Monday, April 5, 2010

Monday Menus and a Little Bit More

It's a new day, a new week of menus for those who are interested, and a newfound strength in the diet war. And hopefully, it'll also be a day for planting some new flowers if the pollen will leave me alone!

After a very nice Easter, I am pleased to report that I managed to lose another pound. That's six pounds since I started this blog last week. I've got to admit it was incredibly hard not to eat any of the cakes or candies. That little voice in my head kept saying, "Just one little slice" and "You can have just one piece of candy, it's your favorite and you didn't get any last year." That little voice and I went round and round yesterday but I finally managed to kick it out the door. So today I feel like I've climbed a mountain. I made it through my first holiday without caving and I feel better for it.

Now lets look at what I will eat this week. It's actually what my family will eat, because not all of the things on the menus are on my diet. I'll just smile and think skinny thoughts while they eat the macaroni and cheese.

Monday--Spaghetti, Salad, Crusty French Bread
Tuesday--Country-Fried Steaks with Gravy, Rice, Buttered Peas
Wednesday--Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Crockpot Mac & Cheese, Carrots
Thursday--Sausage Pie, Corn, Jello Salad
Friday--Beef with Red Wine Sauce, Rice Consumme, Mixed Vegetables
Saturday--Homemade Pizza
Sunday--Ham & Scalloped Potato Casserole, Leftover Veggies, Rolls

For the spaghetti, tonight's just going to be a quickie. That means boiling some angel hair pasta and a jar of spahetti sauce with parmesan and mozarella sprinkled on top. I'll add a little oregano and basil from the garden. I will, however, make my own bread. I'm not sure where I found this recipe but I've had it for years. When you make this, the house smells like a bakery. Yummy. Plus, you don't have to knead, I like that.

Crusty French Bread

1 Tbsp. yeast 2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. warm water 1 Tbsp. shortening, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar 4 c. all-purpose flour
cornmeal

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water. Add sugar, salt, shortening, and remaining water; stir until dissolved. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Do not knead. Cover and let rise one hour until doubled. Turn onto a floured surface. Divide in half; let rest 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 10"x8" rectangle. Roll up from the long side; pinch to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. Cover and let rest until doubled, about 45 minutes. Make 5 diagonal slits in loaves. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, that bread recipe sounds so easy. I will definitly try it. All of your recipes sound very yummy.

Sorry I misspelled your name. I'll get it right next time.

Have a blessed day.

Debra Ganas

p.s. I'm on Joe's account. My computer died.

Kelly Mac said...

Thank you. How'd you like the bread?