June 6 - June 12

June 6 - June 12

 

So - its been a while since my last post - but we have been just slightly busy and have had very gracious friends who have brought us food after Hubbys surgery, plus we were able to get out of town for a bit - but this week we are back to it and hoping to try some new stuff.

Monday:   
      Teething - it sucks. I feel so bad for J and I get so behind on the stuff that I use naptime to get done. So tonight Hubby brought home dinner - which the restaurant forgot half of - ugh - its been one of those days...
   
Tuesday: 
Crockpot Carne Asada Nachos  
     New recipe this week. I am a sucker for nachos, but usually use leftovers. These feel a little more gourmet so I'm excited to try them out. Plus, anytime I can use my crockpot I consider that a win.

Wednesday:  
Italian Wonderpot      
     Easy go-to recipe that the whole family enjoys. It's going to be a busy day so only using one pot and knowing that H will devour this meal is a bonus.
  
Thursday:  
Mexican Bean Salad
      I have tons of can goods and most of them are beans, plus we have some frozen chicken so a make shift meal it will be.

Friday: 
     A summer Friday just screams for a BBQ. 

Saturday:    
One Pan Roasted Lemon Pepper Salmon and Garlic Parmesan Asparagus
      I have posted this recipe before, but have yet to actually make it. I'm really hoping to this weekend.

 Sunday: 
Fig Glazed Roast Pork 
Tomato Basil Spinach Risotto 
      Our Sundays usually include an outdoor activity and creativity in the kitchen. I couldn't pass up this pork recipe and wanted something substantial yet light to go with it.

Last Week Update:

I'll give updates next week on how the new recipes turned out and any changes I would make. Stay tuned..

April 25 - May 1

April 25 - May 1

(How is it possible that the title of this has the word May in it???)

Monday:   
      This week started out super busy and with really easy dinners. We still had Salsa Chicken leftover from the Flautas so we threw it on a salad with all sorts of goodies Hubby found in the fridge.
   
Tuesday:
     This week Hubby had a late meeting and H had a date with her POP so instead of cooking a big meal I made Macaroni and Cheese (which H and I eat when Hubby isn't home) and I ended up making Mini Corn Dogs to go with it.  
Wednesday:  
Chipotle Lime Grilled Shrimp Salad      
     I finally went to the store today for this week :) The hubby isn't a huge fan of shrimp so I grabbed some for myself and H and some salmon for him. I also almost forgot the cilantro (actually had to go back into the store to purchase it which really is no fun while missing a naptime and with both kids).
  
Thursday:  
Hibachi Steak and Veggies
      We have never made fried rice (successfully) and have never tried hibachi at home so we are going to attempt it tonight. We are going to loosely follow this recipe. The hubby is kind of amazing at looking at a recipe and then creating his own fantastic dish - he is cooking tonight.

Friday: 

     We have plans with friends this weekend and that always means - well having no real plan for meals. We are just looking forward to sweet time and great music!

Saturday:     

Sunday:
      I am going to be realistic about this night, which means, we will most likely be ordering pizza or getting a freezer pizza. And I'm ok with that!

Last Week Update:

     Well - the only new recipe was the Stroganoff and to be honest - it was a failure. I think it could have been good if I had fresh mushrooms and was not trying to rehydrate. I also think the "sauce" was too runny. In hubbys defense his grilled chicken was AMAZING!

I'll give updates next week on how the new recipes turned out and any changes I would make. Stay tuned... 

April 18 - April 24

April 18 - April 24

Monday:   
Mexican Sweet Potato 
     Trying to fit in vegetarian sometimes is hard for me. I'm not quite a meat and potato girl, but I do love my proteins. However, this meal is so yummy! It usually creates some extra "stuffing" so I usually eat that in nachos or a quesadilla for lunch later in the week.
   
Tuesday:
     We host a small group from church in our house and meet most Tuesdays. We have taken a break from hosting the dinner portion but I still need to feed my family. This week I had a pork tenderloin leftover in my fridge and some spinach/cheese tortellini in my pantry. Easy, fast and reasonably healthy.
 
