Weekly Meal Planning for Dec 11 - Dec 17

Tis the season for hectic holiday events and schedules! So far, we have had a very fun season. We are enjoying being together, celebrating the season with others, and continuing traditions like finding the "perfect" tree (despite not being 100% certain that this year's tree will remain upright for the next four weeks). This is where the slow cooker (or pressure cooker) comes in. I am thankful to have a gadget that can cook food for me while I'm enjoying life. I know it's important to have healthy meals but I try to find a balance between spending hours in the kitchen and being in the moment with my loved ones. It's not always easy! This week, the slow cooker will be on overdrive. :)

Sunday: leftover beef bourguignon 
Monday: minestrone soup
Tuesday: beef tacos
Wednesday: chicken curry with coconut milk, rice and peas
Thursday: leftover soup and grilled cheese
Friday: leftover curry
Saturday: at a Christmas party

Weekly Meal Planning for Dec 4 - Dec 10

Tis the week of trying new recipes! I had earmarked a few recipes from the new 100 Days of Real Food Fast and Fabulous Cookbook to try this week. First up is the salmon recipe. We had been good about having salmon regularly and especially on Mondays, but that has fallen by the wayside recently! So this week, I set out to find some wild caught coho at Whole Foods (because I was too late to add some to our Nature's Garden order). They had some that I quickly defrosted and seared. It was a hit! Next up is chicken chili, and then lastly, we will try a beef bourguignon. 

Sunday: "clean out the freezer" meal
Monday: pan seared simple salmon with red wine, roasted baby sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and asparagus
Tuesday: white chicken chili
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: weeknight beef bourguignon, green salad
Friday: at a christmas party 
Saturday: leftovers

What's on your menu this week? 

Weekly Meal Planning for Nov 27 - Dec 3

Now that Thanksgiving (and all the gluttony it brought with it!) is behind us, and the Advent season has begun, I want to get back to meal planning! We ate out (or at someone's house) for several days in a row last week and I'm feeling the effects greatly. Time to get back on track! 

Sunday: roast at my father-in-law's house
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: lentil soup
Wednesday: arancini casserole
Thursday: make your own omelets
Friday: taco pot pie
Saturday: leftovers

What is on your menu this "after thanksgiving" week?

Thanksgiving 2016 Planning

We don't host Thanksgiving at our house, so it is not a stressful planning period for us, however we do make some dishes for the two family thanksgiving meals that we do attend on Thursday. This year, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law asked that each family bring dishes that have stories to go with them (that can be told in mixed company). My husband has a (non-dinner-time-appropriate) story about brussels sprouts so that is our first contribution. 

We will also make one of his favorite desserts, chocolate bourbon pecan pie. When we got married, his mom gave me that recipe and since then, I have made it instead of her. 

We have yet to decide which brussels sprout dish we will make but these two have been popular in past years: 
- Cauliflower and brussel sprout gratin
- Brussels sprouts with pancetta

This Ina Garten one sounds delicious so it may come into contention as well!

We will also make corn pudding for the meal at my mom's house. This one has been our go-to recipe for the past few years. 

What are your Thanksgiving plans this year?

Weekly Meal Planning for Nov 6-12

Temperatures have dropped and our lows are now in the 40s in the evenings and mornings. Fall is here for sure, let's just hope it lasts and doesn't turn into winter too quickly. I got two new cookbooks - Skinnytaste's Fast and Slow and 100 Days of Real Food Fast and Fabulous (notice a theme?) - and we have decided to make two cool-weatheresque recipes from those, along with some other heartier recipes for the week. 

Sunday: pot roast, baby sweet potatoes, green salad with cucumbers 
{Meatless} Monday: broccoli cheese soup 
Tuesday: slow cooker chicken tortilla soup from Fast and Fabulous 
Wednesday: slow cooker beef ragu with pappardelle from Fast and Slow 
Thursday: creamy pumpkin pasta
Friday: leftover pasta or soup
Saturday: leftover beef ragu

Recipe: Chicken and Mushroom Soup

It's pretty much soup weather (after 6pm) and I have been looking for a good chicken and mushroom soup for the past couple of years. This one was so easy to make and ended up being delicious. It was hearty but not overly hearty, and not too "soupy" either. 

Chicken and Mushroom Soup
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
6oz mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp flour (optional to thicken it a bit)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
s&p to taste
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
6 springs thyme
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped1/2 cup whole milk or cream (optional)

Heat butter over medium heat. Add veggies and saute until crisp tender. Optional: add flour to pot, stir for a couple of minutes. Pour broth, bring to boil, add rice, chicken, and spices, lower to simmer and cook until rice is cooked through, about 40 minutes. Mix in milk or cream if you want it creamy.

Serve with crusty bread and/or a green salad.

Elderberry Syrup

We generally buy elderberry syrup and use it as extra immune support during cold and flu season. This year, I am attempting to make it as it seems relatively simple. I'm combining two recipes to make my syrup - from a Wellness Mama blog post and from a guide called Herbal Nurturing. 

There is also an Atlanta area mom who makes and sells hers, if you want *homemade* but you don't want to make it yourself. 

https://www.facebook.com/Be-Welderberry-1523441417972037/

Elderberry syrup use is one of the alternative medicine strategies that has been shown in numerous studies to be effective. I'm taking these quotes and links off of a Facebook page of a friend of mine, as we both share the value of science and alternative therapies. 

"Elderberry extract seems to offer an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza. " https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15080016

"In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, Sambucol reduced the duration of flu symptoms to 3-4 days." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11399518

"For the first time, it was shown that a standardized elderberry liquid extract possesses antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive bacteria of Streptococcus pyogenes and group C and G Streptococci, and the Gram-negative bacterium Branhamella catarrhalis in liquid cultures. The liquid extract also displays an inhibitory effect on the propagation of human pathogenic influenza viruses."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056848/

"These data suggest a significant reduction of cold duration and severity in air travelers." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4848651/

What are your go-to strategies for immune support during this time of year? Have you tried elderberry syrup?