Back to Blogging

My apologies for leaving this blog silent so much this summer. Between vacation, crazy summer schedule, moving to a new home and being without internet for 2+ weeks, there has been little computer time for me this summer.

I will be back to regular menu planning next week, plus I have new recipes to share!

Menu Plan 7/19

I haven't done much menu planning recently because of vacation and busy schedules. The next two weeks will be busy as well, but menu planning always gives me a sense of security, knowing that our suppers are one less thing I have to worry about. Also, I am trying to clean out the freezer a bit since we'll be moving to a new house in a couple of weeks, so I need to use up what I already have.

Monday - one pot meal: whole wheat pasta, chicken and lots of veggies, plus a tomato/okra side dish for Hubby and I (okra from our CSA basket)

Tuesday - grilled pizzas, grilled corn on the cob, other veggies that need cleaned up

Wednesday - CSA day! baked fish, barley, and veggies from our CSA basket

Thursday - pasta/bean salad, gazpacho (my new summer fave!)

Friday - grilled hamburgers & veggies

Saturday - FIFI (Find It, Fix It, aka leftovers)

Menu Plan 6/20

Sunday - Father's Day - grilled hamburgers & veggies

Monday - Rigatoni with Beef & Eggplant

Tuesday - Roasted Vegetable & Feta Sandwiches

Wednesday - FIFI (aka Find It, Fix It)

Thursday - gazpacho

Friday - grilled flounder & veggies

Saturday - spaghetti, meatballs, steamed veggies

Menu Plan 6/13

Sunday - breakfast for dinner

Monday - spaghetti & meatballs, steamed squash

Tuesday - crockpot pork BBQ on homemade rolls, steamed veggies

Wednesday - pork & sweet potato crockpot casserole

Thursday - chicken panzanella

Friday - Mama gets a night out, so it will be FIFI (Find It, Fix It) for the family

Saturday - grilled flounder, barley, steamed veggies

Menu Plan 6/6

Sunday - FIFI (Find It, Fix It aka leftovers!)

Monday - chicken spaghetti, steamed squash

Tuesday - breakfast for dinner! omelets, skillet potatoes, bacon

Wednesday - at the suggestion of Heather at Home-Ec 101, I'll be trying this recipe for gazpacho, with quesadillas

Thursday - chicken fajitas

Friday - flounder, barley, steamed veggies

Saturday - grilled chicken, pasta salad

Homemade Hot Dog/Hamburger Buns

I love baking bread. The bread machine makes it easier, of course. But I love the variety of breads that I can make with it. My latest variation was to make our hot dog buns!

Ladybug had her 3rd birthday on Monday and I wanted to make as much of our food from scratch. The menu was meatball subs, crockpot mac-n-cheese, fresh corn on the cob, a veggie tray, and homemade strawberry frozen yogurt and homemade cake. It was a feast of Ladybug's favorite food.

With the bread machine, the most difficult part of making homemade buns was rolling them out. Mine were rustic looking (sorry, forgot to take a pic!) but everyone raved about them. That made all the extra work worth it!

Because this was my first attempt at making homemade buns and it was for such an important occasion, I didn't want to tweak the recipe too much. I did use granulated sugar, but will try honey next time.

This recipe makes 8 hot dog buns, or 10-12 hamburger buns, depending on how big your buns need to be. I made 3 batches for Ladybug's party.


Homemade Hot Dog/Hamburger Buns

1 1/3 cups warm water
2 Tbsp powdered milk
2 Tbsp shortening (I used olive oil)
2 1/2 to 3 Tbsp sugar (I have to use the full 3 Tbsp when the humidity is high)
2 tsp salt
4 cups flour (I used white whole wheat flour, but you can use 2 cups all purpose flour & 2 cups whole wheat flour)
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast (or 1 packet)

Fill the bread pan of your bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Set on dough setting.

When dough finishes its first rise, remove from pan, turn out on a floured work surface and knead a few times. Divide dough into 8 sections for hot dog buns or 10-12 sections for hamburger buns. Shape into long narrow shapes or circular rounds. Place on baking sheet and set in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. (I set the oven to "warm" then turned it off before placing the dough in there to rise.)

After 30 minutes, preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake buns for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.


These turned out great! I'm so glad I took the time to make them for Ladybug's party. This post fearlessly submitted to Fearless Friday at Home Ec 101.

Menu Plan 5/31

I'm a little late in posting our menu plan because our Ladybug turned 3 yesterday! We had a great birthday party.

Monday - birthday party - meatball sandwiches (meatballs, Ragu sauce heated in crockpot, served on homemade buns), crockpot mac-n-cheese, corn on the cob, veggie tray, homemade cake, homemade strawberry frozen yogurt - I'll post the recipes for the homemade buns & fro-yo as soon as I can!

Tuesday - leftovers

Wednesday - vegetable fried rice

Thursday - grilled steak & veggies

Friday - grilled chicken, pasta & bean salad

Saturday - tabouleh (didn't get to it yet), I'll add shredded chicken to make it a one-dish meal