Menu Planning Monday No. 4

This week's menu was purposely VERY easy, and includes a few repeats. What's the reason?? Well, I'm so glad you asked. :)

I started a new job today - I left my job of almost ELEVEN years last week and started a new adventure today. And today could not have gone any better, seriously! The traffic in was perfect (no issues!), I was welcomed very warmly, I got FLOWERS from one of the partners, I got to sit in on some calls and meetings and didn't feel completely lost (hopefully that means I pick up on the new stuff even quicker than I thought!!) and the drive home was great too! I didn't get lost once :) and made it there and home much faster than I had anticipated.

All that said, I'm completely exhausted today. There was a lot of listening and trying to absorb going on ALL day, and I guess it caught up with me pretty quick! I'm glad I planned some easy meals for this week! So, let's get to it...


Breakfasts:
Mike: Bacon-Crusted Quiche (new recipe!)
Lynne: Chia Pudding and/or coffee (lots of coffee!)
Kids: Cereal/Waffles & Fruit/Yogurt

Lunches:
Mike: Bacon-Crusted Quiche (new recipe!), cheese sticks, parmesan-roasted green bean & mini caprese salads
Lynne: no idea! playing it by ear every day! :)
Kids: lunchables/burritos/sandwiches, applesauce/gogurt, cinnabon cookies, chips & drink

Dinners:
Monday: Eat Out (husband and the big kids go to BSF so he takes them to dinner; Zoe and I grab dinner on our own) We are eating out, but no BSF tonight so McDonad's it is!
Tuesday: Fiesta Salad, Corn, Yogurt/Fruit
Wednesday: Mexican Chicken Chopped Salad, Yogurt/Fruitt
Thursday: Slow-Cooked Garlic & Ranch Pork , Roasted Green Beans, Yogurt/Fruit
Friday: Breakfast for Dinner!

What's for dinner at your house this week?

Crockpot Cowboy Chicken

I heart my slow cooker.

Sometimes, I wish the love was a little more mutual than it is.

Sometimes my slow cooker attempts taste good but look like mush. Sometimes they look pretty but taste like mush. Sometimes, everything comes together and it's pretty AND tastes good.

This recipe was one of those times. Looks good, tastes good, EASY, healthy - what more could a wife/mom/full-time-work-outside-the-home-girl ask for?

I found this recipe from Pinterest (originally from momswhothink.com). The ingredients are easy - in fact, I didn't have to buy anything - everything I needed was in my pantry already. I added garlic and cumin to make it my own - you could also add veggies (which I rarely do since my family doesn't like them!).

If you wanted to walk in the door to dinner on the table in less than five minutes, you can make the rice ahead of time...the rest of it will be ready to go! Next time, I think I will try some kind of beef instead of chicken, but the rest of the recipe will be the same...I think it will be great with beef!

Would your family like this recipe? If you try it out, let me know!

4-6 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced (or more, if you like garlic!)
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1/2 cup sour cream
brown rice
cilantro
shredded cheddar cheese
* extra ingredients to consider: chopped onion, chopped bell peppers, chopped or canned tomatoes

1. Place chicken (I used chicken breasts STRAIGHT from the freezer, so completely frozen) in slow cooker.
2. Add brown sugar, mustard, cumin, garlic, corn, beans and broth/water. * if you are adding extra veggies, you can add them here
3. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 8-9 hours (you could probably go with less time if your schedule allows...but I don't get home until 9 hours later, and the chicken was perfect!).
4. Add sour cream to slow-cooker, shred chicken and mix with sour cream (it should literally fall apart on you).
5. Serve over brown rice - top with shredded cheese and cilantro. Enjoy!

Breakfast Casserole

One of the recipes I made for Rylie's birthday dinner (breakfast for dinner, at home, remember?) was Breakfast Casserole.

I love this recipe because it's...(guess!?!?) VERSATILE! And easy. And yummy.

Just about everyone you meet has a version of this recipe - some use hash browns on the bottom, some use crescent rolls, some add veggies, some serve with salsa...you really can't mess this recipe up folks!

My favorite version of this recipe is the one my mom taught me...I LOVE it...I don't remember how often she made it for me growing up, but enough to make it taste like a memory every time I eat it!

Like I said, this recipe is very easy to mix up and experiment with - I've made it with bacon instead of sausage, bacon in addition to sausage (duh!), with hashbrowns as the base, crescent rolls, even corn tortillas (for my sweet husband, who just isn't a huge bread fan). The tried and true version, and my personal favorite is listed below.

Tell me...do you have a favorite version of this recipe? What does your family like?

8 slices of bread (I use wheat)
1 package (12 oz) reduced-fat pork sausage
1 dozen eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese (7-8 oz)
salt/pepper to taste

1. Arrange bread slices in a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray (you may have to break up a couple of slices in half to make them fit).
2. Cook sausage over medium-high heat, crumbling the sausage as you go.
3. When sausage is completely browned, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain fat.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper; mix well to combine.
5. Spread sausage over bread evenly.
6. Sprinkle all of the cheese over the sausage evenly.
7. Pour egg mixture over the cheese, making sure to cover the entire pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired.
8. Cover casserole with foil and place in the fridge overnight (or for at least 3-4 hours) to allow bread to soak up the eggs.
9. In the morning (or after the 3-4 hours) take casserole out and leave on counter for about 20 minutes (this is just so that you don't put a cold pan into a hot oven. Preheat over to 350.
10. Bake casserole for 45-60 minutes, or until eggs are completely cooked and the edges are golden brown.

