February 6 - 10

Happy Super Bowl! Phil and I have been batting dinner/snack options around for days, but, in the end, we're feeling a little uninspired, so we're going basic this year. But basic can be good, and we hardly ever make burgers, so it'll still be kind of a nice little treat.

Sunday

Burgers on the grill -- probably venison. Lots of good toppings -- sliced tomato, onion, maybe blue cheese or feta. Mmmmm.

Oven-baked sweet potato fries (slice sweet potatoes, coat with olive oil, chili powder, salt, and spread out on a cookie sheet. Bake at about 425 degrees for 20 minutes or so, depending on thickness of potatoes)

Coleslaw (shred cabbage, add diced onion, a little bit of tiny-chopped red bell pepper, then mix with some mayo, white wine vinegar, a tiny pinch of sugar and a little salt and pepper. Better if you make it and let it sit for a while in the fridge.)

And probably some good beer. I had a Founders Dirty Bastard last weekend, and really liked it, so I'll be looking for some of that today. Or we can just go with whatever's in the fridge.

Monday

Because I can never get enough sweet potato...

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

with leftover coleslaw on the side!

Tuesday

Grilled salmon

Succotash-ish (I sort of make up my own -- I'll mix lima beans, corn, red pepper, red onion, saute it around a bit, maybe add some crumbled bacon. Season with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper)

Wednesday/Thursday

(I'll cook this on Wednesday, but we'll still be eating it on Thursday)

Broccoli-Meatball-Spaghetti: I copied this from a blog post just over a year ago. Like I said below, I crave it about once a year. Last year it was January 17, so I'm off a bit...

Meatball Broccoli Spaghetti: This was my favorite thing to cook in high school, and I usually crave it about once a year. This is the lucky day. I'm revamping a little bit so my arteries don't shriek, but here's my latest variation:

Sliced mushrooms

olive oil

2 c. broth (I'll probably use chicken, as I just made a bunch last week)

1 lb (or a little less, if I can find a small enough package in the freezer)ground venison or buffalo

1 c broken whole wheat spaghetti

3 c chopped broccoli

salt, pepper

parmesan cheese

1. Saute mushrooms in a bit of oil.

2. Add broth, bring to a boil. (This is rhyming so far!)

3. Make little meatballs with burger, salt, pepper. Drop in broth, simmer about 10 minutes.

4. Add spaghetti. Simmer 10 more minutes.

5. Add broccoli. Simmer 10 minutes, or maybe less -- depending on how done you like your broccoli.

6. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle some cheese on top.