WEEK #3—GROUND BEEF #2

February 28, 2013

While doing clean-up on my blogs I discovered I'd never got this post up and running.  It was originally written for the week of July 4, 2012 and for some reason never left the draft mode. I did some adjustments to it and so here it is.  Finally!  Hopefully I'll get the rest of the 52 weeks up soon.

July 4, 2012

It’s ground beef time again.  As I said in the beginning we eat a lot of ground beef, so technically every other week my menus will be ground beef based for a while.  After all what can’t you make with ground beef?

Please note that most, if not all, of the recipes I do with ground beef could be done with other ground meats.  You might have to make a few allowances for fat content or such to keep things from drying out, but pretty much you can interchange the ground meat ingredient without much change.  Unless, perhaps with wild meats, such as venison, but if you are cooking with wild meats you most likely KNOW what you need to do to make the recipe work. 

As usual I’m running a little behind on my menu posts, so this is being done during the July 4^th week and therefore you will be seeing our holiday cook out menu for that day during the week. It will look like a huge menu for just the three of us, but we LOVE leftover grilled meats, so when I am cooking I am doing so with planned leftovers in mind.

Today is Tuesday and I have the Donvier in the freezer preparing for our homemade ice cream for tomorrow’s dessert.  And the chicken leg quarters to grill, along with tomorrow’s ground beef and bologna are already thawing in the refrigerator.  I’ll boil the eggs for the deviled eggs later on today. 

My son has already made a delicious huge batch of chocolate chip cookies both for sharing at work today and to go with our ice cream tomorrow.  We are in full holiday mode here.

We’ll have zero fireworks because we don’t want to burn the place down, not to mention the fact that the cost of those does not comply with the budget we have going right now.  We’d rather save money we would have spent on fireworks to travel to Walt Disney World in the future on a shoestring budget to have a wealth of fun and enjoy their fireworks while there.  If you are interested in how you can travel to WDW cheaply, and still get the most fun see my blog posts on the subject. How to Plan a Frugal Trip to Walt DisneyWorld,  Payingfor your Magical Trip, Saving Money While onthe Trip—Getting There,  Saving Money While on the Trip—Food! GloriousFood!,  and Saving Money While on the Trip—Souvenirs and Other Things.

So instead we  will have a great day of watching the latest Harry Potter movie and other movies we have recorded scheduled, complete with popcorn and a little Pepsi (an uncommon treat around here any more), along with a cookout and some down time as a family. During the evening hours we’ll watch fireworks on tv in the cool of the house.  Both men are off work for the holiday and that makes for an even better time. 

In this week’s menu you will also see the appearance of using my muffin tins for things other than just muffins.  For a whole list of ideas on other uses of the muffin tin and other common household items view “Muffin Tins, Not Just for Muffins and Cupcakes Any More. “

Anyway, here is the menu for Week #3—Ground Beef #2.  Hope you have a Happy and Safe July 4^th!

BREAKFAST OPPORTUNITIES:

Basic Cake Donuts/Muffins

Raisin Bran

Grapenuts

Oatmeal

Farina

Fruit salad

Dried Fruit

COMMENTS:

My husband loves cake donuts, but we don’t love the calories from frying donuts.  So for Christmas  I purchased him two donut pans and we’ve been experimenting with different recipes.  We’ve found that muffin recipes work well, especially if you add a little glaze.  As time goes on there will be various other donut recipes posted as we find ones we like.  This was the first, other than the one that came on the pan—which we can’t find right now, that he really likes.  He eats his unglazed.  Me I want the glazing—gotta have my calories you know!

LUNCH OPPORTUNITIES

MuffinTin Corn Dogs—once we’ve had them for dinner

Spaghetti and Meatballs—once we’ve had them for dinner

Home canned beef soup

Jarred salad with cucumbers from the garden

PB&J

Potted Meat Salad sandwiches.

COMMENTS:

In an effort to stick with keeping things cool in the house I’ve taken to cooking various muffin tin meals.  These make great individual servings, that leftover well and re-heat quickly.  They also cook in record time.  After all the shorter time the oven is on, the better it is when it’s 100+ degrees outside.

