Way back in the day, in the first months I was dating my husband, I went with him on a weekend trip to visit his parents 3 hours away. It was a good time. I met his parents and their llamas, and we had elk for dinner. Actually I can’t guarantee that it was elk, but my memory knows it was some sort of wild game. Ever since then I have had elk or llama venison in my freezer. I still have yet to master cooking it though. My only success comes from putting it in the crockpot for a few hours with onion and wine. Or beer. Or whiskey. Ok I haven’t tried whiskey, but alcohol is always a good marinade.

Anyway, dinner tonight is in the crockpot as we speak, a couple pounds of mule deer simmering away in a bath of onions, red wine, oil, spring onions, and a hodge podge of spices. My challenge is to make it come out moist. Game meat is easy to over cook as it’s is virtually fat-free (making it incredibly healthy by the way, in addition to it feeding upon the land and not from a trough.) If anyone has any tips, I’d love to hear them for future endeavors.

Menu Plan

Sunday: Mule deer and an apple salad

Monday: Mushroom, Red Pepper, Chicken, Carrot, and Bok Choy stir fry with Asian inspired marinade and whole wheat biscuits (and yes I cut them into hearts)

Tuesday: Chicken Nuggets and Roasted Parsnips and Carrots with a Balsamic Glaze

Wednesday: Pineapple Coconut Chicken Curry and Wild Rice (still tweaking this recipe)

Thursday: Hearty Mushroom Barley Salad and Charred Tomatoes

Friday: Sauceless Mozzarella, Caramelized Onion, and Kale Pizza

Saturday: Leftovers galore

See more menu plans for Menu Plan Monday over at the Organizing Junkie!

This week I’m also making gingersnaps, my most favorite cookie!

Teaser photos for my post about my Olympic experience this week!

Can you guess which event I went to?

I failed horribly at making pumpkin risotto. It tasted a bit like…puke. Still edible, but I didn’t eat it because I wanted to. Since that incident I haven’t experimented with pumpkin. This week, I’m bringing pumpkin back. And I’m going all in. Tomorrow I am making pumpkin ravioli in a pumpkin cream sauce. If this fails, I’ll make a pumpkin pie to renew the friendship of pumpkin and I. Romance cannot be forced.

Meatless Monday: Pumpkin Ravioli with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, Romaine Salad (I’m using wonton wrappers instead of making pasta dough)

Tuesday: Sweet and Sour Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday: Mozzarella-Kale-Tomato-Caramelized Onion Pizza (I made this last week and it was to die for, I’ll post the recipe soon, didn’t even use sauce)

Thursday: Quick Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry)

Friday: In-laws visiting so probably dinner out

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner

Sunday: Probably going out for Valentine’s Day, most likely for Thai

I’m also making Chocolate Chewies this week, they look super easy.

For more recipes visit Menu Plan Monday @ The Organizing Junkie!

Photo by Schopie1.

I usually try at least 1-3 new dishes each week, but I am doing more this week. They aren’t crazy by any means, but I’ve been flopping in the kitchen lately. My pancakes were meh and my meatballs were even more meh this weekend. Even my oatmeal-raisin-white chocolate chip cookies were boring. It brings a girl down.

I did succeed at making these to die for brownies though. And I’ve eaten more fewer than I had planned!

This week’s plan:

Meatless Monday: Eggs in Baked Potatoes, Sweet Potato+Coconut Soup, Veggie

Tuesday: Pomegranate and Balsamic Glazed Chicken, Green Beans, Flaky Golden Biscuits

Wednesday: Mozzarella-Arugula/Kale-Tomato-Caramelized Onion Pizza (I’m going to improvise this)

Thursday: Nachos

Friday: Pad Thai (trying a new version)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Roast Chicken or Breakfast for Dinner (Apple pancakes + Fruit compote)

This week the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday will all be new recipes. :)

For more recipes visit Menu Plan Monday @ The Organizing Junkie!