Pizza Quesadillas

In my quest to constantly find food that will satisfy not only my ladybug, but also the rest of my family, I try to search for recipes that are really versatile - I am NOT big on cooking multiple meals for my family - no one gets catered to like that in our house!

But, if I can come up with or find a recipe that is versatile enough so that the end result is that everyone has a version of the same thing, everyone wins!

One of my favorite foods is pizza - I keep trying to make everyone else in the house love it as much as I do, but I fear I may have actually done the opposite. Every once in a while they want it, but most of the time they just tolerate it...

Quesadillas are a go to in my house - they are easy, don't really require much effort or prep, can be ready in no time, are inexpensive, and (my favorite word) versatile!

I've seen the idea around for awhile to make pizza quesadillas, and truth be told, I've made them before...but never made them sound as good as "pizza quesadillas". When I've made them, it's always been more like "well, I have some tortillas and cheese so we can have quesadillas...but we need protein...well, I have some pepperoni too, so....that'll do".

These are about as easy as anything - and like I said, each person can have whatever they want - like a personal pizza!

We made just pepperoni and cheese quesadillas, but you could add any pizza toppings your family likes. Bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, sausage...the list goes on and on! It would even be fun to make a "fancy" version - like barbecue chicken, canadian bacon and pineapple, margherita, even breakfast pizza quesadillas!

What variation would your family like??

Ingredients for 4 servings:

8 flour tortillas

1 bag shredded cheese (we used colby jack)

about 20 pieces of pepperoni

any additional pizza toppings you like

1 cup pizza sauce

1. Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray; turn on to medium heat.

2. I like to sprinkle the pan with a little salt and pepper and then lay the first tortilla down - you could use butter on the outside of the tortilla instead, but I like to cut just a little fat this way...

3. Sprinkle about a quarter cup of cheese onto the tortilla.

4. Place about 5 slices of pepperoni on top of the cheese (add any extra ingredients at this point too).

5. Sprinkle 1-2 Tbsp. of cheese on top (this allows the whole thing to melt and stick together).

6. Place second tortilla on top of cheese, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle salt and pepper. 

7. After about 3 minutes, flip quesadilla over and allow bottom side to cook for 2-3 minutes, until lightly golden.

8. Remove quesadilla from pan and allow to cool.

9. While cooling, pour pizza sauce into a microwave safe bowl and heat about 30 seconds or so until warm. Or, place sauce in a small saucepan over low heat while quesadillas are cooking until heated through.

10. Slice quesadillas into quarters, dip in pizza sauce and enjoy! :)

NOTES - you could cut down the nutritional stats in this by using whole wheat or corn tortillas instead of flour, turkey pepperoni and reduced-fat cheese. Also, keep in mind that the more you bulk up the veggies you put in this, the less cheese you need - you can easily cut back and just add enough to make it all stick together.      *disclaimer - based on these notes, I'm adding the label "healthy" to this post. ;-)

Peanut Butter S'mores Mix

One of my kids new favorite treats is S'mores Mix - I found the idea HERE. Genius! SOOOO glad I found this recipe - and it literally could not be easier - in their lunch boxes, I just sprinkle some cereal in each container, then marshmallows, then chocolate and peanut butter chips! Voila!

In my family, everything tastes better with peanut butter, so while the original recipe is awesome as is, I threw some peanut butter chips in there too.

This is a new go-to for my kids. They've asked for it every week! And that's saying something folks!

1 batch of this really goes a LONG way - the list of ingredients is probably about $8 total, and it lasts for a good two weeks for my kids. VERY frugal!

What are your kids favorite lunch treats?

1 box cinnamon toast crunch cereal

1 bag mini marshmallows

1 bag chocolate chips

1 bag peanut butter chips

1. Toss all ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix with a large spoon.

2. There is no step 2 - THAT'S IT!!! :)

NOTES - I mixed all the ingredients together the first time I made this, but then I decided to just mix it up as I need it. I usually make a week's worth of lunch at one time, so I just make individual servings right in their lunch boxes for the week, and store the rest of the ingredients in the pantry.

oops-"your text here" doesn't belong...!

No-Carb Breakfast Lasagna

This has become a staple in my house - Mike eats it just about every week. It's incredibly easy, and can be made in a large pan (like a lasagna) or in small batches (individual or mini lasagnas!). Like many of the recipes I use, it's very versatile, but the recipe I show here is pretty basic - Mike doesn't like veggies much, so this is a typical "man" meal for him - meat, cheese and eggs!

Mike's also not a huge fan of cream cheese (as in, he won't eat it unless it's in a cheesecake or something sweet, and even then, only in small doses). He was leery of trying this because the pancakes have cream cheese in them...but I'm glad (and so he is he!) that he gave it a try. The cream cheese gives the pancakes the necessary texture, but you really can't taste it at all.

I found this recipe on ibreatheimhungry.com (by the way, I highly recommend this site if you are eating low-carb; she's got some great recipes and they're very easy to follow!). I adapted the recipe very slightly, and have also listed some ideas at the bottom for how to "gussy up" this recipe. Enjoy!

