Menu and Food Plans for Aug 29-Sept 4

Back to Pinterest this week!


I've made several chicken and dumplings over the years and they just aren't like the ones our mothers made.  My dh LOVES the way his mom made them and my mom made them similar to hers.
It's time to try THIS version!

**UPDATE** My chicken and dumplings came out terrible.  Edible, barely. I do not know what I did wrong.  I just have a hard time with dumplings! I might try these again far in the future. :/

• Beef Casserole

***UPDATE*** This casserole was pretty good actually but it was a lot of work (to me) I'm not sure I'll make it again when I have other recipes that are just as tasty, or better and less steps.

• Chicken Parmesan I plan on subbing Panko bread crumbs for the corn flakes because I already have some.

***UPDATE*** I really liked this one!  But I don't think my hubby did as much.  He did not want leftovers of it.  Usually a sign. :/

• Philly Style Sloppy Joes

***UPDATE*** I thought this was yummy! I made mine with colored peppers because the green ones make me sick.  But I don't think the hubby or son liked it that much. Again no seconds or left overs wanted.  What is it with them?  I thought it was very tasty!

Other meals are:

• Buffalo Quesadillas - using some of the buffalo chicken I made last week.

• Turkey Smoked Sausage and Beans

• Pizza from the Deli at Walmart. On Wednesdays I need a no-brainer meal and this is an alternative to take-out.

I'll be doing some food prep to get ahead by:

• cooking the ground beef ahead of time and separating it and freezing it.  
• cooking the chicken in the crock pot with the veggies for the chicken and dumplings then freezing
• making a "freezer pack" with the sausage, beans and other ingredients right in the bag
• chopping the veggies ahead of time and packaging them up to be ready to go

Menu Plans this Week August 22nd-28th

I follow a wonderful blog called Organize Yourself Skinny (OYS for short) and she inspired me to post my plan here.  I often make a menu and an eating/exercising plan but I don't post it here.

This week I really need to use the groceries I have on hand already.  I have a few packages of chicken in the freezer, and frozen fruits for smoothies and several veggies frozen and canned. Along with pasta and tomato products.  I also have several bags of dried beans.  I really need to get those crock pots going!  The problem is you have to be home to cook and I have somewhere to be all weekend.  I'm going to have to get creative if I'm going to continue to eat healthy and still live life!

Okay so here's my menu plan for the week -

Breakfast:
Egg/Sausage/Cheese sandwich (I already have these ingredients)
~or~
Smoothies
I simply use mixed frozen fruit, greek yogurt, spinach and a little flax to make my smoothies.  I add water to get the consistency I want.

Snack:
boiled egg or cheese stick

Lunch: Salad in a Jar or left-over chicken and crackers

Snack:
apples and PB2
or
Veggies and hummus or cottage cheese dip (I'll decide at the grocery store)

Suppers:
Back to Pinterest:
I never made this complete chicken dinner so I'm adding it to the list again~

I want to make this Stroganoff with non-spicy beef! So I'm adding it to the list again too.

Trying OYS Cheeseburger Stuffed Peppers

Also trying OYS Buffalo Chicken to use in wraps with cheese and veggies~

We will have a chopped chef's salad.  

I don't think I can go a week without TexMex sooo....

Added: Just found this recipe for grilled squash and I will be making it with this casserole.

I hope I can use up things in my freezer/pantry this week and stay on plan!

8 crock pot freezer meals - DONE!

I found this link on pinterest and decided to try it.

Yesterday I did the shopping, made the soup for dinner, we're having the roast today.  It's in the crockpot as I type!  The only thing is I went to three stores and could not find beef consomme. So I used brown gravy mix. :/

I'm killing two, maybe three, birds with one stone by eating healthier, saving money and time.

It really took about an hour to get these ready.  My kids helped so of course it took longer.  Just kidding. :)  They actually helped organize it while my hands were all covered in chicken juice. Eww!

I don't know that we'll eat all of these in one week, but I love having options on days that are busy and MANY of our days are busy!

Trying New Things

I've voluntarily taken myself off of sugar. Meaning white sugar. I haven't been one single day completely without sugar yet (I keep forgetting about those peppermints lying around my house) but I have drastically reduced the intake.

I decided not to use artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes. I really didn't want to deal with all the issues they bring and I wanted something natural. The only thing I really need a sweetener for is my cereals.

