Menu, week of Dec 16

Monday

• apple crisp; milk
• turkey, avocado, & raw cheddar sandwiches; clementines
• chicken legs with black currant bbq sauce; mashed potatoes; broccoli – bday dinner w/some sort of cheesecake for dessert

Tuesday

• eggs; smoked pork jowl (a gift! yay!); clementines; milk
• lunch out
• ? leftover something (just me)

Wednesday

• leftover apple crisp; milk
• leftover beef stew
• roast chicken; sweet potatoes; frozen green beans

Thursday

• pumpkin custard or blueberry cobbler; milk
• leftover hurry curry
• ? prob leftovers or sandwiches (just me?)

Friday

• leftover cobbler; beef broth
• kale salad with grilled chicken, pears, and raw cheddar
• okazu and rice

 Saturday

• pumpkin custard & whipped cream; beef broth
• stuffed peppers from freezer
• burgers; pickles; fried potatoes; sautéed kale

Sunday

• leftover pumpkin custard; beef broth
• sandwiches; apples; beanitos
• leftover okazu

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Transitional GAPS Twix Bars

I’ve been transitioning to other sugars now that we are branching out from strict GAPS, and while we generally use honey as our sweetener of choice I also add coconut sugar on occasion.  We are celebrating some fun in the snow with another family tomorrow and I decided to try my hand at a Twix-like confection for dessert.

I’ve made this shortbread before and reviewed it here.  I decided to use it as my base, subbing coconut sugar for half of the honey to see if that prevented overbrowning (and I think it did).  I doubled the recipe and patted the shortbread into a 9″ x 13″ foil pan lined with parchment paper.  Then I baked until light brown, sprinkled with Celtic sea salt, and cooled outside while I moved on to step two: this toffee.  I used half coconut sugar, half honey to make the toffee but otherwise followed the recipe.  Then I poured the toffee over the shortbread and put it back outside while I made the chocolate.  I don’t drink coffee so I never have any to add to this chocolate, but it is good without the coffee so that’s how I make it. :)  Then I topped with chopped crispy almonds and set back outside to cool.

We’ve tried all the components of these bars before but never all together!  I’m eager to see how it turns out tomorrow.

As you can see, you could totally make this GAPS-legal by using only honey as a sweetener.

 

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Menu, week of Dec 9

Monday

• bacon, egg & cheese muffins; clementines; milk
• soup from freezer?
• meatloaf; potatoes; broccoli

Tuesday

• pumpkin custard; milk *rehearsal?*
• leftover meatloaf etc
• slow-cooked chicken; carrots; white rice; green beans

Wednesday

• pumpkin custard; milk
• hurry curry with butternut
• sandwiches; apples? *concert*

Thursday

• apple crisp; milk
• mexican something?
• beef stew and muffins – E’s ballet recital

Friday

• leftover bacon, egg, & cheese muffins; clementines; milk *rehearsal?*
• ? leftover stew or sandwiches?
• liver; sweet potatoes; green beans or broccoli

 Saturday

• leftover apple crisp; milk *rehearsal?*
• leftovers? sandwiches
• burgers; fried potatoes and turnip greens

Sunday

• leftover bacon, egg, & cheese muffins; clementines; milk
• leftover something 
• ? roast chicken? *concert*

 

Depending on the weather, this will either be an extremely busy week or a laid-back one.  I was scheduled for 6 rehearsals and two concerts but have already had two rehearsals cancel because of the ice – we’ll see what the rest of the week brings.  I’ve also had a big increase in my clothing business as the holidays draw near so when I’m not practicing, rehearsing, or performing this week I’ll be sewing!  That means I’d like to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.  Not sure how that will work out… :)

A friend blessed me by picking me up and taking me to church and the grocery store so I wouldn’t have to drive on the slick roads.  I was super pumped because that meant I’d get to take advantage of the $0.49 pomegranate special Aldi’s has this week!!  I bought 8 and would have bought more but I was trying to keep the trip light so as not to burden my transportation.  Got avocados for $0.29 each too.  Huge blessing.  And even though I wasn’t able to buy any organic this week, simply having fresh broccoli, cauliflower, clementines, avocados, and pomegranates will make me happy for the foreseeable future.  We were getting a bit tired of apples, turnip greens and bananas. :D

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