For Cream Cheese Pancakes (these will serve as your lasagna "noodles"):
8 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
garlic salt/pepper (to taste)

For filling layer:
8 eggs
1/2 package reduced-fat pork sausage
8 slices low-fat american cheese (or any kind of cheese you like)


1. First, make your pancakes by mixing all pancake ingredients in a blender until smooth and lumps are gone (should be pretty runny, thinner than pancake batter).
2. Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat and once water sizzles on the top, pour a small amount of batter onto skillet.
3. Allow small bubbles to form on the top (about 2 minutes), then gently flip and cook until browned on the bottom (an addition 2 minutes).
4. Once all pancakes are cooked, move to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
5. Crumble sausage in same pan and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle.
6. In a separate bowl, mix eggs until scrambled, then pour into pan with sausage and cook until eggs are no longer runny.
7. To assemble, place pancakes in the bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole dish, or place one in the bottom of eight travel containers (I use Glad or Ziploc reusable bowls).
8. Spoon sausage/egg mixture over bottom pancake layer, then place one slice of cheese over the top.
9. Place another pancake over the top of the cheese and cover with foil (or close lid on reusable container) to allow the cheese to melt completely.

NOTES:
-- You can make the pancakes in any number of shapes, but I found it works best when you are making a 9x13 to make long oval shapes (picture a rounded lasagna noodle). When making individual servings (which I usually do for my husband to take to work) I find it works best to make several mini rounded pancakes (like a small pancake!).
-- You can add in salsa  or sour cream when making the filling mixture for some extra flavors and creaminess.
-- You can add in any number of veggies that your household likes - bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, olives, broccoli...the sky is the limit!
-- You can use any kind of cheese you like, but to keep this on the healthy side, opt for low-fat cheese (would be great with pepper-jack, gouda, cheddar, anything!). I usually use american or cheddar in the middle, then sprinkle some cheddar on top too!

Menu Planning Monday No.3 (errrr...Tuesday)

This week, I didn't even plan the menu for this week until Monday. It was a CRAZY weekend (to say the least). The Ladybug turned SEVEN on Saturday, and I'm the crazy lady who decided to have a sleepover at my house with a total of eight girls (two came but didn't spend the night, and two were my own). Then, just a little downtime on Saturday afternoon before the whole family came over for dinner (breakfast for dinner!) to celebrate with her.

The party was a success and there were fewer meltdowns than I had anticipated... :)

So, on to this week's menu. There is one item that was a repeat from last week, because we didn't make it. The rest are new items (check back for links to each recipe!).

Hope you all have a great week!


Breakfasts:
Mike: No-Carb Breakfast Lasagna
Lynne: Chia Pudding
Kids: Cereal/Waffles & Fruit/Yogurt

Lunches:
Mike: grown-up lunchables, cheese sticks, parmesan-roasted green bean
Lynne: Freezer Meal & Fruit
Kids: lunchables or breakfast burritos, crockpot apple pie, grapes, chips & drink

Dinners:
Monday: Eat Out (husband and the big kids go to BSF so he takes them to dinner; Zoe and I grab dinner on our own)
Tuesday: Tacos, Corn, Yogurt/Fruit
Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Cowboy Chicken, Brown Rice, Yogurt/Fruitt
Thursday: Crockpot Beef & Noodles, Roasted Green Beans, Yogurt/Fruit
Friday: Pizza Quesadillas, Roasted Parmesan Green Beans, Yogurt/Fruit

What're you having for dinner this week??

Fiesta Salad!!!

Tonight's dinner was Fiesta Salad - one of our favorites. It's SUPER easy, completely versatile, and everyone likes it (well, except for Zoe, who decided to choose tonight's dinner as her stage for a knock-down drag-out fit. Poor girl went to bed right after not eating her dinner...).

I will be upfront about the picture on this one - not a great photo. First, I'm not a photographer by trade...second, I'm not a food styler by trade (is that what they're even called??). What I do consider myself an "expert" in, however, is the ability to make sure my family doesn't starve! ;-)

So, look past the picture and just imagine the recipe - it really is fantastic! And you can whip it up in about 10 minutes (not kidding!!). It's quite inexpensive, and goes a long way - especially if you add in some/any of the suggestions listed below the picture.


So like I said, this is such an easy and versatile recipe, we make it often. Here's the recipe, with some suggestions below. Hope you enjoy! If you try it out, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know!

FIESTA SALAD (this recipe feeds my family of five with no leftovers, so if you're cooking for more, or have some big eaters, you might want to make more!)

1 bag fritos (you will have leftovers)
1 cup uncooked rice (we use brown)
1 cup water (for rice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
salt/pepper
1 can black beans
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Bring water to a boil in a small pot on stove; add rice. Reduce heat to low (I actually just turn mine off) and cover; simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. While rice is simmering, pour black beans into another small pot and turn heat to medium-low; stir occasionally until heated through.
3. Spray non-stick skillet with cooking spray (or add a little olive oil) and turn heat to medium; add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add ground beef and cook (crumbling while you cook) until no longer pink.
5. Assemble salad - layer in any order you like - I prepare in this order: fritos, rice, beef, beans, cheddar cheese.

