May 31, 2013

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!

May 24, 2013

Week 21 - Breakfast To Go

Printable Version of Meal Plan & Grocery List

Marin's gotten into the habit of crawling in bed with us most nights.  She just brings her pillow and blanket and climbs in and we're typically too tired to do anything about it.  But it always results in a restless sleep and inevitably an extra snooze and me inhaling breakfast so I can run out the door to catch the bus.  So I decided to try some breakfast on the go options this week.  It was a nice change.  I typically have half an hour alone in my office before my office mates start to arrive so it was kind of peaceful nibbling my breakfast and sipping my coffee. 

Recipe Quick Links

Chickpeas & PB, Oh She Glows
Slow Cooker Deli Chicken, 100 Days of Real Food
Avocado Corn Salad, Sobey's Inspired
PB & Fruit Breakfast Wraps, Food.com
Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Green Monster Smoothie, Oh She Glows

It wasn't intentional to have so many Oh She Glows recipes in one week, but it's a great blog - you should check it out!


Week in Review

Tuesday

Love Crunch Granola
Breakfast - Yogurt Parfait.  I layered frozen raspberries and blueberries with plain greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey.  I packed some chocolate granola in a separate container so it wouldn’t get soggy.  It was a pretty big helping and I found it kept me going most of the morning.  I assembled in the morning and the berries were still a little on the chilly side so I would recommend using fresh fruit and/or assembling the night before.  This is granola the I picked up this week... huge hit!
LunchChickpeas with PB and Maple Syrup on Pita.  This was one of the first recipes I added to the favorites list but haven’t actually made yet this year.  This sounds a bit odd but I promise you, it’s actually pretty tasty.  But what I really love about this recipe is that its super easy and uses ingredients I almost always have on hand.  So at 10pm when I’m laying on the couch being tempted to skip making lunches this recipe will come to mind and I think ‘surely I can get my butt into the kitchen for 5 minutes to pull this off’.  I like it with pita or lettuce.
SupperHaddock and Vegetable Parchment Packets.  I have been seeing recipes for fish baked in Parchment parcels for ages and have always been tempted to try this method of cooking.  Finally, I did!  And we were pretty impressed.  Best part – super easy cleanup!  I didn’t actually follow a recipe but referred to a few to get an idea of how long to cook and at what temperature.  So this is what I did:
Haddock and Vegetable Parchment Parcels
I filled each parchment parcel with
o   1 Tbsp Butter
o   Slices of Zucchini
o   Haddock Fillet
o   Strips of Red and Yellow Peppers
o   Salt & Pepper
o   Drizzle of lemon juice

Fold it up (I just made up my own method of folding, but this might work better - How to Steam Fish in Parchment), place on a baking sheet and bake at 425F until done.  Time will depend on thickness of fish.  Mine were <1" and done in 15 minutes.  I served this with boiled potatoes but rice would be good too.  Marin gobbled this up – fish first!  Kid approved!

Wednesday

BreakfastEgg “Mac” Muffin (can I call it that??)  Tuesday night I made a couple of egg sandwiches.  Fried egg on an english muffin (toasted and buttered) with cheddar cheese.  I wrapped those puppies in parchment paper and they were ready to go in the morning.  I warmed mine up in the microwave when I got to work and it was perfect.  I think the parchment made it feel like take-out.  I would totally do this again.  Would be great for an early morning road trip.


A Stack of Egg "Mac's"


Egg "Mac" & Cafe at my desk

Lunch Rice Salad with Soy Dressing.  I don’t know the original source of this recipe – I requested it after eating it at a gathering and love it for lunch.  I always make enough for two days.  We love the soy dressing.
Rice Salad with Soy Dressing
Dressing - 1/4 cup Soya Sauce, 1/4 cup Oil, 2 cloves of garlic minced.  Mix well. 
Make ahead - 1 p
epper (any color, diced), 3 stalks celery (diced), 2 green onion (chopped), 1 cup mushrooms (sliced), 1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins, 2 cups brown rice (cooked).  Mix all ingredients with dressing.

Add Spinach and Cashews before eating.  I add the spinach the night before when I'm packing lunches and the cashews just before eating.

