Menu Plan Monday
>> Monday, May 19, 2008
The menu this week includes some bravery on my part; I'm revisiting my past.
I'm going to make meatloaf tonight. The kids have never had it. I haven't made it in about 27 years, if you can even call that attempt actually making it.
I made it when Jessica was a baby and I was trying to be a fully-functioning mother and housewife. I knew that meant I had to cook meals, but didn't have a clue how to cook period, much less plan the whole dinner.
Back then, people assumed you had at least some basic knowledge of cooking. . . but if your mother had moved away and had been a reluctant cook herself, and your grandmother worked, and you asked a random woman in the store how to make meatloaf, you got an answer something like this like: "Well, honey, it's so easy. You just get you some meat and bread and ketchup and throw it in the oven and in no time your husband will be thinking he's the luckiest man on earth!!".
Well, honey, back then, I believed her, and all that she implied! That it was really THAT simple. I went home with my incomplete ingredients, and just made do and made guesses for everything I didn't know.
Well, honey, the meatloaf was soooo bad; so tasteless, so overcooked, and such a waste of precious grocery money, that I cried. The entire meal was a bust because I also had no clue how to plan for any side dishes to be ready at the same time, what to serve with what, etc.
This is just one reason, in one area of my life, that I am very thankful for the internet. There aren't just recipes to be found, there are the reviews, the remarks, the opinions, the details. There are real women that know how to do things - helping other real women that don't know how to do things. . .
Monday: Meatloaf!, corn on the cob, stir-fried green beans
Tuesday: Crunchy Onion Chicken
Wednesday: Crockpot Potatoes and Salmon
Thursday: Salad with chicken, strawberries, and mandarin oranges
Friday: Pot Roast (crockpot, with veggies), yeast rolls
We don't eat on the weekends.
Just kidding.
My life can only be so planned.
Visit organizing junkie for many more menu plans than you can handle!!
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13 comments:
I can't wait to hear how the meatloaf turned out. As I read about your previous meatloaf, I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh or cry. I know this one was many times better than your last attempt. Did the kids like it? Let us know.
Monday Night Dinner was a success!! ZERO leftovers!
The meatloaf was great - even Mary got seconds.
Bonus: the corn and green beans were extra fresh and tasty.
We'll definitely have this again sometime. : )
Believe it or not, meatloaf was one of the two dishes I knew how to cook when I first married at 19 (the other being spaghetti). It hadn't been easy for me to learn, either, as my mom never measured anything. I can, to this day, remember her instructions when teaching me to make meatloaf. Actually, she gave me no real instructions. I just watched her make it and made the following mental notes.
1 1/2 pounds ground beef.
9 shakes from the ketchup bottle (this was back before plastic squirt ketchup bottles)
3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 chopped green bell pepper
cut the other half of pepper in strips to line on the top of the meatloaf
about 1 1/2 handfuls of crushed saltines (I now use dry oatmeal instead)
salt & pepper (I imagined myself shaking salt and pepper on 6 patties to get about the right amount)
dig your hands in the bowl and mix it well
shape into a loaf, place in pan, pour ketchup on top, place remaining bell pepper slices across loaf, and top with 2-3 strips bacon (I now omit the bacon)
bake at 350 for 45 minute to an hour
eat and enjoy! :-)
PS- Meatloaf night at our house always includes mashed potatoes, peas, and a salad, just as it did at my mom's table as I was growing up. :-)
I love the "shakes" direction of your recipe : )
The ingredients sound similar to the recipe I used last night, but I want to try yours and use oatmeal myself.
And I wanted mashed potatoes! But I had other fresh veggies I needed to cook. Next time.
Thanks for the recipe!
Are you still using the emealz thing? If so how is it going?
Not really using the emealz as intended. It's a good idea, and the layout / system is great, but for a week's menu, there are usually at least two or three things that no one here would eat. Some sausage meal or shrimp or odd-bean dish or something - nothing weird or 'bad', just not what we'd eat.
The other dishes are good and easy, though, and the printout is concise.
So, I could still recommend it for several reasons, even though I don't think I'll keep subscribing.
I usually grab one of those seasoning packets to make my meatloaf, taking the easy way out. I have considered making it more from "scratch", but it's always easier for me to give into the packet sitting pretty on the grocery store shelf LOL
Good going at keeping up with your menu planning!
I am so glad you were surfing (like me!) at 3am and came upon my post. I am sooo bad like that, let's get some sleep, ok? :) Hope your monster leaves you alone and lets you get some well-deserved rest.
I can't wait to try the crunchy chicken ... it looks go good I wanted to eat the picture!
The crunchy chicken was very good and easy.
I'm awake in the middle of the night, but at least I'm not eating!! : )
I blame the sinus pill I took before I went to bed; sleepy then wide-awake : (
What, you're pulling a Susan? Awake at all hours on the night/morning? Sad for you!! I think I'll try that crunchy chicken. Was it really crunchy? Which fried onions did you use?
Yes, I thought of you Susan!!
We used the French's original French Fried Onions, and the recipe was on the back of the can (we had it already though, from a magazine).
I had a coupon, so I went "name brand", but the Kroger or other store version would probably be the same.
That's funny, we just had meatloaf last night. Dad can just throw things together. Even to this day am I in awe of his pinch of this and a pinch of that biscuits. Mine never turn out without a recipe....
sourpatch
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