Dinner is Served

  This week my meal plans were not complicated. I try to leave the complicated meals to the professionals or a holiday. 

  This week I pulled out the slow cooker, used leftovers and followed the meal plan for the week.

  I find my recipes in a variety of places but this week everything came from the internet.  My biggest goal was to use leftovers items I bought last week.  I succeed. So yeah no waste for me!

Chicken and spinach enchiladas!

Potato soup!

Zucchini Italiano casserole!

Each week I try to make new recipes and not just stick with old tried and true ones.  I have made this soup before but the other two recipes were new.  Two days of leftovers from last week was nice too.  

All of the recipes were easy and everyone liked all the meals.  No complaints means these recipes can go in the rotation to be made again.

  Now the weekend is here and the kitchen is closed.  It's everyone for themselves! Have a great weekend everyone.

Monday Motivation (Dinner Mealplans)

   Since my week was off a little bit and I skipped Fridays meal and made it Saturday I have leftovers and will eat them tonight and plan the rest of the week after that.

  I also have some leftover veggies bought for last week that I will use this week to avoid  wasting anything.  You will see meat this week as I am not a vegetarian but, do enjoy eating meatless meals sometimes.

Monday: leftovers

Tuesday: meatless
http://www.wildernesswife.com/slow-cooker-zucchini-italiano-casserole-recipe/

Wednesday: Soup
https://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/cheddar-potato-soup/

Thursday: chicken
http://www.5dollardinners.com/chicken-and-spinach-enchiladas-5-dinner-challenge/

Friday: leftovers

  There's my week!  Some chicken, a crockpot meal, soup and leftovers!  Have a good week everyone. Take time off from the kitchen at least one day.  What's your favorite quick and easy meal?

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?

It's time to eat! Meal plan 7/31- 8/4

  A girls got to eat and a mom has to feed her family.  I know it's easy to fly through the week when you have a plan but, it's not easy to make the plan!  Plus it's soo frustrating when you have picky eaters that veto everything but I just push through.

  Tonight's meal was a winner because you can never eat enough breakfast.

Breakfast is the one meal I hear the least amount of complaints about so if we ate breakfast twice a day everyone would officially eat in my house.

Here's the rest of my line up for the week!

7/31 Pasta

Chicken-broccoli-pasta-skillet-casserole

8/1 Meatless 

Falafel

8/2 Crockpot

Baked-potato-soup

8/3 Salmon

Grilled-salmon-with-honey-soy-marinade

8/4 Leftovers 

  What are your dinner plans for the week? I'm always looking for something new.  This week 3 of these recipes are new!

Letter H Preschool (recap)

Letter H can get the creativity going at a intense speed.  H is for hammer. The boy loves his hammer.

He did get to start his week off with a horse (ok I know it's a pony but close enough).

  Even when I give him worksheets I try to change them up.  Some of the ones in his workbook I keep from letter to letter but hands on ones I change the rules on sometimes.

  Instead of using dot markers we used beans this time but, first he had to make alphabet soup!

 He was digging out the beans.

Pouring them in the pot to cook.

Now he had to use the pot holder because the pan was h for hot!

He found the letter H!

He also used his fingers to make the h on this worksheet.

  Hand eye coordination, patience and slowing down was all practiced with this page!

  Did you catch our h for hand turkey project?

He tried to make hearts for his h worksheet.  I tried to show him with two fingers and one finger but that was the same unsuccessful outcome.  He knew what it was supposed to be and kept trying.  Maybe by February he will have perfected it.

Lastly we finished with playdough!

H is for happy!  For this I asked for a face and he said he couldnt.  I showed him a few and he realized a face needed more than just a mouth.  I asked for 3 happy faces and I got them! 

#nablopomo 

5 Reasons to Meal Plan

  There are multiple reasons to meal plan.  It does require some organization but your in charge of that.  Whether you want to have a specific theme every Tuesday (Taco Tuesday) or every week you will have a meatless meal.

  Your plan is catered to your needs.  First look at the week ahead.  Do you have any late appointments and if so planning for something quick those nights will help. Frozen pizza or breakfast for dinner work just fine.

