Recent Hits

Smoked Salmon with Udon Noodles (4.5 stars)
Inspiration: http://wholesome-cook.com/2012/08/30/smoked-salmon-and-soba-noodle-salad/

Oh holy cow. Yum. Yum. Yum. Must do again.

Pork Burritos (3 stars)
Inspiration: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/08/smothered-chile-colorado-burritos-crock-pot/

We didn't do a great job following the directions. We had leftover pork from a sous vide so we used that as the meat and topped it off with cheese and a red enchilada sauce. Baked and ate. Yummy.

Butternut Squash and Chorizo Tostado (4 stars)
Inspiration: http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/12/butternut-squash-and-chorizo-tostadas.html

We stuck to the recipe for the most part on this one. We did add spinach but we add spinach to most dishes. We even switched to new whole wheat tortillas that you bake at home versus having them already precooked. I don't see us going back to the old kind ever again. This is a keeper!

Asian Chicken Salad (2.5 stars)
Inspiration: http://joyfulhomemaking.com/2012/08/asian-chicken-salad.html

Eh. Okay. This was just ok. Not great for leftovers so next time I need to make it on the weekend when we won't be looking for something to take to work. It's worth making again just not award-winning. 

Tortellini and Vegetable Bake (2.5 stars)
Inspiration: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/poultry/tortellini-and-garden-vegetable-bake/

We added the pork leftover from a sous vide, added spinach and used a frozen veggie mixture. This was a bit time consuming but still yummy. It was a hearty dish but not sold on how or if it is super healthy. Overall, I might make this again in the winter if I am craving comfort food. 

Pan fried chicken with veggies (3 stars)
Inspiration: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Chicken-Scallopini-Tomato-Mozzarella-Salad-Michael-Symon?cid=pinterest_thechew

Watching Michael cook this dish was entertaining. I think it is super easy but I really liked his instructions on testing the oil to see if its hot enough, pounding out the chicken (we used thighs) and how long to cook each side. For the seasoning, I used garlic powder, parsley, paprika, and fennel. This will be made several more times for sure.

Sweet potato hash with feta (4 stars)
Inspiration: http://diethood.com/2013/02/17/savory-sundays-sweet-potato-hash-with-onions-and-feta/

A PERFECT side dish. Tons of flavor and super easy. I don't think I can ever eat sweet potatoes without feta ever again. The perfect combination.

Summer Macaroni Salad (2.5 stars)
Inspiration: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/06/summer-macaroni-salad-with-tomatoes-and.html

We made this for lunch but had to leave out the mayo and use whipped cream cheese and greek yogurt as the "sauce." It was easy, tasty and something that I will do again but its not spectacular. 

Weekly Menu for Feb 4 - Feb 9, 2013

Breakfast
Cinnamon oatmeal; finely diced apples or cantaloupe; mandarins; and greek yogurt

Lunch
Pasta Salad with leftover baked chicken, black olives, cucumber, tomatoes, and pesto served with kiwi or applesauce
Leftovers

Dinner

Grilled Cheese with pesto topped with avocado and spinach and a side of Tomato Soup (3 stars)

Really, this is too much of a staple to not like it but certainly not life changing. I did like the addition of pesto and I cook mine on a really old George Foreman. I don't have a problem with sticking so I usually don't use any butter on the outside either.

Baked Pesto Dinner (4 stars)

We had this in the freezer so it worked perfectly for Cam and I to thaw and bake. For a freezer meal, this is something I want to do again. 

Kashi Frozen Pizza (3 stars)

I wanted a simple, toss in the oven option since it was just two of us. This was on sale and pretty tasty. 

 Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas (4 stars)

I added black olives to the recipe just because I had some on hand. I even made my own vegetable stock for the enchilada sauce. I highly recommend saving your produce scraps in a ziplock bag in the freezer until you have a gallon size bag filled. Then just simmer the scraps in water, strain and freeze. Very easy process with incredible added flavors to simple dishes. 

Disclaimer: Photos are from linked sources; not my own work.

Weekly Menu for Jan. 28 - Feb 3, 2013

Breakfast
Oatmeal; Greek Yogurt; Fresh Blueberries; and Tangerines
Blueberry Grilled Cheese with Greek Yogurt and Tangerines

I only used cream cheese and blueberries. I dipped the sandwich in the greek yogurt to make it extra delicious.

