I arrange my weekly menu according to what we have going on that week and, well, I’ll have to admit…the weather. If I know it’s gonna be a rainy day, I like to make some sort of warm comfort food. Feel free to change the order of these meals to fit your schedule!
Monday: Honey glazed ham with pan-fried sweet potatoes and mandarins
Recipe: Honey glazed ham
1 medium ham, bone-in
1 cup honey
1 tsp ground cloves
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
Let ham sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour before you are ready to cook it. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil and place ham on pan. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine honey, cloves, garlic and salt in a small saucepan and heat over low-medium heat. Baste ham generously with mixture.Tightly cover with foil and cook for 2.5 hours, uninterrupted. No peeking! After 2.5 hours, check the temperature with a meat thermometer. If it’s not at 130 degrees yet, put it back in the oven for another 1/2 hour or so (still covered) until it reaches about 130 degrees. Uncover, and baste again. Return to oven. Take out every 10-12 minutes and re-baste until temperature reaches 140 degrees. For the last 5 minutes of cooking, turn oven to broil to make the outside into crispy sweet goodness. Let rest for 10 minutes, and then carve and enjoy!
P.S. When you have taken all the meat off your ham, wrap it and freeze it to make wonderful ham soup later, or you can just put it in the fridge if you think you’ll have time in the next few days. Just throw it in a pot with whatever veggies and spices you’d like, add enough water to completely cover the ham bone and slow-cook for a few hours over low heat.
Recipe: Pan-fried sweet potatoes
4-5 sweet potatoes, skins on, sliced about 1/4″ thick
1/2 cup olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop a tiny piece of a sweet potato in oil, and if it starts bubbling immediately, it’s ready. Lay in a single layer in oil and cook for 3-4 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Take out and let drain on paper towels for a few minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Tuesday: Leftover ham with green beans and frozen blueberries
Wednesday: Chevre burgers with roasted artichoke hearts and sliced bananas
Recipe: Chevre Burgers
3 pounds ground beef
1 egg
2 TBSP garlic salt
1 TBSP chili powder
2 tsp. onion powder
heaping TBSP of olive oil
8-10 oz Chevre goat cheese
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except goat cheese…with your hands. They do a much better job than a spoon! Mix, mix, mix. Once they’re all having a party and blended well, form into patties of desired size. Press an indentation into each burger and get a small glob of goat cheese and press into indentation. While you’re doing this, heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Once all your burgers are made, line them onto the pan, goat cheese side up. Cook for 3-4 minutes, and flip over. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, until there is little to no pink in the middle, depending on how well done you like them. Serve over lettuce, tomato, onion…whatever you like!
Recipe: Roasted Artichoke Hearts
32 oz jar artichoke hearts (ingredients should only be water, salt and citric acid)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP garlic salt
pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drain artichoke hearts, and combine with remaining ingredients. Pour in single layer onto cookie sheet and put in oven for 20-25 minutes. Cook until the edges are crispy and brown. Serve!
Thursday: Indian-baked chicken thighs with cauliflower rice (recipe HERE ) and apples
Recipe: Indian-baked chicken thighs *Whole30 Compliant
3-4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
olive oil to baste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil and place chicken on pan, skin side up. In a small bowl, combine all spices. Using a spoon, sprinkle each piece of chicken with spice mixture. Use your fingers to massage spices into skin. Let sit for 20 minutes if you have the time for spices to absorb. If you’re in a hurry, just stick them right into the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until juices run clear. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Friday: Bacon Meatloaf with roasted butternut squash (recipe HERE ) and kiwis
I realize I’m using 2 ground beef recipes this week…but that’s just the way it worked out. Ground beef is a great cheaper alternative to other cuts of meat, and is quick and easy to prepare.
Recipe: Bacon Meatloaf
3 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1 cup almond flour
3 eggs
1 medium onion
2 TBSP mustard
1 TBSP chili powder
1.5 TBSP garlic salt
3 TBSP tomato paste
1/4 cup coconut milk (from the can–only ingredients should be water, coconut and guar gum)
Cook bacon until crispy over medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat–don’t throw out grease!) In a bowl, combine all remaining ingredients (with your hands again–that’s what God made ’em for!). Add the bacon AND grease and combine.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil.
Form meat into two loaves and place on pan. Doing it this way will avoid all the grease that you’ll get if you use a loaf pan.
Put in oven and cook for about 45 minutes, until temperature reaches about 160 degrees.
Enjoy your week!
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