Week 37 - Back to School Series, Part 4: Double Duty Meals

Printable Version of Meal Plan

So if you've been hanging around here you know I often have leftovers for lunch. All of my lunches this week are based on leftovers from the night before... with a little twist to make them not just the same meal two days in a row. The thing I like most about this is that it really forces me to make lunches right after supper.  I mean when supper is done there's really no point in packaging up the leftovers just to take them out again later to repackage them into lunch is there?  Then I finish cleaning the kitchen and I'm done for the night!  Sweet!  I find this especially great in the fall when I want to get in my cozy clothes, curl up, watch new TV and knit.   

Recipe Quick Links

Apple Pie Overnight Oats, Oh She Glows
Fish Tacos, Canadian Living
Corn Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food
Sticky Chicken, Canadian Family
Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
Potato Chips, Canadian Family
Cold Chicken Noodle Salad, Canadian Living
Re-fried Beans, 100 Days of Real Food
Whole Wheat Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food
Pumpkin Buns, Today's Parent

 

Week in Review

 

Make Ahead Snack

Pumpkin Buns - These "buns" I would actually consider more of a muffin.  They were quick and easy to make and turned out real moist and mild tasting.  I find a lot of pumpkin recipes call for cinnamon or pumpkin spice but these were just pumpkin and small amount of sugar, nothing too overpowering.  A nice little fall lunchbox treat!

Pumpkin Bun

Monday

Apple Pie Overnight Oats - So you may have noticed I'm a bit of a fan of the overnight oats.  I'm also a big fan of Oh She Glows so when I saw this post for Apple Chia Jam Overnight Oats I had to try... it sure made my Monday morning!!  This was overnight oats meets the fall.  It was a bit like having apple pie for breakfast, hence I'm referring to this as "Apple Pie Overnight Oats".  I used homemade almond milk (another favorite Oh She Glow's recipe) but I used Steel Cut Oats instead of rolled oats.  I did finally try the rolled oats and as suspected I was not a fan of the texture.

Squash Soup - I'm sure this was inspired by a recipe I saw at one point but I wouldn't remember where.  I made a batch of this soup on the weekend instead of the curry I had been intending to make.  I wanted to use up leftover squash and also stock my freezer with some soup for easy lunch options in the weeks ahead.  I roasted the squash first and I have to say it looked and tasted so delicious coming out of the oven it almost didn't make it in the soup.  I'll estimate it was 2lbs of diced squash.  While the squash was roasting I heated some oil in a large pot and sauteed a chopped onion and 2 chopped apples with curry powder (~1T), garam masala(~1t) and cumin (~1t).  When the onion was translucent I added chicken broth (~2 cups) and the squash and simmered until all the veggies were super soft.  Then I pureed the soup using a hand blender and stirred in a can of coconut milk.  Yummy!

Fish Tacos - I actually tried a slightly different version than the one I'm linking here but this one is still my fave.  The recipe I followed used green apple in the salsa instead of mango, which given the time of year you might prefer.  I also made corn tortillas which pretty much have to be made fresh, but they are super easy to make and if you have the time are definitely worth the effort!!

Corn Tortillas

Tuesday

Fish Lettuce Roll-ups - The extra fish and apple salsa were rolled up in lettuce leaves for lunch.  My original plan was to use rice wrappers but I went with the lettuce leaves thinking they'd be easier to work with.   In the end they didn't stay together that well so I'd recommend the rice wrappers for a more portable lunch.  I mixed sour cream with a little regular jarred salsa for dipping.  Messy but good.

Sticky Chicken w/ Kale Salad and Potato Chips - Loved, loved and loved.  This chicken was super easy to make and really tasty.  A winner!  I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and marinated them the night before.  I put 2 extra pieces on without the marinade to use in tomorrow's lunch.  And this kale salad is old news around here but I happened to find a different variety of kale I wanted to try.  Around here you usually find "curly" kale but I finally found the variety that has a flatter darker leaf.  It was a bit better, although I wouldn't turn down a bowl made with the curly kale either.  I also made potato chips which were a big hit with Marin!  I skipped the rosemary but that does sound delicious.  I don't have a mandolin slicer (hmmm.... perhaps Santa is listening again??) but was able to slice the potatoes thin enough with a sharp knife.

Wednesday

Cold Chicken Noodle Salad - Meh.  Didn't love this.  My last few attempts at salad with vermicelli noodles have not been overly successful.  The noodles are always too chewy.  Perhaps the package was open too long?  Anyone know the secret to cooking vermicelli?

