April Wrap Up

I've had some hits and misses this month so I thought, "what would happen if I put together one meal plan of all the hits?"  That would result in one crazy good meal plan, that's what!  So this isn't a plan that we followed but it's full of stuff we did eat over the month that made the whole family happy.

April Wrap Up Meal Plan

Noteworthy Breakfasts

Overnight Oats continue to be my absolute favorite breakfast.  This month I've been back and forth between raspberry and peanut butter.  My basic formula is:

1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats

1 cup Almond Milk (I use homemade which I think is of secret ingredient to real fabulous oats).

1.5 Tbsp Chia Seeds

1 tsp Maple Syrup

Peanut Butter: add a generous spoonful of natural Peanut Butter

Raspberry: add frozen raspberries

Blueberry and Almond Overnight Oats

 

I single serve my oats and mix in the add-in's the night before so that they are literally ready to go in the morning.  But you could easily big-batch the basic recipe and add-in the flavors of your choice in the morning.  Also, you may want to adjust the amounts of oats, milk and chia seeds based on how thick/thin you like your oats.  Most recipes call for old-fashioned oats but I much prefer the texture of Steel Cut!

Red Beet Pancakes - I made these on a weekend and Marin was so excited!  She's been asking for them off and on since the last time I made them - for Valentine's Day in 2013!  We had them for Sunday breakfast, leftovers for Monday breakfast and there were two little pancakes left that Marin and I had for a quick snack after work/daycare one day.  These could easily be made ahead of time for a weekday breakfast and pancakes also freeze well and can be reheated right in the toaster!

Cottage Cheese & Vanilla Yogurt with Fruit and Nuts -  I haven't been eating this since I'm still dairy reduced these days but Dave loves this combo.  He eats cottage cheese like I eat oatmeal.  You can totally customize this one with whatever yogurt flavor, fruit/berry and nut combo you like.  It is delicious!

Lunches

This was a month of seriously easy lunches.  We've been on a kick of wraps, hummus and boiled eggs - not necessarily together but together works as well.

Homemade Tortillas - aka, the best thing EVER!

Veggie Wrap with Cheese & Ranch Dressing.  This happened on a weekend.  I had tortillas in the freezer, veggies that needed eating, ranch spice in the cupboard, leftover black beans & cheese... I put everything on the counter and we all came up with something a little different.  My version... tortillas with a generous scoop of ranch dressing, broccoli, orange tomatoes, red peppers and shredded cheese.  It was so good I had the exact same thing the next day.  I made one for Dave too and he agreed, delicious! 

Pork Fried Rice - I love making fried rice for lunch to use up leftover meat and vegetables.  My formula is to saute whatever vegetables I have on hand, add in the cooked rice and shredded meat, add a splash of soya sauce and mix it all up.  At the end I'll sometimes crack in an egg and scramble that in too.

Crispy Bean Tots - So Marin starts school in less than 5 months and I'm going to have to start packing her lunches.  I'm already super excited about this and putting a lot of thought into it.  I came across this recipe and wanted to give it a test drive.  When I taste tested one the night I made them I was less than enthused... found them kind of bland.  But for lunch the next day I dipped them in a little ketchup and thought I found a winner!  I think this will be school lunch approved.

Hard Boiled Egg, Veggies & Dip, Crackers and a slice of Avocado.  I found out one night that Dave didn't need lunch the next day.  I came very close to kicking up my feet and taking the night off but the image of a hard boiled egg came to mind.  And so I got off the couch and put together this almost no effort lunch for myself.  And totally enjoyed it!  This was what started my hard boiled egg craze this month. 

Greek Quinoa Salad - This is nothing new for us, we have it regularly.  I always make extra because if Marin comes anywhere near the kitchen when I'm making this she will make it her bedtime snack and before I know it it's half gone.  This will also be on the school lunch rotation.  It's simply quinoa, tomato, cucumber, feta and some Greek salad dressing.  I add either chickpeas or diced chicken to make it a meal.  If you're a black olive fan (we're not) throw those in too.