SupperWhole Chicken in the Slow Cooker with Avocado Corn Salad.  Yum and yum.   I love this chicken recipe – definitely a slow cooker gem!  You don’t add any liquid so it doesn’t come out like the typical slow-cooker ‘stew’.  I use foil balls instead of onion, as the recipe suggests.  The meat is moist and falls right off the bone – so good!  The corn salad is one I found in the Sobey’s Inspired Magazine a couple of years ago and has become a summer go-to recipe.  I’ve served it at a couple of gatherings and it’s always been a hit.  It’s better with grilled corn and fresh cilantro but this week I made it with frozen corn and frozen cilantro cubes and it was still darn tasty.

Thursday

BreakfastPB & Fruit Breakfast Wraps.  I’ve had this on the menu before but typically make it on flat wraps with oatmeal.  This time I used Pita and chocolate granola.  OMG… so good!  I also use real strawberries in place of the jam in this recipe.  I assembled it before heading out the door and the pita was a tad soggy in a couple of places but nothing major.  I find wraps easier to handle so if you’re going to be eating this in the car or literally on the run I would suggest a wrap, but I typically prefer pita to tortillas.  Mmm, mmm, mmmm….


PB & Fruit Breakfast Pita with Almond Milk
 
LunchLeftover Rice Salad.  This is great on day two but I would definately suggest not adding the spinach and nuts right away, otherwise you may have soggy greens and stale nuts - yuck.
SupperTofu Stir-fry with Asian Sesame Dressing.  This is a super simple and quick supper.  Nothing too special but some nights you just want something easy and that’s enough…  know what I mean?  I just dice and fry the tofu in a little sesame oil until it starts to brown.  Then I add in a bag of frozen Asian style veggies and continue to stir-fry until the veggies are heated through.  Pour the dressing over and serve.  We had it on its own but you could serve it with rice or rice noodles.  I used the dipping sauce from the panko tofu recipe and a spoonful of peanut butter as the sauce.

Friday

Breakfast - Oatmeal Smoothie & Muffin.  The great thing about smoothies is that pretty much anything goes.  I debated if I wanted a refreshing fruity smoothie or more of a hearty nutty smoothie.  I ended up making the Classic Green Monster from Oh She Glows but I skipped the protein powder (I always do) and added oatmeal and some milk at the end to thin it out a bit.  I also grabbed a Very Berry Muffin from the freezer.
Lunch - Mango Curry Chicken Salad on Pita.  I made a chicken salad with the leftover slow-cooker chicken.  I mixed mayo and plain yogurt with Epicure Mango Curry seasoning and added in some celery and apple.  We had it on pita (packed separately) with some raw veggies on the side.
Supper - Poutine.  Few things in life make me happier than Poutine.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this delicacy it's french fries, cheese and gravy.  Not the healthiest thing on the menu but I feel the joy it brings me is probably good for my heart.  And I'll wash it down with a glass of red wine - that's good for me too right??  My version is a bag of frozen fries (baked), topped with shredded mozza and baked a few more minutes (I like the cheese to melt and crisp up a bit) and then topped with hot poutine sauce.  You can actually buy poutine sauce in the gravy section at some grocery stores.  If you can't find it, your favorite gravy will do.  This is Convenience Food Friday at its best!
And if you're in Halifax a must have is the Lobster Poutine at Cut Grill.  You're welcome!

May 16, 2013

Week 20 – Snack Attack


Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

Last weekend was Mother’s Day so I wanted to get groceries on Saturday instead of my typical Sunday morning routine.  Since I had to put the plan together faster than normal I ended up just pulling some ideas from my head.  The result wasn’t too bad… some good eats this week!  And for some reason we had an abundance of snacks to choose from.  I must have been feeling snacky when I made the plan.  Snacks are something I find I can get in a rut with so I've added some to the Recipe Quick Links section and have highlighted one of our favorites!

Recipe Quick Links



Snack Spotlight - Apple Sandwiches


This has become a favorite over the last few weeks.  The spread is almond butter, maple syrup and shredded coconut.  It stacks and packs well for lunch boxes and is super delicious!  I use an apple corer to core the apple first.  Then I slice into 4 or 6 slices depending on the size of the apple to make 2 or 3 "sandwiches".  Reassemble the apple and wrap.


Week in Review

Monday

Lunch – 7 Grain Orange Pilaf.  I stumbled on this one on Pinterest last week so it was fresh in my mind.  It was really good.  A bit of a twist on our typical Greek Quinoa.  I used a combination of Quinoa and Bulgar.  Will definitely make this again.

