Menu Plan Monday
I thought I would try out something new…A blog I read called “I’m an Organizing Junkie” has a weekly event called “Menu Plan Monday.” Hundreds of bloggers post a menu on their own blogs, and then post a link to their menu back at the “org junkie” site. It’s fun to look through some of the posts and get inspiration for future menus. I don’t know if I’ll do this every week, but I thought I would give it a shot.
This week’s menu is greatly influence by what was on sale last week at Cub foods (lots of great specials in their 40th anniversary sale) and the random things I had around that I need to use up. Here it goes…
Monday: Pork Roast in the crock pot ($1/lb last week at Cub!), mashed potatoes, lettuce salad
Tuesday: Salmon Patties on buns, veggie du jour ( = whatever I feel like from the frozen veggies in the freezer), and probably another side dish w/rice or pasta
Wednesday: Pizza (w/ chicken, pepperoni, and other misc. toppings) and a veggie du jour. I make my own crust and I am still searching for the perfect recipe that is thick and chewy but not too “bready.” This is the one I tried last time — it was okay but it make a ton of dough, and I didn’t divide it enough ways so my crust was way too thick.
Thursday: Enchiladas (a small pan each of beef and seafood…to use what I have around!) and homemade salsa-sort of stuff I make with tomatoes, avocado, onion, etc.
Friday: Chili using Tony’s awesome recipe (see below) and Cornbread. We have a few small peppers to harvest from our garden that we’ll be using for the spicy portion of the chili!
Saturday: Tomato and Spinach Pasta Toss (but mine will be with ground pork I got on sale at Cub, instead of with sausage)
Sunday: We have plans with family, so we’re not cooking dinner at home
Tony’s Chili
5 small cans tomato paste (6oz)
1 lb. ground beef, browned and seasoned with Chili Powder
4 cups water
2 cans Chili Beans (16oz)
¾ to 1 Jalapeño Pepper, chopped (add to taste)
½ a Green Pepper, chopped
1 can Diced Tomato Chunks (16oz)
½ an Onion, Chopped
Chili Powder and Cayanne Pepper to taste (needs LOTS of chili powder)
Mix all ingredients together and cook all day or at least five hours in a large crock pot (6qt). Continue to check seasoning throughout the day and add more if needed.
Kristen, welcome to meal plan mondays! they are too much fun and really time saving. I had the same issue with pizza dough that you have and I finally found a good one that came, from all places, my bread maker manual. I probably should post it on my blog. Your plan for the week sounds really yummy! Can’t wait to see your future meal plans
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That recipe for seafood enchiladas looks really good, I need to give it a try!
I’ve had some good success with this dough: http://www.fabulousfoods.com/index.php?option=com_resource&controller=article&category_id=46&article=17753
Welcome to Menu Plan Monday’s. I am also looking for a great pizza crust recipe. I mean I have one that we like, but I am trying to find a healthier one. The one we use is here if you are interested.
Tony’s Chili sounds delish!!
Welcome to MPM! The seafood enchiladas sound yummy as does the chili! I’m making up some chili on Saturday with some cornbread.
Have a great day!
Sherry
Welcome to MPM! Your meals look great! We’re also having chili and cornbread this week…everyone must be in the mood for fall cooking.
Welcome to MPM! The pasta toss is making my mouth drool already!
Best deep dish pizza dough ever. I combined a couple deep dish recipes through trial and error and came up with this. This is a little more involved of a recipe so I usually only do it on weekends
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees F)
• 1 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons to grease bowl
• 1 teaspoon salt
• (optional) 1 teaspoon of garlic, basil, and oregano
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the corn meal, 1/2 cup of the oil, and the salt, (optional-add 1 tsp of garlic, basil, and oregano) mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes. Oil a large mixing bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Divide into three equal portions for 9 inch cake or pie pans or two portions for two 12 inch deep dish pizza pans. Lightly grease the pans with olive oil. Spread out dough evenly until it is pushed all the way up the sides of the pan. First put down a layer of sliced(shredded works too) mozzarella then add toppings and put sauce on last. Sprinkle top with grated parmesan and/or romano cheese.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let the pizzas sit for 5 minutes before serving to help the sauce set.
It should probably be noted that Tony’s Chili is never actually the same each time it’s made (at least by me anyway). The recipe listed is one that Kirsten documented during one time that I made chili.
What I really like to do, but often can’t afford to do, is to use shredded beef or chicken instead of ground beef. To do this, I just put a beef roast into the crockpot the night before I want chili. Rub in a bunch of chili powder. Cook it overnight. Shred the roast in the morning with a pair of forks. Then build the chili up in the same crockpot, cooking throughout the day. This method requires far less added water as the beef juices add a fair amount of liquid.
I also like to sautee some garlic, onion and chili peppers in some olive oil and then add that to the chili. However, this often leads to large amounts of tear-inducing smoke as the oil cooks off and makes the chili way too spicy for the kids.
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