So today I found that my husband and I actually eat between $7-8/day. To some that’s high, for others that’s low. It’s about perfect for how we eat, and we eat pretty well for that price: pad thai, curries, risottos, lasagnas, fish, and lots of veggies. I try to get in lots of variety, except Asian. We probably eat a disproportionate amount of Asian dishes. And it’s actually a pretty frugal cuisine, as long as you shop at Asian groceries for certain products. Exhibit A:

Rice noodles at Safeway: $3.49

Rice noodles at Uwajimayas: $1

Uh-huh. Sames goes for lemons and limes. At Uwaj’s it’s 5/$1. I never see them for that price anywhere else.

For the record, I didn’t stay on track last week at all. Except for Monday, that Spinach and Feta Lasagna was delicious.

The plan for this week:

Monday: Chicken and veggies and possibly homemade caramels
Tuesday: Roast elk top loin (courtesy of my father-in-law)
Wednesday: Elk reincarnated as stew
Thursday: Yellow Curry and wild rice mix
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Chicken Alfredo Pizza (this has been on the menu three times in a row and still hasn’t been done)
Sunday: Waffles

For more menus visit The Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday!

Last week I was on a complete Asian kick. Curry, pad thai, and swimming rama. But this week will have more variety. First, let’s review what my big aspirations were for the previous 7 days:

*Monday: Chicken Empanadas and roasted veggies
*Tuesday: Yellow Curry and brown rice
*Wednesday: Pineapple, Swiss Cheese, and Bacon sandwiches and salad
*Thursday: Swimming Rama (fresh spinach lightly sauteed with chicken strips and peanut sauce)
*Friday: Pad Thai (we do a modified version of this with chicken)
*Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Chicken Alfredo Pizza

*denotes what I actually made

So I made 6/7 things, not bad! Although I flipped it around a bit and made Pad Thai on Thursday, leftovers on Friday, and Swimming Rama on Saturday. And that pizza is more than likely not happening tonight.

I am completely ok with not making things in order. We’ve all been there. Sometimes you just want to make something faster, or you want soup instead of BBQ chicken. My goal with menu planning is to have all the ingredients to make what I plan for the week. My biggest problem is not having everything I need.

Alright, for this week!

Monday: Spinach and Feta Lasagna and Charred Tomatoes
Tuesday: Risotto with Caramelized Onions and Chicken (made w/hm stock)
Wednesday: Chicken Satay (Daring Kitchen challenge)
Thursday: Broccoli Stir Fry
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Pad See Ew or BBQ Chicken
Sunday: Chicken Alfredo Pizza (this has been on the menu twice in a row and still hasn’t been done)

Looks delicious, no?

For more menus visit Menu Plan Monday @ The Organizing Junkie!

Photo by [puamelia].

Alrighty, last week was my first jump back on the bandwagon of menu planning. Let’s see how well I did. Last week I said I would make this:
Monday: Leftover elk chili
Tuesday: Pineapple coconut chicken curry
Wednesday: Pad Thai
Thursday: Chicken white sauce pizza
Friday: Dinner out or leftovers
Saturday: Bay Scallops
Sunday: Baked Indonesian Chicken
And in reality I made this:
Monday: Bay Scallops
Tuesday: Pineapple coconut chicken curry
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Salmon Quiche
Friday: Pad Thai
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: BBQ Chicken

So the order isn’t even close. But I did make 4 out of the 7 things I said I would make. Not bad, right?

This week the plan is:

Monday: Chicken Empanadas and roasted veggies
Tuesday: Yellow Curry and brown rice
Wednesday: Pineapple, Swiss Cheese, and Bacon sandwiches and salad
Thursday: Swimming Rama (fresh spinach lightly sauteed with chicken strips and peanut sauce)
Friday: Pad Thai (we do a modified version of this with chicken)
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Now let’s aim for 5 out of 7 this week. :) I’m on quite the international kick this week, my my. But then again we can’t go a week without Thai food.

For more menus visit Menu Plan Monday @ The Organizing Junkie!

*Note: I noted myself as a first timer on the Mr. Linky and that was a mistake. Oops!

Photo by closari.