Week 2 2015 Menu

Hi everyone, not a lot going on in the food category - been an emotional few weeks (to say the least) so keeping things simple. Below is what we have going on:

Monday: Shrimp and veggies
Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs for the girls. I have a work event and Will is traveling. Our cousin Karla will feed the girls.
Wednesday: Beef stew
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Sausage and Bean Cassoulet
Saturday: Cheat day!! The world is our oyster. Or our hamburger.

What do yall have going on? xoxo

New Year New Menu Week 1!

Hi everyone! Trying to get back into the swing of things while doing the 4 hour body. We didn't read the book, but talked extensively to Cris and Mitch about. Here is our menu for the week. The girls ate up last night's salmon. At least Amelia did - Annelise is really good at being defiant.

Sunday: Chili
Monday: Lou's Dill Salmon + Roasted Broccoli
Tuesday: Chicken Burrito Bowls (minus rice and cheese)
Wednesday: Lentil Soup, an oldie but a goodie
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Mash instead of potatoes
Saturday: CHEAT DAY! Probably pizza and sushi and pasta and ice cream.

What do yall have going on?? xo

Watermelon Summer Salad

 WATERMELON ARUGULA SUMMER SALAD

Made this awesome salad last night to go along with Ryan's BBQ smoked chickens and potato salad. It was great because it sort of elevated the dinner from like super casual BBQ to a nice lil summer dindin. Highly recommend it~!

 Ingredients

• 1/4 seedless watermelon, chopped into 1″ cubes
• 8 cups baby arugula
• 1/3 cup marcona almonds, halved or roughly chopped
• good wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano
• aged balsamic vinegar – the thicker & more syrupy the better
• extra virgin olive oil
• coarse sea salt (use Maldon if you can get it)

Directions
Toss the watermelon, arugula and almonds in a large bowl. With a vegetable peeler, shave big pieces of parmegiano-reggiano over the top. Drizzle with the balsamic and olive oil, and sprinkle generously with sea salt.

Weekly Menu + Last week's scores - 7/16

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Beth, can't wait to hear about the Houston festivities! We did a lot of furniture shopping and didn't accomplish a lot. Between sort of having to work, unproductive furniture shopping, and Amelia learning how to throw fits, it was kind of a stressful weekend. I demand a re-do! (I've definitely demanded this before in the past. My demands are not being met.) Here are my scores for last week. Sort of .... eh.

Gym: 2 times - 50%
Cooking: every night - 86% We went furniture shopping last Wednesday and came home too late to start cooking, so we ordered in this rotisserie chicken that is just too good for words. Any way, got 6 out of 7 nights. Not too bad!

This week: Same goals as last-
Gym: 4 times
Cooking: every night

I failed to mention last week that Will is starting to take his lunch to work everyday. It's been fun putting together his lunch in the mornings. So he watches/plays with Amelia while he's getting ready and making the bed. I make lunch and fix us breakfast, and we eat together before he takes off. Last week I wasn't totally prepared so he sort of ate me out of the house :) This week, I've already made this tortellini salad which we added chicken to. I'm also making this tuscan tuna salad. My office is officially open starting tomorrow (EEK!) so I'll start bringing my lunch as well. Apart from the above salads, we have sandwich meats and leftovers planned to get us through the week. Below is our menu!

Monday - Spaghetti and Meatballs (frozen Costco kind- so good and easy since Will is in class until 10pm)
Tuesday - Fish Sticks with baked sweet potato fries
Wednesday - Roasted Chicken and White Beans
Thursday - Chancho en pepsi cola. I'll have to post this recipe with pictures. It's essentially a braised pork tenderloin with green peppers and onions. But the braising liquid is... you guessed it... Pepsi! Old childhood recipe from the Yols. So good with mashed potatoes.
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Foil Packet Tacos
Sunday - Black bean soup/Leftovers (never made the soup last week)

Some recipes to remember for next week's menu: Chicken sausage and pepper pasta bake and Dijon Pork Chops. Need to get these into the rotation!

What do yall have going on?

Muffin Pan Tacos

MUFFIN PAN TACOS

I am so excited to make this fun recipe tonight... I can make half the tacos healthy (no cheese) and half I can make spicier and cheesier for Ryan!


Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 onion, diced
1 large jalapeno, diced
3/4 cup water
taco seasoning mix (see her site for a recipe!)
12 flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese
black beans
Shredded lettuce, avocado, fat free sour cream and diced tomatoes for topping.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350f. Cook the ground hamburger thoroughly, drain and return to a clean skillet.

2. In a separate skillet, saute the diced onion and jalapeno and add it to the hamburger.

3. Blend in the seasoning and toss to coat.

4. Heat the mixture on high and add water; reduce and let simmer on med/low for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

5. Cut 4-inch diameter circles out of the flour tortillas. A standard margarita glass is about the right size for measuring and a pizza cutter gets the job done quickly. (Bake the leftovers for extra chips.)

6. Wrap tortilla circles - 3-4 at a time - in a wet paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to soften.

7. Mold the circles into a lightly greased muffin tin.

8. Add a layer of shredded cheese in the bottom, add about 2 tablespoons of meat mixture, then top with beans and cheese.

9. Bake for 20 minutes. When they're done, just pop them out and add your favorite toppings!

Froots Mediterranean Wrap

FIRST POST EVER!!! Sorry this has taken me so long to do -- and sorry my first post is not a recipe but more of a "mmmmmm I had this for lunch and it would totally be easy to recreate."

I had Froots for lunch today and it was really good and like 300 calories.... I had the Mediterranean wrap and this is all that was in it:

Whole wheat tortilla
Hummus
Feta cheese
Onion (red onion)
Tomato
Black olives
Cucumbers
Spinach
Balsamic vinaigrette

Wrap it up and yummmm. Great for lunch & its easy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe is very easy, and very guilt free. There is no flour, or flour substitute. In all their simplicity these cookies taste so good. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of Peanut Butter (its best to use the not too runny kind, a bit runny is okay)
- 2 cups of sugar (white or brown is fine)
- 4 beaten eggs
- If desired, add 1 1/2 cups of pecans (chopped) or semi-sweet chocolate


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease cookie sheet
3. Combine peanut butter, eggs, & sugar. Mix until smooth
4. Add nuts or chocolate or both :)
5. Spoon dough onto sheet
6. Bake for 12 minutes, or until edges are brown
7. Let stand for 5-10 minutes

Oatmeal Cookies With Cranberries and Chocolate Chips

Cake. It's all I think about these days. I dream about it. I eat a healthy lunch, and I want to sully it with a funfetti boxed cake with funfetti icing. Could it be that my mind is filling itself with thoughts of cake in order to defer thinking about the baby coming in 11 weeks, 1 day? Probably. I'm ok with that for now. I've not indulged as much (thankfully!) - those Dove dark chocolate squares have kept most of my cravings at bay. But sometimes, a girl just needs some cake. 

Sadly, today is not that day. I made these Oatmeal Cookies With Cranberries and Chocolate Chips from Women's Health. They were tasty and also functioned as a craving curber. Can't say that they are a perfect substitute when you need a decadent dessert, but they certainly work as cookies, as opposed to 'healthy' cookies. Know what I mean?

The end product is sort of a mixture between granola and a cookie. But anything with chocolate chips takes it out of the healthy category in my mind so this is definitely not granola. I might even add more chocolate chips next time. But the cranberry/chocolate combo worked perfectly and I would definitely make these again. Maybe with white chocolate chips next time?? 

Recipe for Oatmeal Cookies With Cranberries and Chocolate Chips 

(Sorry no picture- these cookies are not very photogenetic and my iphone sucks for food porn.)