Greek Quinoa Salad

Hummus Wrap, Veggies and Cheese - Tortilla or Pita filled with hummus, veggies and cheddar cheese.  Yummy!  I actually usually pack everything separate for this one and just dip the pita and munch.  I find it easier to eat and pack that way.  It's like being at a party and making a meal out of the appetizers.

Suppers

Slow Cooker Maple and Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin - This met all of my Slow Cooker criteria - 1) Easy to assemble the night before; 2) Can be left for 9 hours unattended; 3) No time-consuming extra steps before serving.  I did thicken the juices as suggested which took about 10 minutes at the end of the day.  I would say this step is optional though because I taste tested using the juices before I thickened and it was still really good. 

Fish in Parchment Packets - this is such an easy, no mess way to cook fish.  Plus it's fun to have your own little packet.  I didn't follow this recipe exactly, but it's a good guide on how to prepare the packets and cooking time.  Just substitute with whatever vegetables and herbs (and they don't have to be fresh) you have on hand.

Panko Crusted Tofu w/ Soy Dipping Sauce - This meal is a huge hit in our house every time!  In fact I think next time I'll use two blocks of tofu.  It's one of the few things Marin always asks for more of.  Note: I omit the chili pepper from the sauce because we're not bit on spicy food.  I usually serve it with a stir-fry and/or rice.

Panko Crusted Tofu

Chicken Skewers with Kale Greek Salad -The chicken was marinated in a yogurt lemon sauce that gave the chicken a really nice flavor.  If you can do this step in the morning it would make for a really quick weeknight meal as well.  I made a Greek Salad using Kale and our favorite homemade Greek salad dressing.  A hit!  Lemon roasted potatoes wouldn't be wrong either.  haha.

Spaghetti w/ Mushrooms, Garlic and Oil - We don't often have pasta for supper but Dave wasn't going to be home for supper on this particular night and I was just in the mood for something really easy.  I find every week needs that one recipe to make on the night that you're just out of steam.  For me that's usually Thursday.  Plus we both really enjoyed this!

BBQ Steak, Baked Potatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms and Arugula Salad with Vegan Parmesan.  Winter is OVER!  Hurrah! And we just bought a new grill so this is what we made to test it out.  Always fabulous, I LOVE this meal!  The steak marinade we use can be found on my Favorites page under 'Salad Dressings and Spice Mixes'.


Since I was only posting one plan for the whole month I added a lot of variety.  Many of these meals could stretch over a couple of days making this a two week meal plan.  Hope some of our favorites become your favorites too!

Now bring on those May flowers!

Sandra

Week 48 - Dairy Free, No Problem!

PDF Version of Meal Plan

Wow... Week 48 already!!  I've been spending a lot of time lately contemplating where to go with this blog at the end of 52 weeks.  It's had so many personal benefits that I can't see giving it up, yet in it's current format it's a bit too time consuming to keep up while working full time.  I have some ideas that I'll share in a recap post at the end of the year but I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have!  Feel free to either comment or send me a Facebook message if you have ideas or would like to share what you felt worked or didn't work.

Recipe Quick Links

Almond Milk, Oh She Glows
Granola, Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations
Raspberry Chia Jam, Eat Good 4 Life
Avocado Corn Salad, Sobey's Inspired
Whole Wheat Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food
Maple Soy Salmon, Chatelaine
Vegan Parmesan, Oh She Glows
Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken, Skinny Ms.
Ginger Mushroom & Kale Beef Stir-fry, Gimme Some Oven

Week in Review

The dairy-free trial continues and I didn't find it so hard this week.  Here are the highlights...

Almond Milk - I would drink this over dairy milk anytime and trust me when I tell you, it's really simple to make and far superior to store-bought!

Granola & Raspberry Chia Jam - I made the granola to use up some almond pulp and paired it with So Good Coconut Yogurt and Raspberry Chia Jam.  Awesome replacement for my typical Greek yogurt & berry snack.  This raspberry jam is ridiculously easy to make and really delicious!!  Making homemade granola happens only on rare occasions in this house... this is my latest favorite store-bought variety.