Supper – BBQ Chicken & Kale Caesar.  We enjoyed our grilled chicken salad so much last week that chicken and salad made it back on the menu.  Just a basic grilled chicken breast and my homemade Caesar dressing with kale and grated parmesan.  Dave and I agree that Caesar works better with kale rather than romaine.  Yummy and easy!

Caesar Dressing – mix well 1cup of mayonnaise,  2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, 1 Tbsp Lemon juice, 1 clove garlic (minced) and just a little milk.  The milk is to thin it out and give it the consistency you want, so base amount on preference.  I scale this recipe back depending on the size of salad we’re having

Tuesday

Lunch -- Leftover 7 Grain Pilaf.   I made enough pilaf for two days.  Just as good the second time.  I added the nuts just before eating.

Supper – Brown Butter Haddock and Sautéed Zucchini and Mushrooms.  I declared my love for brown butter the last time I made it… it’s been too long.  Welcome back to the plan Brown Butter, welcome back.  I just pan fried the fish and sauteed the veggies in a little oil and garlic.  I drizzled the brown butter over everything.  yum.

Wednesday

Lunch – Tuna Salad on Crackers with Veggies and Dip.  This is a go to lunch, quick to throw together and I almost always have everything on hand.  I used sour cream mixed with ranch dressing seasoning for Dave and Mango Curry seasoning from Epicure for me.  My tuna salad was basic - can of tuna, spoonful of mayo, squeeze of lemon and dash of dill.

Supper -- Hamburgers on Portobello "Buns" with Grilled Veggies, Kale and Aioli.  This recipe was straight from my head and I was pretty proud of it.  Isn't it pretty?? 


The hamburger was simply ground beef, egg, salt & pepper and breadcrumbs.  The mushroom caps, red pepper and red onion were brushed with olive oil and grilled on the BBQ.  I made an aioli with mayo, lemon juice and garlic.  We topped each burger with mozza and feta at the end, letting the cheese melt.  Then we assembled... Portobello "bun", aioli, kale, burger and grilled veggies.   I love BBQ season!


Thursday

Breakfast -- Yogurt Parfait with Granola.  I had to mention this one because it was a really satisfying breakfast and I actually packed it the night before for a grab and go.   I made the granola coin recipe but used coconut oil, shredded coconut and flax and didn't form it into coins.  Just tossed it on a baking stone and baked it longer than recommended to make a crunchy granola. 

Lunch -- Pita Pizza.  I topped pita with pizza sauce, leftover hamburger and grilled veggies, olives, feta and mozza.  Totally did the trick.  I love reinventing leftovers.

Supper -- Nachos with Refried Beans (from the freezer).  I told Marin we were having her favorite supper and she said "Yay!  Nachos!"  Then Dave came home and said "Yay!  Nachos!"


Friday

Lunch -- We still have some leftover beans to use up so the plan is bean, avocado and cheese quesadillas using pita instead of tortilla. 

Supper -- We're going to be on the road so I'm packing ham & cheese sandwiches on Kaisers with some veggies and dip.

May 10, 2013

Week 19 -- May Magazine Week/Quick Weeknight Meals

I wanted to concentrate on quick weeknight meals this week.  The weather is so nice these days I've been wanting to maximize outdoor time in the evenings.  Canadian Living and Chatelaine both have monthly quick & easy recipes so that’s where I started my hunt for meal ideas.

Recipe Quick Links


Week in Review

Monday

Lunch – No lunches.  I had lunch plans and was out Sunday night for supper club with the girls (Brooklyn Warehouse – excellent!) so I passed on packing a lunch for Dave and took the night off.  I finished off a bottle of wine and watched the season finale of Amazing Race instead.
Supper – Pork Chops with Hazelnut Green Beans.  This meal was quick, on the table in under 30 minutes.  It was also easy in that it didn’t require any advanced cooking skills.  However, it did require a bit of chopping, measuring, tending to… and for me that coincided with Marin wanting a movie and snack and to tell me all kinds of important things.  And to be honest I don’t think the sauce for the pork chops added much to the meal.  The green beans were good, always nice to have a new way to dress them up.  Marin found them too ‘spicy’ though (garlic). 

Orange Glazed Pork Chops with Hazelnut Green Beans. 
Photo by Ryan Brook/TC Media via http://www.canadianliving.com

Tuesday

Lunch – Tofu Noodle Stir-Fry.  Again this meal was quick and easy to prepare but required constant hands on time.  No biggie because I was making it in the evening when I was happy to be cooking but keep that in mind if you’re preparing it for a supper.   I wouldn’t rant and rave about this dish, I’ve made Asian salads and stirfrys I prefer.  But it was good.  I typically use peanuts, the cashews were treat.

