Overcoming Busy

Menu Plan Monday With One Of My Favorite Cookbooks

February 22, 2010 by Marci

my cookbook shelf

I love cookbooks!  I could spend hours curled up in my cozy chair reading through them.  I love finding new recipes to try and old favorites that I had forgotten.  My cookbook shelf is full of cookbooks of all types.  There are specialty cookbooks for things like desserts or Mexican dishes or crock pot meals.  There are cookbooks that feature traditional, homestyle cooking and others that feature more modern cuisine.  I have cookbooks from chefs and food manufacturers and local churches.  They all have great recipes!

I Do Have My Favorites

Most of the cookbooks were gifts or ones I salvaged from a friend’s giveaway pile.  Everyone knows I love to cook, so that’s an easy gift for me.  I have to admit that I love online recipe sites, so I haven’t gotten many new cookbooks lately.   But, one cookbook I do get each month is the Everyday Food magazine from Martha Stewart.  While Everyday Food is technically a magazine, they are like getting a little seasonal cookbook each month.  I have been getting them for 3 years now.  Most of my cookbook shelf has been taken over by those little books.  I love them!  Where else can you get 10 cookbooks with 40-50 new, seasonal, Martha Stewart quality recipes each for $12?!   Click here to see.

AP photo

The day I get my  new Everyday Food magazine, I make time to sit down and go through it.  This might be at home in my chair or at the skating rink while my kids are at lessons or lying in bed at night.  It is one of my favorite reads!  The first time through it I dog ear pages with recipes or tips I want to remember and try.  Over the next month, I keep this book out on the counter and browse through it to see what recipe I want to try.  Since the magazine comes out monthly, the recipes highlight seasonal ingredients that are at their peak at that time of year.  That can make all the difference in the recipe and in my shopping.

Menu Planning With Martha

The latest issue of Everyday Food just came to our house last week.  I have marked the pages I want to try and have added some of them to this week’s meal plan.  I can’t wait to try them!  I am always on the lookout for good side dishes and new ways to prepare veggies.  This month Everyday Food had some great ones.  I’m adding them to my menu, but unfortunately they are not on the Everyday Food site yet to link to.  They usually take a month or so to be added to the recipe search (if they do get added). You can also find these recipes by picking up a copy of Everyday food or subscribing.  If you like the magazine as much as I do, you might want to subscribe.  Each magazine costs $3.50 and a subscription cost only $12 for 10!

Here is my menu plan this week with some new recipes from Everyday Food:

Dinners

Roasted Chicken Thighs (pg 120), Braised Leeks (pg 109), roasted red potatoes

Orecchiette with Bacon and Tomato Sauce (pg 75), salad

Pork Tacos (using extra pork from the crock pot pork carnita recipe I tried last week – made really good enchiladas), guacamole, chips (yes, we like Mexican food and lots of guacamole)

Homemade Pizza

Ham and Cheese Wraps, Cabbage and Parsley Slaw with Capers (pg 180), fruit salad

Chicken Cutlets with White Wine and Garlic (pg 95), wild rice with mushrooms (pg 111), steamed asparagus

Leftovers

Lunches

Ramen Noodle Soup (my kids love it – me, not so much)

Personal Pizzas

Spaghetti

Ham and Cheese Wraps

Leftovers

What are you feeding your family this week?  Do you look through cookbooks when planning your meals or use the old standards?  What are your favorite cookbooks?

For more menu planning ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at the Organizing Junkie.