Suggestions (to make this recipe yummier and/or healthier):
- use ground turkey, or a combo of beef/turkey
- add veggies like bell peppers and onions
- add cilantro
- add taco seasoning to beef while cooking
- serve over a bed of lettuce instead of, or in addition to, the fritos
- remove meat altogether for a vegetarian version!
- remove rice/fritos for a carb-free version!

Menu Planning Monday No.2

This week, I went a little easy on myself. :)

I planned breakfasts, lunches and dinners for everyone, but I purposely chose some easy dinner recipes that didn't require much (if any) prep...hope you enjoy!

(PS - don't forget to check back to this page often to see updated links to recipes that might not be posted just yet!)

Breakfasts:
Mike: No-Carb Breakfast Lasagna
Lynne: Chia Pudding
Kids: Pancake Squares & Fruit/Yogurt

Lunches:
Mike: grown-up lunchables, mixed nuts, hard-boiled egg, cheese stick & fruit
Lynne: Pasta Fagioli & Fruit
Kids: lunchables or breakfast burritos, crockpot apple pie, grapes, chips & drink

Dinners:
Monday: Eat Out (husband and the big kids go to BSF so he takes them to dinner; Zoe and I grab dinner on our own)
Tuesday: Fiesta Salad, Corn, Yogurt/Fruit
Wednesday: Crockpot BBQ Chicken, Roasted Green Beans, Yogurt/Fruit
Thursday: Crockpot Beef & Noodles, Roasted Green Beans, Yogurt/Fruit
Friday: Rylie's Birthday Sleepover - a couple moms may hang out, so in addition to chicken nuggets + snacks for the kids, I'm making mini cheesecakes, avocado greek yogurt dip & chips, caramel apple dip & apples/cinnamon pita chips


On Saturday, my ladybug turns SEVEN! I can't believe she's that old already!! We asked her where she wanted to go for dinner - told her she could pick just about anywhere. So, she chose to stay at home and asked me to cook breakfast for dinner! :) Her daddy was so proud...that little girl could eat breakfast for breakfast, breakfast for lunch and breakfast for dinner and never get sick of it!

Come back next week to see recipes posted from her birthday breakfast/dinner - right now, I'm thinking we'll have:

Breakfast Casserole - lots of people have different versions of this recipe. The one I grew up with is my mom's and I love it!

Pancake Casserole - I made this one this week for the kids (see above!) and it turned out great - it's basically a giant pancake...what's not to love?

Cinnamon Rolls - I love making tiny cinnamon rolls - they are SUPER cute and don't require much effort. BIG wow factor in my opinion!

Fruit Salad - YUM!

Chocolate-Glazed-Donut Cupcakes

Who doesn't love donuts?
Who doesn't love cupcakes?
Who doesn't love chocolate???

Ok...so who wouldn't love these three things combined into one treat???

These are fun to make, easy, and can be adapted for any occasion - holidays, birthdays, anything!

You can start with any chocolate cupcakes you'd like - homemade (recipe to be posted soon!) or a boxed mix would work fine...

24 Cupcakes
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp. water
sprinkles

1. After cupcakes have cooled, mix sugar and water in a small bowl with a whisk or fork until completely mixed (no lumps!).
2. Use a spoon to drizzle glaze over the top of your cupcakes.
3. Immediately sprinkle sprinkles ( he he he) over glaze.
4. Allow to dry and enjoy!

Shredded Chicken with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I do a lot of cooking in our house over the weekend for the week, which makes it NICE to come home and not have to do much of anything to get dinner on the table.

Today was not one of those days - the plan was Shredded Chicken with Spicy Peanut Sauce, but I did not get it made ahead of time.

I was THIIIIIIIS close to grabbing a pizza or something easy on the way home, but I knew I'd feel better about dinner if I cooked it, since that's what I'd planned.

I was reminded tonight about how incredibly easy and versatile this dish is. From start to finish, it took almost 30 minutes - not bad!

This recipe could easily be modified or tweaked for dietary restrictions or preferences, and I LOVE that everything doesn't have to be precise when it comes to measurements. In fact, I didn't measure anything in the recipe tonight - I just eyeballed it...if something is a little off, you can just add a splash of this or that until it's just right. It can also be quite healthy, if you use healthier versions of some of the ingredients.

Shredded Chicken with Spicy Peanut Sauce

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2-3 cloves fresh minced garlic
1/4 tsp. fresh minced ginger (I often leave this out, but will add it if I have it)
pinch of red pepper flakes (you can omit this for kids or if you don't like spicy)
1/3 cup (or large spoonful!) of reduced fat or natural peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
Optional: handful of cilantro
1 cup sugar snap peas (I usually use frozen; you could also use onions, bell peppers, etc.)

1. Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat; sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper; saute until the middle is no longer pink.
2. While chicken is cooking, heat vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir until heated through and fragrant (be careful not to burn!).
4. Add peanut butter and soy sauce; stir until peanut butter is melted and mix well to combine.
5. Add vinegar and cilantro and incorporate into sauce.
6. Transfer sauce to a blender and blend at a low speed until all ingredients are combined.
7. Return sauce to pan and turn heat to low.
8. Add in peas (and/or other vegetables) and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
9. While sauce is simmering, transfer chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks, or use my favorite method and throw them into your Kitchen Aid and use the paddle attachment to do the shredding for you!
10. Place chicken in a large bowl and add sauce; mix well to combine.
11. Serve with rice, quinoa, over a bed of greens, or in large lettuce leaves as wraps.