Tofu Noodle Salad
Photo by Ryan Brook/TC Media via http://www.canadianliving.com

Supper – Springtime Colorburst Chicken Salad.  This was the winner this week.  Dave and I both really loved it.  This is another quick, yet hands on meal but at a more relaxed pace than the Pork Chops.  I got the chicken on the grill and then Dave arrived home just in time to keep an eye on that.  Then I poured a glass of wine and assembled the salad.  It was a really nice light meal.   Unfortunately Chatelaine appears to have started putting some recipes in a protected area on their website (you need an account to log in).  So I’m copying out the recipe but unfortunately this might be one of the last Chatelaine featured recipes.

Springtime Colorburst Salad
·         Pound the thickest part of 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts until they are even thickness.  Brush with 1 tsp of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill on medium heat.  Let stand for 5 minutes and then slice into strips.
·         Dressing – whisk ¼ cup of olive oil with 3 Tbsp of lemon juice, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (I would start with 1 Tbsp and then adjust to taste), ¼ tsp sugar
·         Arrange salad with arugula (I used spring mix), chicken, thin slices of beet, shallots (used green onion) and radish, segments of naval oranges,  slices of avocado and sprinkle of pepitas (pumpkin seeds).  Drizzle with dressing.

Springtime Colorburst Salad
Photo by Roberto Caruso via http://www.chatelaine.com

Wednesday

Lunch -- Asian Stir-Fry.  Leftovers.  Since I had no lunch to prepare Tuesday night I made a batch of Very Berry Muffins.  They are "berry" good!
Supper – McHappy Day!  Yup, you read that right.  We went to McDonald’s for supper.  It was beautiful outside, I was late getting home and it was McHappy Day… so I juggled the menu around and we headed over to support Ronald McDonald House.  And I’ll gladly admit I enjoyed every bite!

Thursday

Lunch – Steak Salad.  This was part of the juggle.  Steak was on the menu for Wednesday night and I wanted to grill it while it was nice out because the forecast was calling for rain, rain, and more rain in the days ahead.  So we grilled the steak and threw it on a salad for lunch.
Supper – Salmon Cakes and Zucchini Fingers.  This is not the first time I’ve had these salmon cakes on the menu.   I’ve tried a few salmon cake recipes and I keep coming back to this one.  What I really love is that it’s easily prepared ahead of time so it makes for a great week night meal.   For the zucchini – I sliced it into fingers, dipped each finger in egg (slightly whisked) and then panko and baked at 450 for about 20 minutes.  I threw a few mushrooms on too – prepared the same way.  The zucchini was good with the dip from the salmon cake recipe.

Friday  

Lunch – Ham & Cheese “Lunchmate”.  One of my all-time favorite lunches!  Ham slices (I buy Maple Leaf Naturals), Havarti cheese, Triscuit's (low-sodium to offset at least a little bit of the sodium in the ham!) and lots of veggies and dip.  This is a quick to prepare lunch and I just really enjoy it. 
Supper – Fruity Creamy Crostini & Salad.  I thought this looked like an easy supper that would fit the “Convenience Food Friday” bill.    It was definately easy, took less than 20 minutes to throw together and I have to say it was pretty good too.  For the salad I did mixed greens and herbs, beets, plums, pumpkin seeds and leftover dressing from the spring salad.  The crostini would make a great appetizer for a dinner party or potluck.

Fruity, Creamy Crostini
Photo by Roberto Caruso via http://www.chatelaine.com

May 03, 2013

Week 18 – Spring has (finally) sprung!!

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List  

I really enjoyed the menu this week. I concentrated on using seasonal ingredients and the combination of that, the weather being beautiful and being rested from an awesome vacation, I was feeling energized and happy to be in the kitchen.  But in the end I actually spent very little time in the kitchen... this is a week of easy lunches and quick suppers.

Over the weekend I made a batch of Almond Milk, one thing I missed it while I was away! And Marin enjoyed eating Goldfish crackers so much on vacation that I decided to make a homemade batch on Sunday. These are two recipes that yes, require a little more work than buying – but both are not comparable to their store bought counterparts. They are much much better!!  


