Monday Motivation (meatless dinner mealplan)

  For the last few weeks I have been sharing breakfast mealplans and this week I'm still sharing a mealplan but, a dinner one this time.

   This week I'm going to make my family all meatless meals.  Some of these recipes I have tried and obviously if they made this list they were tasty and successful the first go around.

  I am not going to label my days because I do have to go to the store and pick up some ingredients so depending on what ingredients I have on hand and when I go to the store will vary this mealplan.

Black bean quesadilla:
https://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas/

Pizza:
https://savorandsavvy.com/2016/08/15-minute-personal-pesto-pizzas.html

Shrimp:
https://damndelicious.net/2015/01/24/zucchini-shrimp-scampi/

Pasta:
https://savorandsavvy.com/2013/11/spinach-lasagna-rolls-recipe.html

Tacos:
https://wendypolisi.com/quinoa-taco-salad-bowl/

  I would love to hear what your dinner plans are this week or today.  I hope you have a happy, healthy and full week!

Monday Motivation (breakfast mealplan)

  Let's do another week of breakfast.  Breakfast meal plans are super easy for me.  I usually have all the ingredients for multiple meals, it's one meal that is appreciated by everyone in the house and I like the start of a new day.


Monday: pancakes
https://pocketchangegourmet.com/old-fashioned-homemade-pancakes/

Tuesday: eggs and toast
No recipe necessary! Just keeping it simple. I would even make an omelet but, the little people won't eat that.

Wednesday: muffins
https://www.craftsy.com/cake-decorating/article/carrot-cake-muffins/

Thursday: coffee cake 
This recipe is from my recipe box and doesn't use the Bisquick mix I have seen posted.  It used flour.

Friday: donuts
https://www.lovefromtheoven.com/valentines-day-donuts/


 There you go! That's what will be starting our mornings with! What is your morning plan?

Motivation Monday (Meal plan)

  When your a parent a family has to eat.  Gone are the days of a bowl of cereal or pizza every night.  I do plan meals because it makes the busy nights easier.  My recipes are a combination of recipes new and old as well as simple meals.

Last night we picked up a Rotisserie Chicken marked down for $3.  Mashed potatoes were whipped up as well as a side of corn!

2/12 Monday
Spaghetti and meatballs. I gave some leftover frozen meatballs that I will be using and combine tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatoes for the spaghetti sauce with a side of garlic bread.

2/13 Tuesday
Bajio Chicken from the crockpot.  This recipe is my favorite from
sixsistersstuff.

2/14 Wednesday
Sausage and more pasta. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/245920/smoked-sausage-and-tortellini-skillet/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results&clickId=cardslot%2018


2/15 Thursday
Salmon is always appreciated here!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/21176/baked-dijon-salmon/with side of quinoa and some veggie.

2/16 Friday
The kitchen is closed. Every man women and child for themselves. Leftovers are served.

  What are you having for the rest of the week?  Do you meal plan?

Monday Motivation (all about food)

  I like to cook.  I like to bake. I am not a professional but, since we have to eat and sometimes it's an enjoyable experience we do it.

  Today I was super motivated and made 3 things! Now as I stated I'm not a professional so I will also share the recipes of the items!

  I think the one thing I have on my side at least is that 2 of the 3 are healthy.  The bonus is that everything is kid approved.  As a mom of picky eaters that just makes me so happy!

I started my morning with a cup of hot mint chocolate.  This was a fun recipe with its green color and I even choose to make one red in honor of the upcoming Valentines Day! Easy recipe with minimal ingredients and tasty!

Find the cocoa recipe here.

Next up was a healthy spin on cookie dough bites.  I would never try to make cookie dough healthy but, I would try to make my kids eat healthier.  Guess what 1 out of 2 kids fell for it. That's OK thats a start!  This cookie dough balls although made with chickpeas are actually quite good.  I guess there's enough sweet stuff in them to kind of coat the taste.  I thought they were a little dry but, that just means we need a class of milk with our cookies!

Find the cookie dough recipe here.

Lastly we not only needed some chocolate but we needed a dessert.  Enter the chocolate brownies!  Since I was on a healthy role I decided to stick with it.  This recipe makes a nice moist cake like chocolate brownie.  2 kid approved on this one!

Find the brownie recipe here.

