Menu Plan for 11/9-11/15/09

Elk season. The time of year when men lose their minds and women become hunting widows. The time that "spare no expense" takes on a new meaning and "honey-do" lists are a distant memory. Granted, it only lasts for 2 weeks, but a lot can be learned about a spouse during that time. For instance, I discovered that my husband can come up with a thousand excuses as to why we should NOT go shopping in the rain. (He is ever so thoughtful to try and protect me from illness or accident, don't you think?) But on opening day of the hunting season, he will pull out rain gear (with the tags still attached!) and "sacrifice" himself to feed our family. Now that's a man. Luckily for me, my man was able to fill his elk tag in the first hour that he was "self-sacrificing"! Even better? He'll be free to help me with the grocery shopping this week! I am a blessed woman.


Monday: Banana bread with cream cheese, homemade hot chocolate
Chili nachos (leftover from Sunday), apple slices
*Homemade macaroni & cheese, meatloaf, green salad

Tuesday: Oatmeal, fruit
Corndog muffins, carrot sticks with ranch
Elk steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Poached eggs, toast
Vegetable soup, crackers, orange slices
*Cinco de Mayo, tortilla chips


Thursday: Buttermilk biscuits with honey, fruit smoothies
Leftover vegetable soup, crackers, frozen chocolate banana
Chicken Curry, brown rice, cottage cheese with pineapple slices


Friday: Blueberry Coffeecake, orange juice
Toasted tuna-fish sandwiches, carrot sticks
Crockpot Pinto Beans & Rice, cornbread


Saturday: Waffles
Leftovers
Potato Corn Chowder, spinach salad (Tanner's choice for his 14th birthday dinner!)


Sunday: Granola
Leftovers
Beef Stew, sourdough
Dessert: Birthday cake...yet to be determined


*Recipes*

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese
(Plan on taking the stairs this week as this is NOT on the "low-cal" plan!)


24 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into chunks
1 cup shredded cheese (Swiss, monterey jack, cheddar, mozzarella...your choice)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted + 1 can milk
1/2 cup cottage cheese
4 Tb. unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour


Cook macaroni until al dente. Drain. In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to make roux. Cook 1 minute. Add soup and milk. Stir. Add all of the cheeses. Stir constantly until cheese is melted. Add macaroni back into pot and stir well.


Cinco de Mayo (taken from "Mega Cooking")


2 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 lb. ground sausage (beef, pork or turkey)
1/4 chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
32 oz. stewed tomatoes
24 oz. frozen or canned corn
1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste
2 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/2 cup black olives, sliced


Cook the ground beef and sausage until done. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Pour mixture into greased baking dish.


Mix up your favorite cornbread recipe. Pour evenly over top of meat mixture. Bake at 350 F. for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle 1/2 cup cheddar cheese over top of casserole. Garnish with a few dashes of paprika. Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.