Love Grown Granola

Black Bean & Avocado Salad Wrap - This was basically the Avocado Corn Salad that I've made numerous times, with the addition of black beans to make it more of a meal.  Then I scooped it up with a warmed fresh tortilla.  Mmm, mmmm....

Quinoa & Pomegranate Salad with Arugula - This was a simple recipe.  I mixed quinoa and bulgar, added pomegranate seeds and a mix of peppers and sugar snap peas.  For the dressing I used a pomegranate vinaigrette.  To pack it for lunch I laid arugula in a bowl and topped it with the quinoa and then mixed it up just before eating.  I think the arugula was a key ingredient.  It's a bit strong and peppery so it's a good balance for the sweetness of the pomegranate.  I mention this one because it was quick, easy and made lunch for two days, and also because we were able to reinvent it so it wasn't just a repeat lunch.  The first day it was paired with black beans and the second day with leftover pineapple chicken and worked well with both.

Maple Soy Salmon - It was so good last week we had it again.  This recipe is a winner!

Vegan Parmesan -  Our typical Arugula and Kale salads have Parmesan cheese (I typically use shaved fresh Parm).  This week I substituted with Vegan Parmesan.  I would say it more closely replaces grated Parmesan but I thought it was really good and was able to totally enjoy my favorite salads.

Kale Salad all dressed up with Vegan Parmesan

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken - This was one of those "super-easy-do-all-the-prep-the-night-before- leave-it-for-the-day-and-come-home-to-a-fully-cooked-delicious-meal" slow cooker recipes.  And it used just a few basic ingredients.  And it made enough to have leftovers for lunch.  Love!

Slow Cooker Totally Awesome Pineapple Chicken

Ginger Mushroom & Kale Beef Stir-fry - I actually thought this was just ok but Dave totally enjoyed.  I'd say it was his favorite from the week.

So basically I loved everything this week!

Note:  Dave and Marin did not eat dairy free - they had things like milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and cheese.

Happy Weekend!

Sandra

Week 42 - A Salad a Day Keeps the Doctor Away?

Printable Version of Meal Plan

I was really pumped that our gradual switch to a more "Real Food" diet would result in us slimming down with no real effort.  Unfortunately, that's not what's happening and I think it's that our sugar intake has actually increased because I see so many "healthy" recipes for baked goods that are just too tempting to not try.  Summer is also our most challenging season.  While there's an abundance of fresh produce available in the summer there's also an abundance of "junk" food.  So fall tends to be the time of year that I crave fruit and vegetables in copious amounts and that's where we are right now.  We ate A LOT of salad this week!  Luckily salad doesn't have to be boring... this might just be my favorite week so far.

Weekly Recap

Lasagna - I had Supper Club with the gals on Sunday night (at Two Doors Down on Barrington St. - Kale Caesar Salad highly recommended!!) so I made a super quick and easy lasagna for the fam before I left.  I used a jar of organic pasta sauce layered with uncooked lasagna noodles, cottage cheese (mixed with an egg and Parmesan cheese) and shredded mozzarella.  Because I didn't bother adding any meat I didn't have to cook anything.  I just assembled and put it in the fridge until they were ready to throw it in the oven.  We had leftovers for Monday lunch and put the rest in the freezer.  Love lasagna!!

Trout, Boiled Potatoes and Arugula Salad - This meal was a winner with everyone.  Dave in particular gave it a strong two thumbs up.  I baked the trout seasoned with just salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice.  Easy.  We had it with boiled potatoes (I don't know why but to me fish and boiled potatoes go together like PB & J) and our most favorite salad at the moment - arugula tossed with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt & pepper and fresh shaved Parmesan.  We could eat this salad every day of the week! 

Kale Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing (Oh She Glows) - I wanted to give another Kale Salad a try and this one definitely did the trick as a meal on it's own.  I added bulgar to make it a bit more hearty.  Really liked this dressing.  You can't go wrong with any recipe from Oh She Glows - vegan or not!