Lunch
Tuna fish salad on whole wheat bread; Tangerines; Kiwi; Cucumbers; and Cheese
Veggie Patty, Tomatoes; Cheese; Tangerines; and Kiwi

I use whatever veggies I have in the freezer, not just broccoli and cheese. These freeze great (matter of fact, I didn't have to make any this week, just pulled them out and microwaved them for 45 seconds).

Leftovers

Dinner
Honey Lime Tilapia with leftover mashed potatoes and a salad (4.5 stars)

Easily one of the best fish dinners I have ever had or made. Super yummy and easy. A keeper for sure!

Sous-vide Steak and leftover mashed potatoes with wilted spinach and corn (4 stars)

Our setup for sous-vide makes cooking meat just like a crockpot meal without any of the mess. This is Brian's favorite method of cooking hunks of meat so we will be doing this frequently with meats that are on sale.

Skillet Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans (3 stars)

It was my first time using store-bought gnocchi. The whole wheat ones were ok (Cam wasn't a fan) but other kinds I have made recently were better and Cam ate them without hesitation. 

Chorizo Quesadilla with Fried Egg, Avocado and Fresh Tomatoes; and French Fries (4 stars)

This was a hit again. Super easy, yummy, and somewhat healthy. 

Cannelloni Bean Vegetarian “Meatballs” with Tomato Sauce and Whole Wheat Pasta (4 stars)

I followed a new way to cook my dried beans: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/02/how-to-cook-dried-beans-lentils.html and I really liked the smell of the herbs simmering. For this dish, I threw in garlic, fresh Thyme and Bay Leaves.

I really liked this dish. I was a bit surprised how much I liked it actually. The meatballs fell apart almost immediately when I was mixing them in the sauce, but it all just melded together for a thicker "meatier" sauce.

Baked Chicken with Potatoes and Jicama (3 stars)

Whenever I'm in a bind, I usually toss some herbs on a chicken and bake it with potatoes and a veggie. Super easy, mindless dinner. We saw jicama on sale at our local corner produce market so we decided to test it out. It was interesting, like a combination of canteloupe, watermelon, and alfa sprouts. We will probably do it again. Maybe cook it in a stir-fry??? The leftover chicken was used for the following week's lunch (you'll see).

Super Bowl: Nacho Bar! (5 stars)

Of course this was delicious! Our options included: salsa, sour cream, avocado, refried beans, taco meat, cheese, hot peppers, hot sauce, black olives, and green onions. 

Disclaimer: Photos are from linked sources; not my own work. 

Weekly Menu for Jan. 21 - 26, 2013

Breakfast
Oatmeal or whole wheat bread; Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries; and Oranges

Lunch
Egg salad sandwich; cucumbers or apples; sliced cheese; and kiwi
Spinach salad with tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers, shredded cheese, and almonds
Leftovers

Dinner
Spicy acorn squash with black beans (2 stars)

I did learn that I can bake an acorn squash whole at 350 degrees Fahrenheit -- much easier than trying to cut it raw and takes up less space when baking. All you do is place the whole squash on a baking sheet or in a glass pyrex with few pokes of a fork and cook till tender (about 45 to 60 minutes.)

I didn't add in the jalapeno, cilantro or lime juice (I didn't have those on hand). The dish overall was simple to make, but not memorable or special. It would work better as a side dish than a main dish.  

Eggplant Parmesan (4 stars)

I loved this dish and it was super easy to throw together. Next time, I will either double the recipe or make it in my smaller pyrex so it is thicker and even more awesome.

Chorizo quesadilla with Fries (4 stars)

I just used the picture as inspiration. I cooked 1 package of soy chorizo, added about 2 cups of frozen corn and wilted in several handfuls of spinach. I chopped black olives and shredded pepper jack, cheddar, and mozzarella cheese. As the quesadillas cooked, I fried three eggs to put on top.  

UPDATE: Brian must have loved this because he requested it for the following week. 

Acorn squash and portobello mushroom pizza with garlic bread and a salad (2 stars)

Eh, this was ok. Our mushrooms were stringy and not a great texture for Cam to chomp on. 

Shrimp pasta with tomatoes, lemon, and spinach (3.5 stars)

On a day that was super busy, this was a quick and yummy meal that I tossed together with no effort. Nothing spectacular but good flavors and little effort.

Disclaimer: Photos are from linked sources; not my own work.