  Now I'm not saying get our of hand and make everything on Monday but, I am saying if your going to make something, make it a little healthy and a lot of good!

Weekly menu 9/4-9/8

  As I made my menu this week I thought to myself what's my favorite food.  Can I eat that all week?  I mean beyond pizza.  Can I eat chicken everyday for a week even if I change the dish?  Meatless meal everyday?  No even with a different vegetable and starch, mushroom instead of pepperoni and meatless spaghetti and meatless chili I still like to taste something different the next day.

Monday
Chicken
http://chefsavvy.com/one-pan-italian-chicken-skillet/

Tuesday
Crockpot
https://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/crock-pot-cheeseburger-soup/

Wednesday
Vegetarian
https://yupitsvegan.com/one-pot-tandoori-quinoa/
(Diy Garam Masala spice)
https://www.google.com/amp/s/allrecipes.com/recipe/142967/easy-garam-masala/amp/

Thursday
Meatless
https://www.google.com/amp/s/allrecipes.com/recipe/82817/balsamic-glazed-salmon-fillets/amp/

Friday
Leftovers

  Two meatless, one crockpot with soup for a busy day and a carry over from last week.  I think I have made the soup recipe before but I don't know which recipe I used this recipe may or may not be new.  Otherwise all the other recipes are new for me! Is anyone eating out? What's your favorite meal?  Could you eat the same meal everyday?

Banana Peach Non-Dairy Frozen Treat

  Today we are going to try an edible delight! I had a peach last night that was the best piece of fruit I have had in a while. The first bite was so juicy that I knew I was about to enjoy the rest of the fruit for the next 15 minutes.  I dragged the consumption out!  I took a bite, sat it down, came back from another and sat it down until sadly it was gone. No worries though because there were 4 more in the bag and No one else knew how good they really were.

  I have made the infamous non-dairy ice cream with bananas before but today I raised the bar! I added peaches!

2 ingredients and a food processor is all I used in addition to the freezer.

1 frozen banana

1 ripe peach

1. Blend the frozen banana in the food processor until smooth and creamy.

2.  I then refroze the creamy banana for a half hour.

3. Slice up some of your peach!  After I sliced a side I actually only used a tablespoon of the peaches for my 1 banana.

4.   Add your spoonful of peaches to the creamy banana blend together again and add it back to freezer for a couple hours or until it's reached a texture to your liking.

  Your healthy 2 ingredient non-dairy frozen dessert is done! Grab a spoon and dig in.  Now this is only one serving so if you don't want to share eat it when the kids are in bed! Or double the recipe and offer a healthy treat to the kids too.

  How else do you stay cool in the summer if not with a frozen treat?

Weekly Menu 8/14-8/18

  Last week I made all my planned meals except for the vegetarian chili on Thursday.  I would normally carry over the meal into the next week but I'm missing a few important ingredients too so I'll put that back into the pile.

  This week I'm only making 3 meals because there are enough leftovers in the house to feed us for a couple days.

Monday 8/14
1 pot chili mac
http://damndelicious.net/2014/03/15/one-pot-chili-mac-cheese/

Tuesday 8/15
Meatless
http://www.marthastewart.com/313967/shrimp-with-couscous

Wednesday 8/16
Meatless
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9401/salmon-patties-i/

Thursday 8/17
Leftovers

Friday 8/18
Leftovers

  I'm looking forward to my short week.  Plus as long as we eat up the leftovers the weekly plan was a success.  If meals get thrown away because it's old or under appreciated it's definitely a sad waste.

  Any meal plans this week for you?  Any dinner out plans?

Arctic Frozen Desserts Review Part 2

  Yes, there is a part two because I didn't try all the frozen treats at one time.  I had to savor it and spread it out.  So over the weekend we cracked open the other package!

  The other package of cold healthy goodness.  Cake batter flavor dipped in red velvet.  I'm going to give you a minute to think about that!  Ok yep it's as good as it sounds!  Regardless of how many calories it's missing!  The label states the facts and I'm stating a fact. This was delicious. Speaking from a sugar lover.  I don't know what happened or how but, this was good. Lactose, GMO and gluten free! 80 calories leaves you room to sneak something else!

You know you might not even take my word for it so here's  my proof!