Wednesday:       
      I had a huge batch of pulled pork from about a month ago that I threw in the freezer. (We ate on it last week, but still have a ton left) We also have several green peppers, a bag of baby carrots and some feta cheese already in the fridge. I will be combining those with some orzo pasta tonight.

  

Thursday:  
Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken 
Chicken and Spinach Flautas 
      This is becoming a go-to meal for me. It turned out that I had 3 bags of salsa chicken in my freezer and I am trying to make room for some more "dump in the crockpot meals" so flautas/taquitos again! Plus, H really likes to help make these and any special time I can get with her right now I will take!

Friday: 
Meatballs 
No-Knead Bread
     I will be seeing The Sound of Music this night so I wanted it to be easy on the hubby since he will have both kids. This will be the last time using the meatballs I already have in the freezer as well as the sauce I froze last time. 
     To make it feel a little more fresh and because the sauce is so good to dip in I will make bread. This is what it looked like last time I made it...

Saturday:  
     We will be celebrating my dads birthday this night... PARTY!!!

Sunday:
Smoky Mushroom Stroganoff 
     Now that it has gotten nice out our grill has become our weekend go to. But, I still like to try out new recipes and I thought grilled chicken on top of this pasta sounds really yummy.

Last Week Update:

     So I didn't post last week, because well - it was Thursday before I ever went to the store. Between meetings, leftovers and a general lack of motivation to cook it was a light week. 

      From the last post, the Chicken Cutlets that I cooked in the cast iron were AMAZING! I will absolutely make this again and I have already told so many people about it. If you are interested let me know I will get the recipe to you.

I'll give updates next week on how the new recipes turned out and any changes I would make. Stay tuned... 

April 4 - April 10

April 4 - April 10
 

See run down of our Hello Fresh boxes below... but here's the skinny for this week.

Monday:   
     A few months ago I made a bunch of freezer meals and due to lack of desire to go to the store today I pulled out and heated up some Chicken Fajitas. Simple, Yummy, and in the house.

Tuesday: 
Black Bean Cakes 
      This is one of my go to veggie recipes. It is so good and goes great with avocado and slider buns (stole this idea from my favorite place for black bean burgers Early Girl Eatery). Paring this with a simple salad makes for a great healthy and light meal.

Wednesday: 
Minestrone Soup
No Knead Bread
     We host a small group from church in our house and meet most Wednesdays. We do a pot luck style dinner. Our dinner crew has diminished greatly so I will most likely continue the main dish. 

     It is supposed to get cold again (come on Spring!) so I am going to make a soup and bread for dipping. I have made this bread recipe 2 times in the past. The first time it turned out beautiful and amazing, the second time it was like a brick. Lets see how time 3 goes... 

Thursday:  
Stuffed Peppers 
     I love anything Greek and while I didn't pull this out of the family cookbook - it is really good. Plus, you make it in a crockpot so its super easy!
 
Friday: 
Chicken Cutlet with Asparagus and Mushrooms
     New recipe. I purchased this awesome new cookbook about cast iron cooking - I couldn't find the recipe online, but this is the magazine where I got it. 
Southern Cast Iron

Saturday: 
      The hubs has request either a filet or salmon for dinner. Since I am not sure what the weekly deals will be until Wednesday this one is a little up in the air. 

Sunday:
      I haven't gotten around to cooking my Sunday meal in 2 weeks so I decided not to put anything on the schedule. This will either consist of leftovers or maybe a dinner out - we will have to see how the weekend plays out.

Last Week Update:
So our experience with Hello Fresh was great, super fresh ingredients, organic meat, yummy recipes - but as a family of 4 (3 eaters) it wasn't quite enough food for us. Perhaps once J is old enough we will give it another shot. I did enjoy not having to plan or shop for 3 meals. I also have decided I will add grapefruit to my fish tacos in the future as I really enjoyed the acidity they provided.

And here's the truth - this schedule went to crap this week.  I still haven't gotten to the Salmon and Asparagus ( I will try again soon) and I altered our Zucchini Lasagna into grilled Burgers and grilled Zucchini.

I'll give updates next week on how the new recipes turned out and any changes I would make. Stay tuned... 

March 28 - April 3

March 28 - April 3

We got a free box from Hello Fresh this week so its been a light shopping week. I'll let you know how it goes...

