Some of Our Favorites...

A lot of our menu planning is about ease, flavor, and repeatability.

     Does this meal take a while to make?  If so, I'll make it on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday
     Is it good?  Would I eat this over and over?  If so, yeah, that'll be on the rotation.

I ALWAYS follow the recipe the first time (the only thing I'll tweek is maybe a little less chili powder and less oils).

We also only pick out 5 meals at a time so our veggies don't go bad.  I mean, let's be honest, sometimes you just want to go out to eat or you make plans with friends... And that's ok!  Real life, people!


Here's a few of our favorites that we're not above eating over and over:


One Pan Healthy Sausage, Chick Peas and Veggies


One Pan Roasted Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Veggies  (oh... my... god.  this stuff is SO good)


Copycat Panera Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup  -  I haven't seen this soup back at Panera in a couple of years and it's my FAVORITE.  I use a whole rotisserie chicken in this


Sausage and Veggie Hash  -  When I make this again I'm not going to use russet potatoes - they're just too mushy for my taste.


Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa and Sour Cream Cilantro Sauce


Sweet Potato Hash  -  Oh man this is one of our favorites!!  For the breakfast sausage I use the this turkey sausage (for you Fargoans, I get it at Hornbacher's) -  UGH!  SO GOOD!!!


Turkey Meatloaf with Zucchini and Feta  -  Holy moly, this is my favorite.  And I don't like meatloaf. I half this so we only get 4 servings, but you can make the whole recipe if you've got a bigger household.


One Pan Healthy Chicken and Veggies  -  I feel like this is a given, but when you make these one pan dishes use fresh veggies.  You don't want the mush that comes along with canned or frozen veg.


One Pan Chili Lime Chicken and Rice


Mango Chicken with Coconut Rice - for this I just buy two mangos and I basically take one and smoosh it up to make my own "nectar"


Lime Cilantro Chicken with Mixed Rice and Black Beans


Herb and Citrus Oven Roasted Chicken  -  oh man, this stuff is SO good


Honey Lime Chicken with Pineapple Salsa


Honey Lime Chicken with Cowboy Caviar


Shredded Chicken Verde


Creamy White Chili Recipe


Crock-Pot White Chicken Chili  -  again, I never use my crock pot, but you sure can!!!


Cilantro Lime Baked Shrimp


Chipotle Lime Grilled Chicken


Chili Lime Steak Fajitas


Blackened Fish Tacos with Pineapple Cucumber Slaw -  This is one of our absolute favorites!


Avocado Salmon Rice Bowl  -  We use tilapia and cod with this, too

Dinners for January 28 - Feb 3

So, I feel bad that I really haven't blogged much lately.

All I really do is just fine recipes online (with Brent's help, because let's be honest, he eats the food, too) and then I make them.

Lately we are just doing a lot of one pan dishes that make 4 servings each (leftovers are key).

When I make out my menu I don't do it in any particular order, I just put them all down and we'll pick out what we want to eat that night as we go.

So, I'll just write down our meal options and then write down the ingredients I need to purchase on the side and bring this along with me to the store.  I've always got my spices and proteins on hand so I never have to put those on my list.  Once every couple of weeks we'll make a run to Costco and get our fish and chicken.  I know that spices can get old but honestly - I think it take a while and as long as you keep them in a dark, cool, dry place you're fine.  Once I'm finished I'll hang it up in the kitchen so we can keep track of our week.

So this week we're going to make:

Chicken Power Bowls - with this recipe I actually don't make the dressing (it adds extra calories that I don't feel are necessary, I just use Kraft's Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette.

Tacos - extra lean ground turkey, Ortega taco seasoning, shredded lettuce, tomato, sour cream, shells, cheese...  You know.  Tacos.  ;)

One Pan Healthy Italian Sausage and Veggies - we have been using this page SOOOO much lately but everything has been amazing so it's hard not to!  I'm using Johnsonville's Three Cheese Italian Style Chicken Sausage Links for this.

Pioneer Woman's Chipotle Chicken Chili - it's no lie that I LOVE Ree Drummond and I LOVE this chili recipe.  I could eat it every other week.  For the beer I use a bottle of Kona's Longboard Lager or just Leinenkugel's Original Brew.  And instead of buying a big ass bag of masa harina (corn flour) I cheat and buy a bag of Fritos and grind those up.  Kind of 'hood but it's reaaaally good.

