Week 41 - What Happens When Life Gets in the Way of Grocery Shopping

Printable Version of Meal Plan

We were away last weekend for Thanksgiving and arrived home Monday with no grocery stores open.  I was prepared for this and was able to put to the test one of the make ahead slow cooker recipes I had in the freezer.  I am now a believer!  But then it turned out I couldn't get out Tuesday night either so I took another look at our supplies and got us through another day.  Wednesday night Marin went to my parents house for a sleepover and Dave and I found ourselves with an unplanned date night... so again, no groceries.  By this point I felt it was a personal challenge to NOT get groceries for a full week.

This was manageable given that last week I had over planned a bit and had some leftovers.  So I actually started the week with enough milk and some fruit and vegetables.  I did make a trip to a pharmacy on Monday evening and picked up a loaf of bread ($2.50) and mid-week at Costco we picked up a couple of other items for about $18.00.  So $22.50 was my total spent on grocery items for the week!!  Hurrah!  This was also possible in large part to my freezer re-org.  This may sound a little dramatic (or maybe a lot) but having clean, organized freezers has changed my life....ok, maybe not my life but at least the way I meal plan. 

Here's what we managed to find to eat....

Breakfast - We mainly alternated between toast and cereal but I did squeeze in an overnight oatmeal - I can't help myself.

Corn Chowder (Mama Loves Food) with Tea Biscuits (100 Days of Real Food) - I prepared these last week to take with us for the weekend so we were cleaning up on this.

Lentils & Rice (Chef Michael Smith) - This recipe takes only a few ingredients that I almost always have on hand.  It also takes only about 5 minutes of prep time to make two days worth of lunches.  A great recipe to have in your back pocket.

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken (Kojo Design) - This was prepped and frozen a few weeks ago with this very day in mind.  I knew I would need to have something that didn't require a trip to grocery store for the Tuesday after the long weekend.  Oddly none of us were over the moon about this one the night of but I finished up the leftovers a couple of days later and loved it!  I'd almost recommend making it a day in advance because it seems to take that long for the flavors to really blend.  I served it with couscous though which Marin did love.

Greek Nachos from Palladium Family Restaurant - I'm throwing this out there for anyone from the HRM area.  If you love Greek food they serve some of the best in the city in my opinion.  Maybe not the most romantic setting for a date night but we loooove the food.

Stir-Fried Beef w/ Roasted Vegetables - this was totally one of those meals that was thrown together with whatever odds and ends I could find.  We had cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, beets and onion - which are all vegetables I love roasted.  Then I stir fried some strips of beef I had frozen with a bit of an Asian twist - sesame oil, ginger, soya sauce and honey.  It was actually pretty good.

Squash Soup with Grilled Cheese - I thawed some squash soup and served it with grill cheese.  A fun idea would be to cut the grilled cheese into bite size squares for homemade "Croutons". 

Personal Pizzas - I had whole wheat pizza crusts in the freezer, just enough cheese and toppings to manage a pizza!  Another pizza Friday.

Homemade Chicken Fingers (Rachel Ray) w/ Roasted Potato Coins - I stock up on boneless skinless chicken breasts whenever they go on sale so I had some on hand.  On Friday's I like to do "convenience" food and while these chicken fingers aren't out of a box they don't take much effort either.  I like to mix the breadcrumbs with grated Parmesan cheese.  For the potato coins I simply microwave the potatoes and then slice them into rounds about a 1/4" thick.  Brush both sides with oil and bake at 450 until nice and crispy.  We still had carrots and celery to have on the side too!

Smoothie - Marin's smoothie love continues - this week was Strawberry & Banana (both from the freezer), Kiwi & Kale (both leftover from last week and in need of being used up), coconut water and honey.  One of our best yet!

Your kids don't like eating greens?  Maybe they'll drink them!

Parmesan Popcorn -- Remember last week I said I wanted to try a new popcorn recipe?  Well I found a winner.  Baking the popcorn gave it a nice crunch.  I packed the leftovers as a lunch snack and it was still crunchy the next day.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins - I had four of these gems from last week stashed away in the freezer.

So not too bad for only $20 in groceries!  I didn't even have to break out the KD.  But now I really, truly am out of food!


