Whats for Dinner On Planet Mom there is

What’s for Dinner? On Planet Mom, there is a kitchen and people waiting for you to feed them

New Baby Playgroup • Wednesday mornings, 10 am to 12 pm • Essex Junction Teen Center

The Moyer Clan

Your Cooking History • How did you learn to cook? • Who taught you? • How do you decide what to cook?

Here’s our Plan: • • Writing a Menu What’s in the Pantry? Going to the store Getting it on the table

Exercise #1 • What did your family eat for dinner last week? (If you can’t remember, write down the meals that you CAN remember. It’s all good. )

Writing a Menu • How many meals CAN you cook? Thirty? Ten? • Make a master list…just write them down. • You will have this list to expand your menus. You can be creative on days when you feel creative, when you aren’t…check the LIST and pick something from there.

Exercise #2 • What can you cook…from memory…without consulting a cookbook? • This is your master list – this will be the basis for MANY meals that you can make, but in a pinch, you can haul these out.

How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson • Millions of recipes…but only a handful of cooking techniques • Pan Frying • Deep Frying • Broiling/Grilling • Steaming • Boiling

Same techniques = Many dinners • Seared scallops with lemon parsley sauce = New York strip steak with horseradish pan sauce = pork tenderloin medallions with apple cider pan sauce • If you can saute, you can sear • Change up the ingredients and you have a whole different dinner

Soup • “Saute an onion, then add vegetables, starch and meat. Cook in a quart of broth for a meal that can’t be beat. ”

Mix up the Ingredients = New Soup • Ham & Potato Soup with Leeks and Peas • White Bean Soup with Sausage, Peas and Kale • Chicken Vegetable soup with Noodles • Spinach Soup with Rice and Lemon • Gumbo-style Shrimp Soup

How about your Master List? • Can you switch around the ingredients in your master list and come up with new menu items? • Next exercise…taking the master list you created, can you make a “similar” dinner that could be the basis for next weeks’ menu?

Pan to Plate Challenge • These four ingredients are in your pantry • Consulting with the partner chefs at your table, what meals could you make with those four ingredients?

Your Pantry • What do you have on hand that needs using up? “Shop at home first” • Cindy’s Porch Pantry Lists www. cindysporch. net • Freezer, Fridge, Pantry • If you haven’t used it in a month…it is time to use it, or send it to the Food Shelf

Grocery Store Strategy • Creating a Grocery Store master list • Knowing the layout of your “favorite” store • “Simplify Your Life” by Elaine St. James

Getting it on the table Tips for cooking with small children underfoot • How do you keep your children entertained and occupied while you cook?

Thank you! • Thank you for your ideas and suggestions today. • Moms sharing ideas and helping each other navigate the day-to-day work of caring for our families is what MOPS is all about! • Bon Appetite!