Marinated Chicken w/ Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots - I'm determined to keep trying Brussels sprouts until my family love them as much as I do!!  And until then... more for me!  I used to occasionally marinate chicken in either Italian or Basil Parmesan bottled dressings.  Lately I've been skipping that section of the grocery store and never have any on hand.  So when I saw this recipe for Italian Herb Dressing from My Whole Food Life I instantly thought of chicken.  I marinated for about 8 hours and then baked it in the oven.  It would have been better grilled for sure but it was too chilly outside for that.  Either way, this dressing was a good substitute for my old standard marinades.

Tuna Salad on Rye Crackers - New favorite lunch alert!!  I mixed a can of chunk white tuna (in water) with olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, feta, grape tomatoes and pepper.    We had it with Ryvita Rye Crackers that I worked out to be 1 Weight Watchers point per 2 crackers!!  Low point, full of flavor lunch!

Panko Tofu w/ Kale Salad - Two of my favorites come together!  Not surprising I enjoyed this meal.

Panko Crusted Tofu

Greek Quinoa Salad w/ Chickpeas - I realized this weekend that we haven't had this quinoa salad in ages!  If you're trying to introduce more quinoa into your diet I would consider this a good "starter" recipe.  Marin helped me make it and then had a bowl and declared 'Mommy, this is the best salad ever!'  She then asked for a second bowl saying 'mmm.... this salad is TOO good!' and then went on to ask for a third bowl!  Kid-friendly?  I think so!  I mix cooked and cooled quinoa with tomato, cucumber, red onion & feta.  Throw in some black olives if you like.  I add chickpeas or tofu if I'm making a meal out of it.  Stir that up with some Greek salad dressing - I recommend this one.  This salad will keep well for a couple of days so double it up! 

Marin's version of "Helping"

Greek Quinoa Salad

Pork Chops w/ Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Mash - This meal was simple, just a few ingredients and no recipe required so it makes for a good week night meal in that way.  I pan-fried the chops and simple boiled the sweet potato and cauliflower together until really soft and then mashed them with a little butter and milk.  Marin's not a fan of mashed anything so I gave her some frozen peas... sometimes you can't over-think things with kids!

Falafel & Tabbouleh - I've had this one on my list to try for ages and so happy I finally did!  Yummers!  Although I will say while the recipes are easy, this was still more effort than I typically like on a Thursday night.  But definitely worth trying, maybe just bump it up earlier in the week.

Falafel

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup - It's Friday!  Slow Cooker is on (hopefully!) and we'll be coming home to Taco Soup.  Can't wait!

This week was brought to you by a full 2 lb bag of lemons.  

Happy weekend everyone!

Sandra 

Week 31 - Lighten Up

Printable Version of Meal Plan

We're just back from a week at the cottage and arrived home Monday evening with grocery stores closed for the holiday.  So... I drew up my meal plan in the car knowing I wouldn't be able to get a grocery order until the next evening after work.  That made Tuesday a challange since the fridge was completely void of everything except for the odd jar of this or that.  Marin was starring into the fridge after daycare on Tuesday and declared 'Wow, we're out of A LOT of things!'.  We picked up bread and milk at a corner store and that got us by.  My main goal this week was to lighten things up... nine days of chips and sweets had me craving a good old salad!

I'm posting a regular Monday to Friday meal plan but for us this was actually Tuesday to Saturday.  We were so low on everything that I wanted to make sure we had enough to get us through the weekend.  And since I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things my post is again taking on a different format.  No grocery list and instead of "Quick Links" and "Week in Review" I'm trying out what I'll call "Meal Reviews", which will include all the appropriate links and any notes I think are worthwhile.  Who knows... this might stick.  Let me know what you think.

Meal Reviews

No-Cook Overnight Oats -- Have you tried this recipe yet??  I have my sister hooked - she loves it for camping.  Some of my favorite add-ins are mango, peaches, fresh figs, coconut and pumpkin seeds.  What are yours?  Note:  I make mine with Steel Cut Oats, even though the recipe says not to.  One of these days I'll try it with regular oats.

