Meal Plan Monday & Recipes

Here is my meal plan for the week:

Monday: Quinoa Pizza bites & steamed broccoli (me) and English Muffin pizzas with leftover sweet peas (the kids)

Tuesday: We are supposed to go to a friend's house for dinner. If the snow ruins that plan, I'll have a tuna sandwich with spinach on a flat-out wrap, and the rest of my steamed broccoli from Monday. The kids will have fish sticks and finish up their leftover peas.

Wednesday: We'll eat at my mom's house

Thursday: Chicken (new recipe), pilaf rice, and green beans

Friday: Eating at the dining hall (maybe. My husband might have to work. If he does, I honestly have no idea what we'll have. Possibly soup and rolls.)

Saturday: Chili and chips

Sunday: Leftover chili for whoever wants it; Whole Wheat Banana pancakes with fruit and yogurt for anyone who doesn't want the chili (I have the pancakes in my freezer leftover from Valentine's day breakfast.)

***Tomorrow I'll post my weekly grocery round-up. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that my mother-in-law was in town this weekend, and when we took a BJ's trip, she bought our weekly groceries. This was so generous and so helpful for us. However, because i'm trying to prove that we can live on a $275 a month grocery budget, i'm going to deduct the price of the groceries from our budget as if we spent it. Also, i'll post what we spent on food for Stephanie's party, because we ended up having the leftovers for several other meals. This of course keeps the budget down for the rest of the month. I'm probably going to end up challenging myself on the blog again during March when there aren't so many special occasions! That will be the real test as to whether I can spend only $275 for the month.***

Several people have asked for some of my recipes!

My Pumpkin Spelt Muffin recipe came from 100 Days of Real Food, and you can find it here:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/09/25/recipe-whole-spelt-pumpkin-muffins-and-other-spelt-recipes/

The Cheddar Egg Muffin came from my friend Melissa over at Marching to a Different Beat. I'm not 100% sure, but I think she got it from the book Wheat Belly by William Davis.

2 C. fresh broccoli, chopped

1 C. Cheddar cheese (shredded. I've used mozzarella if that's the only thing I have on hand.)

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

8 eggs

*Combine everything but eggs. Whisk eggs in separate bowl, then mix with everything else. Divide into muffin tin. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy the deliciousness! 

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Tasty Tuesday: Delicious Banana Bread!

Stephanie is very into baking lately, and asks me every day what we're going to make. I love the time that she and I get to spend together in the kitchen, and I have to say that she's a very good helper! She pours things into the bowl and mixes everything together for me. She is always proud of our final product and tells me that she is my star chef. 

One of our favorite baked goods is banana bread, and after trying many different recipes I finally found the perfect one. The original recipe came from SimplyRecipes.com and can be found here: Simply Recipes Banana Bread

I modified it very little because it was almost perfect the way it was. I've made it twice now, and the first time it came out a little overdone, so I shortened the baking time by 5 minutes. I added walnuts the first time, which was delicious as well. (My husband likes chocolate chips in his banana bread so I'll be adding those next time.)

Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

Ingredients

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed (I used 3 each time and let Stephanie mash them with a potato masher. It was her favorite part of the whole process.)

1/3 C melted butter

1 C sugar 

1 egg, beaten

1 teas vanilla

1 teas baking soda

pinch of salt

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350 

2) With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas, in a large mixing bowl

3) Mix in sugar, egg and vanilla

4) Sprinkle in the baking soda and salt. Mix.

5) Pour mixture into a buttered 4/8 inch loaf pan. (I used cooking spray instead of butter)

6) Bake for 1 hour (As I stated above, I took it out 5 minutes sooner.)

7) Cool on a rack, then remove from pan. Slice to serve. (We ate this yesterday while it was still warm from the oven. SO delicious!)

*I'm linking up with my friend Candice over at The New Modern Momma today for Tasty Tuesday! Hop on over to get some other delicious recipe ideas from some amazing bloggers.

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Tasty Tuesday: Sugar Cookies!

