Menu Monday

It might be embarrassing (to me), but it might also bring a little comfort.

I’m going to start posting our weekly menu for the Kelso house.

I don’t expect anyone to jump for joy, but I do expect a few of you to say, “oh cool, that will give me an idea once in a while when my brain is cramped and I can’t think of anything to cook.” Let’s face it, we all have days like that.

Here are my disclaimers:
1) I’m not promising super healthy meals (we do what we can with what we’re given around here)

2) I’m not promising super cheap or super fancy, either one (sometimes I’m frugal, sometimes I’m into fun and a little extravagant, but sometimes I’m into convenience and that’s okay…right?)

3) I’m not promising recipes (I hope to post A recipe or A tip each week, but I’m not a one stop resource by any stretch of the imagination)

So here it is…What We’re Eating:

Monday – Sandwiches and left-overs (off to a big start, I know.)

I made a pot of chili for lunch yesterday and there’s a small meal left, there’s also some homemade cheeseburger pasta from Saturday and various sandwich meats to choose from. It needs to get et-up.

Tuesday – Cheeseburgers (“What? I thought this would be more creative…what gives Kelso?” That’s what you’re thinking about now, I know.)

To be clear, I am talking about home grown, grass fed yummy beef from my daddy up in Michigan. I’m talking about my own yummy add ins to make them patties savory and tender…so don’t knock my burgers. These are gourmet burgers baby. Also, there is the remnants of what might be considered a recipe for this below.

Wednesday – Chicken and Veggies (Simple but elegant)

I like to pan sear my chicken, a little olive oil, a little salt and pepper and a very hot skillet and oven and slurp, super tender flavorful chicken. Then I steam up some carrots and broccoli and I think I’ll have a little corn with this one. Wait…sweet potatoes too. Roasted. Yes, I think I will. Mmmm. Wednesday nights are hard sometimes, to do a full on meal, because of church activities. This week, the boys are on spring break though, so I have no excuses like homework, interruptions due to picking them up that sort of thing. This is a meal, that if I plan well, we can make together.

Thursday – Potato Soup (one of my favorites…and I’m cheating a little)

This week I have MOPS on Thursday. It. Wears. Me. Out. I love it, don’t get me wrong, but by the time I’m done, I’m exhausted…with a capital E…wait…Exhausted. There. So…I’m pulling this one out of the freezer. Not the whole thing though. See, last time I made potato soup, I prepared all of it except the dairy stuff, put half of it in the freezer and then made up the rest with the cheese and creamy goodness. So, deep in the recesses of my side by side freezer I have a little Rubbermaid container labeled “Potato Soup” I will stick it in the fridge Wednesday night to thaw. Then all I have to do is add that aforementioned cheese and creamy goodness. It will be easy and awesome. Voila!

Friday – Pizza (Who doesn’t like PIZZA? Am I right?)

I do like to make my own pizza. I have to be sure and start early though because homemade pizza crust requires an hour of rise time. It’s so, so good though. And if I don’t start on time…Little Caesar’s “Hot and Ready” pizza’s are $5.00 and 5 minutes from the house. The boys love that nasty mess.

Saturday – Sandwiches and Left-overs (AGAIN?)

Well, I KNOW how it goes around here. Plans change, especially on a week like this one (Spring break), so there is likely to be a night that doesn’t go as planned or, a night when only part of the family is present to eat. There are ALWAYS left-overs at our house. Always.

Sunday – Chicken and Broccoli Casserole (A testament to perseverance)

This is one of those meals that could have been a one time deal. The boys hated it, cried, pouted and refused to be comforted by this food. Kris and I loved it. The recipe is actually pretty heavy so I wasn’t too concerned about them becoming fans of it, until I found some new ways to make it that lightened it up a little bit. Now, they eat it without comment. They may even like it now and then. The healthier options I’ve found don’t really make it taste better (probably the contrary) but I’m learning to persist more and more with them and eating. It’s SO DISCOURAGING to make a meal and then have to fight them to even try it. I am already tired, I’m real tired, and I want to avoid that scene at all cost. However, pushing through it does work. There are several things they eat now, that they “refused” to eat a year ago. This is one of them. It doesn’t mean they like it, but they know the drill and they eat it.

Also…I’m going to try making this in the crock pot for Sunday so that it’s ready to eat when we get home from church. For that reason this is not the recipe I’m including with this post. I’ll have to see if it works first.

This week’s recipe is:

Burger Fixin’s

3 eggs
Spices:

• chili powder
• salt
• pepper
• sage
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• any fresh herbs can be added too…don’t bother chopping…I’ll explain.

1 quart of tomato juice
1 stick of celery cut into 3 or 4 pieces
1/2 a medium size onion
a little Worcestershire sauce (I spelled that right without even looking)
and some bread crumbs

Now…that is a lot of stuff. I know. I have this problem when I make burgers. My dad didn’t just give me some yummy ground beef straight off the hoof, he also grew, picked, processed and canned tomato juice and GAVE it to me. (I’m his favorite) This juice is in quart jars so when I open one I have to use it or it goes bad shortly. Cause it’s real. I decided one day to just make enough of this concoction to use up all the juice and then freeze it in thirds. Two of the thirds. The first third I use with my current batch of burgers.

I put that mess into a blender and “blenderize” it until it’s all a really good smelling thick-ish liquid. I put one third of it in my mixer with two pounds (because my free burger comes in two pound packages) of ground beef and mix it up nice. I divide that into patties, brown in a skillet with just a touch of olive oil and then bake them on my own little grill pan (made by putting a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet…this cooks the burgers a little more evenly) I put the cheese on when they are just a few minutes from done and plop them babies on whole grain buns. Sides are up to you. This week I’ll probably have some grapes and apple slices. Maybe chips too…cause Kris likes chips with sandwiches…he always goes looking for them and if I don’t have them I feel bad. Not because he says anything, but because I have meal-insecurity issues.

You may have noticed that I don’t measure anything. I’ll try to fix that in the future, but for now, you’re on your own. If you have any specific questions ask one of my anal sisters. Just kidding, post it and I’ll see what I can make up.

Also…when you freeze those other two “thirds”…label. ‘Cause, this one time…I didn’t…and it wasn’t good on my pizza. So there.