Chicken Quesadilla Soup - I'm not going to make it in a Crock Pot.  I'm weird and don't like coming home to my house smelling like food.  If I come home and my house smells like baking then I'm all about it.  I haven't made this before but it seemed like a great idea seeing as we'll have some left over flour tortillas so I can make the cute mini cheese quesadillas for the toppings on this stuff.


All of our recipes make left overs so that will cover our lunches for the following days, too.  I use MyFitnessPal to help figure out nutritional information on these recipes, however Chelsea's Messy Apron usually includes the nutritional values but a lot of times I cut back on oils and other items so I just prefer to figure out my own nutritional stuff on MyFitnessPal.


There we go!  Dinner (and lunches) for the next week!

Salmon with Avocado Dressing

This whole eating well thing has allowed me to get Brent to try things he didn't really like much before... Like salmon!! 😁

This recipe turned out really well - I look forward to doing it in the summer so we can actually make the grilled pineapple along with it.

As per usual, I'll just add the items on here that I actually used.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives (I used freeze dried)1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon1/2 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepperFour 4-ounce skinless salmon fillets, each about 1-inch thick
  

Avocado Dressing:

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives (again, I used freeze dried)1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon1/8 teaspoon kosher salt1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 small clove garlic, smashed1/2 avocado, diced
  
  
  Place a skillet or pan over medium-high heat (or fire up your grill!).
  Whisk the oil, chopped basil, chives, chopped tarragon, salt and pepper in a small bowl to blend. Brush the salmon (and pineapple slices) with the herb mixture.
  Cook the salmon until barely cooked through and still pink inside, about 4 minutes per side. (Cook the pineapple until slightly charred, 3 to 4 minutes per side.)
  Transfer 1 pineapple slice to each plate and arrange a piece of salmon slightly overlapping it. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the Avocado Dressing over each piece of fish.
  Combine the lemon juice, basil, chives, olive oil, tarragon, salt, pepper, garlic and avocado in a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of water and process until smooth. Cover the dressing and let stand for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour for the flavors to blend.
  
  
  I just realized I never added the water to the sauce - so that's totally optional because this meal turned out amazing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Strawberry Avocado Chicken and Spinach

Holy food, Batman! This salad recipe was really flippin' good!

I did edit this recipe quite a bit to help cut down on calories.  If you want ALL of the ingredients go ahead and click on the link above, otherwise I will give you what I used

Let's get right on what you're going to need for this so you can start eating! 

6 cups baby spinach (1-10 oz box)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 8-10 oz total)
1 cup sliced strawberries (6-8 large berries)

• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh tarragon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
• a big cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 3.5 oz container reduced fat feta cheese
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used this stuff my momma got me in Arizona - uuugghhh it's SO good)

I cooked the chicken in a skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil and I seasoned it with some S&P.

Put the spinach into a really big mixing bowl and drizzle with the balsamic and toss it to evenly distribute.  Divide the spinach evenly between two big plates, sprinkle with tarragon, divide the strawberries, cucumbers, avocado hunks, feta and chicken.

I learned after this tasty lil' meal that I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of tarragon...  But I don't mind it dried and on roasted chicken with other herbs.  

Anyway -

That's it.  Stuff your face with this awesomeness.  :)

Chili Lime Fajitas

I've never had fajitas before.  Seriously.  Every time we go to Chili's we come out stinking to high heaven and I can't imagine making my house smell like that...

Except this time...  I did it. AND it didn't make my house stink. Bonus!

Brent found this recipe and it was really great.  We've been doing well at this whole eating well thing so we're trying to keep it up.

