Weekly menu for March 30-April 5, 2012

We have found that the biggest key to successfully eating healthy is planning. We never used to plan our meals in advance, and found ourselves eating fast food or junk like Hamburger Helper way too often. Now that we plan our meals up to a week in advance we save money, eat much healthier, and have nearly eliminated all waste from un-used food.

With that in mind, I'll be updating this blog weekly with our meal plan for dinners. It won't always be Sunday-Saturday since we don't make our list on the same day. You'll find we've got a host of standbys but also like to try new recipes. Over time I'll provide recipes for our favorite meals, and perhaps they can provide inspiration for your weekly meal plan too.

Week of March 30-April 5, 2012
Friday: Bass and red slaw
Saturday: Steak and asparagus
Sunday: Enchilada casserole
Monday: Pot roast
Tuesday: Ground beef tacos
Wednesday: Chicken curry
Thursday: Pork chops and green beans

Sweet Potato Fries

There are certain foods that most folks eating a paleo diet indulge on – sweet potato fries being one of them. Having never eaten a sweet potato in my life, I didn’t understand how these could replace the craving for my standard, salty, starchy fries. There are a lot of foods I miss that I can find suitable replacements for, but most aren’t as good as whatever I’m trying to replicate. Do sweet potato fries taste just like regular fries? No, of course not. But they do taste super good and have nearly eliminated my desire for the fries I used to like so much.

Since discovering these tasty fries a few months ago I’ve been consuming them largely as an evening snack. However, I’ve also eaten them as a small lunch on weekend days when I’m not particularly hungry. While it’s not something I’m going to make a habit of, it’s a great way to get some extra vitamins. One sweet potato contains 13% of your daily potassium, 15% of your daily fiber, and a whopping 369% of your vitamin A. It’s also a good source of vitamin B6, manganese, copper and a few others.

The last thing to take note of is that there are two different kinds of sweet potatoes sold in your average grocery store. There is the orange-skinned variety, often called yams, or the pale-skinned variety. We prefer the pale-skinned.

Sweet Potato Fries

Source: Inspired by lots of blogs, perfected by us

Ingredients

One sweet potato

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel and cut sweet potato into strips. It’s quite dense, so make sure you have a good knife and possibly somebody strong. In a medium sized bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss. Dash on some salt and pepper and toss again.

Place neatly onto a cookie sheet line with parchment paper. Bake for 18-22 minutes, turning halfway through. They’ll still be somewhat soft depending on how thick you cut your slices. They are still delicious though!

Short Ribs with Wine and Cream

A few months ago I was looking for a special recipe for Travis and I to make together. I don’t remember what the occasion was, but whatever it was, Pioneer Woman’s Short Ribs with Wine and Cream fit the bill. Ironically I dislike fatty cuts of meat and I’m still in denial about my newfound love of mushrooms, so what possessed me to choose this recipe I’m not quite sure. It was indeed a bit too fatty for my tastes, but Travis was in love with this meal. In fact, as soon as we brought home our 1/2 cow, he requested we remake the meal.

We were hungry, and didn't cook these as long as we should have.
If we'd gone the full three hours, more of the fat would have melted off. 

I’m still not a huge fan of the fat content, but I can’t deny it’s a tasty recipe. It’s rich, tender, and has excellent flavor. I even like the mushrooms. Honestly, I don’t think you can even improve on the recipe. I do highly recommend finding an assortment of mushrooms as the recipe suggests. Our local Safeway strangely only had cremini and portabellas in stock, and the lack of variety was definitely noticed.

It is important to note that we specified our short ribs be cut English style. It seems the more popular cut is Flanken style.

While this was a great meal for the two of us, I could definitely see serving this to guests in the future. It’s largely hands-off due to the three hour simmer time, but comes across as one something much more elaborate. It’s sure to impress at a dinner party.

Short Ribs with Wine and Cream

Slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

12 whole Shortribs

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons bacon grease

1 cup red wine

32 ounces, fluid beef broth

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons capers

16 ounces by weight of assorted Mushrooms: Cremini, Oyster, Baby Bellas, Etc.

Olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat bacon grease in a dutch oven over high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on three sides of the ribs. Quickly sear the meaty sides of the ribs, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove the short ribs to a plate.

Pour wine and beef into the dutch oven. Add rosemary. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Return short ribs to the pot, cover, and place in the oven for 3 hours.

After they have cooked, remove the pot from the oven and increase the temperature to 400 degrees. Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast the mushrooms until they're golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the dutch oven a stove burner and carefully remove the short ribs from the pot again. Stir in mustard, cream, and capers, then raise the heat and allow it thickened a bit. Return the short ribs to the sauce, put on the lid, and turn off the heat.

Serve the short ribs on top of the mushrooms, then drizzle with extra cream sauce.