Menu Plan Monday #48 - April 23

Monday: Hungry Girl Island Insanity Burger - like I've said before a perfect Meatless Monday dinner and quick to put together when we get back from yoga.

Tuesday: Grilled flat iron steak - not sure of marinade yet. Served with Black Bean Salad. Recipe & review to follow hopefully this week!

Wednesday: Chicken Pad Thai  - from WW Comfort Classics cookbook. 8 PointsPlus in 1 1/4 cups - didn't get to this a couple weeks ago when it was planned and I have been craving Pad Thai ever since!

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: out

Saturday: Cauliflower Crust Hawaiian Pizza - pizza crust made from cauliflower. Recipe recommended by a friend. Will post my review later on.

Sunday: Freezer, leftovers, or family get together at my mom's house.


To Try:

earthquake cake - Looks delicious I think I can lighten to make more WW friendly.

Hungry Girl Crazy Crumbly Super Yummy Coffee Cakes - sounds interesting and I already have everything to make them.

Split Mung Beans from tinyskillet.com - I've been meaning to try this for a while now. Hope to fit it in somewhere along the way this week. Maybe for a lunch.


Find tons of other menu plans at Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday #45 - March 26

Short and sweet. Here it is. The weekend will be re-vamped since we decided on Monday that we would have a mini-getaway this weekend and go to Anchorage. Friday, Saturday and Sunday's dinners may all be different. I know for sure we will be gone Saturday.


Monday: Slow Cooker Chicken Pho - from WW Cookbook Slow Good. 7 PointsPlus in 2 1/2 cups.

Tuesday: Leftover Taco Soup from Sunday

Wednesday: Pork Chops, Stuffed Zucchini and Mashed Potatoes

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: out

Saturday: Chicken Pad Thai  - from  WW Comfort Classics cookbook. 8 PointsPlus in 1 1/4 cups

Sunday: Something from the freezer


Find tons of great menu plans at Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday #44 - March 19

Last week's menu plan took a detour, or rather a couple of detours. We made it okay through Thursday if you count the change earlier in the week. After that, nothing was as planned. No big disasters or anything, just dinners didn't end up as planned. Hopefully this week and next will be better.

On the up side, we have a TON of daylight now! Nearly 12 hours. If only the snow was gone we could really get some things done. I'm ready to garden. Oh, and someone in our neighborhood has been grilling the last few nights. Yeah, we grill summer or winter, doesn't matter. It is a little hard when it's below 20° but anything above that is great for grilling! Maybe next week we'll grill.  We would have to do some more shoveling though...

Monday: Meatless Monday - tofu noodles with HG Alfredo sauce and steamed broccoli

Tuesday: Chicken Rollatini (a detour from last week)

Wednesday: Meatloaf Muffins (another detour, but at least I don't have to think of something new!)

Thursday: probably out. Have to run my mom to the airport

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Salmon Saturday - maybe Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes (also from last week)

Sunday: Taco Soup


Extra's I'd like to try this week:

Carrot and Zucchini bars these sound so good! Carrot Cake - YUM! Zucchini Bread - Yum! Combine them?! It HAS to be good!! I may try to replace the oil with applesauce or something to lower the points.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

This menu is linked up to Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday #42 - March 5

Hmmm. I just opened my "draft" version of this week's menu plan expecting to see a couple of links to recipes I wanted to remember to try this week but it's empty. Apparently I intended to put a couple of links here during the week but was so busy I never made it back.

This week is busy again, but hopefully not much running around. Just busy with work, starting to gather the tax info, and Dave working on the game. No sewing "extra credit projects" to cram in but I will try to make a couple anyway. My brain needs a change of pace and break from the computer.

Monday: Veggie Fried Rice - Meatless Monday and following yoga class. Something I can throw together quickly.

Tuesday: Crockpot Taco Soup - ready and waiting for me when I get home. Now if I can just remember to make the cornbread earlier in the day.

Wednesday: Chicken Divan, Lightened Up - another Skinnytaste recipe that sounds delicious. Pulled forward from last week. Last week's menu was a little mixed up.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: out I hope :)

Saturday: Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic glaze, mashed potatoes and green beans or asparagus

Sunday: something noodley


Other recipes to try this week - these are from last week too. I just didn't get to them. Here's hoping:

Banana Bread Donuts - Chocolate Covered Katie - she makes everything look good!

Skinnytaste Carrot Cake

homemade laundry soap - again, this is not edible, but I do hope to make a batch this week.

and these two from last week two weeks ago(?) that I just didn't get to.

apple cranberry crumble - this has become one of our favorite recipes at a restaurant in Anchorage. Would love to find a suitable recipe to make it at home (and lighter!).