No-cook Overnight Oats

Slow Cooker Deli Style Chicken with Tomato & Zucchini - this was the perfect quick and light meal for the first night back from vacation.  First of all, the slow cooker takes no more than five minutes to prepare in the morning and then you come home to a fully cooked, delicious, moist chicken... and no need to turn on the oven on a hot summer day!  For a side we had slices of orange and red tomatoes and yellow zucchini, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic and a crack of salt and pepper.   Yum.

Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Mexican Chicken Wraps - for lunch the next day I diced up the leftover chicken and made kind of a chicken salad with a mexican twist.  I added shredded cheese, mexican spice blend, lime juice and plain yogurt. I would have used salsa if I had it but I was out.  I packed some raw veggies to have on the side.

Grilled Steak with Arugula Salad - Loved this meal!!  Dave wasn't feeling well this night so I was on grill duty and I have to say... I did a bang up job.  I had picked up a couple of really nice striploin steaks so I let them speak for themselves adding just a little salt and pepper.  The salad was one my brother-in-law's partner introduced us to last week and this is totally going to become a regular thing.  Arugula, drizzle of olive oil and fresh lemon juice, crack of salt and pepper and shaved parmesan... that's it!  Simple and delicious.  And because this came together so quickly Marin wasn't quite ready to eat so I ate in peace, on the deck, drinking a spritzer while flipping through a magazine.  Aaaahhhhh... almost as relaxing as drinking my morning coffee on the deck at the cottage.

Chickpea and Avocado Salad - I had a pop-in on my Facebook Page from a fellow Maritime food blogger.  I went and checked out her blog (http://www.thefrillyapron.com) and my eye instantly caught a recipe for chickpea and avocado salad.  Chickpeas? Avocado? Yes, please!  Her post was very convincing that this salad was worth a try and that it was.  A very hearty, tasty and packable lunch.  And I totally agree with her that it's very customisable.  Start with the chickpeas, avocado and slaw mix and then go nuts (no pun intended) with whatever dressing and add-ins you feel like. 

Marinated Tofu, Greek Salsa and Tzatziki - had I been on the ball I could have prepped most of this meal the night before but I was not very on the ball this week.  C'est la vie.  I get home decently early in the summer so I whipped up some Greek dressing, marinated the tofu for about 20 minutes and then crisped them up in the frying pan with some olive oil.  I made a Greek salsa (tomato, cucumber, red onion, yellow zucchini, orange pepper, feta and dressing) with tzatziki on the side.  I don't typically enjoy homemade Tzatziki all that much but this recipe was a good one!  Greek food never disappoints in our house.  The salsa was so colorful I had to take a picture...

Greek Salsa

Cajun Shrimp and Orzo Salad & Indian Spiced Yogurt Marinated Chicken -- Because we're not actually following this plan Monday through Friday I haven't actually tried these recipes yet.  I am looking forward to them though!  Both are compliments of Canadian Living Magazine.  And if you don't subscribe you might want to pick up the September issue -- it's full of great recipes that I can't wait to try!


What are you all cooking up this summer?

Sandra

Week 24 - Everyday Potluck

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

Have you ever noticed when you go to a potluck that everything tastes so good!  So why don't we just cook like that all the time?  The thing with potluck food is that it's typically something you can big-batch, has global appeal for picky eaters and travels well... perfect for everyday!  So all the lunch/supper options this week are potluck friendly.  Just in time for all those summer barbecue's!

Recipe Quick Links

Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa, Canadian Living
Honey Garlic Meatballs, Edesia's Notebook
Avocado Corn Salad, Sobey's Inspired
Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce, Life's on Fire
Lemony Red Pepper and Asparagus Salad, Canadian Living

Week in Review

Monday

Lunch - Quinoa Lentil Salad.  This recipe came from my sister, Jo-Anne.  She brought it to a family BBQ a couple of weeks ago.  She likes to make the base (quinoa, bulgur, lentils, feta and dressing) in a big batch on the weekend and then she just adds the veggies as she goes through the week.  The lentils in this salad make it a filling lunch.  I prepared 1 cup of quinoa (reserving enough for breakfast later in the week), 3/4 cup bulgar and 1 cup of lentils.  This made generous servings of lunch for Dave and I for two days.  I added tomato and cucumber to our individual servings.