My mom is a fabulous baker. She bakes all year long, but she truly shines at Christmas time. Each year she makes all of her friends and family members huge trays, loaded with a wide variety of different types of cookies. I will never have the patience or the love of baking to create the same kind of cookie masterpieces that she does, and I've accepted that that's just the way I am. (Even though I would love to bake like her.) However, one of her simplest and easiest recipes is, in my book, also one of the best tasting. I used to love helping her make them when I was a kid, and the recipe was one of the first I asked for when I moved out. To this day, for any occasion, I make her sugar cookie recipe.

Thanks to different cookie cutter shapes I've made sugar cookies for holidays, for my sister's baby shower, as gifts for people, and sometimes just because I feel like having them. Pretty soon I'll be making them for Valentine's Day, and I'm excited to get Stephanie in on the action this year! (They are a great cookie to make with little kids.)

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
~6 Tbsp butter
~6 Tbsp shortening
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
2.5 C flour
1 teas baking powder
1 teas salt

*Mix shortening, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla
*Blend in flour, baking powder & salt. Cover and chill 1 hr (I have made the dough and chilled overnight also. It comes out fine.)

~Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
~Roll the dough and cut out shapes.
~Decorate with sprinkles (optional)
~place shapes on un-greased baking sheet (I use parchment paper. Clean-up is much easier that way!)
~Bake 6-8 minutes at or until very light brown.

My favorite part as a kid was decorating with the sprinkles. Now for some reason I find that part tiresome, but I know Stephanie will have a blast with it. You can also add food coloring to the dough to make it different colors. (My mom always made orange at Halloween and I swear for some reason they tasted better than any other time she made them!)

Enjoy!

Linking up with The New Modern Mom today for Tasty Tuesday! 

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Tasty Tuesday: Crock-Pot Sausage & Tortellini Stew

Happy Tuesday! Today i'm linking up with my friend Candice over at The New Modern Momma for Tasty Tuesday.

I've been using my crock-pot a lot this winter because it's such an easy and quick way to get a hearty meal on the table for my family. I love being able to prepare dinner in the morning or afternoon instead of in the evening when we're all getting tired and cranky.

One of my favorite crock-pot meals is Tortellini Stew. I've been making this recipe for years, and all four of us love it. (I think I originally cut it out of Family Circle magazine.)

It's quick and simple to prepare and only takes about 15 minutes. My favorite kind of meal!

Ingredients
4 Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage links, casings removed
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes w/basil, garlic & oregano (if I don't have a can of tomatoes that has the spices in it, I just add them myself.)
1 9oz package of frozen cut green beans
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1 9oz package of frozen cheese tortellini
1 Tbsp fresh oregano

Directions

1. Crumble sausage and stir with tomatoes, green beans, onion and italian seasoning. Cover crock-pot and cook 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

2. When 20 minutes of cook time remain, stir in tortellini, oregano and 1 cup of water. Continue cooking. Serve immediately.

I highly recommend this recipe, it's so easy and delicious!

*If you have time, head on over to Candice's site and check out all the other linked up recipes! I find a lot of good meals through this weekly blog hop.*

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January Meal Planning part 1

If you remember, I embarked on a monthly meal planning adventure for the last few months of 2012. I loved doing it because it made dinners and grocery shopping so much easier and we saved a lot of money on food. BUT it took so much time to create and I just didn't have time to plan for January in the midst of all the holiday hoopla in December.

So for this month i'm planning on a weekly basis, and will jump back into monthly for February.

Here is last week's menu:

Tuesday 1/1: Wendys (I know, not the healthiest. But we were driving back from NY and it was on our way. At least I had a salad...)

Wednesday 1/2: Pasta with homemade sauce & peas and corn on the side

Thursday 1/3: Chicken Pot-Pie

Friday 1/4: Out to dinner. We were having a family day and Stephanie suggested we go out to Newport Creamery, a local family restaurant. We couldn't resist her request.

Saturday 1/5: Crock-Pot Sweet and Spicy chicken with brown rice and cauliflower on the side

Sunday 1/6: Sausage and Peppers in the crock-pot

Monday 1/7: Chicken pot-pie leftovers

And this week's menu:

Tuesday 1/8: Take-Out Pizza (Ok so apparently the non-monthly meal planning means we eat out a lot...)