Recipe Quick Links:

Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Cheddar Crackers, Weelicious
Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa, Canadian Living
Maple Dill Chicken, Chatelaine
Avocado Salad, Canadian Living
Whole Wheat Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food
Asparagus Pasta, All Recipes
Maple Baked Beans, Chef Michael Smith
Saucy Shrimp and Feta Toss, Chatelaine    

Week in Review

Monday

Lunch – Turkey, Cran and Brie Quesadillas. We made a trip to Costco on the weekend and precooked, pre-sliced turkey breast was on sale. I also picked up a round of brie – hands down my favorite cheese. We nibbled on both on the weekend and then I came up with this quesadilla for lunch. Yummy! I added spinach as well because I had it. If you keep some wraps in your freezer you can basically whip up some quesadillas for a quick/easy lunch with whatever you happen to have on hand.  

Supper – Fish Tacos.  My last attempt at fish tacos kinda failed – they were just ok. This time was a big hit! These were so full of flavor. This recipe is going straight to my Favorites.  I made my own corn tortillas but if you go with store bought this meal could be on the table in 20 minutes. 

Tuesday  

Lunch – Greek Quinoa Salad with Tofu. I’ve made this numerous times since I’ve started blogging – sometimes with store bought dressing other times with homemade (found in Week 4 recipes). This week I used homemade and I have to say, another one of those things that’s worth the extra effort. This was really tasty and easy to throw together – quinoa, feta, cherry tomatoes, diced firm tofu, cucumber and dressing. I made enough for 2 days’ worth of lunches. Note, I added the cucumber for day two the morning of because I find it can get a little soft and I like it crunchy.  

Supper – Maple Dill Chicken and Avocado Salad. Nothing says spring like maple syrup! I use maple syrup all year round but I thought a spring week deserved for it to be highlighted. Dave was going to be late getting home this day so since I had extra time I decided to try these Whole Wheat Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits from 100 Days of Real Food. OMG! Go make them right now! The ingredient list is very similar to the Cheddar Crackers but a totally different texture obviously. The only problem with them is how quickly they disappear. Next time (oh yes, there will be a next time!) I’ll make a half batch for portion control! Since we ate late Marin had already eaten a fair amount but she still came to the table and ate most of her supper with lots of mmmm’s. So kid-friendly alert here too!  


Wednesday

Lunch -- Leftover Quinoa Salad. Even better the second day.  

Supper – Asparagus Pasta. This recipe is filed in my recipe binder. I find I refer to my binder less and less now that I’m constantly getting meal ideas on-line but it’s nice to go back to some old favorites. This is super easy, nothing too fancy but pretty good. I had some leftover maple dill chicken from Tuesday night which I just diced up cold and had on the side. I have to say – that chicken is excellent cold, would be great in a salad! Shrimp would go well with this pasta as well but it can stand alone as a meatless meal.

Thursday

Lunch – Leftover Pasta. This pasta is best eaten fresh but reheated pretty well for lunch.  

Supper – Maple Baked Beans. I LOVE baked beans! But this is actually the first time I have ever made them myself. I found it a bit mind boggling looking for a recipe, there was many to be found. I knew didn’t want one with ketchup or any other tomato-based product. I found one from Chef Michael Smith that looked close to what I was after. Unfortunately it turned out just ok because here was my big mistake…. I omitted the bacon!!  You’re probably reading that and thinking ‘well that’s just crazy!’.  Which of course it was.  My thought was that I wanted to just throw everything in the slow-cooker with no extra steps and that omitting the bacon would simply save some fat grams.  But of course the bacon was totally necessary, without it the ginger was too prominent.  So I added it after the fact.  I also added black-strap molasses – just a few tablespoons – more for color than anything else.  That was my mini mistake, that flavor trumped the maple.  Next time I make this recipe I will actually follow the recipe!  


Friday

Lunch -- Leftover beans. Leftovers for lunch again. Gotta love them! This was a super easy lunch week!  

Supper – Saucy Shrimp and Feta Toss.  This is another gem from my recipe binder, a Chatelaine find from years back.  This is one of Dave’s favorites and we used to make it so often I could throw it together with my eye’s closed.  You may have noticed we’ve had no shellfish on the menu until now.  Last summer/fall I started to notice I was getting hives and the only common denominator seemed to be shellfish.  But the hives were always days later so I thought it was time to do some control testing.  I’m sitting here with my fingers crossed that there will no hives… and no trips to emerg!