Week 51 Menu

Monday - hamburgers & hot dogs (all-beef hot dogs, of course)
Tuesday - Easy Taco Casserole
Wednesday - California Vegetarian Chili
Thursday - Tostadas
Friday - Swedish Meatballs
Saturday - eat out
Sunday - Slow-Cooked Steak Fajitas

Week 50 Menu

Monday - Oriental Chicken Salad
Tuesday - grilling something...probably steaks & veggies
Wednesday - Hamburger Stroganoff
Thursday - Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Friday - Easy Taco Casserole
Saturday - eat out
Sunday - Huevos Rancheros (lunch), Swiss Steak (dinner)

I'm Ruined

I get to have lunch with some pretty fabulous women each Friday. On a handful of those occasions the host for that week has served ice cream with hot fudge for dessert. Now we're not talking just any ol' hot fudge. This is home-made-from-scratch hot fudge. Now I'm ruined. Positively ruined. I cannot bring myself to eat regular store bought hot fudge. No. Now I have to have home-made hot fudge ready in my fridge for any moment that I might get that particular craving, which lately has been a daily event.


This is a recipe I found off of allrecipes.com and oh my is it good. My son even dips saltine crackers into it when I'm not looking. What I'd like to try next, is using this to make a chocolate shake. Chocolate shakes have iron in them, don't they??


Hot Fudge Sauce II
from allrecipes.com

4 (1-oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until mostly melted. Transfer to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat and stir in sugar, salt and butter. Stir in cream, a little at a time until smooth. Heat through, without boiling, then remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Store in refrigerator.

If I See One More Steak....

So I have about 6 weeks of pregnancy left, and my iron levels keep dropping despite any effort I make. I'm now up to two iron pills each day, and as much red meat as I can manage (I refuse to eat liver, as any sane person would - sorry mom.) As you can see by this week's menu, I have scheduled 6 dinners that include beef and hopefully I can squeeze a few beef-laden lunches in there too. My next iron test is in 10 days and I am determined to have my numbers go UP instead of DOWN this time.

I apologize to my chicken-loving friends. I don't have much to offer you right now. Just know that I envy you.

Oh and for those of you wondering what the baby's nursery will look like, I'm thinking of a black and white cow-theme. Just kidding. You know, I bet this little boy will grow up to be a vegetarian. Ha ha.

Week 49 Menu

Monday - Melting Pot (my happy birthday dinner!)
Tuesday - Hamburger Stroganoff
Wednesday - Robyn's Meatloaf
Thursday - Steak (bbq) + grilled potato wedges
Friday - Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry
Saturday - Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers
Sunday - Raspberry Chicken, rice & steamed broccoli

Robyn's Meatloaf

My sister-in-law, Robyn, shared this with me and I finally got around to trying it out this week. Wow! I don't think I'll ever make my other meatloaf recipe again. I love the crust this made on the bottom, and the sauce on top was oh-so-good. I made it in my oven-proof skillet and it turned out great - I would recommend doing the same.


Robyn's Meatloaf

2 lb hamburger
2 eggs
1 Tbsp dry onion flakes
1 cup oatmeal
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Mrs. Dash (I used 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients except milk. Mix well, then add milk. Put into loaf pan (I really like using a skillet, but any baking dish will do.)

In a separate bowl mix:
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp dry mustard
3 Tbsp brown sugar

Mix and spread over meatloaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hr 15 min.

Robyn's tip is to wrap some baking potatoes in foil and toss them in with the meatloaf. Dinner is done!

Chocolate Crinkles

This is one of the classic cookie recipes from my mom's repertoire. My sister and I discussed it, and decided that this dough would freeze well - just roll the dough into balls, but don't dip into the powdered sugar. I tried to save some dough to try out the freezing method, but ended up baking the whole batch. Oh well, maybe next time!




Chocolate Crinkles

1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar (mine needed less)

Mix oil, chocolate, and granulated sugar. Blend in one egg at a time until well mixed. Add vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into oil mixture. Chill several hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into powdered sugar. Roll in sugar, shape into balls. Place about 2" apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes - do not overbake!

Week 48 Menu

Monday - Swiss Steak (slow cooker)
Tuesday - Meatloaf (new recipe)
Wednesday - Fajita Chicken Quesadillas w/ Cilantro Pesto Dip
Thursday - Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers
Friday - salmon (oven roasted) w/grapefruit & basil relish
Saturday - eat out
Sunday - Baked French Toast w/ fresh fruit