Today I tried something new called Agave Nectar. I have seen it around but I really didn't know what it was or why I should use it. I used it in my oatmeal this morning and I really liked how it tasted. I don't know what else I will use it in, maybe a smoothie now and then? I was using honey, but I heard that GI in Agave Nectar is lower than honey, so why not give it a try? So I did and I will use it again.

Thumbs up for Agave Nectar!

Menu for March 18-24

Cauliflower Fritters Recipe

I made a few new recipes this week and this one was a hit!

They tasted just like potato patties. Yummy comfort food!

Check it out and try it soon!

Gina's Recipes Cauliflower Fritters

Menu for Jan 15-21

* Updated image 1-18-10

Menu for Jan 8-14

Our Christmas Eve Menu

Appetizers:

Deviled eggs

Jalapeño Poppers*

Veggie tray (broccoli, celery, cauliflower, grape tomatoes, petite carrots)*

Pizza Dip*

Chips

Main Course:

Honey Baked Ham (yum!)

Broccoli-cheese-rice casserole*

Crescent rolls

Mashed Potatoes*

Baked Beans (my oldest dd is bringing this)

Corn Casserole (my mom is bringing this)

Desserts:

Pumpkin spice cheesecake*

Chess pie

Red Velvet Cake (my mom is bringing this)

Hello Dollies (dd is bringing this)

* Healthier versions. I specifically added these foods or re-vamped the recipes to reduce the empty calories.

Cooking ahead

Sometimes called freezer cooking or batch cooking, whatever it's called I enjoy doing it! If you are trying to eat healthy, save money by not buying convenience foods and stop eating out it's the only way to go.

These are all in my freezer ready to go:

• WW Friendly apple cinnamon Pancakes
• Healthier French toast(I used egg whites and some flax seed mixed with water, only a little yolk, cooked on the griddle with butter flavor cooking spray)
• Crispy chicken strips (I make strips instead of drumsticks)
• Grilled chicken
• Pigs in a blanket (diced up turkey smoked sausage and WW 2-point biscuit recipe)
• Breadcrumbs for recipes
• Chopped up onion, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper
• Vegetable Broth for using in recipes
• Black Beans (made in my crock pot)
• Chick Peas (made in my crock pot)
• Browned ground turkey w/onions

I may make some pinto beans and black-eyed peas in my crock pots today and add them to the freezer as well.

Actually as I was looking in my freezer just now, there really isn't anything in there that I didn't make, except for some purchased frozen vegetables. That's a good feeling!

Having these foods ready to go in case something comes up and I can't make dinner saves us from eating out, keeps us on budget and keeps us from making bad food choices.

Planning is the key!

Menu for Dec 17-23

The numbers after indicate weight watchers points per serving.

Menu for Dec 10-16

New Menu

Making Hummus today

Today I'm making a BIG batch of hummus. I'm making it all from scratch!

I used a one pound bag of chickpeas and cooked them in the crock pot with water, onion powder, garlic powder and some salt I think.

I drained them and reserved some juice for the blender.

I mixed in a large bowl:

the chickpeas

3 or 4 T of tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

cumin (I didn't measure!)

red pepper - a few shakes

red pepper flakes - a few sprinkles

salt

about 7 cloves of garlic

Then I took about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture at a time with 1/2 cup of the liquid and put it all in the blender and pureed it.

It made a HUGE amount of hummus about 6 cups or more.

I'm sharing w/my friend who was the one that talked me into trying hummus.

I admit the name sounded weird, then after I tried making it I realized it was just Mediterranean Bean Dip! LOL

Whatever it is, I love it!

My kids don't like it so much but that's okay. More for me. ;)

It's a great source of protein and low fat if you don't use too much tahini which I didn't.

The first recipe I tried called for 3T for one can of beans. I just used 3T for the whole batch this time. It's just right in my opinion.

I found a way to make spaghetti that my husband likes!

I started with this recipe from the Biggest Loser.

Turkey Goulash

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

1 lb ground turkey (or lean beef)

1 can no-salt added kidney beans with liquid

1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into bite-size chunks

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt-free extra spicy seasoning mix, or more to taste

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

Brown onions and garlic in cooking spray.

Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Brown ground meat.

Add the beans, squash, tomatoes, chili powder, seasoning mix, salt cayenne and the reserved onion mixture.

Bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 35-40 min or until veggies are tender.

~~~~~~~~~~

Oops! As I began cooking this dish I realized I didn't have squash or beans so I put in spaghetti noodles. DH loved it! He ate seconds and took it to work.

HE NEVER TAKES PASTA TO WORK!!!!

I didn't think of it as spaghetti when I made it. I really thought he would think it was slop. LOL

But he said, "This is the best spaghetti you've ever made!"

Maybe he isn't fond of Italian spices in regular spaghetti? hmmm

My new recipe:

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

1 lb ground turkey (or lean beef)

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt-free extra spicy seasoning mix, or more to taste

3/4 tsp salt

(I don't add the cayenne it's TOO spicy for the kids)

I basically followed the above directions adding in the noodles and some water. I'm not sure how much, sorry!

But the verdict is we all liked it. We love it actually!

Enchiladas

Tonight I'm using Lentil Taco mixture, some shredded cheese, corn tortillas and this enchilada sauce recipe to make enchiladas.

The interesting thing is, none of the enchiladas I make ever use the red sauce so this is new for us.

I'll check back and let you know the details of how I put them together and how they tasted.

***********UPDATE**********

They tasted okay. We all ate them, but dh didn't finish his. He gave me no comment either so I don't know if it was the filling or the difference in sauce that we aren't used to. DD and I thought they were actually a little bland so we added sour cream and salsa and that helped.

So all in all, I don't know if I will make this particular recipe again

Lentil Tacos

http://www.recipezaar.com/Easy-Inexpensive-Lentil-Tacos-304604

Okay, we made this yesterday.

It was great! Even dh ate 3 of them!!!!

We will have this each time we have taco/tostada/burrito night.

I recommend you try it.

What I did:

I made mine in the crock pot on low for about 5 hours, I think I'll add a bit more water next time because it was all soaked up in 5 hours but some lentils were still a little crunchy, so six hours would be better, but in my crock pot it would have been burned by then.

I used beef bouillon cubes to give that beefy flavor. I may try vegetable some time and see if it still tastes good.

This isn't a meat substitute for sure, I mean I wouldn't try to trick anybody but as a different filling for tacos it's a great alternative.

Healthy Dinner - Layered Salad

I wanted to make a salad for supper the other night, but didn't just want the regular tossed salad. I searched for some recipes but many were not really healthy or I didn't have the ingredients so here's what I came up with:

Dressing: Whisk together

½ cup miracle whip type salad dressing -----16 pts

½ cup fat free plain nonfat yogurt-------------- 1 pt

¼ cup 2% milk ------------------------------------- .5 pt

Sub-total points 17.5

Salad Layers:

Green leaf lettuce ------------------------------------0

(1/2 dressing drizzled on)

Mushrooms chopped---------------------------------0

Red onion chopped-----------------------------------0

Broccoli & cauliflower chopped--------------------0

Fresh Spinach------------------------------------------0

3 slices turkey bacon chopped -------------------1.5 pts

Grilled chicken breast chopped--------------------5 pts

(Second 1/2 dressing drizzled on)

chopped garden tomatoes--------------------------0

Layer in 9x13 pan. Cover with clear wrap and put in fridge for a few hours. Serve

Weight Watchers Points:

Total dish – 19.5 points

Divided by 6 servings = 3 points per serving

And guess what? It was good! Even dh liked it! No one knew I had added healthy stuff to the dressing and they liked it. We will make this again. I've thought of a few different ways to make it, you could add ranch dressing, or taco seasoning. Add some beans or corn. Just about anything! I wish I'd taken a picture of it. It was really pretty. ;)

Great Stress Relieving Ideas

Wisebread - 15 Low Dost Ways to Beat Stress

Bulk Cooking

I don't like once a month cooking, but I kind of like once a week cooking. Who knew?

Tonight I made -

• Taco Salad (We ate that for supper)
• Sausage/Egg/Cheese Breakfast burritos
• Sausage/Egg/Cheese English Muffin Sandwiches (Last week I made bacon)
• Roasted Chicken Legs (I used "light" margarine instead of butter)
• Crispy Chicken Strips (I used chicken breasts instead of drums)
• Grilled Chicken Breasts to use in recipes later in the week
• I cooked up a pound of ground turkey to use in a casserole

Now we have some quick easy (healthy) breakfasts and suppers for next week.

No excuses for eating out!