WEEK 3—DAY 1, GROUND BEEF 2

Red Topped Meat Loaf

Mashed Potatoes—make a big batch for uses later in the week

Peas

Jarred salad

Toasted French Bread

Applesauce Spice Cake

Tea

COMMENTS:

Red Topped Meatloaf is the basic ground beef meatloaf with the ketchup topping we all grew up with.  You can either cook it in your Summer Kitchen in either your turkey roaster or crockpot.  Or if you prefer in muffin tins to speed up cooking in your oven.

We like potato salad made with mashed potatoes, so later this week you will see the leftover mashed potatoes appear with the holiday big meal. If you prefer a different type then go ahead and prepare your potatoes while boiling the potatoes for the meatloaf then cool and refrigerate for being one step ahead in that meal preparation.

WEEK 3-Day 2

MuffinTin Corn Dogs

Frozen French Fries

Pork ‘n Beans

Refrigerator Pickles

Tea

Applesauce Spice Cake

COMMENTS:

As I mentioned earlier we are trying to cut down fried foods in our household—except on the fourth—sorry doc, so I’ve been experimenting with how to have our favorites without frying them. 

On one list a woman recently posted she made these using a pre-packaged cornbread mix.  Since I make all my own mixes I first tried them with my Cornbread Master Mix cornbread and it came out a bit too dry and crumbly for our liking. 

So then I decided to use my Corn Dog recipe that uses that master mix and found we liked the texture and firmness better.  An additional tweak I did was on the second batch I used my mini loaf pans instead of muffin tins and found they accommodated the shape of the hot dog link better. 

WEEK 3-DAY 3

Moo Gurgle Tacos

Mexican Rice

Guacamole

Flan

Tea

COMMENTS:

Moo Gurgle is our quick and easy homemade taco filler recipe that we use in numerous ways.  My husband made it as a teenager and then introduced it to me while we were dating nearly 40 years ago. 

It didn’t earn its unique name until we had teenagers of our own, however.  A group of them went to our lake house together and wanted to make tacos while there. 

They called and asked me for the recipe and I rattled it off—forgetting to tell them to drain the meat after they browned it.  Being teenagers they purchased the cheapest, fattest ground beef they could.

All the kids called me “Mom” so when I was asking them how the tacos turned out one young man said “Mom, those moos really gurgled!”, referring to the thick grease in the taco filler.  Thus the name was born “Moo Gurgle”.

WEEK 3-DAY 4—July 4, 2012

Charcoaled Hamburgers, plain

Charcoaled Hamburgers, bbq sauce

Grilled Bologna

Char-grilled Chicken Leg quarters

Deviled eggs

Potato salad

Butterfly potatoes

Onion strings

Zesty Onion Ring Dipping Sauce

Cole Slaw

PEPSI

Homemade Ice cream

Chocolate chip cookies

COMMENTS:

We thoroughly believe in this house when you fire up the charcoal grill or a wood fire you use every bit of the fuel you put in the grill.  We also love grilled leftovers, so while we’ll cook all the above on the fourth not all of it will be eaten for certain.  It will be a pick and choose meal.  “This is what we cooked, choose what you want and the rest will reappear in other meals.”

All the hamburgers with bbq sauce consist of is a beaten egg mixed with bbq sauce and then mixed into the ground beef patties and grilled.  One word to the wise, they do tend to fall apart easily—despite the egg for a binder, so cook them on foil on the grill.   I use Kay’s BBQSauce as the sauce in them.

We make up for all of the non-fried foods this week in this one meal.  Butterfly potatoes is our name for the potatoes that you see at fairs of all sorts that are potato chip thin and cut in a spiral.  I was lucky enough to acquire one of those potato cutters at a craft fair years ago and we have enjoyed it ever since.

I’ll try to get one of the guys to create a pattern for it and I’ll put up photos of it as well asap.