Here's what you'll need:

For the marinade:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or finely minced)
1 tsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper (feel free to adjust to your taste in case you're a tender little guy😉)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 lb beef steak (rump, skirt or flank  -  we used a lean sirloin)

For the fajitas:
3 bell peppers (red, yellow, green) deseeded and sliced thin
1 onion, sliced (I skipped this)
2 avocados, sliced
8 flour tortillas (I used corn because I like the flavor but decided after all of that that I'm not going to mess with the crumbling of them anymore.  I'm moving back to flour)
extra cilantro for garnish
light sour cream, optional

Mix your marinade and pour half of the marinade into a shallow dish or sealable plastic bag and allow your steak to marinate for 2 - 4 hours or overnight.  I don't plan ahead very well, so I sliced up the steak and put it in a bag with the marinade and squished it around a bit and let it sit while I prepped everything else.  It turned out really great.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan or skillet over medium heat, dump the meat and marinade from the bag into the pan and and cook it on each side until you've reached your desired doneness.  Once it's done cooking let it rest for 5 minutes.

 Cook it                                                                Let it rest

Take the same skillet and wipe it out with a paper towel.  Heat another tsp of oil and toss in your pepper slices (and onions) and the rest of the reserved marinade.  Cook down until your desired doneness for your peppers.

Slice the steak against the grain into thin strips if you didn't slice it before you cooked it.

Serve with warmed tortillas, cilantro, avocado and any other toppings you'd like.

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Soup

Ree's never steered me in the wrong direction so far...  Just another one of the reasons I love her 😍

This recipe was so easy... and so delicious...  Brent could prep it if he wanted to!  But, I really like cooking and putting things together so I'd prefer he didn't 😀

Here's what you'll need for this recipe:

3 whole, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
28 oz diced tomatoes
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz can of tomatoes and chilis, like Rotel (I use the 14 oz generic can that you can find at the grocery store)
4 oz tomato paste
1 medium onion, diced (I used probably 1/2 cup of diced yellow onion)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 chipotle pepper (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - - I used 2 ... LOVE these things)
juice from 1/2 of a lime

(top with sour cream, cheese, avocado, tortilla chips...)

 Put the chicken in a slow cooker. Sprinkle on the chili powder, cumin and some salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, beans, tomatoes with chiles, tomato paste, onion, chipotle pepper and red and yellow peppers, finally putting the broth in last. Stir gently, place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Remove the chicken to a plate and use 2 forks to break it into chunks (or shred it finely). Return the chicken to the pot, add the lime juice, taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

 Serve this amazing stuff up in a bowl and top with sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro leaves and tortilla chips!

Summer Shrimp Stirfry

Another recipe from my lady crush, Ree Drummond.  This shrimp stirfry I had to modify a little bit, which is fine.  That's the beauty of cooking versus baking :). I couldn't find any yellow grape tomatoes, so I just doubled the red and corn is not in season so I used canned corn.

We tried out something new, too...  Cauliflower "rice".  I'm definitely not a fan of cauliflower.  I never have been; the only way I'll eat it is in aloo gobi (an Indian dish).  This actually wasn't that bad.  

Here's what you'll need for the ingredients:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 lbs jumbo shrimp, (raw, peeled and deveined)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large zucchini, diced

2 large ears of corn, kernels removed (or one can of sweet corn, drained well)

3/4 cup red grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise

3/4 cup yellow grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise

salt and pepper

6-12 fresh basil leaves, cut in chiffonade

1/4 cup Parmesan

juice of one lemon

rice or pasta for serving (this is where our cauliflower rice came in)

Above I am "ricing" the cauliflower with a box grater on the side you use to grate cheese.  I'm thinking that next time I'll try to chop it up in a food processor as this was really time consuming doing it with the box grater.

Above, you load your cauliflower rice into some paper towels and squeeze the excess liquid out - if you don't your "rice" will turn out mushy.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and garlic, then saute until the shrimp are opaque, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp to a plate.

Increase the heat to high, then throw in the zucchini. Stir it around for about 45 seconds, then scoot the zucchini to the edges of the pan. 

 Throw in the corn and cook it for a minute, then push it to the edges of the pan. 

Throw in the grape tomatoes, stir them around for a minute, then sprinkle on some salt and pepper to taste.

 Put your "rice" into a skillet and let it heat through.

Then throw the shrimp back in. Stir everything around for about 45 seconds, or until it's all combined and hot. Then pour it onto a big platter.

Sprinkle on the fresh basil and some Parmesan shavings then squeeze the lemon all over the top.

Divide your cauliflower rice among your bowls then top with your stirfry.