Weekly Menu 1/30 - 2/5

I usually don't get around to posting our weekly menu until Monday mornings, but since we are leaving for Jackson at about 5:00 a.m. I decided to post early. 

Menu plan for this week:

Sunday - Dinner after singing at church in Pontotoc
Monday - Hamburgers and chips
Tuesday - Stir Fry, rice
Wednesday - breakfast for supper (quiche, pancakes,
                      grits, etc.)
Thursday - Ham, biscuits, potatoes/gravy, green beans,
Friday - chicken strips, salad, potato wedges

Breakfast - muffins, toast, ham and eggs, hot or cold cereal, fruit

Lunches - leftovers, sandwiches, soup

Snacks/desserts - apple crisp, popcorn, fruit, muffins

Crockpot Meatloaf

I've been trying to do more crockpot cooking lately, which has led to experimenting with recipes that I usually cook in the oven.   This is my usual meatloaf recipe that I thought I would try cooking in the crockpot and it turned out great.  I don't see any reason why you couldn't mix it up and freeze it to be cooked in the crockpot later if you want to.   I already do that for meatloaf to be cooked in the oven and don't see why it wouldn't work in the crockpot.

I really don't use an actual recipe so all amounts are my best guess.  

2 pounds ground beef (I used ground deer)
3 eggs
1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 medium sized can of tomato sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all together and shape to fit your crockpot.  I have one oval shaped crockpot so I made my meatloaf into a log, but you could make it round and it should work fine.  I cooked it on low for 7 hours.  

Since I used deer meat I didn't have a lot of grease settle on the bottom of the crock, but if you are using ground beef you may need to use a rack or possibly drain the meat part way through cooking.  Also, we don't put a sauce on top of our meatloaf.  I'm not sure how it would work to put the sauce on at the beginning of your cooking time, but it may be fine.  You could possibly add it about an hour or so before it's finished cooking.  Play around with it and see what works for you.   Half the fun of cooking is trying new things :)   

So far I've had two successful crockpot experiments this week and this makes me very happy :)

Homemade Bar-b-que Sauce

I posted this recipe a while back, but since it is our absolute favorite Bar-b-que sauce I thought I would share it again.  We love this on pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers, deer meat and really just about anything else you would serve with bar-b-que sauce.   You can make it as hot or mild as you like by adjusting the amount of red pepper used.

Bar-b-que Sauce

80 oz. ketchup
1 pint water
1 1/2 teaspoons cloves
1/2 box red peppers (I use ground red pepper)
1 pint vinegar
1 cup mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder

After ingredients are dissolved, cook on low for about 20 minutes.   Let cool and put into containers.  Enjoy!

Sneaky Onions

When my children were younger they were convinced that they did not like onions.  I knew that it wasn't the flavor of onions they didn't like, but the texture.  My solution to that problem was to peel and chop the onions and run them through the food processor.  The onions were chopped so tiny that they could be added to a dish without detection by my children.    As they have gotten older, with the exception of one, all of my children will eat onion without complaint.

Amanda has the same issue, not with her children, but with her husband.  He thinks that he doesn't like onions, but she has discovered that if he can't see them, he likes them just fine.  So what she does is run the onions through the blender until they are finely chopped (almost liquified) and freezes them in ice cube trays.  When frozen she puts the onion cubes into a ziploc bag and adds a couple of cubes to her soups, stews, casseroles, etc.    Alan has never made any complaint on the added flavor and usually will eat more than one helping. 

Chopped onions freeze well and although you may cry buckets of tears while preparing them for the freezer, it is really nice to have your onions already peeled and chopped when you need them.  You can also freeze them in ziploc bags in larger portions when cooking for a larger  family.   Maybe we should feel guilty for "sneaking" onions into our food, but they are really good for you and, in our opinion, they greatly enhance the flavor of most dishes.  Do any of you "hide" vegetables in your meals?