Steak, Grilled Veggie and Goat Cheese Salad -  Stretching grilling season out as long as I can!!  It was a beautiful day so we did the steak and a mix of peppers on the grill.  That was layered on top of lettuce with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.

Thursday

Goat Cheese and Grilled Veggie Omelettes - Goat cheese and grilled veggies automatically make me think of omelettes.  The veggies were leftover from supper so this was a really quick lunch to prepare.   Not sure why I've never thought to pack omelettes for lunch before??  I had it with a Pumpkin Bun and Coffee. 

Re-fried Beans on Whole Wheat Tortillas with Cheese, Sour Cream and Guacamole - I made the tortillas the night before and I have to say I'm still blown away that I can make tortillas.  Watching them puff up in the pan is one of the most exciting things ever.  Fresh, warm, chewy tortillas topped with homemade re-fried beans and the fixin's...  I really can't think of anything better.  Except for maybe fresh, warm, chewy tortillas topped with.... well pretty much anything.  And it was on the table within 10 minutes of walking in the door.  AND instead of having to threaten time-outs and no dessert to get Marin to eat, she literally inhaled this and asked for more.  This meal scores a 10 out of 10 in my books!

This is around the time I start to get excited!

The finished product.  Don't they look delicious!?

All loaded up!

I wasn't the only one super excited about this meal.

Friday

Layered Nacho Dip - It's the first thing to go at a pot-luck so why not make a meal out of it??  Use re-fried beans as a base layer and it's a filling (and fun!) lunch.  I served it with a baggie of Blue Corn Tortillas chips.

Grilled Apple & Cheese Sandwiches with Ginger Lime Thyme Jelly - Easy and delicious.

Hello weekend!

Sandra

Week 26 - Oh Canada!

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

Canada Day is just around the corner so I wanted to pay tribute to this great country and one of my favorite holidays!!  I'm featuring meals using some of the best known Canadian ingredients...  blueberries, maple syrup, cheese, beef, lobster and mussels to name a few.  What are your favorite Canadian foods??  Admittedly, some of my ingredients were imports (gasp!), but hey... the 4th of July is just around the corner too.  Why not celebrate both, eh?!


Watermelon Maple Leaf - an easy treat for a July 1st BBQ!

Recipe Quick Links

Overnight Oats, Kath Eats

Wild Rice and Lentil Salad, Canadian Living
Whole Wheat Pancakes, All Recipes

Watermelon & Feta Salad, House of Fifty
Lobster Cobb Salad, Chuck Hughes

Week in Review

Monday

Breakfast - Overnight Oats - I'm highlighting this one because I tried a new flavor combo that was so delicious!  I used Coconut Yogurt instead of plain, and my add-ins were diced mango and a couple of tablespoons of shredded coconut.  I skipped the added sweetener because the coconut yogurt is definitely sweet enough!  mmm, mmm, mmm.... note, I've been using steel cut oats which I find turn out chewy instead of mushy.

Lunch - Wild Rice and Lentil Salad - I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  These aren't always flavors that appeal to me but I didn't overdo the dressing and found it to be a perfect lunch salad.  And did you know that Canada is well known for its wild rice? 



Photo by Jeff Coulson/TC Media via http://www.canadianliving.com


Supper - Mussels with Corn on the Cob.  I've been craving mussel's lately so I was really excited for supper this night.  But I decided to get adventurous and steam them with beer and it kinda ruined it for me.  When it comes to shellfish I'm a Plain Jane kind of girl.  Here's a good reference for preparing mussels.  The corn on the cob was delicious of course... nothing says summer like corn on the cob!

Tuesday

Breakfast - Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes.  Another breakfast shout out, because - a) I used blueberries and maple syrup in honor of Canada.  And b) I found an excellent pancake recipe.  I made them the night before for a quick and easy mid-week morning treat.  I had leftovers as a work snack on another day.

Lunch - Dave and I both had lunch plans so no packed lunches this day!

Supper - Chicken and Watermelon & Feta Salad.  It was HOT out so this was an awesome summer meal.  Dave liked it but didn't think it was very Canadian (he was waiting for juicy beef burgers with Canadian bacon).  It might not have been but the feta was from Quebec!  I love me some Canadian cheese!  Ultimately this was just a perfect summer salad.  I was planning to barbecue the chicken but didn't feel like standing in front of a hot grill.  I opted to slice it and cook it in a frying pan with a little coconut oil.  I thought this would be the quickest method and it actually went really well with the salad.



