Weekly menu

Friday - Tacos, corn and chickpea salad, double chocolate zucchini cake
Saturday - leftover pizza from last week
Sunday - leftover pizza from last week
Monday - grilled chicken breasts, pasta salad
Tuesday - leftover pasta salad, leftover tacos
Wednesday - homemade barbecue chicken pizza
Thursday - pork stirfry

Last week's dinner menus

Friday - went to the carnival, ate "food" that tasted really good and had no nutritional value whatsoever.

Saturday - Tortilla pizzas made with leftover homemade pizza sauce from last week, heirloom tomato and pepper salad, sweet corn

Sunday - Chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup

Monday - Ohio City Pasta ravioli with homemade tomato sauce, German potato salad

Tuesday - Leftover roasted tomato soup, sweet corn, homemade bread with homemade jam

Wednesday - pizza from a local (non-chain) restaurant

Thursday - BLT's with homegrown tomato, CSA lettuce, organic mayo, homemade bread, local grass-fed organic bacon, local grass-fed organic cheese

Last week's dinner menus

Friday - CSA homemade pizza - used the pizza dough from the CSA, made my own tomato sauce from scratch with the CSA tomatoes, topped it with onion and peppers and sausage from the CSA.

Saturday - Ohio City Pasta ravioli with frozen pasta sauce from earlier this summer

Sunday - Basil burgers made with local grass-fed beef, homemade pesto, local mozzarella, and tomatoes from our front yard, served on buns from Blackbird Baking Company.

Monday - Quiche from Gray House Pies

Tuesday - went out to Aladdin's, where we shared a soup and an entree

Wednesday - leftover crab soup from before the summer, homemade bread with homemade raspberry jam

Thursday - Cabbage and noodles with ham, made with all local ingredients (except the salt and pepper)

Last week's dinner menus

This week's cooking was a testament to improvisation, since I didn't really have all the ingredients for any of the recipes I wanted to use.  So I left out the mushrooms in the chicken divan and subbed in a different type of cheese, I left out the meat in the stir fry and used a whole mess of vegetables instead, and made the eggplant dish salsa-y instead of spaghetti-y.  And they all worked out really well, possibly even better than the originals.

I also canned some regular tomato salsa and peach salsa this week, and we've been snacking on the leftovers that didn't fit in the canning jars I had.  Mmmm, spicy peachy goodness ....

Friday - forgot to write it down
Saturday - homemade arrabiata sauce on Ohio City Pasta ravioli
Sunday - on vacation, ate at Cracker Barrel
Monday - on vacation, ate at Wendy's
Tuesday - chicken divan from my grandmother's recipe
Wednesday - stir-fried vegetables (pattypan squash, green beans, onions) with peanut curry sauce, organic brown rice
Thursday - eggplant skillet recipe made with homemade salsa and "mexican blend" cheese (instead of tomato sauce and mozzarella)

Week Six Menus

Friday:
leftover crab soup from before the experiment

Saturday:
Disappearing Zucchini Orzo, blueberry sauce on biscuits

Sunday:
Ordered a pizza

Monday:
Baba Burgers, steamed green beans

Tuesday:
Cornmeal waffles, fried potatoes and zucchini

Wednesday:
Pork chops in yakiniku marinade, sweet corn, ravioli with tomato sauce and sauteed vegetables

Thursday:
Linguine with tomato sauce and sauteed vegetables, sweet corn

Week Five menus

In the interest of not repeating myself every darn week, I'm only going to list dinners here.  You can assume that for breakfast the kid is probably having a peanut butter and nutella sandwich, I'm having either oatmeal or leftovers, and at lunch we're both having some sort of leftovers or salad.

Gretchen's indulgence: lunch at the bagel store

Liza's indulgence: lunch at Chick-Fil-A

Friday:
Ridiculously good cabbage rolls, German potato salad, first sweet corn of the year

Saturday:
Zucchini and tomato stew served over Ohio City Pasta ravioli, sweet corn, leftover potato salad

Sunday:
Chili**, cornbread, coleslaw, green salad

Monday:
Leftovers

Tuesday:
Chicken salad on "Like County Line" bread, misc. leftover side dishes

Wednesday and Thursday:
I forgot to write it down, so it can't have been anything that special, and it probably involved leftovers out of the freezer

** It was going to be great chili, with organic everything and local ground beef and local sausage, and then I burned it really, really badly when I was reheating it and we had to throw out an entire double recipe of it.  Very frustrating, and totally a good excuse to call Domino's and get something that was actually edible to serve to our guests on the 4th of July.  Pizza is patriotic, right?  Right?  And more than a week later, I'm still trying to soak the scorch off of the bottom of my expensive enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.  Buggrit.