We are Pepsi addicts in this household, but once we decided to become super gazelle intense on paying off our debt Pepsi is one of the things we removed from our life.  Now we each drink one sweetened beverage a day (juice, tea, lemonade or kool-ade) and the rest of the time we drink water or unsweetened tea.  I will admit it’s hard going from lugging around a Pepsi all day to going to a single sweetened beverage (I generally do a juice), but it has saved us so much money it is unbelievable. (Do the math on how much you pay for soft drinks in a week and multiply that by the month/year—you will be astounded!) Plus all three of us are losing weight and are feeling better. 

So the Pepsi for this one day—two 2-liters, is a special treat.  The bottles will be washed out and saved for future events—stay tuned for those.

WEEK 3-DAY 5

Smoked Chicken Salad in Tortilla bowls

Lime Cilantro Rice

Refried Beans or home canned pinto or kidney beans

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tea

COMMENTS:

What grilled chicken isn’t eaten on the fourth will be deboned, cubed and tossed in with picante, refried beans, corn, lettuce, rice and whatever else we happen to think of for a cool salad on a hot summer night.  We may even forgo cooking the tortilla into a tortilla bowl and simply roll it all up in a burrito style tortilla much like Qdoba burritos.

WEEK 3-DAY 6

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Garlic Toast

Jarred Salad with Italian dressing

Leftover desserts from the week

Tea

COMMENTS:

I generally make a double or triple batch of the spaghetti meatballs—which are different than my Master Mix Meatballs and either can or freeze them with or without the sauce for future grab and run meals.  

Both men also like for me to cook extra pasta for the meatballs and will take the leftovers to work for lunches. 

WEEK 3-DAY 7

Biscuit Cup Tacos

Either leftover Mexican or Lime Cilantro Rice

Tea

Leftover Flan

COMMENTS:

Truly the tail end of the week and a meal of all leftovers, simply reproduced in a slightly different manner.  Quick to bake in the toaster oven in the Summer Kitchen.  Look for any leftover Biscuit Cup Tacos to make an appearance at lunchtime next week.

Jan who wishes you a Happy and Safe Independence Day in OK

Week #1 GROUND BEEF

WEEK #1—GROUND BEEF

So now that we’ve covered the basic how-to’s let’s do some actual menu planning.  As I said I planned for ground beef for the first week.  We live on a varying schedule here on the Rock ‘n Tree Ranch and therefore most meals are “whenever” only dinner has a set time for those who are home, 5:30 pm whenever possible.  Therefore I merely list what is available for the week for breakfasts and lunches and everyone picks and chooses on those as their taste buds are tempted.  I try to stick with the dinner menu pretty closely, however, because we need the leftovers for lunches and meals later in the week.

I plan on using the following format for each menu post as I go:

I.                   Breakfast opportunities

II.                 Lunch Opportunities

III.              Dinner Menus

IV.              Snack Opportunities

Each one will be expounded on as needed below the listing.

In each one where I have included a recipe on the blog there will be a hyperlink to that recipe.  Each recipe will be categorized with the same terms so you could do a search using the search feature at the left for recipes not only by name, but by what category they fall in.  IE: Master Mix Meatballs would pop up when you searched for ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, meatballs.  You could also search for the recipe that used the Master Mix Meatballs by name ex: Sweet ‘n Sour Meatballs. 

When a Master Mix is used in a recipe it will also hyperlink back to the Master Mix recipe if you need it.

As I mentioned before the first few weeks will be familiar to some because they were listed on my original blog, which is now dedicated to my stories, travel info and mystery shopping It can be viewed at: Mystery Shopping

Hopefully this new format will be easier to view the menus and recipes with. So let’s get started:

BREAKFAST OPPORTUNITIES

FrenchToast

Hot Cereals available:

Oatmeal

Farina

Multi-grain

Cold Cereals available:

         Raisin Bran

         Grape-nuts

Fruit available:

         Dried cherries

         Grapefruit

         Strawberries, frozen ones after the strawberry dessert is          served

         Mulberries

Beverages available:
         Hot Tea
         Water
         Milk
         Orange juice

COMMENTS

            I had leftover French bread from the week before so I sliced it all up to make the French toast in one big batch.  What was not eaten the day I cooked it was either refrigerated or frozen to be heated quickly in the microwave, or toaster oven for a grab and go breakfast as needed.