Watermelon and Feta Salad
"That sure is a nice looking salad!", said Marin

Wednesday

Lunch - Montreal Style Smoked Meat Sandwich.  I bought a package of smoked meat (in the deli section) and had it on dark rye bread with mustard and a slice of swiss cheese.  Delicious!  So good in fact that Dave actually emailed me at 11:30 to say how good it was and I replied "I know" because apparently neither of us could wait until noon to eat them.

Supper - BBQ Steak with Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts.  So beef and potatoes are classic Canadian foods and I really wanted to have fiddleheads to round out this meal but at the three stores I shopped at this week I didn't come across any.  I think it's just past the season.  We had brussel sprouts instead because last week when I took Marin grocery shopping she really, really wanted them because they were "so cute".  However, when she saw them on her plate she wasn't so thrilled.  Not one of Dave's favorites either.  Oh well, more brussel sprouts for me!  Steak and potatoes were both done on the BBQ.  The sprouts I boiled and dressed with a little butter and salt.

Thursday

Lunch - I had a work lunch so Dave got the last Smoked Meat Sandwich.  Have to admit, I was a little jealous.  I thought of taking a bite out of his sandwich just to be funny but I figured I wouldn't be able to stop at one bite and that would be counter productive.
 

Supper - Turkey, Bacon, Apple and Swiss Panini's on Rye Bread with Spinach Salad.  Confession - this was supposed to be 'back bacon' which is often referred to as 'Canadian bacon' but I ended up grabbing the regular stuff because I wanted it to use in tomorrow's Cobb Salad as well.  This would allow me to cook enough bacon for the two meals and trim my grocery list.  But you know how this story goes, right?  We ate the extra bacon.  Who knew Marin would love 'steakon' so much??  So maybe not overly Canadian but a great summer meal that doesn't require turning on the stove!  I made the panini's on the George Foreman Grill but you could use a frying pan in a pinch.  I spread button on the outside of the bread and a little inside.  The salad was spinach, apples, bacon and cheese with a dressing made of equal parts maple syrup and mayonaise.  Easy and really good!

Friday

Lunch - Lobster Cobb Salad.  A Canadian themed week, put together by a Nova Scotian, would not be complete without lobster!  Typically we like to chow down on this crustacean in the comfort of our own home where we can roll up our sleeves, suck the juice out of the shells and dig into every little crevice.  Not a pretty picture, but there is truly no dainty way to accomplish this task!  I bought this tasty little fella at the local grocery store.  If you're not from a place where lobster are readily available then I'd suggest substituting the lobster for shrimp or even chunks of tuna. 

Lucy the Lobster

Supper - Poutine!  We're actually going to be on the road heading to the beautiful Cape Breton Island for the weekend.  But around here most fast food chains sell Poutine so I'm sure I can find a plate of it somewhere along the way.

If you're interested in making the Maple Leaf Watermelon treats (no, I didn't hand carve them), it's this easy...  oh, and thanks for the cookie cutter Krista and Happy Anniversay to you and Chris!

Tip #1:  Make sure your Watermelon slices are thinner than the cookie cutter.
Tip #2:  Use the scraps in the Watermelon & Feta Salad!

And in some non-food related business I want to give a shout out to my friend, Wendy Owens Abbott, who has recently released her debut CD and is having a CD release party this weekend in Halifax.  I've been lucky enough to hear her sing on a number of occasions and can tell you that her voice is as beautiful as she is!  An amazing talent!  Check her out... http://wendyowensabbott.wix.com/wendyowensabbott#


Happy Canada Day!

Sandra

Week 25 - A little of this and a little of that...

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

We were away on the weekend so I had planned to pick up just enough food to get us through Monday and then go for the main order Monday night.  But at the last minute I threw together a really quick meal plan and did a whole grocery order on Sunday.  I was able to make do with the food I bought but found I made a lot of adjustments to the plan this week, just to suit my taste buds and mood with the sun finally shining!!!  Could it really be??  Summer??

Recipe Quick Links

• Overnight Oats, Kath Eats
• Cauliflower Rice, Kalyn's Kitchen
• Salmon Cakes, Source Unknown
• Kale Salad, Marin Mama Cooks
• Honey Soy Marinade, Best Recipes
• Chinese Chicken Salad, Weelicious
• Breaded Pork Chops, All Recipes
• 7 Grain Pilaf & Orange Salad, Zoe Cuisine
• Chocolate Avocado Pudding, After Dinner Dance (This is a must try!)
• Chickpea Burgers, Marin Mama Cooks

 

Week in Review

Monday

Lunch - Ham, Havarti & Triscuit "Lunchable" with Veggies & Ranch Dip.  Feels like it's been awhile since I've made this type of lunch.  It was the perfect no-cook meal to throw together after being away for the weekend.