What are your go-to meals when life gets in the way of grocery shopping?

Sandra

Week 39 - Prep Ahead Meals

Printable Version of Meal Plan

I actually didn't plan on a theme this week but turns out most of my suppers were ones that I could prep ahead.  And I love a meal that's mostly done when I walk in the door!  It frees up time in the evening to prep supper for the next night... brilliant!!

Before we get into the details of the week I stumbled upon a link I thought I'd share.  My google stats are consitently showing that people are finding me with the term "Kid Friendly" so it would seem that feeding kids is a common struggle.  I thought this was a good article...Today's Parent: 10 Surprising Ways to Get Kids Eating Healthy.  This is us practicing #4...

Marin assembling the perfect bite.

 

Recipe Quick Links

Sushi Sandwich, Weelicious
Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats, My Whole Food Life
Simple Turkey Chili, All Recipes
Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food
Salmon Cakes,  Source Unknown.  See Tuesday of Week 14
Kale Chips, 100 Days of Real Food
Quinoa Burgers, Eating Well Living Thin
Thai Peanut Noodles, Iowa Girl Eats
Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food
Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Granola Bars, Weelicious
Apple Pie Dip, Cookin' & Kickin'

Prep Ahead Tips

To stick with the theme I thought I'd skip the usual Week in Review and instead add some notes from each supper on what can be done the night (or even days) before to save time during the supper time "rush hour".   How much prep you decide to do can depend on how busy (or tired!) you are in the evening vs. how quick you have to get supper on the table.  I find doing even just a couple of simple things while I'm packing lunches can save time and cut down on mess while I'm trying to get supper ready.  Sometimes it's just the little things, like pre-measuring spices, that can help big time.


Chicken with Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette - This was a simple meal.  I cut the chicken breasts into cutlets and panfried them in coconut oil.  While they were cooking I assembled the salad - Arugula and kale mix for the greens, shredded beets and carrots, crumbled goat cheese and pumpkin seeds.  I made my standard balsamic for the dressing but added a little maple syrup to sweeten it up a bit.  I think roasted vegetables would have worked really well in this salad as well (I'm thinking beets and squash) but shredded made for a quick meal. 

Prep Ahead Options:

• Prepare the Vinaigrette in a small mason jar and store in the fridge
• Shred the beets and carrots
• You could even make the chicken ahead of time... this Maple Dill Chicken is a great recipe for a tasty chicken that works well cooled, diced and tossed in a salad. 

Reinvent the leftovers:  There was enough salad leftover that I was able to toss it with some tofu and black rice (previously prepared and frozen) for lunch the next day.


Simple Turkey Chili - I Googled 'Simple Turkey Chili' and found this truly simple (and tasty) recipe.  We agreed that we preferred the ground turkey to ground beef.

Prep Ahead Options:

• Pre-measure the spices and store them in a container next to the stove
• Put the canned goods and can opener next to the stove
• Make the Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, if you're having them on the side
• Optionally the chili could be made the night before and simply reheated

Or... use your slow-cooker and come home to a warm bowl waiting for you.

Reinvent the leftovers:  I made some macaroni and mixed it in with the leftovers to make a Chili Mac for the next days lunch.  We topped with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.


Salmon Cakes w/ Green Beans and Kale Chips - I've posted this recipe before, it's our favorite - mostly for the dipping sauce.  I used canned salmon this week and they turned out great.  The only step I did ahead of time was making the dipping sauce but as a shortcut I used the tube of cilantro (about 2 tsp) instead of fresh.  It's typically found in the produce section.

Prep Ahead Options:

• Make the dipping sauce, which is also used to mix in with the patties. 
• You can assemble these to the point of forming the patties and then simply fry them up at suppertime.

Quinoa Burgers on a Portobello Bun w/ Sweet Potato Fries - I've tried many a quinoa burger recipe, even making a few up as I go.  I liked this one for the consistency.  The mixture was pretty wet but when they cooked up they stayed together nicely but weren't at all dry.  I would suggest some fresh herbs and/or feta to give them a flavor boost though.  For the sweet potato fries I simply tossed them with olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted them at 425 until they were crispy.  I cooked the portobello mushroom caps with the fries and made a simple aioli for dipping using plain Greek yogurt, mayo (ratio 2:1) and minced garlic.