All produce is purchased fresh on the grocery shopping day and I try very hard to only get the amount I am certain will be eaten before it becomes too ripe.  Buying in bulk is not good if the food goes to waste.  If I get a very good deal on the produce I will, however, purchase more than we need and then either can, dry or freeze the rest before it becomes too ripe for our food storage.

The mulberries were from our trees, and therefore a free fruit for the week.

Cereals, both hot and cold are either store brand, purchased in bulk or purchased on sale with a coupon to help keep the costs of them down.  I also am experimenting, with some good success on making my own “instant” versions of the hot cereals and pre-packaging them for fast getaways in the mornings.

LUNCH OPPORTUNITIES:

Sandwich Ingredients:

            Peanut butter

            Jelly

            Honey

            American Cheese, either on a sandwich with cold or grilled

            ToastedCheddar

            Bologna

Sandwich Toppings

            Mayonnaise

            Miracle Whip

            A variety of mustards

            Italian Dressing

            Lettuce

            Cheeses

            Pickles, both sweet and dill

            Sliced peppers

            Salt and pepper

Salad Ingredients:

            Jarred Greens

            Sprouts
Soups:

            Tomato

            Home canned beef

Leftovers

COMMENTS

            When serving sandwiches change up the breads on a regular basis to keep things from becoming boring.  An American Cheese grilled sandwich on white bread every time is quite frankly boring.  But when you serve it on rye or pumpernickel it suddenly becomes a sandwich shop sandwich and a special treat.  Also change up the cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches.  I particularly like cream cheese on raisin bread for a special treat.

Don’t forget to vary the butter or oil you use to grill the sandwich as well.  We like using garlic butter for a change, but other favorites include adding different herbs or oils to the toasting process.

The Cheddar Toasted sandwiches are a different sandwich all together, see the recipe to see how they are different.

On the subject of bologna sandwiches remember this comes in all different types and each one has its own unique taste.  I like garlic bologna, but the men in the house do not, so I only get it on rare occasions.  There are also beef bologna, classic bologna, and varieties that contain pickles, olives, and cheese.  Vary your bologna and spice up this plain Jane sandwich.

What you top a sandwich with can make all the difference in the world too.  I often use the salad making from jarred greens (simply greens that have been vacuumed sealed in a jar to prolong their freshness) in place of lettuce on a sandwich, after all many of those greens are lettuce and they add a variety of tastes to the sandwich, as will the sprouts.

Tomato soup too can be jazzed up with a variety of herbs or by dropping in croutons, crackers, leftover cooked vegetables or chunks of cheese for a different taste.

JP NOTES: When packing hot sandwiches for lunches place a paper towel in the container for them with the sandwich.  This will absorb the moisture from the heat of cooking and help to keep your sandwich from becoming soggy.

To save money on packed lunches invest in reusable containers such as the Ziploc brand instead of plastic sandwich bags.  A small square Ziploc bowl (2 cup capacity) will hold a sandwich nicely, two if they are thin.

If no microwave or refrigerator is available at work invest in a variety of sizes of thermos containers (often found at garage sales and thrift shops) as well as thermo lunch bags and ice chests for hot foods.  Rinse these containers with hot water prior to filling and they will keep hot foods hot.  Doing the same with a quick fill of ice water prior to filling cold food containers, or storing the containers in your refrigerator will help keep cold foods cold.

To cut expense and mess in a small ice chest for cold foods visit  your local dollar store and pick up blue ice blocks.  Get enough that there will always be one in the freezer while the other is in use.

Now for the biggie:

DINNER WEEK 1 DAY 1

MasterMix Meatballs

Mashed Potatoes

Black-eyed Peas

Carrot Cake

DinnerRolls

Iced Tea

COMMENTS

The recipe for the Master Mix Meatballs uses four pounds of ground beef.  This will allow you plenty for this meal, the Sweet ‘n Sour Meatballs later in the week and to preserve the remaining for future weeks either by freezing or by canning.  I can mine because I do not have a free standing freezer.  I can them both plain and in beef broth for future use.  Please handle all food safely and preserve properly.