Monday:   
Fiesty Fiesta Fish Tacos with Grapefruit, Avocado and Red Cabbage Slaw
   
Tuesday: 
Dijon Pork Chops with Crispy Potato Cakes and Roasted Asparagus

Wednesday: 
Meatballs 
     We host a small group from church in our house and meet most Wednesdays. We do a pot luck style dinner. Our dinner crew has diminished greatly so I will most likely continue the main dish. I love these meatballs and usually make a huge batch and throw them in the freezer. I do the same with my sauce.   

Thursday:  
Tasty Grilled Chicken with Warm Green Bean Salad
 
Friday: 
Zucchini Lasagna
     New recipe. I try to do a vegetarian meal each week - and Friday is it! 

Saturday: 
Salsa Chicken 
Fiesta Chicken Rice Bowls
     I have a bunch of Salsa Chicken left over so I had to try to find a new recipe to go with it!

Sunday:
Roasted Lemon Pepper Salmon and Garlic Parmesan Asparagus 
     New recipe! I didn't get to this last week, nor had I purchased any of the ingredients to make it. This is the second week that we have not gotten to this recipe. I hope it works this time.

Last Week Update:
The  Flautas were amazing and so easy! We ended up buying a ham at Fresh Market instead of baking our own because I couldn't find a plain, smoked, spiral cut ham ANYWHERE! I also ended up making Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with a homemade Strawberry marmalade filling. This was my inspiration for the topping - my grass wasn't as green but there were still adorable.

I'll give updates next week on how the new recipes turned out and any changes I would make. Stay tuned... 

March 21 - March 27

March 21 - March 27

Monday:   
Italian Wonderpot 
     Go to recipe for me when I am not going to have much time to cook and H LOVES it! That girl can crush some pasta and I feel good about this one because of all the veggies. 
   
Tuesday: 
Roasted Lemon Pepper Salmon and Garlic Parmesan Asparagus 
     New recipe! I didn't get to this last week, nor had I purchased any of the ingredients to make it so we are eating it Tuesday.
 
Wednesday: 
     We host a small group from church in our house and meet most Wednesdays. We do a pot luck style dinner and switch up who makes the main dish. I have been making it the last few weeks so I am rocking a side this week. 

Veggie Pasta Salad

Shell Pasta

Garlic Powder

Scallions

Red or Yellow Pepper

Baby Carrots

Celery

Frozen (thawed) Peas

Grape Tomatoes

Salt/Pepper

Mayo

Sharp Cheddar Cheese

  

Thursday:  
     We are having friends over for dinner and it is supposed to be nice so we are going to grill out with hot wings for the adults and hot dogs for the kiddos. It should be a fun evening!

Friday: 
AMAZING Meatloaf 
     This is one of my go-to recipes. Delicious Meatloaf with lots of flavor. I sort of follow this recipe now - I change up the spices a little every time. We will be steaming broccoli with this meal.

Saturday: 
Salsa Chicken 
Chicken and Spinach Flautas 
     It's Easter Weekend (HE IS RISEN) and will be hosting family. This meal is easy and pretty cheap. I am doing a variation on the flatuas and using the salsa chicken. It cuts the physical prep time quite a bit and the leftover chicken freezes great!

Sunday: EASTER!
Honey Ham Spice Rub 
Honey Ham Marinade 
     Easter Sunday is for church, egg hunts and awesome pot luck meals. Instead of getting an expensive Honey Baked Ham - I am making a faux version. I combine these two recipes and last time I made it - we ate the whole thing! I will also be making cupcakes - kind of my specialty, but I like to keep those recipes a secret. I will post pictures of how they turn out.

Last Week Update:
The Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin and Broccoli was delicious! I will make this again while trying to figure out how to make the bacon crispier (I cooked with the convection element on my oven so I think traditional is the way to go) and I put too much lemon on the broccoli (lesson learned). 

And while the cauliflower crust flavor was great it is not a substitute for a real crust. It needed to be crispier. However as a way to get more veggies into our diet it was a good solution. 

I'll give updates next week on how the new recipes turned out and any changes I would make. Stay tuned...