Week four menus

Friday breakfast:
Scrambled local free-range organic eggs

Friday lunch:
Ate out at Botanical Garden (their cafe uses as many local sources as possible for ingredients, and we both had vegetarian meals)

Friday dinner:
Nicoise salad with local lettuce, local green beans, organic potatoes, local organic cheese, and organic salad dressing; cornbread made with all local ingredients except for the salt and baking powder

Saturday breakfast:
Cornbread from Friday, various leftovers

Saturday lunch:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen: various leftovers

Saturday dinner:
Whole wheat spaghetti with local chard

Sunday breakfast:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen/Jason: Cornbread from Friday, homemade blueberry buckle

Sunday lunch:
Leftovers

Sunday dinner:
Ate out at Crop Bistro, a local restaurant that focuses on seasonal and local foods

Monday breakfast:
Liza: apple
Gretchen: homemade blueberry buckle from Sunday

Monday lunch:
Ate out at Olive Garden (Liza's indulgence)

Monday dinner:
Salad; local gnocchi and pesto from Ohio City Pasta with fresh local peas

Tuesday breakfast:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery
Gretchen: homemade blueberry buckle from Sunday

Tuesday lunch:
Leftovers

Tuesday dinner:
Pasta salad made with local pasta with tons of whatever local veggies I had in the fridge, as well as local organic cheese and local salsa

Wednesday breakfast:
Leftovers

Wednesday lunch:
Ate out at Chipotle (Gretchen's indulgence)

Wednesday dinner:
Breaded local pork chops, tomato zucchini stew made with local zucchini and tomatoes and basil from our garden, leftover pasta salad from Tuesday

Thursday breakfast:
Liza: organic fruit bites
Gretchen: cheese quesadilla made with local cheese from Miceli's and local lavash bread

Thursday lunch:
Liza: Nutella sandwich on local whole wheat bread from Sarah Jane's bakery, organic raisins
Gretchen: leftovers

Thursday dinner:
Leftover cassoulet from before the experiment began, local tomato salad with Ohio City Pasta pesto and Miceli's parmesan cheese, local dinner rolls from Sarah Jane's bakery, local sweet corn from Fitch's.

Week Three menus

Week 3 - 
Indulgences: Liza - Cheetos;  Gretchen - Quizno's meal

Friday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade bread with butter
Gretchen - French toast made with homemade bread, local eggs, local milk

Friday Lunch:
Big salad with whatever was left in the fridge
Friday Dinner:
Liza - ate at a friend's house
Gretchen - leftover pappardelle pasta from previous week; local cherries


Saturday Breakfast:
Baked goods from the farmers' market

Saturday Lunch:
Liza - Local sliced turkey, local mozzarella cheese, local fresh peas
Gretchen - Local quiche (purchased at farmers' market from Gray House Pies)
Saturday Dinner:
Liza - Cheetos (indulgence alert!); local apple, local strawberries, local cherries
Gretchen - Soup made with homemade chicken broth from previous week, dill, and a variety of veggies



Sunday Breakfast:


Clafoutis made with local organic eggs and local cherries; leftover quiche
Sunday Lunch:
Ate out at Treehuggers Cafe
Sunday Dinner:
Leftover sweet potato from last week, big salad, burgers made with local organic ground beef, local cheese, local burger buns from Blackbird Baking Company.