Tips:

* I keep fresh ginger in my freezer, and just cut a couple of small pieces when I make this - since you put it into a blender later, it doesn't matter that the ginger is not minced!

* This recipe freezes well, and makes a great lunch - it's even better leftover!

Beef Enchiladas

For dinner tonight, we had beef enchiladas - I've tried numerous recipes over the years, but none were that great at home, and if there were decent, they required too much work.

Using bits and pieces from the recipes I've found along the way, I came up with one that the boys in my house like - I didn't even make the girls try it (bad mom!!) but next time they will. I was worried about it being too spicy, and it wasn't, but there was the tiniest kick to it.

The cut of meat I used was stew meat, which can be scary...it's not a very tender cut, and can easily be grainy, chewy and downright hard to eat. This took about an hour to cook, and the meat was incredibly tender - it was great!

This recipe was really very simple, inexpensive and could be made ahead (frozen even, I think!) And, there are a ton of modifications to this that you could make - my version is pretty simple to please my household, but feel free to be adventurous and make your own version - and let me know how it goes!


Beef Enchiladas

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 pounds stew meat
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can water (use enchilada sauce can)
1 can beef broth (use enchilada sauce can)
1 can fat-free refried beans
12 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used reduced fat cheddar)

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat; add garlic and stir until fragrant.
2. Add meat, enchilada sauce, and 2 cans liquid; bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium and cover; allow to cook for 1 hour (don't open the lid).
4. If needed at the end of the hour, add a little water or broth and simmer for a few more minutes.
5. Shred your meat - I use my kitchen-aid with the paddle attachment to make quick work of this, which is amazing!!! I would highly suggest it...if you don't have one, you can use two forks to shred right in the pot.
5. Place meat back in the liquid and add in refried beans; stir well to combine.
6. Place tortillas inside 2 paper towels; sprinkle paper towels with water and fold over to seal in tortillas.
7. Microwave on high for about 30 seconds, to soften the tortillas.
8. Place 2-3 Tbsp. mixture inside each tortillas; fold and place seam side down on a cookie sheet.
9. Repeat until all tortillas are filled and arranged on cookie sheet.
10. Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle cheese evenly.
11. Broil for 4-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Menu Planning Monday No.1 - How I Do It

During the week, I don't have time or energy to think about what to make for dinner...nor do I have the energy to think about breakfast or lunch for the next day for any of us! A long time ago, I started planning each week (Monday - Friday, with weekends usually eating leftovers or eating out) over the weekend, and then spending much of my afternoon on Sunday cooking, or prepping our meals. This has been a LIFE SAVER on so many occasions - I've gotten pretty efficient at it too!

I created an excel spreadsheet that has spots for each meal, each person, each day. As I plan meals, I list the grocery items I need underneath the list. Then, before I go to the store each weekend, I print the list and scan through my freezer/pantry to figure out what I already have and mark that off the list (I used to just not put it on the list, thinking "oh I've got some of that" until I started running out...so now it's a good way for me to check the supply of some staples, and if it's running low, it stays on the list!)

I try to make sure I'm always trying out new recipes, but rotating some of our favorites too...I've started picking the same types of food for specific days, which makes my planning so much easier and faster.

Here's this week's menu - I'll get to posting all of these recipes as soon as I can!

Have a great week!

Breakfasts:
Mike: No-Carb Breakfast Lasagna
Lynne: Chia Pudding
Kids: Pancake Squares & Fruit

Lunches:
Mike: grown-up lunchables, mixed nuts, hard-boiled egg, grapes & cheese sticks
Lynne: Pasta Fagioli & Fruit
Kids: Pizza Puffs/Muffins, fruit, homemade fruit roll-ups

Dinners:
Monday: Beef Enchiladas, Corn, Fruit & Yogurt
Tuesday: Shredded Chicken with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Rice, Fruit & Yogurt
Wednesday: Oven-Toasted Ravioli, Green Beans, Fruit & Yogurt
Thursday: Crockpot BBQ Chicken, Corn, Fruit & Yogurt
Friday: Shish-Kebabs, Roasted Green Beans, Fruit Salad

I've already had to modify this a little bit, because we had a busy weekend and I didn't get to cook some of the stuff on the list. So, you may see some repeats for next week. :)

School Lunches!

School lunches...I remember those...and (I am slightly ashamed to admit) I still love some of the stuff they make for kids lunches...all those little snack cakes, fruit roll-ups (except THESE fruit roll-ups are MUCH better!), you name it!

For some reason, I've been really hung up on making sure my kids have a good lunch. Good like taste good, AND good like good for them.

I found a bunch of posts on Pinterest where people put together a whole week's worth of lunches as a time, and was intrigued. There are some heavy-duty tupperware type containers on the market, but (although it took me a few weeks to find them in stock at Target) I found that Ziploc makes a lunch container that works perfectly fine. They may not hold up all year, but they will certainly last long enough for me to get my money's worth, at which point I'll buy more.

The problem I saw on many of the pictures I saw was either A) they packed foods that my kids won't touch, or B) they packed weird amounts of foods, and a lot of different variety (too much in my opinion). Like, ONE strawberry and THREE fruit snacks, or HALF of an apple and HALF of a banana.

