of the types of squash sitting on your bookcase…
Chipotle Lentil Soup
2 cups lentils, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup chopped carrots, 1 yellow onion chopped, 6 cloves garlic chopped, 2-3 chipotles in adobo sauce seeded & chopped, 16 oz can corn, 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 bay leaves, 4 cups chicken broth, 2 cups hot water.
6 roma tomatoes diced, sour cream, cilantro
Add all ingredients except tomatoes, sour cream, & cilantro to slow cooker. Mix well, cover, & cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. Remove Bay leaves & discard. Remove chicken & shred with a fort then return chicken to slow cooker & mix well.
To serve spoon into bowls, topping each with a handful of diced tomatoes, dollop of sour cream, & few sprigs of cilantro. Makes 6-8 servings, so be sure to use a larger crockpot.
Lentil Stew w/Butternut Squash
3 lg. stalks celery cut into 1/4″ thick slices, 1 lg. onion chopped, 1 lg. butternut squash peeled seeded & cut into 1″ chunks, 1 lb bag lentils, 4 c. water, 1 can veggie broth, 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, salt & pepper.
1 oz. parm or romano chz shaved w/veggie peeler, 1/4 c. packed fresh parsley leaves chopped.
In 4 1/2-6 qt slow cooker, combine everything except cheese & parsley. Cover w/lid & cook on low for 8 hours. Serve in bowls topped w/cheese & parsley. Makes about 11 1/2 cups.
I make these frequently and they are favs of mine. FYI, the first comes from a book called Southwest Slow Cooking & every recipe I’ve tried so far has been fab. The second is from Good Housekeeping Mag.
Forgot to add, for more great crock pot recipes, visit this blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
While they aren’t all grain free recipes, the crock pot portion often is, and all recipes are gluten free because she has a child with celiac disease.
I was just curious if you soak the chia seeds with the oatmeal?
thanks!
Shannon,
I must not have you on my “bloggers” email group, because I just hosted a beans and legumes carnival with over 60 recipes for you to peruse! Find it here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/09/30/october-fest-carnival-of-super-foods-beans-and-legumes-recipes/
And my fav garbanzo bean recipe is chickpea wraps, under the recipes tab at my site. There’s also many other bean recipes…
Here’s my favorite lentil rec, in a slow cooker to boot! http://www.gettingfreedom.net/2009/02/lentil-brown-rice-casserole-my-way.html
Enjoy!
Come on over to KS today and link up a broth/stock recipe in this week’s carnival.
🙂 Katie
Cara – Thanks!