Monday Breakfast:
Liza: Scrambled local eggs, Cheetos
Gretchen: Leftover clafoutis, leftover homemade muffin

Monday Lunch:
Liza - Noodles with butter and salt, local apple, peanuts
Gretchen - Local pita with local organic hummus from Judy's Oasis stand at the farmers' market, roasted local vegetables, local cheese; leftover sweet potato
 
Monday Dinner:
Kale and potato soup made with local kale and local chorizo; local pitas with hummus; organic carrots 




Tuesday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade toast with butter
Gretchen - Leftover egg pitas from last week

Tuesday Lunch:
Ate out at Quizno's (indulgence alert!) at the zoo
Tuesday Dinner:
Sesame noodles with chicken and cabbage (click for link to recipe post)




Wednesday Breakfast:
Liza - Local apple
Gretchen - Homemade muffins left from last week

Wednesday Lunch:
Liza - Local lavash with Nutella; organic carrots, local peas
Gretchen - Leftover burger patty (from Sunday) and grilled local vegetables with organic local hummus on local pita

Wednesday Dinner:
Leftover sausage spaghetti sauce from a previous week, served over local whole wheat pasta from Ohio City Pasta





Thursday Breakfast:
Liza - Homemade bread with butter
Gretchen - Leftover kale and potato soup from Monday night; homemade bread with local cheese

Thursday Lunch:
Liza - Local lavash with Nutella; organic carrots, local peas
Gretchen - BLTs made with homemade bread, local bacon, local tomatoes, and lettuce from our garden; homemade pickles
 Thursday Dinner:
Miscellaneous leftovers from the fridge and freezer

Week Two Menus

Week 2 - 
Indulgences: Liza - Chick-Fil-A meal, Jason - out of town, Gretchen - Chipotle meal

Friday Breakfast:
Liza - Peanut butter and Nutella sandwich on whole wheat bread
Gretchen - Organic oatmeal w/ raisins, pecans, and brown sugar


Friday Lunch:
Liza - Local string cheese, local apple, local sliced turkey
Gretchen - Leftover curry soup from before the experiment started, homemade bread with local cheese


Friday Dinner:
Liza - Scrambled eggs
Gretchen - Leftover local pitas stuffed with local scrambled eggs, organic spinach, local cheese, and leftover ham that was frozen since Easter


Saturday Breakfast:
Liza - Peanut butter and Nutella sandwich on whole wheat bread
Gretchen - Homemade bread with local cheese melted on it


Saturday Lunch:
Sandwiches with local sliced turkey, local cheese, on whole wheat bread; organic raisins; homemade peanut butter cookies


Saturday Dinner:
Liza - Raw broccoli, buttered noodles
Gretchen - Salad of local greens with local beets, local blue cheese, organic walnuts, organic sunflower seeds, homemade dressing; leftover chicken noodle soup from before the experiment started


Sunday Breakfast:
Liza - Peanut butter and Nutella sandwich on whole wheat bread
Gretchen - Homemade muffins (I froze half of the batch last week)


Sunday Lunch:
Liza - Local string cheese, local apple, organic raisins
Gretchen - Leftover asparagus soup with added leftover ham and local cheese; cheese toast on homemade bread


Sunday Dinner:
Pizzas on homemade whole wheat crusts** with local mozzarella, local tomatoes, and local vegetables


Monday Breakfast:
Liza: Scrambled local eggs
Gretchen: Homemade bread with homemade strawberry jam

Monday Lunch:
Liza - Local sliced turkey, local mozzarella cheese, organic raisins
Gretchen - Leftover chicken soup from before the experiment; small homemade pizza leftover from Sunday
 
Monday Dinner:
Liza - Raw peas, buttered noodles
Gretchen - Pasta carbonara made with local noodles, local broccoli, local bacon, organic cream, etc. ; local cherries

Tuesday Breakfast:
Liza - Chick-Fil-A (indulgence alert!)
Gretchen - Homemade bread with butter, homemade muffin

Tuesday Lunch:
Liza - buttered noodles, local raw peas
Gretchen - leftover pasta from Monday dinner, local raw peas

Tuesday Dinner:
Liza - buttered noodles, local sliced turkey
Gretchen - pasta salad with local turkey, local beets, local cheese, and a whole mess of other stuff that was in my fridge 
Tuesday Dessert:
Homemade brownies 

Wednesday Breakfast:
Liza - Scrambled eggs
Gretchen - Organic oatmeal topped with local salsa and local cheese; local cherries

Wednesday Lunch:
Gretchen - Leftover pasta salad from Tuesday dinner, local string cheese
Liza - Local string cheese, local raw peas

Wednesday Dinner:
Liza - Local sliced turkey, organic raisins, local apple, local raw broccoli
Gretchen - Pizza made with homemade crust, leftover pork from before the experiment, BBQ sauce, grilled local zucchini, grilled local green peppers; baked sweet potato
Thursday Breakfast:
Liza - Whole wheat toast with butter
Gretchen - Homemade muffins, local apple cider

Thursday Lunch:
Quesadillas made with local lavash bread, with local cheese, leftover pork, BBQ sauce, and leftover grilled veggies from Wednesday

Thursday Dinner:
Chipotle (indulgence alert!)




