Menu Plan Monday - Feb. 2

Hey, it's Groundhog Day! I'm not going to cook up any special menu for it; after all, we have winter in northern Michigan another 2 months whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not! We have a lot (and I mean a lot) of dried beans and split peas, so I decided that we had best be using them, hence the Ten Bean Soup. I made this soup back when we were living in Indiana. That was when my boys loved anything I made. They got fussier as time went by. Doesn't matter, though, because this is a really good soup. You can use any kind of meat in it but I normally use ham or bacon. As always, I have to make a small pot of plain for Jonathon, the vegetarian.
* See recipes below.

Monday

Ten Bean Soup *
Green Salads
Zucchini Bread

Tuesday

Enchilada Casserole (w/can of corn added) *
Green Salads
Tortilla Chips & Salsa
Orange Julius for dessert

Wednesday

Pot Roast *
Potatoes
Carrots

Thursday

Pizza & Pop

Friday

Sweeter Muffins *
Oven Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans

Saturday (Breakfast Supper)

Hash Browns
Cheese Omelets
Toast w/butter & jelly

Sunday

On Your Own

*Recipes*

Enchilada Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. chili powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 cups water
12 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups salsa

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown hamburger, onion, and garlic. Turn off heat and drain off grease. Sprinkle with flour, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir well. Add water and put pan back on heat. Stir and heat until mixture thickens and bubbles.

Cut tortillas in half and line a greased 11x7x2 pan with them. Spoon half of the meat mixture over tortillas. Place another layer of tortillas on top of mixture and spoon other half of meat on top. Bake at 375 F. uncovered for 20 min. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake an additional 5-10 min.

Ten Bean Soup

1 1/2 cup mixed dry beans
1 large onion, chopped
2 16 oz. cans tomatoes, undrained, chopped
1 lb. ham or other meat
1 clove garlic, minced
water
salt & pepper to taste

Wash beans and soak overnight. Discard water. Add fresh water (1 1/2 to 2 quarts), meat, onion, garlic, salt & pepper. Cover; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 hours or until beans are tender. Add tomatoes and simmer 30 min. more, stirring occasionally. Additional vegetables are optional. Good served with cornbread or wheat crackers.

Pot Roast

3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups beef broth
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. oil
Two or Three pound beef or venison roast

Rub flour, salt and pepper over roast. Brown all sides in oil. Place in a slow cooker and add broth, thyme, onion, and bay leaf. Cook at medium high heat for a few hours. Add carrots and potatoes to pot and continue to cook for another 3 hours, or longer, until done.

Sweeter Muffins

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted shortening
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Grease bottoms of muffin cups. Beat egg slightly with a fork. Measure and stir in milk and oil. Measure and blend flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add all at once to liquid mixture. Stir just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Wipe off any spilled batter and place pan in center or preheated 350 F oven. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack. Serve piping hot. Makes 12 muffins.

***Tip*** When baking muffins or cupcakes, if you haven't enough batter to fill all of the cups, fill the empty ones 2/3 of the way with water.


There are tons more of menu plans at Organizing Junkie, so head on over for some great ideas.