Quinoa Burgers

Prep Ahead Options:

• Make the Quinoa... you could also make some extra for these brownies.  Just sayin'.... I mean you're making the quinoa anyway right??  Making the quinoa is a big time saver and the recipe actually calls for it to be cooled.
• Shred the cheese, grate the carrot and chop the green onion
• Pre-measure the spices
• Cut the Sweet Potatoes

Reinvent the leftovers:  This recipe made a lot so we had leftover patties with a Kale Salad for lunch.


Chicken Fajitas! - Marin likes Mexican food so much that she literally had a melt down last week because I wouldn't make her nachos for supper.  Like I'm talking one of the biggest meltdowns I've witnessed in her 4 1/2 years of life.  I seem to have at least one Mexican meal a week lately but it's just such a crowd pleaser I can't help myself.  Everyone enjoying supper makes for a nice kick-off to the weekend too.  Plus I just really, really love to have an excuse to restock my tortilla supply.

Freshly made tortillas

To make the fajita filling I slice the chicken into strips and fry in a lightly oiled pan until no longer pink.  Remove the chicken and then saute sliced onions and peppers.  When they are almost done I add a spoonful of Mexican Spice Blend and a little salsa.  Add the chicken back in and stir it all up and continue cooking until the veggies are soft and everything is heated through.  Then we start with a tortilla and pile on the fillings! 

Prep Ahead Options:

• Premix spices - Make extra and store in an airtight container for months.  I keep Mexican Spice Blend in my cupboard at all times.
• Slice onions and peppers
• Make tortillas - ok, ok, this is optional... you can buy tortillas I know.   But it just wouldn't be the same.  Trust me.  Tortillas can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for longer periods... but they'll only stay there for about a week or two tops.

Marin always likes to assemble her own quesadilla, nacho, fajita... and always puts a cherry tomato on top.  I told her last night we'd be having fajitas for supper so she set aside the last cherry tomato from her plate to have with her fajita.  I'm telling you this girl is serious about her Mexican food!

Tonight's Masterpiece

Happy Weekend!

Sandra

Week 38 - From Freezer to Table

Printable Version of Meal Plan

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!  Some people like to avoid their birthday, I on the other hand like to advertise it.  It's the one day of the year that's all about me... what's to avoid?  In fact I love my birthday so much I typically try to stretch it into a week.  So I've pretty much taken this week off.  We were out of town until Monday, Tuesday was my birthday and Wednesday I had a work function that provided breakfast and lunch.  So I thought what a great week to use some of the awesome food I've been stowing away in my newly cleaned and organized freezers.  As a result this was the ultimate easy week and my grocery bill was a grand total of $60!

Recipe Quick Links

Nut Free Nutella, Weelicious
Slow Cooker Honey Rosemary Chicken, Kojo Designs
Lacinato Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
Coconut Curry Squash Soup, 52 Weeks of Meal Planning (Week 37)
Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats, My Whole Food Life
Pumkin Spiced Latte, Farm Girl Gourmet
Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food
Baked Apple Chips, Taste, Love & Nourish

Snack Highlights

Cinnamon Rolls - I made a batch of Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits and split the dough.  I used half to make cinnamon rolls.  I rolled out the dough into a rectangle (fairly thin) and spread melted butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a generous sprinkle of brown sugar.  I rolled that up lengthwise and cut into 1" rolls and bakes along side the tea biscuits.  yum.

Baked Apple Chips - I've been seeing this recipe everywhere lately.  I gave it a try this week and LOVED them!  Will attempt the bananas next time too.

Apple Chips

Week in Review

Monday was my Birthday eve and we were just back from a weekend away.  I was not even capable of defrosting anything... we had a Take and Bake pizza from Costco.

Tuesday was my special day!!!  I booked the day off of both work (I vowed last year I would never work on my birthday again) and cooking.

Happy Birthday!

Nut Free Nutella & Banana on Tortilla - I made this simple "faux"-tella with Almond Butter (so my version was not nut free) and spread it on a tortilla that I had frozen from last week with sliced banana.  Absolutely as delicious as it sounds.