Homemade skinny Chocolate Cake - been waiting to try this until I knew I wouldn't have to eat the whole pan myself, but I might just do that anyway. 

This menu is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday #41 - Feb. 27

Planning two weeks at one time - today it's more of a struggle than it was last time. Maybe because I can't seem to find anything besides casseroles today. Imagine if I planned a whole month at once. I'm sure we would end up eating casseroles and chili one month and the next month would be all salads. Better if I stick to just two weeks at a time I think. And today I'm going to start a draft of the next two weeks and work on them as I come across recipes this week.


Monday: Lemon Basil Pasta - Meatless Monday! Goes together quickly after yoga class.

Tuesday: Chinese BBQ Pork - bumped from couple weeks ago.

Wednesday: Chicken Divan, Lightened Up - another Skinnytaste recipe that sounds delicious.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: Out

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: TBD



Other recipes to try this week:

Banana Bread Donuts - Chocolate Covered Katie - she makes everything look good!

Skinnytaste Carrot Cake

homemade laundry soap - again, this is not edible, but I do hope to make a batch this week.

and these two from last week that I just didn't get to.

apple cranberry crumble - this has become one of our favorite recipes at a restaurant in Anchorage. Would love to find a suitable recipe to make it at home (and lighter!).

Homemade skinny Chocolate Cake - been waiting to try this until I knew I wouldn't have to eat the whole pan myself, but I might just do that anyway. 



This menu plan is linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday #39 - Feb. 13

Time for another menu plan. Actually, as I write this I'm only 2 days into the current menu plan but haven't made it to the grocery store yet this week so I figured I would start on next week's and see if I could only shop once and make it for 2 weeks. I'm sure there will be something I forget, or we'll run out of dog food or toothpaste or whatever, but at least an attempt will help keep me on track.
Update: It's Monday now, and I will have to go to the store this week. :( but only for a couple of things. Paper towels, eggs, strawberries & asparagus (on sale this week!) and...well, now I've forgotten the other item. But this morning I was so glad to have spent the extra few minutes making 2 menu plans last week I think I'll keep this up (I've already got 2 more started!). It definitely saved me time and got me planning ahead a little. Even looking forward to different meals and remembering "oh yeah, it's on next week's plan!"

Monday: Autumn Risotto with Cranberries - I've been missing Meatless Monday, and we're back to yoga class on Monday nights, so I'm thinking something quick but filling. This will take a few minutes when I get home, but sounds so good right now and I have everything on-hand already.

Tuesday: Chinese BBQ Pork - I received this recipe in a Holiday Card Recipe Exchange - will review next week.

Wednesday: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas - sub ff evap milk for heavy cream, and make in 2 8x8 dishes. Freeze one to bake later.

Thursday: Salmon!!

Friday: out - we never go out on Valentine's day because the restaurants are so crazy-busy. We always go out the Friday after. So this will be our Valentine's dinner.

Saturday: Hawaiian Crunch Halibut

Sunday: leftovers

I've found several new recipes to try. Thank you Pinterest! Anyone else get on there and get into some kind of time warp and lose track of what you were doing?

Some extras I'd like to try:

Skinnytaste Carrot Cake

Pumpkin Cream Bread - found the link on Pinterest!

Make your Own Foamy Handsoap - not an edible recipe, but one I'm going to try. Also found on Pinterest.

Tub & Shower Magic - I think this was on Pinterest too. I get so caught up in things there. Review: I made this the other night and sprayed it on our extra shower head (the one on a hose I use for dog baths and cleaning the shower) to see how it would do on the mineral build up and soap scum stuff. It did a great job! Also sprayed it on the spout for the tub and it came out so sparkling and I didn't even have to scrub or wipe it. Just rinsed it off. Awesome.

My menu plan is linked up with hundreds of other great menu plans at OrgJunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday #37

Time for another menu plan and grocery list. Where do the weeks go? This week looks a little busy, and later in the week I'll be posting my Super Bowl menu plan as well. That means another trip to the grocery store since I don't have it finalized right now, and I do need a few things at the store today. Lucky for us it's starting to warm up a little. When I got up yesterday it was -22°, when I went to bed it was only -13°! This morning we're up to -3° and are supposed to even get above 0! Woo-hoo!!

Monday: Veggie & rice stir fry (Meatless Monday returns!)

Tuesday: Business meeting & dinner out in Anchorage

Wednesday: Hungry Girl Island Insanity burger

Thursday: Can you guess?? Salmon Thursday!!

Friday: possibly our regular Friday dinner out

Saturday: leftovers or something from the freezer

Sunday: Super Bowl Menu

Later in the week I'll link up the Super Bowl menu once it's finalized.

This menu plan is linked to Menu Plan Monday on Orgjunkie.com

Autumn Risotto with Cranberries

So...here's a recipe from a menu plan way back in September. I did make this that very week. I even remembered to take a picture of the finished dish and note the changes I made to the original recipe. Then I completely forgot about it. 100% forgot about it until just moments ago. Then after a pretty quick search I found the picture and the recipe! Yay for hubby insisting we label and date the photo folders when the pics get downloaded!

This is/was originally a Pampered Chef recipe. We all know that PC has amazing tasting recipes that go together fairly quickly, but they also have a good bit of fat and calories. When I came across this recipe I was looking for a way to try TVP (which I hadn't previously tried) and I thought I'd give it a go as a sub for the chicken. It turned out great! I love risotto. Who knew you could make it in the microwave?! It's not quite as creamy as I like my risotto but I didn't have to stand there stirring it and it was tasty and I will make it again. (especially now that I've re-found the recipe and posted it in a place I can't lose it!)

And for those that may have an interest in Weight Watchers PointsPlus - the original recipe was 11 ppv per serving. My alterations have it down to 8 ppv per serving - verified through Recipe Builder.


Autumn Risotto with Cranberries & TVP
adapted from Pampered Chef
Serves: 6
WW PPV: 8

1 cup(s) Ocean Spray Craisins Craisins® original flavor  
1 cup(s) uncooked arborio rice, uncooked  
3/4 cup(s) white wine  
1/2 cup(s) slivered almonds  
2 cup(s) hot water  
2 1/2 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth  
2 rib(s) (large) uncooked celery  
4 wedge(s) The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Original Flavor, room temperature 
1 medium uncooked vidalia onion(s)  
1 Tbsp olive oil  
2/3 cup(s) dry textured vegetable protein  

Combine cranberries, TVP and hot water in Small Batter Bowl; set aside.

Coarsely chop onion. Combine onion, rice and oil in Deep Covered Baker; stir. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 2-4 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add stock, wine, salt and black pepper; microwave, covered, on HIGH 13 minutes or until rice is still slightly firm, stirring once halfway through.

Meanwhile, toast almonds over medium heat 5-7 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Slice celery. Drain cranberries; set aside.

Carefully remove baker from microwave using Oven Mitts. Add celery to baker; stir. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-5 minutes or until rice is tender and risotto appears creamy. Carefully remove baker from microwave. Add Laughing Cow cheese and almonds; stir until cheese is fully incorporated. Fold in cranberries and TVP. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Yield: 6 servings (about 6 cups/1.5 L)

Menu Plan Monday #32

Off to another week of menu planning to retain my sanity. Luckily this week will be less busy, but next week - look out! Crazy is coming! (and clearly the crazy came a little early since I didn't get around to actually posting this until Saturday!)

I have already found a couple of recipes I want to make next week and am planning what to do with the fresh ripe contents of my CSA box. I won't receive it until next Friday, but really that works perfectly with my schedule because I'll have the weekend to try out my new recipes!

Monday: Autumn Risotto with Chicken & Cranberries (replace chicken w/TVP for Meatless Monday). Going to try to lighten this recipe  for WW. As written it is 11 ppv per cup! Yay! With revisions I have it down to 8ppv!

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken drumsticks & veggies

Wednesday: picking up a friend at the airport - dinner in Anchorage.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: probably out.

Saturday: Gone All Day Dinner - Fix It & Forget It Lightly cookbook

Sunday: Potato Soup


Coming in my CSA box is a batch or 2 of tomatillos! I also made sure to add in a bunch of cilantro. As you know I've become addicted to canning recently and if this tomatillo salsa recipe works it will be canned! I also came across this one for Tomatillo, Black Bean, Avocado, Cilantro & Lime salsa, but I don't think you can can (ha ha the can-can!) avocado, so I would just stir in the avocado when it's ready to serve.

It already feels like fall in Alaska. The leaves are starting to change, the crab apples are almost ripe, and we've turned the heat back on in the house. I'm ready to start making some comforting fall food, and I found several cans of pumpkin in the pantry. This recipe doesn't use much of the pumpkin, Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal Pecan Cookies, but I can also make Gina's Pumpkin Butter recipe and . . . can some pumpkin butter! I'm going to have to get more canning jars very soon! Wouldn't it be fun to give out jars of pumpkin butter for Thanksgiving?!

I don't think I'll make this one this week, but here is a Marshmallow Molten Lava cake for you to drool over. Sounds decadent and evil! 

After Vacation Pasta

You know the day you get home from vacation and you haven't had time to get to the store, or thaw anything from the freezer, you scrounge around in the fridge and see what you can come up with. That's where this recipe was born. I was in a hurry and needed something quick.

After Vacation Pasta
Serves 3 as a main dish or 5-6 as a side

about a cup of pasta (I have never measured pasta, I just eyeball it). I used Campanelle, one of my favorites for catching sauce
1 1/2 to 2 cups frozen peas, mostly thawed
3 oz Greek Yogurt*
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
rosemary or Italian seasoning to taste
3T milk
2 T butter

Cook pasta as directed on package. Add peas to pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta and peas. In a small pan, or microwave safe dish mix together yogurt, parmesan cheese, seasonings, milk and butter. Heat until it mixes together well. Add pasta to sauce and stir.

*Oddly enough the only yogurt I had was vanilla greek yogurt and this worked fine. I would have preferred plain, but the yogurt is tangy enough that it cut the sweet of the vanilla and worked okay for us. My hubby said it was one of the best sauces I've thrown together.

Recipe Review: Ricotta-Basil Stuffed Tomatoes

My sweet hubby picked up a Vegetarian Times Farmer's Market Cookbook (magazine) for me as part of my week of birthday this year. It has beautiful pictures, lots of info and ideas, and a ton of fantastic recipes that I'm anxious to try. This is the first of hopefully many that I'll try from this cookbook.

Ricotta-Basil Stuffed Tomatoes
Vegetarian Times

Serves 8

 

8 large beefsteak tomatoes
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbs. plus 4 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup diced zucchini plus 24 very thin zucchini slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice tops off tomatoes, and scoop pulp out of centers to make stuffable tomato shells; set aside. Discard half of tomato pulp; remove seeds from and finely chop remaining half of pulp.

Whisk together eggs and ricotta in medium bowl until smooth. Stir in red onion, basil, 2 Tbs. Parmesan, and garlic. Add corn, diced zucchini, and chopped tomato pulp; stir until combined.
Fill tomatoes just to top with 1/2 cup ricotta mixture. Sprinkle each tomato with 1/2 tsp. Parmesan, and top each with 3 zucchini slices and tomato top. Place in large baking dish.
 
Bake 45 minutes, or until filling is puffed up and tops are browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To freeze and enjoy later: Cool stuffed tomatoes completely, then place in foil-lined baking pan. Wrap tightly in foil, then in plastic wrap, and freeze. When ready to eat, thaw tomatoes completely. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake, uncovered, 20 to 30 minutes, or until filling is hot.

Per stuffed tomato:
Calories: 130, Protein: 9g, Total fat: 5g, Saturated fat: 2g, Carbs: 18g, Cholesterol: 65mg, Sodium: 151mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 10g
4 WW P+



The verdict: I loved this. I did use tomatoes from the grocery store (gasp!) because we just don't have tomatoes ready in Alaska yet. I will definitely try this again with fresh from the greenhouse tomatoes when they are ready. I did omit the onion. I see now there is basil in the recipe (um, yeah, I should have seen that in the recipe title, right?!) - that would have been yummy...but I completely overlooked it. For our preference next time I will lightly steam or saute the diced zucchini as it was a little too crunchy in the filling. Overall though, we loved this recipe. I will make it again and again. This could easily be a meatless entree for a light dinner, but here we had it with a bit of grilled steak and Crispy Parmesan Asparagus.

Menu Plan Monday #25

Last week's Menu plan was barely followed. I had good intentions, but we had some other things pop up that needed to be front burner, so to speak, and the meals took a back burner. This week will be busy as well, but hopefully not as busy and will return to some regular dinners at home. I've found some new recipes I'd like to try, so hopefully those will be worked in over the next several weeks.

Monday: Taco Soup (not meatless but eating from the freezer)

Tuesday: I'm eating out with my girlfriends - not sure what Dave is having

Wednesday: Ricotta stuffed Tomatoes - recipe from a Vegetarian Farmers Mkt cookbook. Perhaps a recipe review will follow in the next few days. (meatless)

Thursday: Red Snapper

Friday: pretty much always out

Saturday: leftovers of some kind

Sunday: Whole Wheat honey Pizza dough. Didn't get to this the last couple of weeks. Sunday's are usually mellow enough to do something like this.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie. Check out hundreds of other menu plans there!

Menu Plan Monday #24

Menu Planning two weeks in a row - I'm on a roll! This week I'm looking back for some tried & true recipes to get us through some busy evenings. Having a menu plan, getting the ingredients I need, and having a plan really help on those busy nights when I'm hungry and in a hurry.

