Saturday, February 19, 2011

Menu Plan Saturday

I woke up this morning and looked at the half carton of milk we had in the fridge and realized I would have to go to the store today.  After a cup (or three) of coffee I suddenly remembered the long weekend we are at the start of.  That meant I probably needed to get more than just milk today.

I hate buying groceries on a Saturday more than you could know.  Added to my stress was the fact that the grocery store I shop most often at is under renovations so every trip there is like a scavenger hunt where they keep moving the clues around on you every time you go.  I sucked it up.  I put on my big girl panties and trekked out since I knew the "nice" grocery store in town would cost me a lot more money.  Richard stayed home with the kids so that made things a bit easier.  I also spent enough to get the "free" gift this week which was a nice bonus.  (Who doesn't need an extra 30 rolls of toilet paper?  OK, maybe households with fewer people than mine, but really.  Our toilet paper consumption is crazy)

Anyway, this is a long story for a short menu plan!

Here goes:
Saturday:  Buffet**
Sunday:  Oven fried cod fillets and potatoes of some sort
Monday:  Sausage stuffed spaghetti squash
Tuesday:  Lemon Chicken and rice
Wednesday:  Pasta fagioli soup
Thursday:  Hamburgers and Sweet potato fries
Friday:  Who knows?  It's my birthday and I am not cooking!  (OK, it might be buffet for the kids and husband, sushi with the girls for me)

**Buffet is code for leftovers in my house

Friday, February 18, 2011

Toffee Apple Oatmeal cookies

I whipped these up today.  I adapted another oatmeal and cereal cookie recipe to fit what I had in my cupboard.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening, room temperature
2 cups unpacked brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
1 cup toffee chips (like Skor chips)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F, line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream together fats and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Mix flour with baking soda and salt.  Blend into sugar mixture.  Stir in oats.  Carefully stir in cereal and toffee chips (you don't want to break the cereal up too much)

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets and bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool on racks and devour with a big glass of milk, hot tea or coffee.

Yield:  approx 3 - 4 dozen cookies

**I am going to try adding chopped dried apples to my next batch to get even more apple flavour into the cookies**