What I like about these containers that I found is that there are three compartments - one large one (that will fit either a sandwich or some other "main" dish) and two small ones. Perfect - so I went about planning stuff to put in them. One of their favorite "main" dishes is homemade lunchables - although my kids (the girls especially) LOVE the store bought lunchables, I have a HUGE aversion to them - neither the meat or the cheese seem even real...how can kids eat that stuff? So, we buy our own ingredients to make lunchables, and they get much better quality! We use paper or foil muffin/cupcake liners to hold each item - you could invest in and reuse silicon, but I prefer the luxury of being able to throw the dirty papers away, and they are very inexpensive - especially if you buy holiday ones right after the holiday - the kids' won't care!

In addition to the lunchables, my kids get two sides (I try to make those a fruit and a vegetable, like grapes and tomatoes, or berries and carrots) and a capri sun (that just sits in their lunch bag with the tupperware). If the sides are kind of small, they also get a bag of chips as well, and maybe a gogurt.

These lunches are great for on-the-go activities - I made these ahead of time when I used to take Rylie to soccer practice for her and Zoe - they would both eat in the car and the great thing is that the mess can be contained - just dump any messes into the tupperware and clean out when you get home!

So far, making lunches a week at a time has worked out beautifully and I plan to keep it up for the whole year!

Homemade Lunchables
paper muffin/cupcake liners
Ritz crackers
1 block of deli cheese (my kids like cheddar)
1 package of pre-sliced lunch meat (my kids LOVE salami)

1. Place three cupcake liners in a tupperware container.
2. Place 5-6 crackers (or however many you want!) in one of the liners.
3. Cut cheese into small cubes (I cut mine thin, about the size in a storebought lunchables).
4. Place the same amount of sliced cheese into another liner.
5. Take the same amount of sliced lunch meat, fold into small pieces and place in last liner (I used to cut the salami into small slices so that they would "match" the other sizes, then realized that was a waste of time!)

Picture above is not with the ziploc lunch containers I love, those are in the picture below!

Picture below has more lunch ideas - lunchable "skewers", heart shaped cucumber slices, sandwiches, mac-n-cheese, leftover pizza

Slow-Cooked Carnitas and Cilantro-Black Bean Puree

I came across this recipe from Our Life in Food not too long ago (great blog, by the way, I spent much of that evening perusing all their recipes and fun posts...pinned a ton of ideas to try!). These carnitas look amazing - heck, everything on the site looks amazing! I swear I could smell them just from looking at the pictures and reading the recipe!

So I set out to try these with a few variations to the original recipe. They turned out SO good. It was hard to let them go without disturbing them, but apparently I made up for all the nibbles I would have taken along the way by having a TON at dinner (and a couple of meals throughout the rest of the week). I paired the carnitas with a cilantro-black bean puree (recipe of my own!) and it was a great side dish that complemented the meat very nicely.

What I also loved about this meal was that it is SO easy to make - it is definitely a go to in my book from now on! And you don't have to have anything out of the ordinary to make it!

So, here is the recipe for both the carnitas and the black bean puree. Enjoy!

Slow-Cooked Carnitas
1 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder, cut into cubes
1/2 cup chicken broth
fresh garlic (I used the garlic from Mike's game day snack #1) - I didn't mince or chop the cloves; I figured I would just remove them later, but they cooked completely down and I couldn't even find them!
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

1. Spray a large pot with non-stick spray, or pour a little olive oil in and mix around to cover the bottom of the pot. Add in pork shoulder and then top with all remaining ingredients (no need to stir!).
2. Add enough water to almost cover the meat; turn on high until boiling.
3. Once boiling, reduce to medium-low and cover; let it go for TWO hours and don't take off the lid (it's a hard two hours, but if you're like me, you've got plenty to do to keep yourself busy!).
4. After two hours, pop off the lid and stir it all around (it should begin to break apart at this point pretty easily).
5. Increase your heat to medium and allow the meat to cook for about another hour (your goal is to create some of that browned crispy yumminess on the meat AND the bottom of the pan, but you don't want to burn anything!). Stir occasionally. If needed, add some additional chicken broth or water during this process (I added a little chicken broth every time the liquid on the bottom started to dry out too much).
6. Tun off the heat and use two forks (or just one spatula like I did since it was so tender!) to break up the meat into bit size pieces/shreds.


Cilantro-Black Bean Puree
1 can fat-free refried beans
1 can black beans
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt/pepper to taste

1. Add refried beans to a medium size pot and a little water; simmer over low heat.
2. Drain and rinse black beans; add to refried beans and mix well.
3. Add in remaining ingredients (save a pinch of the chopped cilantro, or have some more available nearby!) and stir to combine; allow mixture to simmer for 6-7 minutes.
4. Transfer mixture from stove to a blender and pulse several times until desired consistency is reached.
5. Transfer beans back to stove and allow to simmer for 2-3 more minutes.
6. Top with reserved cilantro and enjoy!

Game Day Snack #2 - Pan Seared Scallops & Caprese Salad

This past weekend, my husband was still in the induction phase of the South Beach diet, so I had to modify what I had originally chosen for his game day snack.

I found a recipe for pan-seared scallops with a butter sauce at userealbutter.com*, and made a pretty side caprese salad.

*you know any site called "use real butter" has GOT to be good...

