Help with menu

[CatPoet]

It that time of month when I set my monthly menu  and I am starting to get bored with what we eat even though we dont eat the same stuff all the time, it just that I cant figure out anything new and lovely.

 

So this is the base  ingredients I have, I base on the meat.

 

Monday: high grade ground beef.

Tuesday: Smoked sausages,  thick and thin kind, not spicy but not bland either.

Wednesday: Salmon

Thursday: medium grade  ground beef

Saturday:  Chicken and stew pork for curries

Sunday  Pork loin,  dessert.

 

 

I need four Ideas for all of them except the sausages there I only need two ideas for what to have with them, I have already figured out Fridays dinner.

And here comes the tricky part,  it cant  contain any types of citrus fruit, roses, coffee, mold cheese, pre made stuff (it has to be from scratch), fresh tomatoes is a no go but tinned works, no mushrooms  or offal .  

We dont do child friendly dinner because then our 2 year old refuses to eat.  Please remember  I am on  tight budget so  scallops and lobster is a bit to expensive and I cannot source  curry leafs at all ( I tried). I have a well stocked spice cabinet and will stock up on canned beans , lentils , rice and other stuff.  Yes I used canned beans because it is too much hassle   in my kitchen and with 2 year old to  soak and cook beans.

 

So  please help me! 

 

Oh and no spam fritters with ramen burgers, saw that on popsugar  yesterday and no thanks.

[nakji]

Hmm. I see this list, and I think Japanese food, oddly enough - but the kind you can make with household staples.

 

For either of the ground beefs, how about either meatballs or "nikomi hamburger" - http://forums.egullet.org/topic/103230-dashi-soy-sauce-mirin-ratios/?p=1460782 - you can substitute barbecue sauce for the tonkatsu sauce, and leave out the mirin and sake without affecting the taste too much. Serve over rice with vegetable?

 

Salmon, could you make a modified sauce with soy and honey, grill or pan-fry and finish with the sauce? 

 

Disregard these suggestions if you don't have soy sauce on hand; I consider it a staple but realize others do not.

 

Otherwise, you could mix the ground beef with some cumin and garlic, and make meatballs to bake along with eggs in a tomato sauce. Serve with bread and a salad.

 

Stew pork - can you slow cook with onions, tomato, cumin, garlic, touch of chilli - serve with rice, beans, grated cheese, lettuce…?

 

I'm trying to think of things that do not require a lot of prep time as well.

[CatPoet]

Tonkatsu sauce sadly contains citrus fruit, I learned that the hard way.  

Soy is common in Sweden, we even back in  day brewed our own and it was something that was shipped here along with tea from China . So soy, we have that and uses it a lot.  Right now I have  Chinese mushroom soy,  Japanese  dark and  light and also Ketjap manis.

Prep time isnt a big issue, I have time due to my husband being home 1½ hours before dinner.

[SylviaLovegren]

Swedish meatballs, of course.    You can also make a pirozhok -- a giant piroshki.  Fill dough (many kinds work -- pastry type, phyllo, American biscuit) with seasoned ground meat (onions, thyme and pepper are my favorite), then roll up and bake.  Served sliced with sour cream.  Inexpensive and delicious.

 

Greek spaghetti sauce with cinnamon is different with pasta -- makaronia me kima   You can also use the kima to make a delicious pastitso -- You don't need the Greek cheeses if you can't get them, just substitute a mild soft cheese and a Parmesan type.  Lamb or beef works fine. 

 

And if you're doing Greek you can also do a moussaka using the kima.   You don't have to use eggplant (aubergine) if it's not available or you don't like it.  You could also use courgette/zucchini or even potato for the vegetable layers. 

 

ETA: I tried to post links for a good makaronia me kima and pastiso but it seemed to break the post. Sorry bout that.

Edited June 23, 2014 by SylviaLovegren (log)

[CatPoet]

Sylvia, give me a favorite recipe  on pirozhok, pastiso  and makaronia me kima. It looks yummy from what I can see and i do bake pirogi our form of pirozhok, so the dough isnt the problem.

 Cant make moussaka yet since  aubergines are  hard to come by this year.

[SobaAddict70]

for the ground beef, there's meatloaf. here's a thread that gives you all sorts of ideas.

sausages -- try roasting them with sliced sweet peppers and roasted potatoes. another idea is this recipe on my blog: http://kitchenseasons.com/2013/06/25/italian-sausage-with-green-grapes/ (sub the sausages you have for the italian sausage in the recipe.)

salmon -- broiled, with salt and pepper and a little bit of oil; or poached in broth and a little white wine, with herbs (reduce the poaching liquid with butter to make a simple pan sauce). another idea are these recipes on Food52: http://food52.com/recipes/search?q=salmon

for Saturday, does it have to be curries? because if not, I can think of A LOT more options.

