Meal Planning Monday (Bread & Muffins)

Oh, you don’t want to know what we’re eating this week. It’s the same old, same old. We had chicken soup AGAIN last night; I can’t help it. I like to cook soup when it’s cold out; I like to eat soup when it’s cold out. So I’ve been spending my time trying new bread and muffin recipes. I’ve come across some great ones, so I wanted to share them with you. In lieu of the usual weekly menu, I give you seven days of baked goods:

Sunday–I made Honey Wheat Mini Muffins to go along with the leftover chicken soup. Mmm, mmm good! To adapt to the mini-muffin pan, I decrease the temp to 350 and bake them about 15 minutes. There were supposed to be leftovers for tomorrow…but they didn’t last.

Monday–I tried this Crusty French Baguette recipe for the breadmaker. It was fantastic! The crust was crispy and the inside light and fluffy. The kids loved it! We will definitely make this again. French bread goes well with everything, but especially beef stew where you can sop up the leftover broth in the bottom of the bowl.

Tuesday–Last week we had these Buttery Bread Machine Rolls. Unbelievably good, although there is a whole stick of butter in there (not healthy, just delicious!). The kids couldn’t get enough, and all three were begging to eat them for breakfast the next morning.

Wednesday–One of our tried-and-true favorites is Herb Bread, one of those recipes I can throw into the bread machine, walk away, and have ready for dinner. You can do any combination of herbs, so feel free to experiment. We often have this with pasta dinners or soups.

Thursday–One of the ways I get extra veggies into my family is with Broccoli Cornbread Muffins. I go light on the cheese and leave out the onions (my kids hate them). They’re different than regular corn muffins, but they still go great with chili, Mexican food, and soups.

Friday–You can tell I haven’t been using the bread machine all the way through lately–I tend to use the dough function and quit there. Even for the regular bread recipes, like plain ol’ Whole Wheat Bread, I take the dough out and bake it in the oven instead of the machine. It comes out more evenly that way; you don’t end up with the dense part at the bottom (maybe my machine is just old, does yours do that?). And I don’t mind heating up the kitchen a bit since it’s winter.

Saturday– These Parmesan-Black Pepper Breadsticks look really good to me. I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I will this week. These will go great with a simple spaghetti dinner to jazz things up a bit. This recipe calls for Bisquick, but if you don’t have any (I only buy it when it’s uber-cheap), you can make your own.

For more traditional meal plans and recipes, go over to OrgJunkie.com. Have a great week!