Morningstar Farms

The heat has been draining; so, I really dreaded making a trek into Publix today. I felt too tired to move, a little like the Polar Bears at the zoo right now. All I needed to get through the next week was bananas and milk, and considering no one is burning many calories, I almost thought I could do without that. But, I'm glad I got inside where it was cooler and had a look around because I now have some exciting juiciness to share. Keep in mind that the sales are only through 9 pm Wednesday night (June 24), so get going. I'll likely make another stop if I pass one close by.

Firstly, the MorningStar Farms "entrees" on BOGO are any dinner product except the bites and the starters--which means all patties and chick n' nuggets or buffalo wings. There are some great coupons out there, plus the free box (which you can use a coupon on, too) makes these an equal to or better deal than the ones I got at Target.

If it was all about price, this would be a fabulously cheap meal because the pancake mix cost me $0.69 at Target, and I only used a couple cups, the strawberries were on sale the same day at Freshfields Farm, and the "sausage" links were 50% off at Publix some time ago, and I stocked my freezer. But in theory, this post is more about what we thought about the Quaker Oatmeal Pancake Mix. I had two coupons; so, I gave one to Mom, and we each brought home a box of the mix to try. I made pancakes and Mom made waffles. (She has my waffle iron.)

Mom's Waffle Recipe

• 3 ½ C sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 T baking powder
• 2 T sugar
• 1 ½ t salt
• 4 egg whites
• 2 ½-2 ¾ C milk
• 6 T Smart Balance cooking oil

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Set aside. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Continue beating adding milk and oil. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Fold in beaten egg whites. Pour 1 cup batter on preheated grid. Close unit and bake until light goes out (about 5 minutes). Makes 8 large waffles.

Last week at work went better than I had planned, but there was enough going on that I really appreciated the light dinner ideas I has scheduled during last week's post. The only change I made was to have Mexican Pizza on Friday night instead of the Egg Fu Yung, which means I have at least one meal already planned for this coming week! It's kind of like a roll-over.

Menu for the Week

• Egg Fu Yung with Asian Patties
• Corn on the Cob. . .maybe in a cold soup with fresh tomatoes
• Pasta and white bean dip on rolls
• Bagels (which I will get fresh from Einstein Brothers Monday or Wednesday with a coupon for 1/2 off a Baker's Dozen) and Smoothies
• Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers

Paul still has quite a collection of black eyed peas and rice for his lunch. Perhaps he will want some this week for dinner one night which will let me off the hook more.

Exactly a week ago, we attended a wedding at the Omni Resort in Champions Gate, Florida. We loved the wedding and are so happy for Sarah and John, but more importantly, we enjoyed this (see photo) particular menu item so much that the efforts of a duplication will likely be part of our menu this week.

I have fallen off the wagon of my menu plan to eliminate unnecessary stress in my life the last couple of weeks due to friends and family visiting, which throws off my schedule a bit. (I'm a creature of habit.) But, I'm back on this week!

Menu for Week of June 1

• Cold Wild Rice with fruit and nuts salad, veggie-meat
• Open-faced grilled cheese with aged white cheddar on dark wheat bread and mixed green salad
• Pizza on Flatbread with veggie-chicken spinach, and zucchini
• Cereal or Smoothies and Sandwiches
• Corn(?) and. . .

I have purchased fresh corn on sale at differing grocery stores for the last two weeks. It's a great summer treat and so inspiring because the fresh flavors make you want to do something just as fresh to go with it. We've already eaten this week's supply of corn, and I hope to acquire more on Thursday or Friday when I do my big bi-weekly grocery shopping.

A few weeks ago, I excitedly clipped a $1.50 coupon for a Kraft Salad Dressing out of the newspaper. I'm not obsessed with using coupons, but if there's a coupon for something I really want, I'm gonna use it. The salad dressings were $1.58 at Walmart, which meant I would pay just $0.08 for my bottle of Peppercorn Ranch Salad Dressing. Sadly, Walmart was out of my preferred store-bought dressing. But, I came across this new Green Goddess dressing, which rang a bell because the vegan restaurant, Dandelion Cafe, uses a vegan dressing by the same name. I took a chance, and was glad I did.

When I was a kid, we ate MorningStar Farms Bacon Strips at least every Saturday morning before church. My dad would fry them in oil and they came out dark and crispy. As I got older, I learned it was faster to cook them on high 20 seconds per strip in the microwave. As I got even older and started paying attention to taste and health, I learned that it's just as easy to cook the strips on medium in an ungreased Teflon skillet and turning often until they are browned and crispy.

Visit the MorningStar Farms website for photographs of the box, other breakfast items, and nutritional information on the products.

For a detailed list of the planned menu for April 12, please see this previous post. Everything went smoothly until I realized I had mozzarella that was about to expire and tomatoes that didn't look good either. Thursday night, Paul had a foot race, and I worked late and spent a couple hours with my family. So, we didn't eat dinner at home at all on Thursday night and had homemade pizza with a focus on fresh tomato sauce for Friday night.

I'm off on Monday and plan to use my time wisely. I hope to do much research and will not be surprised if my menu changes, but at least if I'm short on time, I will have options.

Proposed Menu

In no particular order:

• Roasted Sweet Potatoes with creamed broccoli or greenbeans.
• Pizza. Looking for new topping ideas.
• New Asian patties from Morningstar Farms with chow mein.
• Tortellini and Asparagus from last month's Gourmet Magazine.
• Veggie Wraps with carrots, lettuce, asparagus, and basil.

I am very proud of this recipe. Becoming a vegetarian is a challenge, especially when some veggie meats don't taste the same as real meat. In my case, I prefer the meats that don't taste like meat because I'm a vegetarian because I don't like the taste of meat. For that reason, this recipe amuses me. I actually don't like this recipe because I think it tastes too much like meat. I recommend this as a taste-test for one who is debating making the switch.

I love this sandwich. I have no idea what real bacon tastes like, but I've served it where I volunteer and this looks and smells better. This is great for lunches or for a quick dinner.