Supper - Salmon & Cauliflower Rice.  I've been seeing recipes for cauliflower rice everywhere lately and was pretty curious.  I've mashed, steamed and roasted cauliflower, I've tried the cauliflower pizza crust (really good!) and just like cauliflower in general so I was actually a tad disappointed with this recipe.  I might not have cooked the onions enough and I don't think I got the right consistency with the cauliflower either - it ended up being more of a puree as she cautions.  I also skipped the sumac because I was actually following a very similar Chatelaine version of this recipe.  The salmon was good though.  I just seasoned with salt, pepper and a spritz of lemon and then baked it in the oven at 375 until done.  I really enjoy salmon so sometimes find less is more.  Marin gobbles up fish too, it's always an easy sell.  I remember not liking fish as a kid so hopefully that doesn't change.

Tuesday

Breakfast - Overnight Oats!!!   I'm finding that opening the fridge in the morning to find a jar of this yumminess waiting for me is the perfect start to the day!  I'm hoping it's going to start motivating me to get up at 5:30 for run!




Overnight Oats

 

Lunch - Salmon Fishcakes & Kale Salad.  I had this Kale Salad on the menu for later in the week but it was on my mind since I watched Jackie's video tutorial over at Marin Mama Cooks so I just couldn't wait and bumped it up.  Go watch the video... I've made this salad a few times now and really love it but realized I wasn't massaging my kale enough.  Unfortunately around here you have to take what you can get with Kale and this week it wasn't the best but I still really enjoyed the salad.  Then I turned my leftover salmon into super easy fishcakes... I didn't follow a recipe.  The Bachelorette was on and I needed to get lunch made fast!  I mashed potatoes, added some of the leftover cauliflower rice & salmon, an egg, breadcrumbs, dill... measured nothing.  Formed them into patties, coated them in panko and fried them up.  If you're more of a recipe follower I have my favorite fishcake recipe typed out in the "Patty Cake" week.

Supper - Honey Soy Chicken Burgers with Asian Slaw.  This was a bit of a recipe shuffle too.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day so a barbecue was a must and burgers were on my mind.  I marinated the chicken cutlets and cooked them on the barbecue (well, Dave actually did that step).  Then served them up on toasted English Muffins with that yummy Peanut Dipping Sauce from last week.  I would have liked to have added lettuce and tomato but I wasn't planning on burgers so I didn't have any.  On the side I made the Weelicious Chinese Chicken Salad, without the chicken.

Wednesday

Lunch - Chinese Chicken Salad.  I chopped up the leftover chicken and threw it on the leftover Asian Slaw.  Easy.  Which freed up my evening on Tuesday to enjoy the sunshine!  Of course what I did instead was clean out the upstairs closet and a heavy box fell on my head... luckily I escaped with just a very minor injury!  I take this as a sign that I should clean less and cook more!  By the way... this chicken was delicious cold the next day!  I actually preferred this meal as leftovers.

Supper - Breaded Pork Chops with Veggies and Dip.  These pork chops are quick, easy and tasty too.  I had planned on roasted veggies but I got home late and was short on time so we had raw veggies and dip instead.   And for dessert - Chocolate Avocado Pudding.  Decadent!

Thursday

Lunch - 7 Grain Pilaf and Orange Salad.  I've made this before and I'll make it again!  The feta, the nuts, the fruit... mmm, mmm, mmm.  I was low on grains so I made this with all quinoa.  Bulgar would have added a nice texture.




Quinoa and Orange Salad

    

Supper - Chickpea Burgers & Greek Salad.  More from Marin Mama... sometimes I feel like her stalker but I get lost in her blog and have loved all the recipes I've tried.  This is at least my third batch of these burgers... so tasty!  And since we greeked them up with the Tzatziki I served them with a side of Greek salad.  I was actually wanting some lemon roasted potatoes but it was too warm to turn the oven on for 45 minutes. 

Friday

Lunch - Chickpea Burgers & Kale Salad.  Leftover Friday!