Slow Cooker Honey Rosemary Chicken with Rice and Kale Salad - A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law sent me a link to freezer slow cooker recipes.  I've seen this idea before but never really "got it".  When I include a slow cooker recipe in my weekly plan I simply prep it the night before... so I never saw the benefit of prepping farther ahead.  But the timing of seeing this link made the light bulb go off.  I knew I was going to be away this past weekend and it occurred to me that if I had some complete meals ready to go in the freezer I wouldn't have to get groceries the instant I got home.  A few other things I liked about these particular recipes... they use "real" ingredients, are mostly all recipes that have little or no additional steps the day of cooking, and can be left for 8 or more hours.  This recipe was good but because it met all the above criteria I'd rate it great.  I have one other recipe from this site waiting to be cooked and I plan to try more.  The rice was also from the freezer and I made the Kale Salad the night before to make this a completely effortless meal.  Marin loves this salad by the way (I skip the red pepper flakes for her), so don't be afraid to put it on the "kid-friendly" list.

Wednesday only Dave required lunch because I had a work event. We had just enough leftovers of the chicken - sweet!

Pork Chops, Brussel Sprouts & Coconut Curry Squash Soup -  I had bigger plans for this meal but got stuck in traffic so in the interest of time I modified the plan - same ingredients, different method of cooking.  I basically just cooked the pork chops & brussel spouts (trimmed & halved) and in a skillet with olive oil, a diced onion and seasoned with salt & pepper.  I also thawed a serving of Coconut Curry Squash Soup from last week.  I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this speedy meal.

Thursday was back to the old grind.  To get myself into the groove I treated myself with a Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats for breakfast.  Another fall hit!

Turkey, Cheese and Avocado Wraps - I used up the last of my tortillas for these wraps... will have to restock this weekend! I try to stay away from deli meats but once in a while I'll splurge on a package of the Naturals, just can't beat the convenience.  I rolled up the turkey with cheddar, slices of avocado, lettuce and a little mayo.  Really good... and quick.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

Shepherd's Pie - Yet another toss together meal that turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  I browned the beef and added soya sauce, organic pasta sauce (awesome Costco buy by the way) and a little brown sugar.  The topping was sweet potato and parsnip mashed with milk and butter.  I assembled and baked it for a few minutes to get it heated through and a little crunchy on top.  So good!

Happy Friday!!  I started my day with a Pumkin Spiced Latte.  I do a modified version of this recipe from Farm Girl Gourmet.  Mine makes a single serving and takes a couple of shortcuts to make it easy to pull off in the morning.  And a tip for the pumpkin - I use canned pumpkin puree.  Last week after making the Pumpkin Buns I spooned the leftovers onto a cookie sheet into about 2T servings and put it in the freezer.  Once they were frozen I moved them to a freezer bag.  One "blob" is just right for both oats and lattes.

2 cups milk (any % you choose)

4 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso

Read more at http://www.farmgirlgourmet.com/2012/11/pumpkin-spiced-latte.html#WC3b4uzEHjWBil1m.99

Pumpkin Spiced Latte (Modified from Farm Girl Gourmet)

2 cups milk (any % you choose)

4 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso

Read more at http://www.farmgirlgourmet.com/2012/11/pumpkin-spiced-latte.html#WC3b4uzEHjWBil1m.99

1 Cup milk
2 T pumpkin puree
1 T maple syrup
1/4 t vanilla (I recently switched to Kirkland brand and find it strong so I tend to go light)
1/4 t pumpkin spice

Combine all ingredients in a blender (I like to use the Magic Bullet for this recipe).  Pour into microwave safe mug and microwave on High for 1 1/2 mins (careful it doesn't foam up and overflow).  Slowly add espresso - I prepare a Tassimo espresso directly in the mug. Top with whipped cream (optional but recommended!)

** This is a recipe that you might have to play around with to adjust to taste.

Supper, Use up Loose Ends - I have a few things that need to be consumed so we're having a supper surprise!  Grilled cheese?  Goat cheese omelettes?  Loaded Baked Potatoes?   We'll see what inspiration hits.

Happy Weekend!