1.  It will save you money.  If you have that willpower to drive past that fast food restaurant at 530.

2.  It's healthier for you.   I can agree with this partially because it depends on what you make.  To me a Chipotle salad rates pretty high in the healthy department. Brown Sugar Pork Chops not so much.

3.  You have time.  It doesn't take hours if you don't want it too.  You can cook what you know and what you always do.  I like to torture myself with new recipes.

4.  You feel lifted as the stress of "What's for dinner?", is taken care of. When you get up to start your day you already have a plan for dinner time in the evening.  All day you can relax because you already know what dinner is going to be.  You have the food organized, defrosting or cooking in the crockpot.  You are as good as done with dinner.

5.  Learning is fun!  The more cooking you do; the more home cooking you do you learn different recipes, styles and techniques.  I have learned new chopping features on my food processor.  Tried Gnocchi (and love it)!  I have even almost perfected my roux skills!

  These are only a few reasons.  I am sure there are more reasons of why to meal plan but let's stick with the basics.  What intimidates you about meal plans?

Meal Plan 10/10-10/14

             (Last weeks porkchops dinner)

  Last week went well!  A couple days had meals skipped by various people in my house so leftovers went further then just Friday!   This week just like any other week I try to challenge myself with new recipes or a new meal.  New meal being I have made this meal before but not this way.  You can make spaghetti a variety of ways and it's still spaghetti!

  I started this week off with a meal I love.  I don't know if it's all the sugar and soda combination and the ease of a crock pot meal but, I really like this meal! This is definitely saved as well as a few more recipes by them!


10/10 Crockpot with Chicken
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/08/slow-cooker-bajio-chicken.html

10/11 Soup (meatless)
http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/cheddar-potato-soup/

10/12 Pasta (meatless)
http://www.recipetineats.com/baked-spinach-ricotta-rotolo/

10/13 Vegetarian Meal
 http://www.marthastewart.com/900261/quick-veggie-fajitas

10/14 Leftovers


That's my plan for the week!  Do you think anyone will notice I have managed to skip meat most of the week?

Happy Eating!!

Meal Plan 9/26 - 9/30

  I have found that a meal plan works for so many reasons in my home.

1.  I know at 0800 what I'm eating and what time to start cooking because I will also know how long it will take me.

2.  Saves me an excuse of eating out as I already have a plan.

3.  Helps clear out my pantry.

4.  I can easily gauge groceries we need for the week or ahead of time based on meals.

5.  It does save money both with minimal or at least planned shopping.


  I surf the Internet and find new recipes as well as use some recipes from my favorite bloggers and tried and true recipes I have on hand.  The meals will vary weekly from slow cooker, vegetarian, seafood or good old breakfast for dinner.  I may have a random night out and a leftover night but for the most part everything will be done at home!


9/26 Tuna Casserole
http://wholesomemommy.com/real-food-remake-cheesy-mac-tuna-casserole/

9/27 Gnocchi Soup
http://therecipecritic.com/2016/09/creamy-chicken-gnocchi-soup-olive-garden-copycat/

9/28 Chili
http://mixandmatchmama.com/dinner-tonight-sweet-corn-chili/

9/29 Chicken
http://www.plainchicken.com/2013/05/chicken-lazone.html?m=1

9/30 Leftovers
It is every man and child for themselves!

  Ok there it is.  There are a couple things I still need to buy to make this work so we shall see how close I get this week.  After our grocery shopping I will plan for the month of  October.

Weekly Menu

  So last week was all over the place.  We ate at home we ate out, I might have even missed a meal.  Throw in a day of leftovers and that pretty much took care of my week.  So let's try again.

This week we are going meatless with an exception of salmon tonight!  Couple meals are from allrecipes.  I love that site but I do try and surf the net for different recipes.

