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Feb 1, 2010

Mindful Menu Monday

Here is our menu plan for the week:

Sunday- chili with bread

Monday- Girl's Night, and I still have no idea (I am typing this at 10am on Monday morning). Great plan, huh?

Tuesday- Sweet Potato Quesadillas, recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingslover

Wednesday- Ezekiel Stew- stew recipe using whole grains traditionally used to make EZ bread, with cornbread and salad

Thursday- Baked Chicken, Millet Casserole, and salad

Friday- Pizza and family movie night (sundried tomato, feta, spinach, mushroom pizza)

Saturday- open

Here is my chili recipe- with plenty of liberties. It is different every time I make it:

Brown 2 lbs ground beef with 3-5 cloves minced garlic in large stockpot. Sometimes I grate raw carrots and add at this point to pump up the nutrition. In small bowl, stir together 1 can tomato paste with 1 cup water. Once combined add to meat mixture along with 2 tbsp chili powder, 1-2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp oregano. Stir together. Roast a jalapeno pepper on your stove (if you have gas stove top) until black, then dice and add to meat mixture. Add 1 can diced tomatoes (I prefer Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes). Reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour or more. Add 1 diced onion about 45 min into this hour.
Add 1/4 cup masa corn flour to 1/2 cup water in bowl, and combine thoroughly. Then stir into meat. Add beans to your liking (I've used kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, or a combo of the three).
Heat an additional 15 minutes.
This is a very hearty chuncky chili. I also like a bite to my chili, so you can adjust the spices to your liking.

In joy, troye

2 comments that bring me joy:

Jenny said...

How do you handle leftovers? I'm at a loss as to how to plan a week's meals with picky eaters and the potential of having to take a few days to eat it all up. Urg.

Troye said...

Fortunately, my husband takes most of the leftovers for lunch. There are certain things (chili, spaghetti) that I will eat leftover, but typically, if left up to me, the leftovers will go bad. I usually only plan about 4-5 meals a week to leave room for leftovers, or nights that I just don't feel like cooking. And, often, a menu item gets tabled until the next week. :)
As far as picky eaters, the boys have decided that they don't like supper because they have to eat what we are eating (even if it is something they love). So, we have decided to make what we enjoy, and if they don't want to eat, they will just be hungry (I have hearty boys, so it is not hurting them). I don't like the dinner table to be a battle ground, but I also refuse to short order cook. Only once or twice have they ever actually gone to bed hungry. We also have a rule that if they complain about it, they have to eat it all.
Does that help?