Sandra

Week 36 - Back to School Series, Part 3: Fast Fix Suppers

Printable Version of Meal Plan

This turned out to be one of my favorite weeks so far.  The food was good but mostly meal prep just had a nice flow to it.  There was no rushing in the door and feeling frazzled trying to get a meal put together AND we managed to eat at a decent time each night (ie. before 6pm).  That was really one of the main goals of my meal planning resolution.  Then most nights I'd spend about an hour in the kitchen, cleaning up from supper, packing lunches and doing any advanced prep I could do for the next night's supper.  It all made me feel pretty in control!

One thing about this week though was that we had a few unexpected things come up.  For one, I had planned on packing lunch for Dave all week but he ended up only needing lunch two days.  Also, Wednesday night the kitchen was pretty much off limits while the new dishwasher went in.  So I juggled things around a bit.  I left the menu as it was intended and instead of the my typical food review I'm summarizing what to do each evening to help you breeze through the week!

Recipe Quick Links

Pizza Lunchable, 100 Days of Real Food
One Pot Pasta, Marin Mama Cooks
Chickpea & Butternut Squash Curry, Best Recipes Ever
Naan, Budget Bytes
Colorburst Chicken Salad, Chatelaine
Southwest Beans on Toast, Chatelaine
Whole Grain Fruit Bars, Weelicious
Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food

Week in Review

 Sunday Evening

• Prepare lunch (Pizza Lunchable) -- Cut the pita into triangles, spoon the pizza sauce into a small container,  shred and package cheese and wrap the pepperettes.  This would be a prime lunch for divided containers!
• No prep required for Monday supper... enjoy a relaxing Sunday evening before the craziness of the week begins!

Monday Evening

Scallops & Arugula Salad

• Make Supper (Scallops & Arugula Salad).  Saute the scallops in butter & garlic with a twig of thyme.  While that's cooking, wash the arugula, drizzle with olive oil & lemon and toss.  Top the salad with Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Done!
• Note:  My backup plan for supper was Salmon that I would have simply baked with lemon, salt & pepper.  Fish cooks fast and doesn't require a lot of fuss, so a good choice for a quick meal!
• Prepare lunch (Tuna Salad Sandwiches) - Make the sandwich and whatever snacks and sides you'd like.  Veggies & Dip go great with a Tuna Sandwich.
• Prep for Tuesday Supper (One Pot Pasta).  While you have cutting boards out for lunch prep, also slice red onions, halve cherry tomatoes and slice garlic for Tuesday supper.   This will save 5-10 minutes when you get home.

Tuesday Evening

One Pot Pasta

• Make Supper (One Pot Pasta).  Toss all the veggies you chopped the night before in a pan with the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to boil and set timer for 9 minutes.  Toss the pasta while it's cooking.  That's it!  Supper's ready!  Goes well with garlic bread!
• Make Lunch (Chickpea & Butternut Squash Curry & Naan).  This is the one meal on the menu this week that requires a bit of time.  I actually pushed this off to the weekend because of our lunch requirements changing.  I plan to modify this recipe a bit, roasting the squash and making it on the stove top instead of the slow-cooker.  The Naan is also optional, but I did make this on Thursday night and it's similar in effort to making pizza dough.  This dish would pair well with basmati rice.  If you're looking for a quicker and/or nut-free recipe I'd suggest Lentils and Rice as a substitute.  This recipe requires very little effort and makes enough for at least two days.
• No prep required for Wednesday supper... unless you have take chicken out of the freezer.  This is by design in case you are going to go with a more involved mid-week lunch.

Wednesday Evening

• Make Supper (Colorburst Chicken Salad).  Heat a skillet and coat with a small amount of oil (I use coconut oil).  I use boneless skinless chicken breasts and slice them in half to make cutlets so that they fry faster.  While the chicken is cooking prepare the salad.  Note: I made substitutes for the things I didn't have (eg. Peppers instead of Beets & Radish, Pomelo instead of Orange).
• Lunch is already packed!  See wasn't that worth the extra effort the night before??
• Prep for Thursday Supper (Slow Cooker Pot Roast).  Fill a container or Ziploc bag with the veggies.  I added potatoes, mini carrots, turnip (I bought it pre-cut), celery, onion and a couple of bay leaves. 
• Optionally make Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits to go with your roast.