Supper - Spaghetti & Meatballs.  I'm getting the plan out early today because we're having Dave's family over for Spaghetti tonight.  This was a staple in thier house so we're looking forward to the feast.  Dave was making the meatballs this morning, I'm tossing up a big Caesar salad... some garlic bread and a DQ Ice Cream cake to celebrate all the June birthday's (2 brothers & 2 nephews).  It looks like the weather is going to cooperate so we can sit outside and maybe fit in a few games of Bocce and Washers too!

Happy weekend everyone!

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!

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!

Lunch – Chickpeas 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.

Supper – Haddock 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

Breakfast – Egg “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.

Supper – Whole 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

Breakfast – PB & 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

 

Lunch – Leftover 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.

Supper – Tofu 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!

Week 5 - Mid-Week Big Batch

Printable Version of Meal Plan, Recipes and Grocery List

I'm changing things up a bit this week in hopes of making things a bit easier.  You probably noticed last week that the Meal Plan, Recipes and Grocery List were posted together in one PDF file, which I think (and I hope you'll agree) is a big improvement over posting them seperately as images.  In addition to posting the link on the Meal Plan page I'll include the link at the top of the Week in Review post.  I'll also include in the weekly post a list of links to any recipes that are availabe on-line.

Weekly Quick Links:

• Fish Tacos, Food Network
• Breakfast Wrap
• Corn Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food 
• Roast Chicken Drumsticks, Stock Piling Mom
• Brocolli & Cheddar Patties, Weelicious
• Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits, 100 Days of Real Food
• Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
• Ranch Dressing, 100 Days of Real Food

Week in Review

Given that I was not feeling the greatest when I planned this week I feel it came together pretty well and was an easy one to follow.  This week was mostly inspired by a trip to Costco where I picked up some Spinach, Strawberries and Portobello Mushrooms.  I had a variety of Goat Cheese and Pre-Cooked Chicken from a previous visit as well.  To kick things off this was supper on Sunday night...

Spinach Salad with Fig Goat Cheese

Some other ways we used up these ingredients - Southwest Chicken Salads, Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Goat Cheese and Strawberry Shortcake.

I also threw in a Lasagna mid-week which worked out really well!!  I typically think of big-batch meals as a Sunday thing to do to stretch into the early part of the week but really its mid-week when I'm running out of steam!  Dave assembled the lasagna Tuesday night which made for an easy supper  on Wednesday with enough leftovers for lunch Thursday and Friday.   As a result the only meal we made after Tuesday was Thursday's supper - now that's an easy week!  Friday's plan is not a typo - Dave had a work event and Marin had a Birthday Party so we didn't need a meal tonight.

I typically focus on Lunches and Suppers in my review but I'd like to talk a bit about Breakfast this week.  If you're like me you sometimes fall into a breakfast rut.  I tend to throw a variety of breakfast ideas on my plan using things that I know we have on hand - but in reality many mornings I skip the plan and go for a quick piece of toast with peanut butter.  This week I added a bit of variety to my breakfast and it was a nice change!  We had flatbread and strawberries so one day I made a breakfast wrap with PB, Banana, Strawberry and large flake oats.  Delicious breakfast on the go!  I also made Almond Milk this week!!  I can't believe it either.  As a result I had an abundance of almond pulp to use up - yesterday I mixed it with oatmeal and this morning I had it on an English Muffin with a drizzle of maple syrup and topped with, you guessed it... strawberries!


The only meal I want to comment on this week is the fish tacos.  I very loosely followed the recipe that I've included in the plan.  I marinated the fish as per the recipe but pan-fried it instead of grilled.  We had it on corn tortillas... have you made them yet???  If my last picture didn't tempt you maybe this one will?  My main topping was a mango salsa, which was just a bottled variety with added diced mango.  This was my first attempt at fish tacos and I'd definately make them again but I wasn't overly crazy about the salsa - I found it overpowering.  I think a fresh mango salsa would be much better!


Now... my pick for the one meal you should definately try this week.... Strawberry Shortcake!  Ok, ok, I know you can't really make a meal out of it but it was such a treat!  I would also pick this one so that you have an excuse to try these Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits.  I splurged on REAL whipped cream.... yummmmm.  BTW - the whipped cream was a breeze to make in my new Kitchen Aid Mixer.  Have I mentioned before how much I love it??

One quick story before I sign off.  I'm now a month into my meal planning journey and am really happy with the results.  I feel more organized and I definately feel like we've saved money.  One thing for sure is that we've eaten out much less!  This is a true story - on a number of occasions last fall we told Marin we were going out to eat and she would say "um...I'd rather just go home for chicken and a salad".  Last week she asked me three days in a row - 'Mom, can we pleeeease go out to eat tonight??"  :-)