Tonight's meal was salmon patties with and side of spinach.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/81506/yummy-lemon-salmon-burgers/

Pasta:
http://wholesomemommy.com/category/wholesome-recipes/main-dishes/meatless-main-dishes/

Soup:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2015/09/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup.html

Meatless:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13941/zucchini-patties/

Meatless:
http://www.health.com/health/m/recipe/0,,10000001173704,00.html

Weekly Dinner Menu (Jan 24 week)

  Finally dinner time!  We went grocery shopping and I have food in the house! Food I can base recipes around and food I bought for specific recipes.  This week will include: soup, meatless and a Mexican dish to list a few.  I am also not going to label which day is what.  A majority of the pressure is off already just shopping for the ingredients and having a meal already figured out!

Meatless/pasta
3 Cheese Zucchini Stuffed Lasagna

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/07/three-cheese-zucchini-stuffed-lasagna.html?m=1#_a5y_p=2001719

 Mexican
Black Bean and Rice Burritos
http://gimmedelicious.com/2014/03/25/crispy-black-bean-and-rice-burritos/

 Chicken
Chicken Tortilla Soup
http://www.fivehearthome.com/2014/10/14/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/


Shrimp
Creamy Corn Fettuccine with grilled Shrimp
http://wholesomemommy.com/creamy-corn-fettuccine-with-grilled-shrimp/

The American classic without the fuss
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans
My recipe consists of something scribbled down from my mom and then twisted to fit my taste.

  There it is folks! That's what we will be eating here! Happy eating at your home!

Annies Homegrown Soup (review)

  Today for lunch I tried a box of soup I received in my lovely #comfortvoxbox from +Influenster!  We received the creamy tomato with bunny pasta!

This soup came in a box versus the can and is conveniently ready to serve.  No water or mix-ins are necessary.   This soup is made with organic products and there's a half cup of vegetables per serving.  The soup is all natural free of corn syrup, artificial flavors and preservatives!  So don't tell the kids but feed it to them with a good conscious.

The tomato soup was definitely a tomato base, it was a great flavor and maybe you could add milk to lighten the flavor and gain another serving out of it.  The bunny pasta was a nice change to plain traditional noodles.    My daughter enjoyed seeing them! 

 She was a little apprehensive on the soup only because she is partial to a very selective list of acceptable items.  However her motivation laid with some bunny crackers I said she could have if she ate some soup.

  She liked the soup and tried to convince her brother that it was just tomato and bunny noodles.  As if to tell him the coast was clear I guess.  He didn't not fall for it nor was he charmed by the bunnies.

  To stretch meals in my house I usually make accompaniments and for this I choose good old grilled cheese! 

  Creamy tomato soup with bunny pasta, cheddar bunny crackers and a grilled cheese sandwich.  A great classic lunch with a little fun sprinkled in.  #choosegood

Checkout the other flavors and products at
www.annies.com.

Thank you @Influenster for providing me with the soup for testing and review purposes.  All opinions are my own.

Pumpkin Soup today for day 23 of 30!

  I wonder if I could have lost weight from this challenge if I stuck with a 100% pumpkin diet. I'm talking a whole breakfast, lunch and dinner deal.  I'm talking strictly meals and not desserts?  What are the benefits of pumpkins?  There's got to be something, right?  I will have to look that up.

  Today I was bound and determined to make a savory meal versus a dessert or breakfast item. Haven't I run out of those? What else is left?  Maybe a quiche?

  I have complied a list of a few options I would like to make but otherwise this challenge was not organized.  I just wanted 30 days of pumpkin.  I didn't have a specific item for each day it's just been whatever I made or bought.  It would have maybe took the fun away if I shared a preplanned list for the month.  So instead everyday I ran around figuring out what to do.

  Today just so happens to be soup.  I had an opening for dinner because we are low on leftovers so this provided another alternative.

This was a fast, easy, basic soup.  Although it had some spice added to it; it could be dressed up more to another level if you knew what you were doing.  Not me.  Remember how my ice cream and popsicle turned out?  I however really liked this soup.  It was a creamy soup, and although it tasted very much so like squash (which I like to) it seemed to have lost its pumpkin individuality.  I was amazed at how the texture of the pumpkin changed and it became creamy like soup. No grit, or lumps.

