Weekly Meal Planning for January 31-February 6

Today was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and temperatures were in the 60's. Wasn't I just blogging about how cold it was? My craving for comfort foods quickly came and went. Now I want salads and grilled meats and vegetables. I'm not ready to go full-on grilled everything all week yet though! I have a feeling the urge for comfort foods may be back before we are ready for all things springy. But I am going to toss in a salad in the rotation this week. And try a new recipe that sounds so, so good to me.

Sunday: roast chicken, mashed root vegetables, green beans, arugula/tomato/Parmesan salad
Monday: crustless spinach quiche
Tuesday: chicken taco salad
Wednesday: we skipped school spirit night so my kids asked for homemade nuggets, sweet potato tots, steamed broccoli, raw carrots
Thursday: leftover nuggets, sweet potato tots, steamed broccoli, raw carrots
Friday: out with a friend 
Saturday: girl scout camping (rescheduled from the "snow" weekend)

What's on your menu this week?

Weekly Meal Planning for January 24-30

The need for comfort food continues...it is so cold here. I know many people are dealing with many more inches (& feet!) of snow than we are but for southern states, windchill temperatures in the teens are extreme! So we will have a couple of different soups this week, one being a new recipe that I'm trying. 

Sunday: turkey-spinach burgers, sweet potato hash, green salad

Monday: vegetable soup with cheese toast

Tuesday: leftover burgers, green salad, mac n cheese

Wednesday: leftover soup 

Thursday: out for pizza with FIL

Friday: leftover pizza 

Saturday: dinner at my mom's

Recipe: Sweet and Sour Chicken

My oldest had asked for me to make sweet and sour chicken like she had at Tin Drum. I wanted to modify it so I could make it a little healthier for us. I ended up sautéing the chicken and veggies, and using pineapple (and it's juice) for the sweetener. I was going to add a separate sauce but decided against it. I served it over quinoa instead of rice (because I was running out of time) and aside from my younger daughter who tried to pick off the quinoa, we liked it. 

Ingredients:
oil for sautéing (I used avocado oil)
4 bnls sknls chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
salt and pepper
Splash of white wine (or chicken broth)
1 onion, chopped coarsely
2 bell peppers, chopped coarsely (I used ten mini bell peppers because I didn't have any large ones on hand)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely
1 pineapple, cored and chopped coarsely, reserving the juice
quinoa or rice

Directions:
Heat oil over med-high heat in a dutch oven or large pan
Season chicken with salt and pepper generously
Brown chicken, turning until all sides are browned and chicken is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes
Remove chicken from pan, splash wine (or chicken broth) to deglaze the pan
Toss in all the veggies and pineapple, including the juice, stir well and let simmer until all are soft
Mix in chicken, serve over rice or quinoa

Weekly Meal Planning for January 17-23

I'm throwing together a meal plan this week. Other than a meeting Tuesday evening, it should be pretty low key, so I'm trying a couple of new recipes. Emerson has been asking about sweet n sour chicken for a while, so I am modifying a couple of recipes to try a non-fried version. I'm getting beets and broccoli in the farm box so we will just roast those. I received a new cookbook for Christmas (Meals Made Simple), and am going to make the soup from it. I don't often cook pork but am trying to incorporate more variety in our protein offerings, so I'm going to try a new pork recipe this week, depending on what looks better at the farmers market - tenderloin or chops.

Sunday: sautéed chicken with bell peppers, carrots, onions and pineapple over quinoa 

Monday: shrimp scampi zoodles

Tuesday: chicken taco soup

Wednesday: pork tenderloin or pork chops, roasted broccoli, mashed rutabaga, green salad 

Thursday: leftover pork, cauliflower gratin, green salad 

Friday: not sure yet, maybe something with leftover pork if there is any

Saturday: Girl Scout camping 

Weekly Meal Planning for January 10-16

Brrr!!! Winter is here. My kids have started asking how much longer until spring arrives. It is going to be COLD this week. And all I want are warm, comforting meals. We are going to be heavy on the soups this week, because I have some in the freezer and I'm making a crockpot chili recipe. I'm also making some tried and true recipes like the bolognese and the gumbo. 

Sunday: spaghetti squash bolognese
Monday: vegetable soup
Tuesday: crockpot vegetarian chili
Wednesday: leftover squash bolognese
Thursday: leftover chili tacos
Friday: turkey gumbo
Saturday: leftover gumbo

Has it started feeling like winter yet where you are? What's on your menu this week? 

Lentil Sloppy Joes

My sister sent me this recipe last week, and it sounded so good and 'comfort food' like to me. I decided that we would have it for Meatless Monday. It was delicious. I couldn't stop having little tastes before I even served it. It wasn't hard to make, and took about an hour from start to finish. I only made a couple of modifications because of ingredients I had on hand. 

Ingredients:
2 cups black lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
a pinch of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
15 oz pureed tomatoes
3 oz tomato paste
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
8 small buns

Place lentils in a small pot. Cover with 2 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne and tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly until spices and tomato paste are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add vinegar and then use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add 2 cups water, garlic, apricots and crushed tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and let sauce simmer until it thickens, at least 30 minutes. 

When lentils are cooked, drain off any excess cooking liquid.  Add lentils to the pan with sauce; stir well to combine. Mash some or all of the lentils using a wooden spoon. Toast hamburger buns in the oven, if desired. Ladle 1 cup of the lentil mixture on each toasted bun and serve.

Weekly Meal Planning for January 3-9

Happy New Year! Did you finalize your resolutions? I don't have set resolutions but I am working towards some wellness goals, including drinking more water, prepping more meals ahead of time, trying new recipes more often, and exercising better willpower when it comes to sweets. Oh, and I'm working on cutting back the grocery bill. That's going to be the toughest.

This week, I'm including meat free meals for more than just Monday. I'm trying some new recipes (excited for lentil sloppy joes!) and making salmon, which we haven't had in a long time.

Sunday: roasted red pepper/tomato bisque and spinach tortellini
Monday: lentil sloppy joes, steamed broccoli
Tuesday: rice bowl with sautéed veggies, corn, & black eyed peas
Wednesday: leftover sloppy joes and broccoli
Thursday: bok choy and salmon
Friday: chicken piccata, sautéed kale and mushrooms
Saturday: out for a friend's birthday

How does your menu look this week?