So I got some okra...

There is a retiree who takes lessons in the Pre-College division of the university where I teach and he has been bringing us vegetables from his garden. This week was the most beautiful okra I have ever seen. And I grew up in Irmo, SC home of the Okra Strut, so I KNOW from okra.

So anyway - we are making some GUMBO. I am giving this new recipe a try from Eating Well.

Sunday

Gumbo

Appetizer - Cheese and crackers

Monday

Crock Pot Chicken and Black Bean Tacos

Appetizer - grapes and cheese

Tuesday:

Summer Vegetables and Sausage

veggies and dip

Wednesday:

Cod filets prepared TBA (Daddy is in charge of these)

Thursday:

leftovers/grazing

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!

Spring has Sprung

Spring has sprung in a very visible way here in Atlanta. And that is not necessarily a good thing. While the weather is beautiful and it makes you want to spend time outside, the pollen count is off the charts! On a 100 point scale, the pollen count today is 8024! No kidding!

Luckily it is supposed to rain today so hopefully much of that yellow dust will wash down the storm drains. In the mean time, I am choosing to enjoy this beautiful weather. One of the ways Spring always seems to affect me is that it makes me want to eat more "real" foods. It makes me want to cook at home more too! So here is our menu plan for this week.

Thursday:
Buffalo Turkey Burgers with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw
Sweet Potato fries

Friday:
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala


Saturday:
Turkey Meatloaf


Sunday:
Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley

Monday:
Cheeseburger Casserole

Spring Break Meals

I have actually been planning my meals over the last few weeks, but I forgot to put them on the blog! Have you discovered ziplist.com yet? It has really helped me to plan ahead and make my grocery list to go with my meal plan. In busy times like this last week, it has really been a life-saver!

I ventured out to Patak's yesterday to get some bacon but as with every trip there, I knew I wouldn't be coming home with only bacon. I ended up getting ground beef, ground pork, Italian Sausage, deli turkey, Muenster cheese AND bacon. (All for less than $25, btw). Since they butcher everything on site, I feel really good about the quality of what I am getting. But let me tell you something - the bacon is worth the trip by itself. This shopping trip inspired my menu for the week - usually it is the other way around.

There are two meals which appear here without any corresponding recipe link. Basically, this is because DH makes them himself with no recipe. The "Runzas" are nostalgic tributes to a restaurant chain in Nebraska (where DH lived as a teen). They are pretty darn tasty and a little bit decadent so we don't have them all that often. And the chili is a catch as catch can kind of recipe in which we use stuff in the cabinets/fridge. Works really well but the recipe changes almost every time.


Saturday:
Runzas

Sunday:
Mexican Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas

Monday:
Rigatoni with Creamy Sausage Sauce

Tuesday:
Chili

Wednesday:
Honey Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad
and Roasted Chicken

Thursday:
Vietnamese Flank Steak

Post Recital Post

Sunday:
Doubles
Marinated Beef
Broccoli Rabe

Monday:
Cuban Style Pork and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew
Corn Bread

Tuesday:
Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
Roasted Cauliflower

Wednesday:
Alton Brown's Stove Top Mac & Cheese

Thursday: (Valentine's Day Italian Feast)
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Antipasti
Bread

Friday:
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Skinny Blue Cheese Dressing

Back to life, Back to reality

Oh, and also this is the week of my RunDisney half marathon!

So this week is getting back to school for me, getting back to school for my kids and getting ready to go run a half marathon!

Sunday:
Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
Avocado

Monday:

Cuban Pork & Sweet Potato Stew
Crunchy Bakery Bread


Wednesday:
Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Thursday:

Lasagna with Homemade Tomato Sauce
Salad

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Time to make the holiday meals.... :)

Friday:
Broccoli Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Saturday:
Skirt Steak with Roasted Root Vegetables
French Onion Soup Casserole

Sunday lunch:
Slow Cooker Honey Baked Ham
Alton Brown's Mac & Cheese
Green Beans
Biscuits

Christmas Eve:
Lucky for us, we get to have dinner out at a dear friend's house!

Christmas Day:
Well, since Paul is in charge of the dinner every year, I will let him take care of the planning of it! :)

Wednesday:
Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Thursday:
Butternut Pasta with Spicy Sausage

Getting Ready for Christmas!

Now that I have successfully made it through juries and finals and grading and posting grades, I get to enjoy Christmas holiday break.... start planning my next semester while the kids are still in school and THEN enjoy Christmas. Since it is getting colder, we are enjoying soup and chili more. Soup twice this week. I am listing the meals but not the days we will eat them since I am not really sure how that is all going to play out yet.

Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup
We had this a coupple of weeks ago and it was truly scrumptious. The texture is thick which makes it feel hearty. I don't always like soups that are watery so this was perfect for me. We usually eat this with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches but I think we will do something else this time. Salads would normally be my go to choice, but it is too cold for me to enjoy a salad.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
This is a new one for us. Looks tasty though.

Chicken Enchiladas
This is an old standby for us. For once, I am going to try to make it the night before since it is always so much better the next day. Wish me luck.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Spicy Sausage and Sage
I have had a similar recipe without the meat and really enjoyed the way the squash makes you think it is a creamy cheese sauce but is really a veggie! I think adding the sausage should be a nice wintry treat. I have two sweet italian sausage links left from the last time I bought them so I think I might use half and half so it won't be too spicy. You can always add spiciness IN but it isn't so easy to take out!

That's all I have so far. That should get me through the next week with parties and all in between. The parents are coming next Thursday so I have to re-tool the menu for their visit anyway.