[Darienne]

Salmon we fry/poach in lime juice.

[CatPoet]

Soba. It has to be curry, it been curry night for my husband on Saturday for the last  40 odd years, only Christmas and birthday may change it but 4 curries a month is a must.

 

Darienne: Lime is a citrus fruit and therefor a no go.

 

I will see if I can afford wine, that is expensive here and trust me, most cheap bottle of wine here taste like liking the carpet  of a old folk home for incontinent foxes .

Edited June 23, 2014 by CatPoet (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Soba. It has to be curry, it been curry night for my husband on Saturday for the last  40 odd years, only Christmas and birthday may change it but 4 curries a month is a must.

 

Darienne: Lime is a citrus fruit and therefor a no go.

 

I will see if I can afford wine, that is expensive here and trust me, most cheap bottle of wine here taste like liking the carpet  of a old folk home for incontinent foxes .

Okay.

"Curry" is pretty broad. Does it have to be a particular type of curry or can it be any style? Indian? Thai? Japanese? Caribbean? The reason why I ask is because I have a few resources I can pull from, but I need a little more information so I know what direction to go.

[SobaAddict70]

Soba. It has to be curry, it been curry night for my husband on Saturday for the last  40 odd years, only Christmas and birthday may change it but 4 curries a month is a must.

 

Darienne: Lime is a citrus fruit and therefor a no go.

 

I will see if I can afford wine, that is expensive here and trust me, most cheap bottle of wine here taste like liking the carpet  of a old folk home for incontinent foxes .

It doesn't have to be wine. If you're using broth, make sure it's good quality broth, preferably made from scratch. Water is fine.

[SobaAddict70]

Sunday -- dessert. Apart from the parameters in your original post, are there any preferences? Pastry? Chilled desserts? Simple or slightly more complicated? Fruit/chocolate/nuts? Anything that involves dairy?

I'll have a list later, and also this might help folks who chime in with ideas of their own.

[CatPoet]

I am open for suggestion when it comes to dessert.  Most things I can find lactosfree  , condensed milk is not one of them and when it asks for dulce de leche I make a lovely thick toffee sauce instead.  But any ideas  would be ache. Oh that is right white chocolate and milk chocolate is also out.  

[CatPoet]

Soba: My husband is Scottish, so currys for him is Indian only. I think I could get away with making any form of Indian food  but I am not sure.

[CatPoet]

Dairy is oki, I can get milk, cream,  sour cream , creme fraiche,  butter,   quark and ice cream   dairy but lactose free here.  I can get lactose free milk white chocolate but I never baked with it and have no clue how it acts.   Dark chocolate is fine, even though I shouldnt have large amount if it.  

[SobaAddict70]

Soba: My husband is Scottish, so currys for him is Indian only. I think I could get away with making any form of Indian food  but I am not sure.

Try these: http://food52.com/blog/9814-9-curry-recipes-to-spice-up-your-winter-routine

When I cook Indian, it tends to be vegetarian or vegan. I won't bother with those.

Some more ideas:

Pork vindaloo: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/69386-pork-vindaloo/?hl=curry

Chicken makhni: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/25552-makhnibutter-chicken/?hl=curry#entry353971 (you'd have to use tinned or canned tomatoes here)

Kori Ghashi: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/118504-madras-chicken-curry/?hl=curry#entry1600494 (scroll down, the OP has three different chicken curry recipes)

Those should be enough to get you started.

[CatPoet]

OH that looks yummy.   Much better then the  Chattnied, Thoran Khozi, Makhni and Korma we been doing.

Oh we dont do vegan, I am not allowed to go full vegan anymore , doctors order.

[CatPoet]

Menu set!

 

Taco    

Chicken Sukka   

Sundays roast, potatoes. Strawberry  curstard tart   

makaronia me kima   

Stuffed thick sausage and baked potatoes   

Fried salmon with  roots and tubers.   

kebab Skewers, rice and salad   

Texas steak baked potatoes, sourcream and salad.   

Pork vindaloo   

Herbed roast with potatoes and salad. Cherry clafouti   

Mince and tatties   

Boiled sausage and greekpotato salad   

Salmonpatties and potatoes   

pirozhok   

Hamburgar   

Steamed salmon with fresh veggies   

Tjärlknöl ( a swedish medthod cooking meat) and hot potatosalad. Queen of puddings   

pastitso   

Sausage stroganoff with rice

Madurai chicken   

Swedish Meatballs dinner, with all the sides.   