  This will be a nice soup I can make and will have my kids make and note the recipe because it is #1 good for you, #2 a great healthy choice #3 quick and easy soup for them to make #4 it's way better than soups in a can.

Thank you myrecipes; I can always count on you!

Weekly meal re-cap

  I can say my meals went fantastic this week.  I followed the plan each day.

Monday was corned beef and potatoes compliments of the crockpot.  Don't you love to set it and forget it.

 Tuesday was lasagna.  Even though I used cottage cheese and was going to add spinach it was a filling meal.

 Next up was copy cat Zuppa Tuscana soup.  My husband really enjoys this soup when we go to Olive Garden and actually honestly likes when make this one as well.

 Lastly, to end the week even though it was Thursday was our meatless meal.  It was black bean burgers.  No burger meal is complete without fries so I paired my burger with eggplant fries.  This was a big hit with my teen.  I was quite pleased with the results if this meal.

Friday the kitchen is open but it's a self serve deal.  All leftovers are fair game what little there were.  Of course pizza is always optional as well.

Did you see what my pumpkin consumption was for the week?  I made pumpkin cakes and pumpkin crepes in addition to a milkshake from Burger King and ice cream!

Stay tune for next week to see what's on the menu.  

Menu plan 10/12-10/16

  Last week worked out great with some feedback on the the overall concept of being organized and of how having a plan makes for a better week.  I am utilizing the crockpot again this week but the meals this week hold true to easy and quick.

10/12: Monday lasagna
http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/extra-easy-lasagna

10/13: Tuesday chicken lazone
http://www.plainchicken.com/2013/05/chicken-lazone.html?m=1

10/14: Wednesday copycat Zuppa Tuscana soup need sausage!!! I do have plans to eat out this day (with a food reviewers group) so this may be a leftover day.
http://wholesomemommy.com/real-food-copy-cat-zuppa-tuscana-olive-garden-copy-cat/

10/15: Thursday corned beef and potatoes
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-old-world-corned-beef-and-vegetables/073fd3e5-e549-4ad4-b416-7333ba2c2095

10/16: Friday hmm, let's just plan something again to see what happens.  This will help in case all food is consumed during the week that I already made.


  So I guess I may have two leftover days this week.  Thinking about it now in advance that doesn't sound like a bad deal at all.  We will see how that works out.

P.S. In keeping up with my bucketlist the lasagna would be a new recipe for me! (Cabbage in the crockpot will be too but I didn't know if that counted.  I would count it because I will follow the Recipe otherwise my meal would be considerably bland.)

Feeding the family equals a happy family!

Dinner time

  I love those quick, slightly nutritious meals.  I hate to spend more time in the kitchen then I have too.  I'm not one of those that says I cooked this with my heart or filled the pans with love.  I cook and get out.  Who wants to stand there all day?  I'm not getting paid there really is not point.

  I find some nights harder to motivate myself to cook then others and it's those night that I need meals that I can quickly whip up more than ever.  Meals I can start at around 5 or so and be done and ready to eat after 6.

  Enter soup and even though it's hearty let's make some bread too.  Copy cat Zuppa Tuscana and cornbread.  I have shared the recipe with you before.  This soup is a favorite with most everyone.  Packed with sausage, kale and potatoes.  It may almost be better than Olive Garden because there is more bits in this one than theres.

  I usually think of bread well into the process because mind you I'm already running late and there are no real plans set in place.  So I decide on cornbread.

  I made mistake number 1 of the kitchen.  I did not check all my ingredients.  But never fear Google saves the day.  For this cornbread muffins recipe I needed 5 tsps of baking powder.  Nows the time I tell you I pulled out the can and I only had 2!  I pulled up a baking powder substitute to save the day.

  I like this recipe as it doesn't take milk or eggs.  Your going to dress you muffin up with butter or syrup anyways so if you feel it lacks in flavor you can fluff it up.