Convinced yet?  I didn't have to bribe them to take bites.  I just had to take quick pictures before it was devoured. It's a shame you can't taste mine.

  I was provided this product along with the tubs complimentary and for tasting and review purposes and all opinions shared here were my own.  You can pick up a variety of flavors at a grocery store near you. Catch the sale and pick up more then one flavor!  

Check out their site here for more options!

Meal plan 8/7-8/11

  It's that time again to organize what's for dinner!  I don't create recipes for me it's just easier to research recipes and raid the pantry.  Each week I try to make a meatless meal sometimes it turns into 2 days and that just a coincidence.  I might not even he 100% of the ingredients but I make the meal anyways.  A crockpot meal once a week is a nice break and of course so are leftovers!   Sliding in a new recipe is always fun to spice up the palette too!

8/7 Soup and leftover salad:
chicken-and-rice-soup.

8/8 Pasta:
tortellini-and-kielbasa.

8/9 Chicken:
Baked chicken with brown-sugar-barbecue-sauce.

8/10 Crockpot:
vegetarian-chili-with-sweet-potatoes.

8/11 Leftovers

There it is everyone! 2 days this week with chicken, 1 meatless and all new recipes! The slow cooker thrown in for convenience and soup also for an easy night! Happy eating! What's your dinner plans?

Silk Yogurt (review)

  I recently tried Silk Dairy-free Yogurt Alternative strawberry flavor.   

I picked it up easily at my local grocery store.  Also available that day was peach and mango but there are a variety of other flavors to choose from.

Upon opening the yogurt you can visibly see the chunks of berries blended into the creamy base.  Consistency is definitely the same as traditional yogurt.  Flavor is definitely not.  This is a soy-based yogurt and even if you didn't know you can tell something is different.

I thought the flavor was ok.  I would like to try a different flavor to see if maybe my favorite just wasn't strawberry this time.  However if I was looking for a quick, healthy snack the 5.3 oz portion would be fine.

I tried to have fun with it after initial tasting some of it and choose to add it as a base to a smoothie bowl.

I added a couple tablespoons of the yogurt with some frozen bananas into a blender along with a few splashes of

 Silk Nutchello Chocolate with walnuts and blended it all together.  

I ate this bowl and had a little left to pop in the freezer to see how that would turn out.

My goal is to maybe buy a little more and turn them into popsicles and feed them to the unsuspecting children if the taste tests go well with them.  

They don't have to avoid dairy but 9 grams of protein is a nice bonus to slide in them! 

I was provided a coupon to purchase these Silk products  from Crowdtap for review purposes and all opinions stated are my own.

Healthy Muffins (pinterest challenge)

  So you know how your having a good day until your kids have plucked your last nerve.  Well I got them back today!  It seemed like I had to tell them multiple times to do several things today.  All of this during our celebratory dress like a cow at Chick Fil A and even after.  I even let them play on the playground.  

  Todays dinner was an easy one.  Hotdogs, mac and cheese and a side of carrots.  Only one of those is acceptable by the children.  However due to lack of time to eat ice cream at lunchtime the negotiation was all dinner had to be eaten before the ice cream was consumed.  One point for mom for that plan.  One poor child was compliant!

  Enter my devious plan to get those children.  Pinterest Challenge for day 12.  Muffins!

 Spinach muffins!  I'll show those kids.  The green I was concerned about but they are always trying to steal my pistachio muffins so I thought I was ok there.

  While they were napping I made this batch and worked quickly to get them in the oven before my plan was blown.  I had to make the dry ingredients bowl was complete before I turned on the blender.

Look what else gets thrown in! Bananas!

  All the dry ingredients got mixed with the wet mix from the blender then scooped into the muffin tray.

  They smelled amazing when they were cooking.  I m not sure if it was the bananas or the cinnamon.  Even when one child came down she said how good something smelled.

  Can I have a muffin, momma?  Yes, yes you can honey!  Can I just saw that was the first thing she took a bite of too.  She even let me know it smelled better up close.  However I did get multiple questions.  Why's it this color? Are there chocolate chips in here? What kind of muffin is it?  A good one that's what kind it is, lol.

  Who cares if it's a pea green unattractive color! This momma just fed her kids a muffin with bananas and spinach in it.  Hehe I feel almost evil.

  I would like to reduce the sugar (3/4 cups) and maybe up the spinach and bananas to make it a wee bit healthier.  The recipe was really easy to make.  Blending everything in a blender makes the mixing easier.  The recipe did have a quick prep time too.  I would have to say with 2 kids (other child ate one and tried several times to try and steal another) wanting second muffins this is a #pinterestwin!

Day 5 and 6 Pinterest Challenge (all about watermelons)

  Ok, I'm going to cheat and throw a few ideas at you today (this allows me to stay ahead of the game with other ideas that area already done, yeah).  I bought a watermelon the other day and so I am using it to be creative.  Chopping it up and eating
 a bowl of it is so boring compared to what you can do to it with a few extra minutes and some basic kitchen tools!

  I share with you the basic concept and end results but for more in depth directions you can find it under my pinterest challenge board on pinterest. Find me @meanroel.  Or go directly to it here.

  First easy watermelon idea is ice cubes. Chop some up put them in a bowl or cookie sheet (flat surface works easier) and freeze them.

                 

Then toss them in any of your drinks for an extra burst of sweetness and flavor.

  Next up 2nd easiest thing you can do to transform your watermelon is cutting it up.  Grab a cookie cutter

 and make some shapes.  Due to the present holiday.  The theme was stars!

Throw some extra fruit up there and make it a festive snack bowl. Red, white and blue anyone?

I think the stars make it even better than a wedge.  It just makes the dish prettier.

Last idea with the watermelon for today was using part of the shell.  Lol, because now I realize how valuable it is.  

Now let me be the first to tell you this is a vessel.  It is not garbage.  You can recycle your watermelon shell! Are you excited??

Add some jello! 

I used strawberry jello.  So of course it looks very realistic but you could have some fun and add a different color.  My daughter couldn't wait to try this treat out.  

  It was easy to make and I will make it again.  I used one packet and used the top cap of the watermelon.  I placed it in a bowl to set it in the fridge as it was not stableon it's own.  If I had cut it length wise it may sit better.  Slicing the watermelon was not a problem either.  It held its shape very nicely.

Ladies and gentlemen I would have to say it's a definite #pinterestwin!

Chocolate Cookies

  Believe it or not some weeks I do not make anything.  Tonight I made cookies because there I was minding my own business when a plate full of cookies gets my attention on Facebook.  A quick glimpse over the recipe and it's on.

  These cookies boasted of a chocolate flavor and there is no doubt about it when you see them and when you smell them fresh out the oven!

  They were easy to make adding that the teen made these.  The longest process was letting them chill prior to cooking. Ooh the torture.

  However after an hour of that I am almost sure when I took a bite of the first one I had already forgot about the waiting period.

  These are a great little cookie.  They have a great chocolate flavor, were soft, resembled a brownie in flavor and texture.  All you need is a glass of milk to accompany these and you too will be in a happy place.  These would definitely get you bonus points if you cooked them and had them ready for unsuspecting children!

 Get to cooking these!  I know you didn't know you needed them but, your welcome anyways.

Check out the recipe here:
http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/03/07/chocolate-sugar-cookies/

Hot Strawberry Dessert

  While I sit here and rummage through the Internet I always think to myself.  Is this a good recipe?  This recipe looks good! I hope this one is good.  We like strawberry shortcake so another strawberry dish with breading should be a hit so tonight we are eating Strawberry Cobbler!

  This was an easy recipe to make.  You should have all ingredients on hand.  Basic staples with an exception of the strawberries.  So put strawberries on your grocery list and make this for dessert!

  I didn't use as much sugar but I also didn't use as many strawberries.  Next time I will use more strawberries and double the recipe.  Start with your sugar and strawberries first to let the flavors blend together.

I did have my separate bowl of batter!

Then added the strawberries to the batter prior to baking!

  This was definitely a pretty dish.  My strawberries did fall under the crust.  I'm not sure if there were more strawberries if they would stay on the top more or not?  The crust was soft on the inside and a slight crunch to the sides.  The strawberries despite my reduction of sugar was just the right bit of sweetness.  This was delicious warm and I'm sure when I grab a piece in the morning it will taste just as good.

Check out the recipe here: http://divascancook.com/fresh-strawberry-cobbler-recipe-easy-dessert/