What's Cookin' May 13 - 19

I have been feeling really scattered this week, although I couldn't tell you with what.  Dinners seemed to be haphazard and eaten without a lot of thought.  Spring fever? Could be...

This is what we ate:

Monday, May 6

Taco Salad

Tuesday, May 7

Leftovers

Wednesday, May 8

Ate out with friends

Thursday, May 9 (Michael cooked)

Spinach and Swiss Quiche

Canadian Bacon

Strawberries and Kiwi with Whipped Cream

Friday, May 10

 Cauliflower "Mac n Cheese" with Ground Beef and Corn

(recipe below)

Saturday, May 11

Apple Chicken Sausages

Fried Potatoes

Sunday, May 12

Main Dish Salad with Tuna

Here's what's planned for this week:

Monday, May 13

Burrito Bowls 

(Chipotle take out)

Tuesday, May 14

Pork Tenderloin

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips

Wednesday, May 15

Chicken Thighs

Zucchini "Noodles"

Thursday, May 16

Leftovers

Friday, May 17

Chili

Grain-Free "Corn"bread

Saturday, May 18

Leftover Chili

Sunday, May 19

Jalepeno Sausages

Chopped Salad

Avocado Slices

So... one of the things I made last week was an experiment I'd been wanting to try for awhile.  One of my childhood comfort foods (which became one of my kids' comfort foods in turn, which they are also passing on to their own) is Macaroni and Cheese - specifically the Kraft blue box - with cooked ground beef and corn stirred in.

I am not eating Kraft dinner anymore - or, for that matter, pasta noodles - so I wasn't sure if this was something even vaguely possible to still enjoy occasionally without just flat out grabbing the blue box.  I'd say this recipe got about 75% of the way there - it's not the stuff of my comfort food memories, but it did hit comfort food territory, we both enjoyed it, and were happy to note  that it reheated very well the next day for lunch.  I was a little short on cheddar cheese, and I think next time, I'd ramp up my cheddar to try to hit that crazy orange Kraft cheesy taste a bit closer (without turning to chemicals to do it).  But other than that - if you're avoiding pasta, cauliflower makes for a good carrier for a good cheesy sauce.

Cauliflower "Mac" & Cheese with Ground Beef and Corn

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets

1 lb. ground beef

salt, pepper

dash Worchestershire Sauce

2 cups organic frozen corn

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup shredded Swiss Cheese

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. tumeric

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

2 T. almond flour

 Brown ground beef and season to taste with salt, pepper, and Worchestershire Sauce.  Add corn and mix.

In a saucepan, heat coconut milk (don't boil) and add shredded cheeses, nutmeg and turmeric until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.  Add cauliflower, stirring to coat completely.  Add beef and corn mixture, and blend well.

In a small bowl, combine Parmesan cheese and almond flour. Set aside.

Turn cheese mixture into a casserole dish.  Sprinkle almond flour mixture on top.  Bake at 400F for 30-40 minutes.

Note: To keep this grain-free, you'd want to leave off the corn - since I was re-creating a childhood comfort food for myself, I had to add it or it just would not have been right!  But substituting other veggies for the corn would also work just fine for folks without my taste-memories. :)

Shared with: 
Gluten Free Weekly Menu Plan, Menu Plan Monday, On  the Menu Monday, SusieQTPie's Menu Plan Monday. 
Busy Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop, Gathering Spot, Homemade Monday, Homestead Monday, In and Out of the Kitchen Monday, Made By You Monday, Make It Yourself Monday, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Make Your Own Monday, Mealtime Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Monday Funday, Mop It Up Monday, Mostly Homemade Monday, Motivate Me Monday, Natural Living Monday, Thank Goodness Its Monday.
. Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Eco-Kids Tuesday, Family Table Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Hearth & Soul Hop, How-To Tuesday, Living Green Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Traditions Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Time to Sparkle, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Tuesday Greens, Tutorial Tuesday, You're Gonna Love It.
Allergy-Free Wednesday, Creative Spark, Down Home Blog Hop, Fluster's Creative Muster, Frugal Days - Sustainable Ways, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Make - Bake - Create Party, Party Wave Wednesday, Penny Pinching Party, Real Food Wednesdays, Show & Tell Wednesday, Two Girls & a Party, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday,  Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, Well Fed Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Wicked Awesome Wednesday, Wonderful Food Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday.
DIY Accomplished, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Home & Garden Party, HomeAcre Hop, Hookin' Up With HoH, Open House Party, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursdays Treasures, Transformation Thursday, Weekly Homemaking Party.
Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love, Be Inspired Friday, Feathered Nest Friday,  Foodie Friday, Foodtastic Friday, Freedom Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Friday Favorites, From the Farm Blog Hop, Frugal Friday, Gluten-Free Friday, Old-Fashioned Friday, Pin Me Linky Party, Pity Party, Rattlebridge Farm Foodie Friday, Shine On Fridays, Show & Tell Friday, Simple Meals Friday, Thrifty Things Friday, What I Am Eating.
A Favorite Thing, Finding the Pretty & Delicious Linky Party, Get Schooled Saturday, Saturday SHOW-licious Link Party, Say G'Day Saturday Link Party, Serenity Saturday, Show & Tell Saturday, Simply Natural Saturday, Super Saturday Show & Tell, Weekend Potluck, Weekend Re-Treat, Weekend Show Off Party, Your Great Idea.
Creative HomeAcre Blog Hop, Sunday School Blog Hop, Sunday Show Off, Think Pink Sunday.