We do not have as many repeats this week as we have been having over the past few weeks. One of those repeats is on purpose, though. We loved the baked lemon pasta, so we are having it again. I used a whole grain pasta, which was made with whole grain durum wheat, which was wonderful, but thought the amount of fat in the recipe was too high for our tastes, so I will leave out the oil this time and increase the garlic even more (I doubled it, but thought it could have used even more). This would make a great potluck dish as well as a one dish meal if you added some greens and diced chicken or shrimp to the pasta before you baked it.

This is also now a time of end of year activities and parties. We have one play off finished, team party to attend, rehearsals for a recital and the recital to see still ahead of us. We have a little bit to go in school still, as we have adopted a modified English school schedule for our family, which gives us a little more freedom to take time off during the school year, but extends the school year a little on the end.

Our half a heritage hog was delivered on Friday, to much rejoicing. We are excited to eat this guy up. The folks who raised this guy also raise Dexter cattle, so I'm hoping if they butcher a steer or two, we can buy part or a whole from them. The pork ended up costing us about $3.25 a pound for heritage, pasture raised meat, including the kill fee, cut & wrap and the curing and smoking on some of the hams (we split the ham into smaller roasts), the hocks and the bacon. We also received all the belly fat for rendering, not only from our half, but also from two other pigs they slaughtered, as the people who ordered them did not want it. Had they also not wanted the hocks, we could have gotten more of those, but it seems the other customers were wise to that. I wish I had asked for any of the tails, so we could roast them over the fire like in Little House on the Prairie. That would have been a fun thing to do with the children.

We still haven't gotten word that the butchering and grinding of our beef is finished, but we are looking forward to that as well. Since we've been eating so much out of our freezers, we have more than enough room for all these treasures.

We also have had an answer to prayer, for which we are thankful. This has been a hard year for us, with a beautiful gift of a daughter given in the midst of some trials. We are ever grateful for the mercies that we see.

• Monday: Pork Chops (from our heritage pig!) Smothered with Apples, Sauerkraut & Onions, Baked Potatoes, Steamed Green Beans


• Tuesday: Sausage & Lentil Soup, Crusty Wheat Bread


• Wednesday: Mussels Cooked in White Wine and Butter with Garlic & Parsley, Parmesan, Herb & Garlic Bread (her recipe uses asiago), Salad


• Thursday: Barbecue Beans (from freezer), Cornbread, Orange Slices


• Friday: Cheese & Spinach Omelets & Salad


• Saturday: Team Party


• Sunday: Souvlaki (we had them cut much of the shoulder into kabob cubes just for this very purpose), Vegetable Skewers, Baked Lemon Pasta

If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can.
What is on your menu this week?

Here is the list of foods from the freezer, fridge and pantry that I'm using this week. Anything from the freezer, pantry or fridge that was not bought specifically for this meal or this past week will be included in my lists.

Freezer:
Smoked Polish Sausage
Green Beans
Spinach
Barbecue Beans
Chicken Stock


Fridge:
Eggs
Butter
Cheddar Cheese
Pepper Jack Cheese
Parmesan
Milk
Sour Cream
Lettuce
Carrots
Celery
Lemons
Sauerkraut


Pantry:
All Herbs & Spices
Salt
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Bread Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
Corn Meal
Basmati Rice
Whole Durum Wheat Spaghetti
Yeast
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Sugars
Honey
French Green Lentils
White Wine
Oranges

Parsley from the Herb Garden

Labels: Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen