Menu Plan Monday

I have been making weekly dinner menus for my family for as long as I can remember.  It used to be (& still is to a point) a running joke with my brother in laws and myself....everytime they would come to the house the first question would always be "what's on the menu this week?"  It always just seemed logical to me to plan out what we were having and shop for those items...I had neither the time nor patience to be running to the store to pick up items I needed for a recipe.  Plus, with a picky husband, kids with different tastes and myself who is very strict on low carbs/low sugar, knowing I have something on the menu each night that everyone will eat, and fits into our schedule, was genius!  If you popped over here from Org Junkie...you must be a genius too...and my BIL's cave dwellers...

I must admit though, meal planning isn't my all time favorite activity.  It takes me HOURS sometimes, leaving me frustrated and ready to throw in the towel.  Perhaps it is because the varied tastes of my family, although I have learned to overcome that...the main reason is I am so overwhelmed by the amount of recipes I have already and the amount that I keep finding on Pinterest or the Internet.  I am on a never ending mission to get myself organized and as I write this post I think I need to move the huge job of tackling cookbooks, magazines and clipped recipes up to the forefront...to save my weekly sanity.

One thing I did do this week, which I wish I had thought of earlier, was to assign each night a theme.  It made it so much easier when looking at my recipes and our schedule to pick out that night's meal.  I wish I had thought of it after racking my brain for 2 hours thought...here is what a week might look like:

Monday - Mexican/Tex Mex
Tuesday - Asian
Wednesday - Italian
Thursday - Leftovers (with the exception of the summer months, I shop on Friday morning)
Friday - Pizza
Saturday & Sunday - Pork, beef or chicken recipes that don't fall into one of the above categories

During the summer, my menu runs Saturday to Friday (Friday to Thursday during the rest of the year) only because of when I shop.  Here is what is on the menu this week:

Saturday - Pizza (pepperoni and cheese for the kids, BBQ Chicken for the hubby) and mushroom and cheese using this gluten free / low carb crust for me. 

Sunday -  Lemon BBQ pork chops, green beans, baked potato

Monday  - Mexican Chicken, corn, hashbrown potatoes

Tuesday - Spicy Basil Chicken, white rice, snowpeas and carrots, mandarin oranges

Wednesday - Spaghetti & Meatballs with homemade sauce, bread machine bread

Thursday - Key West grilled chicken, salad, baked potatoes

Friday - Leftovers or sandwiches

I hope something on my menu inspires you this week! Want more menu planning inspiration?  Head on over to Org Junkie to see what others are cooking up this week.

What is on your menu this week?

goodbye mac & cheese

I make one mean mac & cheese if I do say so myself.  It is often requested at home and on holidays.  I found the recipe a few years back in Country Woman Magazine.  I am pretty sure I remember reading that the original recipe was submitted to either The Farmer's Wife Magazine or Farm Wife Magazine in 1971 by a mid west farmer's wife .  I don't know about you, but in my book that kind of recipe is pure home cooked goodness and worth a try!

So why goodbye mac & cheese?  I can't have it for awhile, not never again, but not for a while.  I am on a new weight loss journey...one involving a hypnotist and an advanced version of the South Beach Diet.  I have tried many options and unfortunately I have this problem with finding all the weight I have lost.  Every time, without fail.  I love food, but I love being thin more.  I have tried to do it myself, but well, I need a little help.  So, I got hypnotized and will be following her weight loss plan.  The mac & cheese will once again become a treat, but not quite yet.

I will keep you updated on my progress (I am currently in week 2 and doing just fine!).  Until then, please make your family a big batch of my mac & cheese and enjoy every bite for me.


Rich 'n' cheesy macaroni
2 -1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
6  tablespoons butter (divided)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp sugar
2 cups milk
3/4 lb cheese ends
1 - 1/3 cups small curd cottage cheese
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 -1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.  Place in a greased 2-1/2 qt. baking dish.  In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter.  Stir in flour, salt and sugar until smooth.  Gradually stir in milk.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Reduce hear; stir in cheese until melted.  Stir in cottage cheese and sour cream.  Pour over macaroni.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.  Melt remaining butter and toss with bread crumbs; sprinkle over top.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 deg. for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield:  6-8 servings (of pure cheesy goodness)

the wearing (& eating) o' the green

St. Patrick's day is a well celebrated holiday around these parts.  I am extremely proud of my Irish heritage and while I try very hard to have my kids embrace both sides of their heritage (my husband is Slovak) the Irish just seems to win every time.  I like to make it fun around here come the 17th, but not too crazy (because afterall we are lucky enough to be Irish all year long).

Yesterday was no exception, starting with a visit from our friendly house leprachaun who visits each St. Patrick's Day to perform silly little shenanigans in the house (our leprachaun DOES NOT leave gifts...that is reserved for Santa and the Easter bunny).  However, our leprachan does turn things green...like the toilet water and our milk.

Our food tends to turn green as well.

Especially when you have cute little leprachauns in training mixing up your pancake batter

yummy breakfast fit for a leprachaun

dinner in the making

 Those were supposed to be rainbow waffles.  I got the idea from Kelli over at Random Thoughts of a SUPERMOM!  I saw them and just knew I had to make them they were soooo cute.  Let me rephrase that...Kelli's were sooooo cute, mine on the other hand looked like a tye-dye expirement gone horribly wrong.  The kids at least liked them, and appreciated the effort.

it just isn't St. Patty's day without a Shamrock Shake...then again, it really hasn't been a day in March around here without a Shamrock Shake. Hey, they only come around once a year, I think I can justify the excessive consumption (read - obsession) with that point alone.

and because the Shamrock Shake was consumed with dinner we had to have dessert too! Once again, Kelli came through with a great idea for me with her Leprachaun Jello...this one actually came out perfect and was really, really yummy despite being made with lime jello 

in my opinion, it just isn't St. Patrick's Day without a corned beef sandwich...

since I don't like waffles I skipped them and got my corned beef fix

(since no one else here will eat it anyway...really, they don't know what they are missing)

Hope your St. Patty's Day was full of Shenanigans!

the return of tasty tuesday...but now on weight watchers wednesday!

hey there ~

I have had alot of feed back regarding my weight watchers wednesday posts...people love them...who would have thought? It is funny as many of us feel alone in our struggle with our weight and weight loss, but it is really more common than one would have thought (I know just from the comments I get from these posts) we just aren't all brave enough (or stupid enough) to talk about it.

So - I am dedicating Wednesdays to weight loss from here on out and promise to post about my never ending (or so it seems) journey to being thin. But since I don't want to turn this into ranting and raving or the same old post each week...I thought I would spice it up a bit and give you a recipe each week along with my progress. This also satisfies those who have asked me to share my menus or "give them the recipe". I only pull my recipes from healthy sources (WW cookbooks & mags, Clean Eating, Cooking Light, etc.) so the recipes are guaranteed to be healthy and we have already taste tested them so I am sharing my family favorites...and with a picky husband and 2 picky kids...they should be sure to please your family as well.

With that all said I will get right on to the recipe since my weigh ins have been all messed up. I haven't been able to make my normal meeting time lately and I just can't seem to find the time to get to another...I will be going tonight but I really don't think it is going to be a stellar performance. Could be the hot wings, blue cheese dressing and beer I HAD to have for dinner at 9:30 Monday night, or the Panera sandwich that was calling my name after I showed up to get weighed in and found the WW center closed...ok, really who puts a WW center between a Panera Bread & Old Country Buffet, next to a Lindt Chocolate store and in the same plaza as a KFC, Burger King, Olive Garden, Bertuccis and a few other yummy places...well, I guess probably a smart person who knows I have NO will power.

Any whoo - off the tangent and on with the recipe:

Oven Fried Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half or 1 drumstick and 1 thigh)

Ingredients
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large egg whites, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 chicken breast halves, skinned (about 1 pound)
2 chicken thighs, skinned (about 1/2 pound)
2 chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 1/2 pound)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Cooking spray

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine buttermilk and egg whites in a shallow dish; stir well with a whisk. Combine flour, cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a separate shallow dish; stir well. Sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dip chicken in buttermilk mixture; dredge in flour mixture.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet; lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 450 (28% from fat); Fat:13.8g (sat 2.5g,mono 6.1g,poly 3.6g); Protein:43.5g; Carbohydrate: 35.3g; Fiber: 1.7g; Cholesterol: 109mg; Iron:3.2mg; Sodium:803mg;
Calcium: 88mg

Julianna Grimes Bottcher, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2006

I served with mashed potatoes and peas.

Enjoy ~
Tracy

Nothing says lovin'.....

If you are looking for the CTMH Deal a Day (and some scrappy goodness) please see the post below this one!

You know the saying...Nothing says lovin' like something from the oven....well, my oven has been runeth over with muffins. I got on this muffin kick recently, maybe because I am so hooked on Desperate Housewives that I have watched Seasons 1-3 over the last 2 weeks (rented them from the library and waiting for season 4 to arrive!), or I have finally started going through all my past Cooking Light issues and found some great recipes, I just don't know.

Anyway I started Muffin Mondays for the my husband and the guys in his shop. He works a funny schedule where they are only in every other Monday, so on his work Mondays - they get fresh baked muffins. So for my Tasty Tuesday entry, I thought I would share the recipe my husband requested from his childhood - his mom used to make these bran muffins for him and they are really good. This recipe makes ALOT of muffins, the best part is...the batter stays good in the fridge for 6 weeks! So mix some up today and bake them up fresh each morning!

Six Week Bran Muffins
Mix in a very large bowl or 8 qt kettle the following:
1 box (15 oz or 8 cups) Raisin Bran
3 cups sugar
5 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Add in the following and mix well:
1 qt buttermilk
1 cup oil
4 beaten eggs

Fill cups 1/2 to 2/3 full and bake at 375 for 20 min*. Store remaining batter in fridge for up to 6 weeks. (Note: the recipe calls for 20 min, but mine were done at 15 min. )

Enjoy...they are even better the next day!

Tracy

Tasty Tuesday...Gearing up for Memorial Day Picnics!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Here I am again this week with some tasty treats for you. I apologize for skipping Mojo Monday, but frankly my mojo has no time to go! I have so many crafty ideas kickin' around in this big head of mine, but finding time (that I am actually awake or able to function) to put them to use is very limited these days, we are so busy! I can say though that I do have some ideas for Wildcard Wednesday and Therapy Thursday, so stay tuned and I promise, the scrappy postings will reappear soon.

For your tasty treat today, I have recipe for y'all to bring to your Memorial Day picnics this weekend. I hesitate on using the word celebration or party, because Memorial Day is actually not a celebratory holiday, it is an observance of those who have given their lives for our country, our freedom and a tribute to all those who are currently serving our country. To observe the day with family and friends is a wonderful tribute, sharing with our loved ones as we remember those who have paid the ultimate price for our ability to do so.

Alright, that was a slight diversion, but it is my blog and well, that is how I feel...so on to the tasty treat...throw out that recipe for boring old potato salad with mayo and enter...

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Serves 20 Prep 15 min Cook 1 Hr

7 lbs baking potatoes

Extra Virgin Olive oil (for brushing)

2 lbs vacon, cut crosswise into 1 inch pieces

2 sticks (1/2 lb) butter, softened

2 pints sour cream

Salt and pepper

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg. Pierce potatoes with a fork; brush with oil. Bake until tender, 1 hour. Let cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces.

2. In skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain.

3. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sour cream, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the potatoes, bacon, scallions and cheese. Serve at room temperature.

(recipe from Rachael Ray Magazine...Rachaelraymag.com )

Got to go fold some laundry...so until tomorrow,

Tracy

I'm back with Tasty Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! In keeping with my original intentions (ummm weeks ago...) Tuesday means I am bringing you some YUM! I do apologize for my absence, life kind of got in the way...but I am back and committed to posting at least Monday - Thursday. Thanks to my wonderful friend Sarah, Monday will be Mojo Monday....so expect some crafty goodness on Mondays - and I will spatter it throughout the week too - if my schedule allows (ha! ha!). I guess I inspired Sarah to post often too as she will be joining me on my themed posts - so check her out here, she is a great scrapper, stamper, mom, wife and friend - just a wonderful person all around.

Now - on to the YUM factor. I have years (really years...like 8 of them) worth of Cooking Light Magazines in my closet. They are arranged by year and I have tried many of the recipes, but frankly there isn't really any reason for me to have all that clutter (that is just the tip of the clutter iceberg too!). In an effort to make my home clutter free I started going through the magazines, trying the recipes, saving what I need and recycling the rest of the magazine. I figured I would go through by month so I am working on March (done), April (almost) and May so that I am cooking for the season.

Today's recipe is from Cooking Light, April 2003. The recipe is quick and easy and has earned its spot into my recipe rotation (great for busy nights!)

Asian Pork Medallions

I served it with white rice and steamed sugar snap peas and baby carrots.

Yield - 4 servings (serving size: 2 pork medallions and 1 tablespoon sauce)

Ingredients -
Cooking spray
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 8 pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce

Preparation -
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt. Combine garlic, ginger, and oil in a large bowl. Add pork; toss to coat. Add pork to pan; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.
Add water and remaining ingredients to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes. Spoon sauce over pork.
Click here for Nutritional Info or to print out the recipe.

I hope you enjoy!

Stay tuned for Wildcard Wednesday tomorrow -

Tracy

Tasty Tuesday brings Sweet-and-Sour Pork {Yummo!}

Ok - so I haven't posted since Thursday and I was on a role with these topic things...but I don't have a catchy phrase or theme for Mon, Fri, Sat & Sun - HELP! I need some ideas, inspiration - anything. Plus, I figured I would get some crafty stuff done this past weekend - but nope. I didn't feel well Friday so the kids and I snuggled with books on the couch and the hubby brought home pizza - Saturday we had a Tae Kwan Do tournament so that took all day, but we did get to eat at one of our fav restaurants which is a turn of the century train station, but the trains still run by - the kids love it, and Sunday was Easter so between egg hunts and dinner - there was no crafty time...oh well, have to schedule some extra time in this week.

So today is Tasty Tuesday and do I have some yummies for you! Today's recipe comes from weightwatchers.com, I downloaded it like 3 years ago and on my never ending quest to weed out my cook books and recipes I came across it and decided to try it the other night - this will make it on my recipe rotation it is so good....enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Pork
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs lean pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
15 oz canned unsweetened pineapple chunks
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp table salt
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 medium green pepper(s), sliced
1 small onion (s) sliced
3 cups cooked brown rice, kept warm

Instructions:
1) heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat.
2) Add pork and cook until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes; removed from skillet and set aside. Drain any remaining fat from skillet.
3) Drain Pineapple chunks, reserving juice; set aside.
4) Combine water, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, slat, soy sauce and reserved pineapple juice in a small bowl; add to skillet and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add pork; cook covered over low heat until meat is tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
5) Add peppers, onion and pineapple chunks, cook 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

Yields about 1 cup of pork and 1/2 cup rice per serving / 6 servings.