These scallops were SO good! I purchased 4 large dry scallops (dry??? read the original post to learn what I did about dry scallops!) and had the rest of what I needed at home.

Since my husband had diet restrictions, white wine was not an option for the sauce, though I really wanted to try it (and will, next time).

When I got ready to make these on Sunday, I realized I don't own a regular skillet. How is that even possible?  I have 5, 926 non-stick skillets, and too many pots and pans in general, but not one plain ol' skillet. So...I decided to use a POT. Thought, it should work ok...so I happily started bustling around my kitchen, pulled out my pot, turned on the heat and got things started.

Then I realized I had heated up (very high heat, mind you) and oiled a NON-STICK pot. Sheesh. I could have used a non-stick pan after all!

Anyway, I decided to keep going. It took 10 minutes max to make these little treats, and they turned out fabulously! Husband gobbled them up in no time!

The caprese salad was a nice fresh bonus on the side - that couldn't have been easier either! I pulled this entire meal together in about 15 minutes.

Here's how they looked - you should give these recipes a try! If you, do let me know how they turn out!

Pan-Seared Scallops with Butter Sauce
4 large dry scallops
sea salt (just a pinch)
black pepper (just a pinch)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup liquid (white wine, chicken or veggie broth - I used chicken broth)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Pour olive oil into pan (or pot!) and crank up the heat (pretty high, but not all the way up).
2. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Place scallops carefully in pan and let it do its own thing for 2-3 minutes (I let mine go a little longer because I wanted a tiny bit of crunch on the outside).
4. Gently turn scallops over in the pan and let it go for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Remove scallops from pan and place on a plate.
6. Add butter to pan and stir to melt. (let the butter/oil go for a minute if you want the sauce to be nice and browned).
7. Slowly add liquid and use a whisk to scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan.
8. Let sauce simmer for a few minutes (it'll thicken just a bit).
9. Pour sauce over the top of the scallops and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy!


Caprese Salad
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup yellow tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh mozzarella mini balls (you could use any fresh mozzarella you want; you just need to be able to make it roughly the same size as the tomatoes when you chop it)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2-3 fresh basil leaves
kosher salt/black pepper

1. Chop tomatoes in half (or quartered if you want smaller bites)
2. Chop mini mozzarella balls in half (or quartered if you want smaller bites)
3. Place tomatoes in a bowl (large enough to gently stir in a minute)
4. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over the top of the tomatoes and mozzarella.
5. Stack basil leaves on top of each other and then roll into a small circular shape; chop into small pieces (this makes pretty strips for your salad; you could chop in any shape you like) and sprinkle over salad.
6. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top. Enjoy!

Homemade Fruit Strips

I tend to have these grandiose plans to eat fruit by the barrel-full, especially during the summer months. I'll buy a huge container of _______ (fill in the blank with just about any fruit). I always think my kids will eat it too, but somehow, we never go through what I buy fast enough...so, I started freezing it to use in smoothies, which is a GREAT idea (saved me so much money!).

I am always on the prowl for ways to incorporate fruits and veggies into the meals I feed my crew - none of them (even my husband!) love vegetables, so I tend to focus more on fruit. I love that it's as natural as natural can get. We eat our fair share of processed foods in my house (gasp!!) so I like to give them fresh food as much as I can... I have comes across a lot of recipes for making your own fruit roll-ups on Pinterest, and I thought that sounded like a GREAT idea - I loved those things when I was a kid! My first attempt was in June of this year.

It failed. Big time. Like, "I'm-lucky-my-house-didn't-burn-down" failed.

To make home made fruit rolls, it's pretty easy (or so I thought) - throw a bunch of fruit in a blender, add in sugar (if you want) and the dry it out in the oven (which, translated means "cook it in the oven on SUPER low heat, about 170").

I knew it would take more hours than I had available, but I started it anyway. I left it go for a good 3-4 hours, but you need double that for it to dry out all the way in the middle.

So, I read on a blog somewhere (I'm sorry I don't remember where!) that she turned hers off when she went to bed, then turned it back on when she got up in the morning. I work outside the home, so I only have a couple of hours or so from the time I get up to the time I walk out the door (and not one free minute during those couple of hours!).

I had this great idea to set the timer on my oven to turn on at about 2am so that it could do its magic for the last 2-3 hours it needed, and then I'd shove the pan in the fridge take care of it before I left for the day. So, I read the instruction manual for my oven to determine how to set the timer (my husband would be so proud!!!) and went happily to bed.

I got up the next morning and immediately smelled fruit - I was so excited that it woke me right up (not common, my friends).

I went into the kitchen to pull out my perfect pan of dried fruit, only to discover that they weren't perfect. At all. It looked like a pan of dried seaweed. Completely and utterly bone dry - not recognizable in the least. FAIL.

Turns out, my oven turned it self on to 350 at 2am, and cooked at that temp for 3 hours!

My typical response is to quit and never try again when I fail, but I was determined.

Round #2 - I had some apricots that I needed to use up before we went out of town for a week this  summer - I pitted them, threw them in a blender, added lots of sugar (followed a recipe I found) and poured them into the pan. We went to bed late that night, so I let them go all night. Next morning - they were lookin' good! Not done, but on their way. Since we were going out of town, I left them on the counter, turned off the oven, threw a towel over the top, and hoped they'd dry out by the time we got home a week later (also hoped ants wouldn't come out of the woodwork to feast).

