Now MOMMY's semester is starting back

My classes start this week at the university so the rubber meets the road with the new schedule, as they say.  Last week, having "appetizers" worked pretty well when they were offered. Since its not always me who is putting together the dinner plans, I have to defer to the judgement of the person who is. "Trust the guy in the room." Which is one of the more important lessons I learned from The West Wing, of all things.

Monday:
Cheeseburger casserole

Tuesday
Shrimp and Watermelon salad


Wednesday:
Chicken and Black Bean Taco Salad (Crock Pot)

Thursday:
Tuna Melts

Friday:
Calzone Cupcakes again. (movie night!)

Saturday:
Summer Vegetables with Sausage & Potatoes

Bold New Culinary Horizons... (kinda)

A new thing for us. Big starts a different school and gets home much later than little. It is not quite dinner time but late enough that she is REALLY hungry when she gets home. After a week of just letting her eat whatever snack is appealing, which has resulted in dinner being "spoiled" so to speak, we are trying something new. Appetizers.

I look at this as an opportunity to gently broaden our culinary horizons past Goldfish and peanut butter. Behold, the appetizer and menu plan for the first week. Wish us luck.

Monday

Appetizer:
Black Bean/Corn Salsa and Baked Tortilla Chips

Fish Sticks / FishTacos


Tuesday:
Appetizer:
Pineapple chunks

Dinner:
Kung Pao Chicken Zoodles


Wednesday:
Appetizer:
Popcorn

Dinner:
Crock Pot Italian Sloppy Joes
Salad


Thursday:
Appetizer
Watermelon chunks

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps


Friday:
Appetizer:
Dip and Veggie selection

Dinner
Calzone Cupcakes

Smoothie Sailin'

I am late to this party, but I have fallen in love with Green Smoothies! Who would have ever predicted that SPINACH makes an excellent smoothie? Not me. That's for sure.

I made one today, based on the Skinny Green Monster smoothie from Skinnytaste.com  (love her!) but I changed it up a little bit.

3ozs Fage 0% plain greek yogurt
3 ozs crushed pineapple (this is just what I had in the fridge, I am sure fresh or frozen would be great too)
3 ozs unsweetened coconut milk
dash of coconut extract (because I had it in my cabinet)
1 TPSP unsweetened coconut flakes
1 packet of stevia
handful of spinach
a few ice cubes
1 small banana

Blended that all up and it was delicious! Kinda pina-colada-ish.  Yum!

Counting Points again!

Well, I am counting points again. I knew I had put on a little bit of weight and I didn't want it to get out of control so back to the tried and true Points Plus of Weight Watchers! There have been a few updates since I was last in the land of WW. The site has a new look and feel. There is a lot more support for dining out. (Restaurant Specific Points values, including my beloved Chick Fil-A) also, I now have an iPad and I like the way the iPad apps work for WW. For example, the WW Kitchen app. It is an easy way to search recipes.

So, I am going to publish the weekly menus again here on the blog but I am going to try to also plan for some snack and breakfast ideas since I seem to be somewhat stuck when it comes to that.

Menu:
Sunday:
Balsamic Pork Roast
Roasted Broccoli

Monday:
Pasta w/Homemade marinara
Garlic bread
(a note about pasta: I have lately been "boosting" my pasta servings with spaghetti squash. Sp Squash, doesn't taste at all like pasta and the texture isn't the same either, so I would never do only the squash and try to fool myself. However, having the extra there makes it look like i have more pasta and it is more filling with fewer points!)

Tuesday:
Skinny Chicken Tikka Masala
Rice
Salad

Wednesday:
Thai coconut curry shrimp
Stir Fry Vegetable Steamers
(a word about Steamers: I have started buying these steamer bags in the frozen section of the grocery. I have found that it is nice to have them on hand for those times when I don't really know what to serve as a side dish. Super easy and they keep for a while since they are frozen.)

Thursday:
Cheeseburger Casserole
Salad
This is a new favorite because it is tasty but also because it makes great leftovers!

Friday:
Valentine's Day dinner
the tradition in our house is that Daddy makes a fancy Valentine's Day dinner and we eat in the dining room! Last fall, I did a recital in Denver, CO and happened upon this amazing restaurant downtown called Rioja. I proceeded to eat there for the remainder of my dinners! On the second night, I found out they had a cookbook and that the waiter could get one signed for me! So I bought it "for my husband." Really, this was as selfish a gift as I could get! Anyway, he s going to be preparing something out of this cookbook for our V-day menu!

Saturday:
Baked Spaghetti Squash with Cheese
Remember how I said I was using spaghetti squash more? Here is a casserole type recipe that uses NO pasta. So we are giving it a try.


Breakfasts:
I have been stuck in a rut with my breakfasts and I want to get out. My go to breakfast has lately been a whole wheat waffle with Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter and a banana (7P+). I just want to be able to change it up. Refrigerator Oatmeal anyone? Maybe some eggs?

Snacks:
I'm going to make some of these PB&J Oatmeal cookies. We'll see. Maybe with an apple it will be a good snack!

MLK Week

Tuesday

Skinny Chicken Tikka Masala

Wednesday
Honey Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad

Thursday
Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Yay! I'm back! After a whirlwind summer full of wonderful travel opportunities and not much time cooking at home, we are finally getting back into a normal routine. (Whatever THAT means.)

So here's next week's menu:

Saturday
Paul's Skirt Steak Fajitas with sun-dried tomato wraps and multi-colored peppers (yum)

Sunday:
Fajita leftovers on a picnic!

Monday
Skinny Chicken Tikka Masala

Crab Cakes (made with tuna because the crab looked questionable at the store)


Thursday
Pumpkin White Bean Chili

Friday
Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps


Saturday
Black Bean Burgers

Sunday
Cheeseburger Casserole

Smoothie recipe

I just made a delicious smoothie and I just HAD to share it with y'all. It was inspired by one I found on Martha Stewart's Pinterest page

The one above has almonds and oats and uses vanilla yogurt. I didn't have most of that so I used what I had on hand and changed the proportions a little.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup pecan halves
4 ozs Fage 0% plain Greek yogurt
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 tsp pure maple syrup

The pecans and the strawberries together are really delicious! Give it a try sometime!