Dressing for Quinoa Lentil Salad
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp mint
1 tsp dill
Salt & Pepper
**Note: I made the amount of dressing as described here but found it to not be enough, so I made more based on 1/8 cup olive oil.  How much dressing you need will depend on how much salad you make and personal taste.

Supper - Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa.  I made these a few weeks ago and they are so good!  I will say I made one mistake this time... I got lazy and bought corn tortillas instead of making them fresh.  It really did make a difference.  I think these would be awesome for a potluck.  When I make my own corn tortillas they're typically pretty small so you could have a platter with a stack of tortillas, crumbled fish, and the salsa and yogurt in dishes.  I think it would look really pretty and impressive and one little taco would be just right size when you're taking a little bit of everything. 

Photo by Jim Kim/TC Media, via http://www.canadianliving.com

Tuesday

Lunch -- Quinoa Lentil Salad.  I didn't switch it up, this was an exact repeat of Monday's lunch.  It was really nice to have something easy to pack on Monday night!  My sister will big batch this to have more than twice in the week.  For me two times of anything is typically enough... by the third day it's lost it's appeal.

Supper -- Honey Garlic Meatballs and Rice.  Ever been to a meatball free potluck?  Nope, me either.  I've never made honey garlic meatballs so I browsed Pinterest looking for a recipe.  I typically stay away from ketchup based sauces because, well... they're just too "ketchup-y".  But it seemed like every recipe I found for honey garlic sauce was this recipe.  Given it's popularity I thought I'd give it a try.  The verdict?  It was too "ketchup-y"!  I was looking for a bit more honey and bit more garlic.  When I said I wasn't crazy about it though Marin said (with a full mouth of food) "mmmm... I think it's perfect already".  So it got the kid stamp of approval.  If anyone has a meatball recipe they'd like to share I'm still looking for "the one".

Wednesday

Lunch - Dave didn't need lunch and I had a lunch date with my bestie!

Supper - Fajita Chicken Stirfry and Avocado Corn Salad.  I was planning to barbecue the chicken but it was raining cats and dogs so at the last minute I decided to do up the chicken as if we were having fajitas... chicken, peppers, onion, Mexican spice blend and salsa.  This is the second time I've had this Avocado Corn Salad on the menu and I made it for our family gathering last weekend as well.  This is best with grilled corn but I've made it plenty of times using frozen corn and it's still really good.  The last time I made it I skipped the salsa and hot pepper in consideration of some dietary constraints and actually preferred it that way so I skipped them again.



Photo from Sobey's Inspired - http://www.inspired.ca

 

Thursday

Lunch - Honey Garlic Meatball Pita Pizza.  I used up the leftover meatballs on a pita pizza, using the honey garlic sauce in place of pizza sauce.  It was pretty good.  I like when I can reinvent leftovers.

Supper - Thai Tofu Skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce with Basmati Rice.  I think these would be great for a summer barbecue as an alternative to meat.  This recipe is from the cookbook "Life's on Fire - Cooking for the Rushed" but substituting tofu/veggie skewers for the chicken.  The recipe is copied out in the Week 6 file (linked above).  I mentioned this cookbook a few weeks ago and this is by far the recipe that I've made the most.  I think the Tofu version turned out great but then again, anything dipped in this peanut dipping sauce is going to be good.  I could eat have eaten it by the spoonful.  And you might not think of Tofu as kid-friendly but in our house it most definitely is!  It was one of Marin's first finger foods and she's always loved it.  I find this recipes needs a pretty plain side so we had it with basmati rice.

Friday

Lunch - Lemony Red Pepper and Asparagus Pasta Salad and Deviled Eggs.  Pasta Salad and Deviled Eggs - two more potluck classics.  I first tried this pasta salad at a girls night potluck and instantly fell in love with it.  It's really light and full of flavor, the perfect summer pasta salad.  This made enough for 2 days so we'll clean up on it on the weekend.  And confession time... I left deviled eggs in the menu because of the theme, but I was too lazy by the time I packed our lunches so we just had plain boiled eggs.