Texas steak crispy potatoes and  creamedbaked corn.   

Salmon pudding   

Pulled pork with bread, veggies. Mother in laws, baked fruit pudding.   

Kema curry.   

Fried sausage with potato bake   

Kori Gashi   

Meatloaf.   

hamburgar   

Salmon balls.

[SylviaLovegren]

Here's the Saltsa Kima recipe I use -- it's based on Vilma Chantiles' recipe and also on watching my mother-in-law:

 

tablespoon butter or olive oil

one medium onion, chopped fine

1 pound ground beef (if fatty, you'll have to drain off the fat)

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 cup red wine

2 cups canned peeled tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup pureed tomatoes (or use some tomatoe paste)

1 small cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon, see recipe

salt and pepper to taste, bit of sugar if needed

few sprigs parsley or basil, if possible

 

Saute the chopped onion in the butter or oil in a large pan over low heat, until the onion is soft.  Add the ground beef and saute over medium heat, mashing regularly with a fork.  In Greek kima you want to have lots of small particles of the meat -- this is distinctive.  Once the meat is browned, pour off some of the fat, if necessary.  Add the garlic and red wine and turn up the heat, stirring and cooking until the garlic is fragrant.  Then add the tomatoes and the cinnamon stick (you can also add 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and skip the stick).  Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, and let simmer for half hour or longer.  Sauce should be fairly thick.  Remove the cinnamon stick if using.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste, sugar if needed (and a bit more ground cinnamon if you like.)  Stir in chopped parsley and/or basil and serve with your favorite pasta.  Buttered pasta was traditional in MIL's house, with lots of grated Parmesan-type cheese. 

 

The saltsa kima can be used for pastiso and moussaka -- so double the recipe and freeze some.  Just don't double the cinnamon!  The cinnamon flavor should be a faint warm sweet mystery, not a foghorn! 

 

I'll go look for the pirozhok recipe. 

Edited June 25, 2014 by SylviaLovegren (log)

[SylviaLovegren]

I can't find my Russian friend's recipe for pirozhok, but this is what I've done:

 

Biscuit dough made with 2 cups flour (American biscuit dough, not cookie dough -- or use phyllo, pie pastry, or any other dough that can be rolled out thin)

tablespoon butter

2 onions, finely chopped

1/2 - 1 pound ground meat

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

few grinds black pepper

pinch dried thyme

Soften the onions in the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground meat and brown, breaking up the clumps.  Drain off an excess fat.  Let cool slightly.  In a bowl, combine the meat, the eggs, bread crumbs and seasoning.  Test the seasoning saute a small bit of the mixture for a minute and tasting. 

Preheat your oven to 450 (hot oven).  Roll out the dough to a 6" x 12" rectangle.  Spread the filling over the dough, leaving at least 3/4" clear at the edges.  Roll up the dough like a jelly roll, pinching the seam to seal.  Place on a baking sheet seam side down and bake until browned -- 20 to 30 minutes.  Slice and serve with gravy (made from the ground meat drippings) or sour cream.    You can also make a pie, dividing the two into two and stuffing with the filling. 

[SylviaLovegren]

Writing up the recipe for my meat roll/pirozhok made me think of Quebec tourtiere -- a delicious meat pie.  There are lots of variations and as a newcomer to Canada I don't feel competent to judge the best, but everyone seems to have his or her own recipe.  Most recipes I've seen combine ground beef and ground pork, but I think you could use all one or the other, or substitute ground chicken or veal for some of the meat, as well.  I'm attaching a recipe I found online that seems very much like a few I've tried -- although I've never added mushrooms.  Tourtiere is delicious and rich and certainly harkens back to medieval meat pies.

 

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/cooking_school/tourtiere_recipe_and_instructions.php

[SylviaLovegren]

Here is a very good recipe for pastiso -- very very rich, too.  And with a slightly different recipe for the saltsa kima, so you can see which one works best for you.

 

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/nm6ks32u/moms-pastitso.html

[CatPoet]

I got hold of 3 other Greek friends  and I now I 4 options for the Greek dishes thanks to you, I will see which one I make.  

My polish neighbor handed me a recipe pirozhok  that he said I just must try, it has a bit of veggies  in and pickled beet and then meat, sounded  weird and lovely and he promises to make the dough for me.  Who can say no to that?

[SylviaLovegren]

I want to see your friend's pirozhok recipe.  I'm so upset I can't find mine -- it came from a lovely Russian friend who died years ago.  She was the best cook and her pirozhki and pirozhok were so delicious.  Dang. 

[CatPoet]

 i will, when i tried it, if it is oki?  I need to know what dough he gives me.