Wednesday 1/9: Soup & Crescent Rolls

Thursday 1/10: Leftover sausage and peppers, supplemented with a bag of frozen vegetables

Friday 1/11: Chili

Saturday 1/12: Birthday party in the afternoon. (Cereal for dinner if anyone is still hungry when we get home.)

Sunday 1/13: Leftover chili for Dan and I, Annie's Macaroni & Cheese w/peas for the kids

Monday 1/14: Baked Italian Chicken with steamed broccoli and pilaf rice

I took the recipe for the crock-pot sweet and spicy chicken from The Frugalette's blog (she did a month of slow cooker dinners and I've gotten some great meal ideas from her!) Here it is: (original blog post for the recipe found here)

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Chicken boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 20 oz. Can of Pineapple Chunks
• 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup of reserved Pineapple Juice from can
• 1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 tsp. Ginger powder
• 1-2 TBS. Brown Sugar
• 1 TBS cornstarch to thicken sauce at end

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients in slow cooker, except cornstarch. Mix together. Cook on low for 4 hours.
2. When chicken is done, move to plate with slotted spoon. Pour remaining liquid and sauce in small saucepan.
3. Mix cornstarch with 1 TBS. water until dissolved and whisk with sauce to thicken. Bring to boil, lower and continue stirring until thick. Pour over chicken. Serve with brown rice. (we had cauliflower on the side too)

It was a really simple recipe and came out so delicious!

*I'd love some meal ideas for the rest of the month! Feel free to share :)

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Tasty Tuesday: Chili Edition!

The air is crisp, the humidity is finally gone, and we actually had to wear sweaters yesterday morning. All of this means that FALL, my favorite time of year, is almost here.

One of my goals for the fall is to use my crock-pot once a week. For my first fall crock-pot meal yesterday, it was only right that I make chili, one of my all-time favorite meals. (And in the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I make chili all year long. But it reminds me of fall every time I make it.)

I use my mom's chili recipe, with a few tweaks here and there. Dan, Stephanie and I love it, and last night Joseph had his first taste. It was a hit with him too!

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef 

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp salt

1tsp sugar

1.5 C chopped onion (I hate onion chunks, so I use onion powder)

.5 cup minced green pepper (I use 3/4 cup because we love pepper)

2 (15oz) or 1 (29oz) can tomato sauce

1C water

1 clove garlic, crushed (I use garlic powder if i'm out of garlic(

1 pinch cumin (optional, but I always add it)

1 can small red beans, undrained (I drain them, for no particular reason.)

Cook meat in dutch oven or heavy pan until it loses redness.

Sprinkle with chili powder, salt, & sugar. Blend well through meat. 

Add onion & green pepper, cook stirring occasionally until vegetables soften.

(At this point I transfer everything to the crock-pot. The recipe calls for it to continue to cook on the stove top)

Add tomato sauce, water, garlic, cumin 

*Simmer covered 1-1.5 hours (I cook it on low in the crock-pot all day long)

Add beans, simmer uncovered .5 hour or until desired consistency (I add the beans an hour before we want to eat)

Serve with whatever side you enjoy with chili. We always have Tostitos scoops chips. If you use my recipe, be sure to let me know what you think! Enjoy! :)

*Today i'm linking up with Candice over at The New Modern Momma! Head on over to check out other tasty recipes! 

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Chicken Pot Pie-Toddle Along Tuesday

I was so excited to see that this week's Toddle Along Tuesday over at Growing up Geeky is all about quick and simple meals.

My number one go-to simple meal is chicken pot pie. It's a family favorite, and rotates through our dinner repertoire several times a month.

Before I share the recipe I need to share the back story of how this recipe came to us. After all, don't all good meals have a story?

For those of you who don't know, we live on a college campus. My husband runs several residence halls and manages a staff of resident assistants. When Stephanie was born, one of those RAs, J, brought us a pot pie. When Dan told me she was making it, I said "I'm not a fan of pot-pie but I'm desperate for a hot meal, and it was so sweet of her to make for us!" And then I ate it, and realized what I had been missing all these years. The fact that J made this for us and shared her recipe with me ensures that she will always top my list of awesome people who made those first weeks of new motherhood more bearable!