  Two muffins were eaten before I tasted them by the resident bread lover.  I did however eat one and I couldn't tell the difference.  However after this save I will be making a new file of substitute saves!  Lol, the other month I saved the homemade mayonnaise, remember?  So I need to keep these as resources not just because they worked or because they saved the day but I may find concoctions that are actually cheaper than the actual missing ingredients.

Do you have any quick fixes or substitutes that you rely on?

Baking soda substitute:
make-your-own-baking-powder-clone-substitute-

Cornbread muffins (dairy and egg free) cornbread-dairy-free-104814


Copy cat Zuppa Tuscana soup: real-food-copy-cat-zuppa-tuscana-olive-garden-copy-cat/

Day 7,8,9 of 30 day challenge

I didn't realize I was three days behind just thought it was two. So let's get to how things are going.

Sunday Day 7
Breakfast: Yogurt with bananas, strawberries, blueberries and granola
Lunch: leftover salad from Friday
Dinner: leftover turkey sloppy joes, homebaked fries and

My workout on Sunday was going to be my rest day but I did go on a canoe for an hour.

Monday Day 8

 Not a good day. I know this already but it's still about accountability.  Somedays are not going to be as good.  My workout was great. My children and I went hiking and made 7 miles. Which is great but my meals is where I slipped this day.

Breakfast: strawberry and banana smoothie 

Lunch: fruit

Dinner: I essentially skipped as we left the park late and dinner would have been fast food but I picked at more fruit.

Tuesday Day 9

Today was a much better day.  

Breakfast: fruit

Lunch: pasta salad with kale, spinach, beans, peppers and garlic 

Dinner: leftover Zuppa Tuscany from last week

2 snacks, I wonder if it was the walking yesterday? 1 spoonful of peanut butter. A cup of pineapple whip.

75 oz of water

Workout: 33 minutes elliptical.

There now we are all caught up.  I ate a lot of leftovers but today's new recipes will be posted on the bottom.  My workouts vary as you can see.  I do try to maintain some kind of cardio every workout but do add weight training sporadically.  

Pasta recipe credit:                                              

http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/pasta-with-white-beans-kale-0

Pineapple whip recipe credit:                         http://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-disneyland-dole-whip/

Day 4

  So I told myself that I am almost done with week one. It made me feel better.  This didn't start till Monday so technically it hasn't been a week not even close but, I'm sure I can coast through the weekend. Just need to make it past Friday.  Pizza or guaranteed junk food night.

  If nothing else from this week I am getting more endurance in the gym and gaining some new recipes.  I look forward to seeing the end result of this challenge and hope to have instilled in me some good habits.  Habit meaning I will keep it going and be more aware of what I am doing.

The only meal new to me was the smoothie this morning for breakfast.  I changed the spinach into kale and was very pleased with the taste.  My young chef even liked it despite what she saw me put in it.  The banana and peanut butter were more intense in flavor.

Lunch was nothing special but I will say a bowl of fruit is the best.  I never just ate a bowl of fruit. I would eat a piece here and there.  When you eat a bowl you are sitting down relaxing and enjoying it.  Not like eating a banana on the run.  I am going back to the store to get more peaches!! I hope they are still on sale.  The tuna wrap was plain nothing special tuna with a cut up carrot and some sesame seed oil on it.  I was not impressed and will not eat it like that again.  I was trying to add flavor to the dried tuna. I would rather just eat it dried.

  Dinner was Zuppa Tuscany soup.  The soup from Olive Garden.  This is a great knockoff.  Everyone in my family enjoys it.  Of course you could add something else with it; salad or bread but, I'm trying to stay on track.  Never a disappointment.  Young chef even helped me.  

She had to get her hands dirty to start with.

She is getting better at leveling ingredients!

 She added the spices!

This is the chicken bullion I use for the stock.

Soups simmering!

It was a great day. Thanks for listening. Thanks for reading! Thank you for your support!

Recipe credit:

clean-eating-peanut-butter-and-banana-smoothie

real-food-copy-cat-zuppa-tuscana-olive-garden-copy-cat

Workout today was 67 minutes on the treadmill.  I alternated between speed and incline.  Various weights and ab work.