 

Thursday Morning

• Prep the Slow Cooker.  Place veggies in the slow cooker and top with the roast.  Pour in about 1 cup of beef broth and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and turn on low.

Thursday Evening

• Make Supper (Slow Cooker Pot Roast) - Turn off the slow cooker.  Dinner's ready!!  Seriously, there's nothing better.
• Optionally you could make gravy.  I prefer to pour a little juice from the slow cooker over my plate... mainly because that's easier.
• Make Lunch (Beef & Cheddar Wraps).  Use the leftover beef to make wraps for lunch.  I shredded the beef and mixed it with a little prepared horseradish.  Then I spread the inside of a Pita with mustard and filled with the beef, cheddar, lettuce and peppers. 
• No prep required for Friday Supper.  By the end of the week I'm running out of steam...

Friday Evening

Southwest Beans on Toast with Tex Mex Salad

• Make Supper (Southwest Beans on Toast) - Make the salad and set aside.  The last time I made this recipe I simple heated the beans in a skillet with a small amount of oil and a sprinkle of Mexican Spice Blend.  Keep that warm and make the garlic bread. 
• Confession... this is not what I made for supper.  I was so excited to try the Naan I did Mexican Style Naan Pizza (Naan topped with salsa, avocado, black beans, tomato and cheddar).  And it was really good!!

Wasn't that easy?

Also, I've updated my Favorites page, added an Index to the top and jazzed it up a bit with some pics. Check it out!

Sandra

Week 22 - 6 Ingredient or Less Meals

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

I gave myself a challenge this week – 5 Ingredient or less meals.  And I was thinking complete meals.  The problem was we were super busy last weekend so I had to rush putting the plan together and didn’t have as much time to hunt down recipes as I would have liked.  As a result I was feeling a bit disorganized.  I managed to pull something together but I’m going to admit defeat and hence this week is themed “6 Ingredient or Less Meals”.

Recipe Quick Links

Mexican Stuffed Shells,  Blogchef.net
Mexican Spice Blend, Chatelaine
Asparagus and Gruyere Pizza, Marin Mama Cooks
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust, 100 Days of Real Food
Overnight Oatmeal, The Yummy Life

Week in Review

Carry over from last week... I picked up some Steel Cut Oats so I could try overnight oatmeal as a breakfast on the go.  I'm in love.  I went with a Banana/Blueberry combo topped with almonds and maple syrup.  I can't wait to try different flavor combos! 

Overnight No-Cook Steel Cut Oats

Monday

Lunch – Egg Salad Sandwich.  I actually really enjoy egg salad and this was a perfect Monday lunch after a busy Sunday because it takes little effort.  I mixed mayo and diced celery in with my boiled eggs and added slices of cheddar and avocado for a pretty filling sandwich.

Supper – Lemon Dill Salmon with Broccoli.  (Ingredients - Salmon, Lemon, Dried Dill, Broccoli & Parmesan Cheese).  This was a complete meal in 5 ingredients.   I poured the juice from ½ a lemon on the fish, sprinkled with dill and baked at 375F until done.  At the same time I steamed some broccoli and topped that with lemon zest and Parmesan cheese before serving.   I did make Marin a potato as well – so I guess that was 6 ingredients.

Tuesday

Lunch – Veggie Burgers.  I got this recipe from a friend many years ago and it’s one of those "anything goes" kind of recipes. My sister would argue that it’s not a recipe at all!  Mine always come out different because it varies based on what I have on hand.  It goes something like this:

• Drain a can of beans (6 Bean Blend, Chickpeas, Black beans, etc…) reserving liquid.  Mix using a stand mixer until beans are mostly mashed.  Before I had the KitchenAid I would use a pastry cutter to do this by hand – doable but much easier with the KitchenAid.
• Add in veggies of choice, finely chopped.  I like mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, broccoli, onion…
• Add in a scoop (heaping tablespoon) of tahini, Peanut Butter or hummus.  This will make it a bit sticky
• Add in any seasonings you’d like and amounts are to taste
• Mix in a dry ingredient (bread crumbs or oatmeal) until mixture is dry enough to form patties… but not too dry.  If it gets too dry add a little of the reserved liquid from the beans.

