Monday, February 29, 2016

Whatcha eating under there?


Happy Leap Year...Day!

What did you do with your extra day? I did laundry and went grocery shopping with mama. Quite good.

Here's the week's menu:

Monday- Quinoa chicken parmesan + broccoli
Tuesday- Black bean tortilla soup
Wednesday- Tuna mac and cheese
Thursday- Pot roast and crispy shredded potatoes (made on the waffle iron!)
Friday- Veggie Quesadillas (Cupcake night at Ashley's)

This weekend we're doing a 3K and having Calvin's 3rd birthday party. Plus, the trifecta's together again! Lucky #3!

Monday, February 22, 2016

This week's menu


Here's to another long, busy week. My day off got switched, and I'm working the weekend so things will get a bit rearranged, but that's ok.

Sunday- Crock pot BBQ chicken legs + salad
Monday- White bean chili
Tuesday- Leftovers
Wednesday- Chile verde enchiladas + rice
Thursday- Herbed chicken quarters + mac and cheese + broccoli
Friday- Spaghetti + salad
Saturday- Sausage + scalloped potatoes + salad
Sunday- Pizza

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Primavera Brown Rice Bowl

The following dish was inspired by this Green Goddess Pasta Recipe.

What I took from it was: basically take all of your green vegetables and toss them with some pasta and parmesan.


Well. I suck at cooking pasta and it never reheats well the next day, so, as usual, I customized.
And added bacon.

Start by cooking brown rice.

Sautee some bacon and onion.
Add in all the green things in the fridge, or in my case, the freezer. Things like:
shelled edamame
peas
kale
broccoli
green onions


Doesn't it look pretty? Let it all hang out in the pan and get warm. Serve over brown rice, and top with salt and pepper and grated parmesan and slivered almonds.


Sunday, February 14, 2016

This week's menu


It's going to be a weird week. I'm off to San Antonio for a day of training, and Chris has a big conference to attend. He's feeling a bit under the weather, so chicken soup is on the stove.

I've prepared the week's veggies and fruits in baggies, ready to be thrown into lunches. There will be some hurried nights due to my travel arrangements, but I think I've got a good plan. Here we go.

Sunday- Mother in Law's Chicken soup
Monday- Steaks, scalloped potatoes (thanks mom!), and green beans
Tuesday- Big Salads
Wednesday- Beef Stew (It's frozen, waiting to be re-heated)
Thursday- Green goddess pasta
Friday- Tuna burgers and edamame

Monday, February 8, 2016

This week's menu


Busy week. Which means quick, simple dinners.

Sunday- Dirty Rice
Monday- Leftover Dirty Rice or Sloppy Joes
Tuesday- Dinner out with Chris' Aunt  and Uncle
Wednesday- Spaghetti and meatballs with broccoli
Thursday- Vegetable Soup (Rock Climbing after work)
Friday- Black bean and corn taco bowls (MOULIN ROUGE SINGALONG OMG)

Monday, February 1, 2016

Balsamic Apricot Walnut Chicken

My inspiration for this involved the combination of apricot and walnut and chicken. So the ingredients gathered:


2 strips of bacon
chopped onion
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped
3 T. balsamic vinegar
water
2 green onions, chopped
kale
salt and pepper

Heat the pan with the bacon and onions, until the bacon is cooked and the onions are browned. Add in the chicken and brown the strips. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except kale.

Add enough water to keep the chicken from drying out. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Stir in the kale right before serving.


Serve with quinoa and mixed vegetables, because those steam-in-bag things are so great.


The chicken is good, but it's the little nubbly bits of apricot and walnut clinging to it that really makes it great. Quinoa is a perfect neutral, slightly nutty background for the dark sauce. Yum.

 

Mozzarella stuffed meatballs

Because damn. These little meaty cheesy balls of heaven are good. Make them.


Take 1/2 lb of ground beef. Mash it up in a bowl with 1 egg, a handful of crushed GF chex cereal, and some italian seasonings.

Cut a mozzarella stick into pieces and form some meat around the cheese. It doesn't take much. Put in a hot pan and let them sear for a while. Flip them over so they cook and brown somewhat evenly, being careful not to break open the meat shell. Some of the cheese may melt out as they cook, but that's okay because it gets fried on the pan and is even more delicious.

Pour in a bit of marinara spaghetti sauce. Not enough to drown them, but just enough to loosen the scrumptious bits of meatball that got stuck to the pan when they were cooking.

Cover the pan and let everything bubble for a minute until the meatballs are cooked through, then serve. With a bit of sauce. And a salad, because veggies.