A week later, when we returned home - success! They were perfect. :)

I've tried again a couple times since then, and this is a new go to when I have fruit I need to use up - not labor intensive, and very healthy!

Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Fruit Strips

2 cups fresh fruit
(you can add sugar or honey if you want; I didn't and like the tartness of it without the added sugar)

1. Pour fruit in a blender and puree until smooth and liquidy.
2. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over a cookie sheet.
3. Pour mixture over plastic wrap and use a spatula to smooth evenly.
4. Place in the oven and turn on to the lowest heat possible (mine goes down to 170).
5. Let it go for 4-6 hours (you can crack your oven door if needed, or if you just like the smell like I do!)

Once the pan is completely dried, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once completely cooled, peel off of plastic wrap and transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Using a pizza cutter, cut into slices, roll and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Homemade Fruit Strips - strawberry blueberry

Game Day Snack #1 - Antipasto Platter!

I am not a football fan. At all. Not even a little bit. BUT, my husband is a HUGE fan. So, one of the things I take pleasure in doing for him that allows me to share in something he loves, even if I don't love it too, is "game day snacks". For each game, he gets a special snack (or meal, depending on what time the game is). We've been married for over 9 years now, so I have a decent idea of what he likes, doesn't like, and really enjoy trying out new recipes for him - we are not an extravagant foodie family (who could be with a ladybug that won't eat much?!) so I get to take some liberties with these snacks and try out things that I wouldn't normally try out on a house where there are more children than adults. It also accomplishes two other things in my family:

1. It teaches Josh what kind of wife to look for - I want him to have a wife that will do these kinds of things for him. And not only do them, but enjoy doing them.

2. It teaches my girls what kind of wife to be. I want them to see me planning Mike's snacks, making them, giving them to him, having fun all along the way. I want them to delight in their husband, and in doing little things for him, like I do for their dad. 

In my head, I'm a WONDERFUL planner. On paper, not so much. This year, I decided to get really ahead of the game - I found the Dallas Cowboys (yup!) schedule online, put it into an excel spreadsheet, and picked something for every single game of the season based on what time the game is. 

We're only one game in so far, but I'm having fun already. I did get a wrinkle thrown into my very carefully thought out plan though and this one is not that exciting on the "adventurous cooking" scale  (ok, if I'm being honest, it doesn't even qualify because I didn't actually cook) - Mike decided to start the South Beach diet recently, which includes a 2-week induction phase at the beginning. For those of you that may not know, induction phase of South Beach = no carbs. So, I had to change up the plans, but still managed to throw together a great snack for him, and he was happy (and full). 

The very first game days snack of 2012 was... an Antipasto Platter!

These are so easy, and so fun - no cooking required, which was good because A) I had already planned something else and needed an alternative quickly; and B) I could cut it up and get it ready and then take the kids to bible study (so that it would be waiting for him when he got home later that night). 

I went to my local grocery store and headed to the deli - picked out the cheese and meat, then headed to the olive bar and picked a few that I knew he'd like. Then, I just put each selection into a small container, cut up the cheese/chorizo and voila! 

As it turned out, even a garlic freak like my husband couldn't each much straight garlic, so as an added bonus, I threw that into a tupperware and added it to another recipe that I'll be sharing soon.

Bon Apetit!

New Beginnings

I've written and re-written this post so many times...I don't even know where to start. Sigh. I guess I'll start by giving you a list of things I plan hope to share in my posts:

1. Food! I love food - I love to cook it, bake it, buy it, eat it, you name it. I love it. I express love through food much of the time - I love to plop a plate full of food down in front of my husband or kids and watch them gobble it up. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. :)

The place we're at in life today doesn't allow me to putz around the kitchen and just play or experiment near as much as I'd like to, but I still try to incorporate my love for cooking into our everyday lives. One of the ways that I do that is by planning a full menu (breakfast, lunch and dinner for all five of us!) each weekend for every single week. We sit down as a family every night (with only a few exceptions) to dinner, so it's important to have something we like to eat.

It's a balancing act trying to fine new recipes every week that meet all of our needs - yummy, healthy, quick, easy AND inexpensive...we're demanding folks! But, I'll try to share the recipes I find that have passed at least one of these requirements! If it doesn't pass all of them, I'm not likely to put it in my rotation!


2. Pinterest - I've become Pinterest obsessed! I realized this recently when during the course of a conversation I referenced Pinterest about 5 times. Seriously. In one conversation. Sometimes I'll share new recipes; sometimes I'll share funny/pretty words I find, sometimes I'll share projects I've attempted. Comments are always welcome!


3. Other- these are posts that will really run the gamut. I've never been big on airing my dirty laundry for the whole world to see, and you won't see it here either. BUT, life is hard and sometimes we need to lean on each other! I have come across countless blogs over the past few months/years where I have found so much encouragement - there are people out there who have some of the same struggles, and there are a lot of good tips to learn! I might share some encouraging words with you, or I might need some encouraging words from you! As a believer and follower of Christ, I hope that you will see LESS OF ME and MORE OF HIM in seemingly small things, like this site, and in big things, like my life and interactions with those around me.

So, all that said, thank you for joining me on this journey! Feel free to drop me a note anytime.

Have a great day!

Lynne