This is all a bit of an experiment and I tend to just throw everything into the stand mixer and just keep adding wet and dry ingredients until I get the consistency and flavor I want.  Don’t over think it!  I always pan fry the patties, I don’t think they would hold together well enough for the BBQ.  I assembled the burgers on multigrain buns with mayo, cheese, lettuce and avocado.  I heated mine just a little at work so that I wasn’t eating it cold out of the fridge.

Supper – Pork Chops with Broccoli & Carrots (Ingredients – Pork Chops, Mustard, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Basil, Vegetables).   This recipe came from a cookbook “Life’s on Fire” which is a great meal planning cookbook.  It’s 12 weeks of complete dinners (mains and sides), organized by week, and includes grocery lists.  The full meal is written out step by step, so that you know exactly what to do to ensure everything is ready at the same time.  The perfect cookbook for a young person living on their own and cooking for themselves for the first time!  This is the one and only cookbook I own that I have made every single meal.  I still love the idea of it although I find most of the recipes not as appealing as they once were.  Lots of canned soup, ketchup and sugar based sauces, etc…  And this recipe did disappoint me a bit – not as yummy as I had remembered.  If I could have a do-over I would have simply barbecued the chops.

Wednesday

Lunch – Pork Fried Rice.  The chops were huge so I set some aside to throw in a fried rice.  I find this is a great way to use up leftover meat when supper portions are too much for one meal but not enough for two meals.  I just saute onion and whatever other veggies I happen to have and then add in the leftovers (diced into small bite sizes).  I add the rice to the frying pan with a little soya sauce and cook that a bit.  Then I move the rice to one side, crack an egg directly in the pan and scramble it up a bit, stir it in with the rice and then dish it up.  Easy peasy.

Supper – Marinated Chicken and Greek Salsa.  (Ingredients – Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Greek Salad Dressing, Tomato, Cucumber, Red Onion & Feta).  I marinated the chicken overnight with Greek dressing (I made my own but store bought would work) and cooked them on the BBQ.  The salad was diced tomato, cucumber, red onion and feta with Greek dressing.  This was a super easy meal and oh so tasty! 

Thursday

Lunch – Greek Tofu Pita.  I marinated some diced tofu in the Greek dressing and fried it until the tofu was crisped up a bit.  I mixed the tofu with leftover Greek Salsa from Wednesday's supper and had it on a pita.  Note: I packed my pita separately and assembled on site. 

Ground beef with Mexican Spice Blend and Cream Cheese

Supper --  Mexican Stuffed Shells.  (Ingredients – Ground Beef, Pasta Shells, Mexican Spice Mix, Cream Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Salsa).  I make a simplified version of this recipe.  I brown the ground beef and use my own Mexican Spice Mix instead of taco seasoning, then melt in the cream cheese.  My beef isn't as soupy as you can see...

Then I stuff the shells and cover with salsa.  I got this far Wednesday night.  Thursday I popped them in the oven @400F for about 20 minutes to heat up, covered them with cheese and put them back in the over until the cheese melted.  I broiled for a minute at the end because I like crispy cheese.  So no taco sauce or chips in my version either.  It was a really easy meal, similar to lasagna or Ricotta Stuffed shells but with a Mexican twist.

Mexican Stuffed Shells - ready for the oven (prep the night before)

 

Mexican Stuffed Shells - hot out of the oven!



Friday

Lunch – Leftover Stuffed Shells.  Yum.

Supper – Asparagus Pizza.  (Ingredients – Pizza dough, Olive Oil, Garlic, Asparagus, Cheese).  I was insprired my a Marin Mama Cooks post to have white pizza for our Convenience Food Friday.  I made my own crust on Thursday night (only because I couldn't find pizza dough at the store and didn't want a pre-baked crust).  I also skipped the Gruyere because we had an abundance of different cheese in the fridge and I didn't want to add yet another.  I chopped up a few other toppings and we had a bit of a family pizza party with everyone personalizing thier own.  We all loved our pizzas!!  I did white pizza with aspargus, portobello mushrooms and goat cheese - I hate to toot my own horn (well actually, no I don't) but it was delicious!  And I was really glad I made my own crust.  And the best part... we ate on the back deck for the first time this year.  So nice to be enjoying warm weather!

 Happy weekend everyone!