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Menu Plan Monday

It’s been two weeks since I’ve made a formal menu plan, and I’m reminded once again how much I hate not having a plan to fall back on.  I’m not a natural born planner, but my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants nature isn’t conducive to eating a primarily whole foods diet.  Those who know me, chew on this: in the past year, I’ve trained myself to be a runner, a morning person AND a planner.  It’s truly a wonder the earth is still tilted on its axis.

So here I sit, knowing I need to be making a menu plan and a grocery shopping list, but I’d much rather tell you about the festival we went to this weekend or the fun new opportunities that have recently come my way.  But my family’s gotta eat, and I have to figure out what to make this week.

I’m falling into a dinnertime rut.  If I have another grilled hamburger, I’m going to lose my ever loving mind.  But there is SO much ground beef in the freezer downstairs, and the grill is just. so. easy.  HALP!  Anyone got some easy ground beef recipes to share with me?  Is there a whole foods recipe carnival out there in blogland?  I sure could use one.

Meanwhile, here’s the best I can come up with on the spur of the moment.

MONDAY: Tequila Lime Chicken, quinoa, fresh veggie

TUESDAY: Leftover Lentil Soup

WEDNESDAY: Something with ground beef.  HALP!

THURSDAY: Salmon Quesadillas (recipe to come)

FRIDAY: Marinated Grilled Shrimp, oven roasted new potatoes, fresh veggie

SATURDAY: Pizza (either bought or homemade, depending on my level of inspiration)

How about you?  What are you making this week?

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34 Responses

  1. You could go for homemade sloppy joes – that’s my ground beef fall back! Add some corn on the cob and a potato salad and you’ve got yourself a par-tay!

  2. I’m the same way – with no plan things turn to hot dogs real fast! I suggest sloppy joes for your ground beef night. (You can make the sauce using ketchup and brown sugar)

    How did you become a morning person? How often I’ve wished there was a pill I could take for that!

    1. LOL. Well, it was hard at first. The key is going to bed early enough at night. And doing it consistently for a week until your body wants to wake up early. It was easy once summer hit and it was light out early. I’m dreading the fall. It’s already getting light later, and I’ve had a hard time getting back into my routine since BlogHer.

  3. Hi! My husband and I regularly cook up 2 lbs of ground beef with a little taco seasoning. Night #1 for tacos, Night #2 for taco salad (with the meat still cold – no warming necessary, Woot!), Night #3 I drop the meat into a marinara sauce (the taco seasoning doesn’t hurt it… )
    Good Luck!

  4. No clue! I don’t even have meat out of the freezer for tonight – eek!!

    As for “hamburger helpl” — instead of tacos, sometimes I use those flat, crunchy small corn tostadas that you can buy now (useful for when you’re tired of soft taco tortillas). I put ground beef that I’ve seasoned for “taco” taste (cumin, Mex oregano, garlic, etc.) and cooked, plus grated cheese, on the tostadas, and bake them until the cheese melts. Then I serve them to the table, where we have lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc. for fixin’s. We serve with rice and beans also, or you could put the beans on the tostadas b/f you bake them.

  5. How about breakfast for dinner and ground beef in an omelet with cheese, potatoes and whatever fresh veggies you have?

    1. Sounds great, but my kids don’t care for omelets and egg dishes, although I do serve them occasionally. My life has been turned upside down, though, in that I’ve been told (just today!) to go off dairy and eggs. GAH!

  6. You could do the sloppy joes and use a cabbage leaf for a wrap. We use it for tacos when Tim is low carbing. We also do tuna melts and blackened chicken w/ fruit salsa in there, too.

  7. how about lasagna?

    I’m a planner too…but life is so crazy right now i have no idea what’s happening one day to the next…but i look forward to grocery shopping with a list!

  8. I have had tons and tons of ground venison in my freezer for years (my BIL keeps supplying us). Honestly, I’m so over every ground meat recipe. I’ve done everything listed above (including enchiladas and more), and I’m just Sick.Of.Them.All. The only thing I can think of that I might do this week is use it as a pizza (or stromboli) topping or the impossibly easy bisquick pie. Not the greatest, but my husband loves it.

  9. I’m doing lentils this week too, even though it feels too hot to eat a lentil dish. For some reason I lump lentils into a cold weather dish. We are doing black bean tacos, lentil-rice bake, pizza and something else tbd. Happy cooking to you!

  10. I made Sweet and Sour Meatloaf tonight – I’ll send some down if there is any left and if you like it, then you have another variation on meatloaf. Its from my Puerto Rican Cook Book – so super yummy with rice and red beans!

  11. I haven’t done a meal plan in months! I think since before BTS was born. It is killing our budget. Husband and I have agreed that we are getting back on track with school and sports starting back up.

    I’m not a big fan of ground beef, so I don’t really have any original ideas. Meatballs? I make a sort of taco casserole with seasoned beef, tortillas, enchilada sauce, corn and black beans that my kids really like.

    As I’m commenting here I see an email pop-up telling me you have commented on my blog!

  12. I make patties out of ground meat, sprinkle with sea salt & pepper, add a dash or so of Worcestershire sauce and bake for about 25 minutes. I know it’s sounds too simple but we love it. I think it’s the grass fed beef being so tasty that makes it good. Sometimes I add caramelized onions and/or sautéed mushrooms before serving. Add baked potatoes and salad or veggie.

    1. I always add Worcestershire and salt and pepper to my burgers. YUM. I’d bake them, but my family believes a burger must be accompanied by a bun. @@ I do love caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms, though. Perhaps if I served them that way, they wouldn’t miss the carbs.

  13. Another meal I make with ground beef that we all love is individual taco bowls. Layer lettuce, taco flavored beef, brown rice, cheese, black beans, corn, jalapenos, sour cream, salsa. Crushed chips can be added to the children’s. Each person can have more of their favorite ingredient…you know, like going through the line at Chipotle.

    On the patties, shape them more oval or even square-like and give them a different name and I bet they will like them better…ha. Just be sure to not overcook them as they are best slightly pink.

    Simply Recipes is my go-to site for recipe ideas. All I’ve tried have been delicious and are mostly made with whole foods…or are easy to modify to be.

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