Menu Plan Monday: October 19-25

For more menu ideas go to www.orgjunkie.com. And, if you are new here, please come back on Saturdays and leave your soup recipe for my new "carnival" Soup's On! Saturday.

I try to buy pasture fed meat for our family. I cannot always afford it, especially the products that are specifically labeled as organic. But when I find meat from someone who I know fed it on pasture and did not give it hormones, I go for it when I can.

Well, this week I am picking up ground beef from an entire cow. That's alot of meat. We are not keeping it all, but we will have a freezer full of ground beef. Don't be surprised to see that all of my recipes this week contain ground beef.

Thankfully, my husband actually requested tacos and/or taco salad this week. Pretty much no one ever requests anything or expresses an interest in what I make other than to say "Yum, this is good", "I love it when you make this" or to keep silent and, when asked, say "It's okay" if they are just tolerating it. So for someone to 1) make a request and 2) for it to be something as utterly simple as tacos, well, that just makes me happy. The fact that it includes ground beef is even better. I'm glad they seem to be happy with their meals for the most part, but it does help when someone makes a suggestion once in awhile!

When you meal plan, do you find that you usually stick to the plan? Do you vary slightly, or make what you plan but juggle around the days you make it? I know that I rarely stick to the plan to the letter. But it sure helps to have a framework to go from anyway!

Have a great week!

Monday- Tacos/Taco Salad (scroll down for recipe)
(actual: unexpectedly had to take son downtown to school, hubby to doc for ankle injury and drive up to Washington to pick up meat. Then son had to be taken to CAP. So I broke open a can of Mexican Tortilla Soup. Nice. Will probably make this on Wednesday since Stroganoff ingredients are easily used another time, while produce for tacos/taco salad will spoil if not used.)

Tuesday- Sloppy Joes (using premade spice packet from Simply Organic) with Homemade Buns (I will let the breadmaker do all but form them into buns and bake them)
(Actual: as planned. House was on the cold side so buns did not rise as much as I'd hoped. But they were still very tasty and, in my opinion, made the Sloppy Joe's even better. The beef was from what I just purchased and is very lean, good meat. Served with veggie slices and sticks of garden fresh zucchini, cucumber and carrots.)

Wednesday- Poor Man's Stroganoff (except I will either be making my own noodles or using whole grain noodles, not egg noodles)
(Actual: As planned.Very easy.)

Thursday- Firecracker Casserole (It's easy to make your own black beans too)
(Actual: Tacos originally planned for Monday. I don't buy crunchy taco shells very often and they were a yummy treat!)

Friday- Nacho Spuds
(Actual: As planned, family loved these. After they were cooked through, I put the potatoes under the broiler for a few minutes before I covered in cheese, the broiled again til edges of cheese were crunchy before adding the other ingredients and more cheese.)

Saturday - Leftover Buffet
(Actual: No leftovers. Made another batch of Nacho Spuds as above)

Sunday- Cheeseburger Soup
(Actual: As planned, used mushroom broth and beef broth rather than the chicken broth I usually use. The mushroom broth added a very good flavor, will use it again. Also used extra homemade buns I made for Sloppy Joes to accompany soup.)