Photo by Joe Kim via http://www.canadianliving.com

Supper - Layered Nacho Dip.  Saving the best for last!  Isn't this always the first thing to go?  And is it just me or do you usually eat it and think "mmm... I could totally park myself in front of this dish and make a whole meal of it!".  Well we did... and this isn't the first time either!  Dave was regrettably out at a staff party but Marin will be super happy with this one!  I blend equal parts of cream cheese and sour cream, topped with salsa, optionally some veggies such as tomatoes, peppers and avocado and finally a layer of shredded cheese.  Easy peasy and delicious! 

Happy Father's Day weekend!

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 15 - A Second Helping of Kid-Friendly Meals

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

My Kid-Friendly week back in February was a hit – both at my house and on the blog.  I can see from my stats that this is the week that has the most hits and is found the most by Google searches.  Which isn’t surprising, feeding kids can be a challenge!  Most parents I know also loathe packing school lunches.  I’m still looking forward to that by the way… again you can file away that you must tell me “I told you so” the first time I complain about it.

Kid friendly food is all about making food fun and appealing… so really it's everyone friendly!   Again I had so many ideas I couldn’t fit them all in… I have to file away the ideas that didn’t make it for the next instalment.  This week is doubling as April Magazine Week.  The April issue of Today’s Parent had a one week meal plan that’s worth checking out!

One important consideration in school lunches is packaging.  At supper club this past weekend we had a chat about reusable containers that are easy enough for little hands to open.  Thought I’d pass on this idea – I’ve been making reusable snack bags.  They’re great for ‘dry’ snacks (crackers, trail mix, etc… ) but I’ve also used them for fruit and veggies.   I’m a beginner sewer with a basic sewing machine so trust me when I say that if I can make these – so can you!  Here’s a picture of some of mine (aren’t they fun!?) and a tutorial if you’re feeling “crafty”.  

 

Recipe Quick Links:

• Kale& Spinach Smoothie, Marin Mama Cooks

• CrispyLemon Roast Chicken, Today’s Parent

• VeggieNuggets, Weelicious

• KaleChips, 100 Days of Real Food

• Frittata, Today’s Parent

• HeartyTuscan Soup, Chatelaine
• Steak Frites, Canadian Living

Week in Review

Monday

Lunch – BTC Sandwich (Bacon Tomato and Cheddar).  We’re not big sandwich people but sandwiches are easily packable for school lunch so I decided to kick off with that.  I got a really nice 12 Grain Bread and topped it with mayo, crispy bacon, thin slices of tomato and Cheddar cheese.   It took everything in me not to eat this right away.  Unfortunately, as suspected the tomato made the bread soggy.  But I think this is still manageable, I would just wrap the tomato and bacon separately and assemble on site.  And if a microwave is available you could zap the bacon for a few seconds and this would actually be really good!

Supper – Leftover Lasagna.  I automatically think of adding lasagna to Kid-Friendly week because it was one my favorites growing up.  And you can easily get multiple meals out it so it’s also a working mom friendly meal!  Typically I’d make a Caesar to go with it but since we didn’t have anything to prepare when we got home I thought it would be fun to try out a new green smoothie recipe (Kale & Pineapple from Marin Mama Cooks).  Seriously – you gotta try it!  As you can see it was good to the last drop!

Lasagna

1)      Brown ground beef in large saucepan.  Add jar of pasta sauce and ½ jar full of water.  Simmer.

2)      Mix 500ml container of cottage cheese (I like Lasagna style) with ¼ cup of grated Parmesan and 1 egg.

3)      Shred cheese (mozza)

4)      Layer in rectangle pan – sauce, noodles (I use whole wheat and don’t precook them), sauce, ½ of the cottage cheese, sprinkle of mozza, noodles, sauce, remainder of cottage cheese, noodles, sauce, remainder of cheese.

5)      Back at 375, covered for 40 min.  Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes.