Enjoy your week!

Finals week

Usually when you read someone is experiencing finals week, they are TAKING the finals. In my case, I am writing and grading the finals. Takes just as much if not more time. So with that in mind, easy dinners....

Saturday night:
Black Beans and Rice

Paul makes this REALLY well. We happened to have some Country Ham bits on hand and they sure did add a lot to the dish.

Sunday:
Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup
Tillamook Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on Sour Dough Bread

Monday:
Chicken Soft Tacos
Salad

We cooked the Chicken in the Crock pot yesterday so it will be shredded and ready to put into the tacos.


Tuesday:
Spaghetti with Daddy's Homemade Tomato Sauce


Thursday:
Asian Flank Skewers with Stir Fry Vegetables
Rice

Friday:
Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

This is really good and the pureed pumpkin adds a really nice earthiness to it wihtout making it taste too sweet or pumpkin-y at all.

Pre-Thanksgiving

So, it is a really busy week getting ready for Thanksgiving while both DH and I attend important conferences in ATL this week. This makes planning meals ahead of time with the time constraints in mind that much more important. I am attempting to plan (and stick to the plan) for every meal until Thanksgiving

Sunday:
Asian Flank Skewers

Monday:
Crock Pot Turkey Three Bean Chili

Tuesday:
Arroz con Pollo

Wednesday:
Out for birthday dinner!

Thursday:


Friday:
Dinner plans out

Saturday:
Daddy's Spaghetti

Sunday:
Rigatoni with Creamy Sausage Sauce

Monday:
Satay Chicken


Tuesday:
Lemon Garlic Chicken

Wednesday:
Leftovers and/or sandwiches

Thursday:
Thanksgiving!

Hallo-week

It is Halloween (well almost) and we just got back from a big racing weekend. (See my other blog runsandtrills.blogspot.com for more  info on that). At any rate, we had a couple of busy days after getting back from the racing weekend in which we had no time to go to the grocery store AND still had to figure out dinner. Actually, I HIGHLY recommend people intentionally don't go to the grocery store when they think they need to at least once a quarter or so because you can get really creative about what to make for dinner and clean out your fridge/pantry at the same time. You would be surprised at how much food you actually have even when you don't think you have "anything."

Anyway, after our annual Halloween festivities with friends (she makes the most delicious Tortilla soup every year before the kids go out and trick or treat!) we actually will have no food to eat besides crackers and flour. So here is the shopping menu for the next few days in no particular order.


Asian Flank Steak Skewers with Rice and Broccoli


Butternut Squash Soup with toasted pecans served with crunchy french bread and salad.


Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili and Corn Bread


Skinny Chicken Enchiladas


On Saturday, I will probably go to the store again, but this is to get me through the weekend!

Shopping in my pantry

I have too much stuff in my pantry. I try to avoid this situation by making a weekly menu, basing a shopping list on that menu and then STICKING to the list and menu. I did a great job last week of sticking to the list, but not so much of sticking to the menu. Life intervenes.

For example, I still have Chevre in my fridge for which I planned to make Chevre Bisque with Lobster Garnish. I didn't make it last week so I am making it tomorrow (except I will not be using Lobster since that is not in my fridge - probably shrimp since that IS in my fridge/freezer).  I did not ever get around to prepping the Black Bean burgers so haven't made those yet but I DID purchase Veggie Burgers so we did eat some of those and used the Whole Wheat Buns I got. Whew -

I DID make the Chicken Enchiladas and they were great as expected and I did make the Chicken Pot Pie Soup which was also really good. AND I made a really tasty Kale and Potato Soup with Turkey Sausage. I just happened to have those ingredients on hand except I didn't have Kale so I used some frozen spinach instead. It was delicious.

So.... since we won't be eating at home this weekend, I am going to attempt to make dinner from what is already on hand. Wish me luck.

Saturday: (today)
Chicken Tikka Masala with rice and steamed vegetables

Sunday:
Leftover Soups (Kale and Potato Soup with Turkey Sausage and Chicken Pot Pie Soup)

Monday:
Veggie Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday:
Chevre Bisque with Lobster Garnish

Wednesday:
Church

Thursday:
Beef Stew with potatoes and carrots cooked in crock pot.

Soup's on

I am digging soups lately. Sadly, I never really seem to get around to MAKING soup. I have found at least two that I can get my head around though.


Sunday
Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

Monday
Chili in the Crock Pot

Tuesday
Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Wednesday
Church

Thursday
Black bean burgers

Friday
Chevre Bisque with Lobster Garnish

I need some veggie love

For some reason, I seem to have been avoiding vegetables this week. Well, no more! This week is going to be about getting back in the groove with my veggie love.


Meatless Monday
Black Bean Burgers w/ Avocado
Salad with lots of Veggies

I simply LOVE this recipe. we have had this several times over the last few weeks and each time it is really delicious.


Tuesday
Baby Spinach Salad with Honey Roasted Butternut Squash
Baked Chicken

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, this salad is absolutely delicious but just needs a little bit more to make it a full meal. (at least for our family) I think a simply chicken breast will do the trick.


Thursday:
Carrot Ginger Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I love carrots and the baby carrots in this recipe will make the soup that much sweeter. Can't wait to try this for the first time.


Friday:
Crock Pot Beer Chicken
Roasted Cauliflower
Brown Rice

I have been meaning to make this for a week now. Luckily, the chicken is frozen, so I still can. Something about getting the crock pot set up the night before is apparently beyond me.