** I make my own pizza dough, and I par-bake a bunch of single-serving size pizzas all at once.  When they've cooled, I freeze them and can bring them out to use one at a time.

Week One Menus (partial week)

Because we were on vacation until Sunday of this week, this is "week" of menus only covers Monday - Thursday.  We'll do the Friday - Thursday weeks from now on.  You'll notice that you hardly ever see breakfast listings for Jason, who leaves the house early and grabs something to eat at his desk in the mornings (I'm going to try to make sure there are muffins or other easy foods in the house so he doesn't revert back to buying Pop-Tarts).


Also, each week each of us is allowed to pick one "indulgence," that is, something that's not seasonal or local or organic but that we really, really want to eat that week.  Could be junk food, could be a fresh pineapple - doesn't make a difference to me.  Once you've picked it and eaten it, no fair changing your mind to something different that week (which Liza found out when she made her bid for Reese's peanut butter cups starting on Wednesday).

Week 1 - 
Indulgences: Liza - Nutella spread, Jason - regular orange juice, Gretchen - mixture of toppings for my oatmeal (it's the same stuff every day, and it's only about a tablespoon total per day)

Monday Breakfast:
- Liza: peanut butter and (indulgence alert!) Nutella sandwich on whole wheat bread
- Gretchen: Organic oatmeal with organic raisins and (indulgence alert!) brown sugar, pecans, and flaked coconut
Monday Lunch:
- ate out at Great Lakes Brewing Company
Monday Dinner:
- Giant Salad (local lettuce, organic spinach, organic carrots, organic celery, organic mushrooms, local hardboiled eggs, local cheese, pecans, organic sunflower seeds, local broccoli, local tomatoes) with homemade dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, and Penzey's Salsa Salad Seasoning, mixed into some mayo to make a creamy dressing)

Tuesday Breakfast:
- Liza: peanut butter and (indulgence alert!) Nutella sandwich on whole wheat bread
- Gretchen: leftovers from Monday lunch (pizza)
Tuesday Lunch:
- Leftover Giant Salad from Monday Dinner, plus Liza had some of the leftover mac&cheese from Monday Lunch
Tuesday Dinner:
- Roasted local organic chicken with potatoes and onions
- Local sugar snap peas in soy sauce/sesame oil/rice vinegar sauce
- A few leftover french fries from Monday Lunch
Tuesday Dessert:
- Homemade vanilla ice cream

Wednesday Breakfast:
- Liza: peanut butter and (indulgence alert!) Nutella sandwich on whole wheat bread
- Gretchen: homemade muffins with local raspberries I froze last summer
Wednesday Lunch:
- Gretchen: Leftover chicken and vegetables from Tuesday dinner
- Liza: Raw vegetables (organic carrots, local broccoli, organic spinach), local string cheese, local pita chips
Wednesday Dinner:
- Sandwiches with local sausage, canned mushrooms, canned tomato sauce, organic onions, local buns
- Local snow peas in soy sauce/sesame oil/rice vinegar sauce
- Side salad of whatever we had on hand (probably local lettuce, local tomatoes, organic carrots, organic celery, organic mushrooms, local cheese, and homemade dressing)

Thursday Breakfast:
- Liza: peanut butter and (indulgence alert!) Nutella sandwich on homemade whole wheat bread
- Gretchen: Organic oatmeal with organic raisins and (indulgence alert!) brown sugar, pecans, and flaked coconut
Thursday Lunch:
- Sandwiches with local sliced turkey, local cheese, mayo, local lettuce, local tomatoes, on either homemade whole wheat bread (Gretchen) or with store-bought whole wheat bread (Liza)
- Raw vegetables (organic carrots, local broccoli, organic spinach)
- Local pickles
Thursday Dinner:
- Local pitas stuffed with local scrambled eggs, organic spinach, local cheese, and leftover ham that was frozen since Easter
- Homemade whole wheat bread with homemade strawberry jam
- Raw vegetables ((organic carrots, local broccoli, organic spinach)