Note:  You can also layer the lasagna in a slow-cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours. 

Tuesday

Lunch – Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas.  Quesadillas are a great lunch option, quick to throw together, travel well, eaten reheated or cold and can be filled with just about anything.  I went spinach and mushroom today – a little feta would not have been wrong.  Mushrooms are most definitely kid friendly in our house but I can see where this particular combo might not be every kid’s first choice.  See Thursday for another option or use whatever your favorites are.  To make a quesadilla – prep your fillings (ie. shred the cheese, cook and dice the chicken, sauté the veggies, or rinse the beans).  Spray one side of a tortilla with oil, place in a frying pan sprinkle cheese on one half of the tortillas, top with fillings and then more cheese.  Fold over and cook each side until crispy and cheese melts.  Cut in triangles and enjoy!  We dipped this one in sour cream.

Supper --  Lemon Roast Chicken, Weelicious Veggie Nuggets & Kale Chips.   This meal was underwhelming and ironically the nuggets were probably the most "kid targeted" item this week, yet the one thing my kid did not want to eat.  The chicken was good, we typically have boneless, skinless breasts so skin-on chicken thighs were nice for a change and the gravy was good.  The kale chips were gobbled up but the nuggets were not a hit with anyone.  Mostly me, because I found them a pain to make on top of not really thinking they were anything special.  If you have a child who hates veggies but loves nuggets then perhaps this will do the trick.  The other problem with this meal was that all three items needed to be baked in the oven but at different temps and for different time so it was a bit of nightmare to coordinate – not very well planned!  OOPS!  I would make the chicken again but with different sides and perhaps on a weekend since it needed 45 minutes to cook so made for a late weeknight supper.

Wednesday

Lunch – Caprese Salad.  I love this lunch and I’m surprised this is the first time I’m making it this year.  So simple… diced chicken, cherry tomatoes, bocconcini and pesto.  I think kids would find the bocconcini fun and they have a very mild flavor.  This is also pretty weight watchers friendly – watch your serving sizes but you should be able to pack a satisfying bowl for about 8 points.   Easy to pack, travels well, eaten cold.  Perfect!  I also made a “trail mix” with cheerios, pumpkin seeds and chocolate chips which made a nice little afternoon treat.

Supper – Frittata and Turnip Fries.  The frittata was quick and easy to make and pretty tasty.  It got an “mmmm… yummy eggs” from the little one at the table.  The turnip fries were a little under done but if you are patient and leave them roast until they get crispy they are a tasty treat and a fun finger food for kids.  I just cut the turnip into fry shape (of buy them already pre-cut), boil for a few minutes and then toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 450 until they crisp up.  I find the time it takes varies… but plan for at least 30 minutes.

Thursday

Lunch – Chicken Quesadillas.  For this version I sautéed some red pepper with diced chicken breast (leftover from Wednesday’s lunch) and a sprinkle of Mexican spice mix.  I used a tex-mex pre-shredded cheese mix.  I love buying pre-shredded cheese when it’s on sale, saves a step and we eat it less on impulse.  If I buy a block of cheese with the intention of using it later in the week most likely it’ll be gone by the time I need it.

Supper – Hearty Tuscan Soup.  I debated this one because as I’ve mentioned before we’re not really “soup people”.  But it’s been unseasonable cold here and Marin has a bug she can’t seem to shake so a nice bowl of soup sounded pretty good.  This was excellent – so glad I tried it!  I actually used Tofu instead of the navy beans.  This would be really low Weight Watchers points if you skipped the croutons.  The croutons were my favorite part though…

Photo by Robert Caruso via Today's Parent



Friday

Lunch – Leftovers!  I packed the croutons separately so they would be nice and crunchy. 

Supper – Date night!  You’re on your own.  But if you’re looking for ideas we have Steak Frites on the menu for the weekend!  This is from Canadian Living.  It’s really just steak and homefries but what caught my eye was the aioli.

For some great school lunch ideas ‘Like’ 100 Days of Real Food and Weelicious on Facebook.  They both post daily what they packed for school lunches.