It might not be the healthiest meal, but it's hearty, can be put together in less than 10 minutes, and is a "fix it and forget it" type of meal. I've since passed the recipe along to my sister, my mom and my best friend, all of whom make it frequently now. Stephanie gobbles it up, and it's a great way to get extra veggies into her. After Joseph was born, my sister made one and brought it to us, sealing it as our family "when a baby is born you bring it" meal. It was also the first meal I made for us when Dan went back to work after his 6 weeks of family leave.

The best part of this meal is that I can put it together at nap time, or even the night before. Then I just throw it in the oven an hour and fifteen minutes before we want to eat. So simple!

Ok, I've sung the pot-pie praises enough, now to the actual recipe!

Ingredients
- 1 or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- .5 of a 1lb package of mixed vegetables
- 1 can of diced potatoes
-  2 cans of Campbells cream of chicken soup (I use the 98% fat free kind)
- 1 refrigerated pie crust

Directions
*Mix soup, vegetables and potatoes together in a pie plate
*Dice the chicken into small pieces. Add to the soup mixture.
*Roll out the pie crust, spread on top of the pie plate, and cut a few slits in top for the steam to escape

*Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour. Take the pie out to cool for about 15 minutes. Dig in and enjoy!

*Tip: I bake my pie on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Sometimes it leaks, and this prevents a mess in the oven.

This is what's left after the 3 of us attack our meal on pot-pie night. (It's just as good leftover, and makes a perfect lunch!)

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Project 10: Week 4 Update

I finally had a good week! There were definite slips, and days where I didn't get my wine at night. But in general I felt like I stuck to my healthy habits and am proud to say i'm down 2 pounds!

I've been drinking a lot of water, eating extra fruits and vegetables, walking with the kids every day, and curbing the snacking a little. Knowing that I can't buy new clothes until I lose the weight is a big motivator. I still need to buy a few things for BlogHer12 at the start of August, so I'm really determined!

In addition to sticking with the healthy habits I've been doing, I have two additional goals this week.

1. Cut down portion sizes at dinner. I have a tendency to go back for seconds, and I really don't need to. So I'm going to stick with one plate of food, and if I really can't resist going back for more, i'll get extra vegetables.

2. Use the calorie-counter app that I downloaded on my phone. I actually downloaded this a few months ago, but was never able to make it through an entire day. I remember from my first week of Project 10 that keeping a food diary was helpful. I've gotten lax with that, and so I thought doing this might be a way to make it new and fresh and stick with it. I did it all day yesterday and discovered that I can scan bar-codes of foods and it will automatically find it without me searching. And once I've searched for a food on the app, it saves it so I can quickly retrieve the data if I eat the same thing again. So easy! It's nice to know not only what i'm eating, but the number of calories i'm consuming. It helps me stay on track.

I'm still using wine as a motivator, and hoping I get to have some more often this week!

I'll leave you today with a recipe I found from Good Housekeeping magazine. It's a pasta dish, which isn't the healthiest, but we are big pasta eaters in my house so I figured a dish that is loaded with vegetables is healthier than just eating it with sauce and cheese! Here is the link for the original, and below is how I made it.

Rustic Pasta Toss
-salt
-pepper
-1 box Barilla whole wheat penne (I think it's a 13oz box instead of 1 lb)
-1 zucchini chopped
-1 summer squash chopped
-1/2 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
-dried parsley
-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1 clove garlic
-1 5oz pouch of light tuna in water

1. Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Add squash and zucchini during the last 2 minutes of cooking.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, garlic, 1/4 teas salt & 1/8 teas pepper. Stir in tomatoes.

3. Drain pasta. Add the tomato mixture to the pasta, squash and zucchini. Add tuna. Mix well.

We discovered that this dish is better cold. (It made enough for us to have two nights in a row. The second night we ate it right out of the fridge and enjoyed it better!)

If you've written a post about healthy living or fitness, feel free to link up with us below! As always, thank you to Stephanie's Mommy Brain for putting this project together.

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