Monday: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (MM) - I've made this recipe so many times now I'm actually starting to tolerate like eating even the pepper, not just the stuffing. The last time I made them I made some revisions to the recipe and made a note of what I used because they were my favorite so far. Hopefully later this week I'll post the recipe. With a busy Monday I'm going to try to get them in the crock pot so they're ready when I get home.

Tuesday: crock pot pork roast

Wednesday: Homemade pizza - a carry over from Sunday when we ended up eating leftovers. This will probably be a bbq chicken pizza so I can use up some cooked chicken from the freezer.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday - not sure of the prep this week. Last week's salmon was amazing. Another recipe I hope to post this week.

Friday: We will be having dinner with my mom and my niece for my birthday!

Saturday: Birthday dinner out! Not sure where yet.

Sunday: Leftovers of some kind.


Check out tons of great menu plans at Org Junkie

Menu Plan Monday #23

Time for another Menu Plan. I've been writing them out on paper, mostly all along, but I throw those out at the end of the week, and then a couple weeks later my hubby asks for something from weeks before and I have no idea what or where to find the recipe again. On occasion Google is helpful if I'm looking for a recipe I found online, but otherwise I'm often at a loss. Adding a Menu Plan to the blog seriously helps my sanity - so I'm back at it again.

Speaking of back at it again - we've been busy and short on time and I haven't been in the MM (Meatless Monday) frame of mind. Well this week we are back at it, starting with a Hungry Girl recipe using a Boca Burger.

Monday: HG's Island Insanity burger (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Fresh Caught (not by me) Alaskan Halibut. There is just nothing better than fresh, never frozen fish.

Wednesday: Chick'n Parm using a Boca "chicken" patty. A friend recommended these and my hubby never gets enough spaghetti so here we go.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday. Haven't decided on preparation or anything yet. Sometimes it's just pan seared and yummy.

Friday: Pretty much always Pizza Delphi (local Italian, close to our house)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Homemade pizza. Found a great recipe a few weeks ago for a Whole Wheat Honey dough that is so simple and turns out great. I even used this dough for grilled pizza a couple weeks back (future blog post).



After thinking about all these yummy recipes I'm ready for a snack! Check out tons of other menu plans at OrgJunkie.

Menu Plan Monday #21

Monday: Spaghetti (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Pork & Mango Potstickers (just didn't get to the them last week)

Wednesday:  Veggie stuffed baked potatoes (meatless)

Thursday: Baked Chimichanga, Black bean, avocado, cucumber & tomato salad, and Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake for dessert. Having friends over for dinner.

Friday: Usually dinner out! :)

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Chili Night


Check out hundreds of other great menus at Org Junkie.

Other recipes I might try this week:

Chocolate Banana Souffles - never made souffle before, always wanted to, so why not now?!

Baby Red Potato Salad - may not use red potatoes but we'll see. This sounds like a great addition to lunch!

Zucchini Carpaccio - this sounds like a perfect lunch for me. Not sure hubby will eat it for lunch, but he will likely try a bite or two.

Steamed Buns Success!

Last night I attempted steamed buns for the first time. I've never even eaten them before but thought I should try them. I followed the basic instructions I found on Bento for Beginners and came up with these measurements.
1 cup Fiber One pancake mix
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup white wheat flour
Mix together pancake mix and water then add in flour. Turn out onto lightly floured surface & knead. Form a log shape & cut into 4 equal pieces. Fill each piece with desired filling (I used a veggie mixture for Meatless Monday) and steam for about 20 minutes. They turned really tasty but next time I will try to get more filling in them.

It's a Bento!!

This was our Meatless Monday Bento for this week. The top one was Dave's - carrot raisin roll up, apples & peanut butter, and a baby bel ladybug on top of wheat thins.

Mine had the same carrot raisin roll ups, part of an apple, vanilla creme brule mini rice cakes, and some tomatoes (from my garden), mozzarella & basil (also from my garden) drizzled with a little balsamic. Those little carrot raisin roll ups are really tasty and not too bad on the points.

Menu Plan Monday #3

This week looks like it's going to continue to be cool, cloudy and rainy, so I'm thinking lots of comfort food.

Monday: Quinoa pilaf (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Aarti's Pulled Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce (IF I can find pureed mango) and Apple Lime Slaw

Wednesday: Spaghetti (Jan's "secret" recipe) :) & large green salad

Thursday: Football at a friend's house (I'm hoping to take along a dessert)

Friday: Leftovers or Out

Saturday: Halibut or Salmon

Sunday: Pork Tenderloion with balsamic reduction, roasted peanut potatoes, stuffed zucchini

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.