A triple batch of mashed potatoes is made to be used in the making of the potato salad later in the week, as well as having mashed potatoes again with the meal on day 3. 

The black-eyed peas were home canned from dried peas when I needed to finish filling my canner on a previous day.

This particular carrot cake was made from a grocery store mix that I got for just a few cents by combining a coupon with a good sale on the cake mix and frosting mix to go with it.  At other times I will make a scratch cake if there isn’t such a deal going on.

I made a large batch of the dinner roll mixture, but froze part of the dough in balls to use later in the week to have fresh dinner rolls again.

DINNER WEEK 1 DAY 2

Pinto beans and ham

JalapenoCornbread

Carrot Cake

Milk or iced tea

COMMENTS:

The pinto beans were cooked as per package directions and I seasoned them with a ham bone that I had froze for future use from the Christmas ham.

I cooked an extra large batch of beans to use in future meals and to home can for quick grab and run meals.

DINNER WEEK 1 DAY 3

HamburgerSteak

BrownGravy

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Baked Apples

DinnerRolls

Iced Tea

COMMENTS

The brown gravy is made from one of the Master Mix recipes.  The mashed potatoes and dinner rolls are leftovers from the mega batch earlier in the week.

DINNER WEEK 1 DAY 4

Smoked roast

Corn on the cob

French Fries

Black eyed peas

Garlic bread

Carrot Cake

Tea

COMMENTS:

One of the problems one can run into in the beginning is that on the first week you might not have the leftovers I had to incorporate into the meal plan.  In this cake I had smoked roast and French bread both leftover that needed to be used before they ruined.  If you do not have these cruise your fridge, freezer and pantry.  What leftovers could you turn into a good meal on this day?

DINNER WEEK 1 DAY 5

Sweetand Sour meatballs

Egg rolls

Ham Fried Rice

Steamed rice, make a big batch for use in future meals

Tea

Almondshortbread cookies with strawberries

COMMENTS:

The Sweet ‘n Sour Meatballs are made with the Meatball Master Mix from day 1 of this week.  I used frozen cooked rice and home canned ham leftover from the Christmas ham, along with eggs from our chickens to to make the Ham fried rice.  The strawberries are the frozen ones mentioned in the breakfast menus.  This was purchased on sale and kept frozen until I thawed them the day of the meal.  You could also freeze your own strawberries if you have a good source for them.

DINNER WEEK 1 DAY 6

BBQ smoked sausage

Cole slaw, make double batch for later in the week

Macaroni and cheese, purchased on sale

Iced tea
Lemon Bars

COMMENTS:

Again we run into first week troubles.  I purchased the smoke sausage in bulk from Sam’s Club and frozen it in meal size portions a couple of weeks prior to setting up this menu.

The bar-b-q sauce was some I made and canned last summer.  

As noted in the menu above make a double batch of the cole slaw because it always improves with age and it will appear again the first of next week.

I confess we LIKE the blue box Mac ‘n Cheese and it will appear a lot over the next year.  I purchase it either in bulk at Sam’s Club or on sale with a coupon whenever possible.

DINNER WEEK 1 DAY 7

Bean burritos

Mexican Rice
Guacamole
Sopapillas

Tea

COMMENTS:

The burritos are made by making refried beans out of leftover pinto beans from earlier in the week.

I basically stir fried some of the leftover rice from earlier in the week with chili seasoning and cumin to taste to make the rice.

SNACK OPPORTUNITIES WEEK #1:

   Carrot Cake

            Almond Shortbread cookies

            Lemon Bars

            Grapefruit

            Fruit Cups

            Strawberries

            Mulberries

            Carrots

COMMENTS:

            If someone snacks hard on some of the sweets then you may need to adjust your scheduled desserts for later in the week.

I hope this helps you in your first week of the year, no matter what month you start in.

Jan who is hoping to stick with this plan for a full year in OK