Week 6 - Holiday Menu Planning. . .

Well, I skipped last week because I'm a total slacker, but we have lots of food to cook next week so I think I'm making up for skipping last week.  We have my brother-in-law and his wife from Oregon coming to stay with us this Wednesday and they'll be here through January 4th.  Of course, there will lots of fun stuff going on throughout the next few weeks with the holidays and kiddos out of school.  So, I'd love to see what you are cooking for Christmas, so post your menu when you comment on this blog!

Monday - Tacos, black beans, rice
Tuesday - Spaghetti with meat sauce, green beans, salad
Wednesday - Chicken Cacciatore, broccoli, mashed potatoes
Thursday - (My birthday) Fajitas (shrimp and chicken), black beans, white rice
Friday - (Christmas Eve) Appetizers (stuffed mushrooms, hummus, black bean dip, spinach-artichoke dip, veggies, pizza breads, lentil soup)
Saturday - (Christmas) Lasagnas (traditional & fancy), pot roast, ratatouille, salad, trifle
Sunday - Leftovers

Merry Christmas to all and to all some good cooking!!!  :)

Week 5 - Decisions, decisions. . .

I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season!  Emilie was in a Christmas program on Tuesday night singing all kinds of Christmas carols.  It was precious to see my little 4-year-old singing songs and dancing along.  How did she get from my chunky little baby to this grown up little girl so quickly?

I'm having trouble deciding what to make this week, but I'm definitely craving some comfort food, so here's the menu for this week:

Monday - Beef steak with caramelized onions, white rice and black beans (shown above)
Tuesday - Ancho Chicken Tortilla Soup, salad
Wednesday -  Trout burgers, ceasar salad, green beans
Thursday - Out to Eat
Friday - Mahi-Mahi fish tacos, pico de gallo, honey-lime slaw, corn, black beans
Saturday - Fajita burgers, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, broccoli
Sunday - Leftovers

Week 4 - A Late Start. . .

Ok, so we're just getting back from Orlando and our amazing Thanksgiving week-long holiday, so I'm totally slacking on writing the weekly menu.  I'm quite proud that I've actually planned healthy meals despite my lack of preparation.  ;)

Just so you know, this photo has nothing to do with this week's menu, but I just wanted to have a food photo in this post.  It's a pork chop with a balsamic reduction.  I can't wait to make it again. 

I think I'm actually going to send this out to a few friends this week.  Remember - the idea of this blog is that I post my weekly menu on Sunday night (or latest Monday morning) and you all post your weekly menus in response.  This gives us a way to share recipes and hold each other accountable for making our own weekly menus and sticking to them.

Here it is:
Monday - Mahi-Mahi fish tacos, pico, honey-lime slaw, green beans and yellow rice
Tuesday - Shrimp stir-fry, broccoli and white rice
Wednesday -Rustic Chili, salad, Mexican corn bread
Thursday - Chicken Cacciatore, pasta, asparagus
Friday - Lentil Soup, salad, french bread
Saturday - Christmas Party (out for dinner)
Sunday - Christmas Dinner at church

For the Lentil Soup, I changed a few things.  The first thing is that I add 1-2 tsp. cumin in with the salt and pepper while the veggies are sweating.  The second thing I do differently is add about 1 lb. of turkey kielbasa (sliced) in with the pasta at the end.  

For the Honey-Lime Slaw, I just slice up half a head of cabbage, one whole onion (thin sliced), a red pepper (if I have one) and then I mix juice of 2 limes with about 1/4 cup honey.  I add a little salt at the end and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.  I don't ever use lettuce on my tacos because this stuff tastes so good.  

I can't wait to see what all of you are planning to cook this week!

Sarah

Week 3 - Cold Weather Food

Eventually I will publish this blog to friends and family, but right now I'm keeping it to myself to see how I can keep up with the weekly duty of writing it.  We've had a busy weekend because my sweet baby boy turned 2 years old on Sunday!  I can't believe how quickly he went from being a baby to a big boy!  So, we had a little get together for him and he was just as happy as a clam to have everyone there in his honor.  Even his sisters were super-excited to share in his birthday celebration.  Emilie was telling everyone we met that her brother was turning 2 this weekend!  I love it!

I'm definitely feeling the need for some cold weather food right now as it's in the 30's when we wake up and take our oldest to school in the mornings.  So, I need to find some cold weather food that will maintain a reasonable calorie count at dinner time.  Here's my attempt at a menu for this week!

Monday - Balsamic glazed pork chops, wild rice, peas
Tuesday - Out to Eat
Wednesday - Salmon burgers, ceasar salad, roasted sweet potatoes
Thursday - Enchilada con salsa verde, black beans, white rice
Friday - Spaghetti with meatballs, broccoli, salad
Saturday - Out to Eat (It's a good week)  ;)
Sunday - Potluck dinner

Week 2 - A Rough Start

Well, I did pretty well sticking to my menu last week, but I'm 2 days late posting for this week.  Kids are out of school today, so it's nice to have a fun relaxing day at home in the middle of the week.  Additionally, I had a terrible back problem this weekend and it's throwing my whole week off.  Fortunately, I'm feeling much better and I'm ready to start cooking!

I hope that all of you are having a great week!  Post your menu for the week in a reply and we can compare yummy-ness. . .

Monday - Take-Out
Tuesday - Grilled Chicken breasts, Roasted potatoes & sweet potatoes, Broccoli
Wednesday - Fish tacos, black beans, white rice
Thursday - Salmon, wild rice, carrots & peas
Friday - Chili, salad, corn bread
Saturday - Lentil soup and salad

Week 1 - What's for Dinner, Mommy?

Hey Everyone!  I can't tell you how many times I hear "What's for dinner, Mommy" at my house and it becomes a very stressful question when I haven't planned accordingly.  I have three kids (7 yrs, 4 yrs and 2 yrs) and I'm married to the most amazing man in the world!  Here's a picture of me and the kiddos after a hike.  My hubby was taking the photo and there's a little guy that you can't really see, but my almost 2-year-old is on my back.  There's never a dull moment at our house. . .

So, I've been attempting to start this blog for a long time and I'm finally getting around to it as part of a fitness challenge that I'm doing with a friend.  I have to plan ahead if I expect to eat healthy meals every night of the week.  I'm hoping that this will hold me accountable. 

Here's the plan. . . I'm going to write down my weekly menu here each Sunday and I would like you to respond with your weekly menu plans so that we can be nosy and see what everyone is cooking each week.  I may randomly post pictures or personal recipe reviews and I will attempt to provide links to my recipes as I post them.  Hopefully, this blog will be just as helpful to you as it is to me.  ;)

Here's week 1 recipes:
Sunday - Chicken legs, grilled squash, green beans
Monday -  Salmon grilled with Emeril seasoning, yellow rice, broccoli
Tuesday -  Thai basil shrimp, white rice, green beans (I have this recipe, but can't find a link for it)
Wednesday -  Spaghetti with meatballs, green peas
Thursday - Chicken tacos, black beans, white rice
Friday - Out to Eat
Saturday -  Chicken pesto sandwiches, roasted potatoes, broccoli (separate link for each part of the sandwich)

So, this week is not full of some of my favorites and I don't have online recipes for most of them.  My one change on the pesto is that I usually use walnuts or even pecans.  I just use what I have on hand and it always turns out good! 

See you all soon!