Menu Planning for the week of January 15th

Opps.... forgot to post last week's menu.  Plus, last week we had tons of leftovers so, I did not make the Pork chops with applesauce and pasta and zucchini.  Nor did I make the Vietnamese Shaking beef with Rice.   Now, I'm going to make a promotion for Tupperware Fridge Smart Containers.  http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/tup_show_item.show_item_detail?fv_item_category_code=18002&fv_item_number=P10056908000  If you don't own these run out and buy them now.  I love these containers.  Basically, they keep your vegetables and fruits fresh.  At first when I got them I was pretty skeptical but now I'm a firm believer.  For example, in the summer I usually buy the strawberries from the road side stand.  But if you are like us it is almost impossible to eat them all before they go bad and you always end up with moldy strawberries.  Well, not with Fridge Smart Containers, your strawberries will stay fresh for weeks.  I'm serious.  I use it a lot for lettuce and spinach.  These items tend to go bad really fast.  So, last week when I didn't make the Pork chops with Applesauce and the pasta and zucchini, I was happy my zucchini was in my containers and I was able to eat it the next week.  Love the no waste....  So, here's the menu:

Meal #1:  Prime Rib, gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans (over the Christmas Holiday I ordered a prime rib for Christmas dinner but the meat guy told me to order 7 ribs for 10 people.  Well, when I got it was huge.  So, I cut off 3 ribs and froze it.   Plus, I froze the extra gravy from that day as well.  The meat was good but not as good as eating it fresh.  Just a little off... the gravy was great).  (Cook Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen Recipes)

Meal #2:  Prime Rib Panini sandwiches, carrots with hummus (leftovers)

Meal #3:  Pork chops with applesauce, pasta and zuchhini (Skinnytaste recipe)

Meal #4:  Turkey meat spaghetti with pasta, asparagus and garlic bread (Cooking Light Recipe)

Meal #5:  Baked Salmon, rice and steamed carrots (My Costco Staples)

Meal #6:  Chicken Enchildas (Rachel Ray Recipe)

Meal #7:  Take-out ---- Pizza

I did minimal shopping last week and really tried to use up those frozen leftovers.

Ready for next week's challenge!

Menu Planning for the week of January 8th

Last week I did pretty well.  I made everything on the list except the Crockpot Applesauce & Turkey and Black Bean Chili (I had too many leftovers to make separate food for lunch).  My husband took many of the leftovers to work for lunch so, we had very little food waste.

So, this week:

Meal #1:  Lime Marinated Chicken BBQ with Rice and Stir-fried Asparagus (Weight Watcher recipe)
Meal #2:  Turkey Sausage Meatloaf with Mash Potatoes & Green Beans (Weight Watcher Recipe)
Meal #3:  Korean Beef Tacos with Rice and beans on the side (A Year of Slow Cooking Blog)
Meal #4:  Pork Chops with Applesauce, Pasta and zucchini (Skinny Taste Blog)
Meal #5: Chicken Taco Chili (Skinny Taste Blog)
Meal #6: Homemade Mac and Cheese  (Fine Cooking Magazine Feb/Mar 2012)
Meal #7: Vietnamese Shaking beef with Rice

Snack #1:  Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (The Frugal Girl Blog)
Snack #2: Whole-Grain Toffee Scones (Weight Watcher Recipe)
Snack #3: Crock Pot Applesauce (Skinny Taste Recipe)

Breakfasts will be yogurt, steel cut oats and egg and ham cheese sandwiches plus I have Fiber One Honey Squares.  (I bought them at Costco and then, remembered when I got home I really don't like it as it has a weird after taste).

I have the ingredients for most of the items above so, my shopping shouldn't take too long.

We already had Meal #1 on Sunday night and I made the muffins which 3 have already been devoured by the family.  The meal planning  helped me drop some serious pounds this week.  So, I hope to continue the trend.   I will not be eating Meal #6 but I want to make one high calorie kid friendly meal at least once a week. 

Happy Meal Planning!!!!

Disneyland Dining (Day 2 Part II) -- Lunch with the princeses

We've been to countless meals with princesses that I wasn't really looking forward to another one.  However, with the limited sitdown dining at California Adventure Park we decided to enjoy another princess meal at Ariel's Grotto.  I did discover my girls are still into characters meals.  The restaurant is located on the water front over looking the Big Mickey wheel.  When I originally, made our reservations I was told that we'd be sitting outside, turns out that we had a nice table inside as it was very chilly outside.  Anyways, the restuarant is two stories.  You check-in upstairs and then when your name is called you walk down to stand in line to take a picture with Ariel.   You can purchase the photo of Ariel for a fee but I decided not to even though my picture didn't come out great.

Once at our table they immediately took our drink orders and brought out the first course.  The first course was three trays of what they called their antipasti tower.

Sorry for the bad photo but the sun was shining very brightly where we were sitting. 

The top tray had "jewels of the Sea" fruit Gelatin.  My girls thought this was weird as we really don't eat jello in my family.  There were also some watermelon trianagles.

The middle level had salami (the girls wanted more though); marinated mozzerella, string cheese, cherry tomatoes, gherkins (which prompted my husband to ask why we never have these at home), olives, red pepper bracelets and carrots, celery.  They had dipping sauces for the chilled veggies.

The dipping tray had pesto and ranch dips with butter in the middle for the cute flower shaped bread.

The bottom plate was mixed green salad served with Ariel's Grotto house vinaigrette.   This was a little bland to us so I mixed in some pesto and added the cherry tomatoes to my salad.

There were 3 princesses that came around to our table:  Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella.  We discovered our oldest still enjoys getting autographs and her picture with the princesses. 

For the main course, my husband and I ordered the Santa Maria Style Tri-tip served with cheddar cheese mashed potatoes and vegetables.

I LOVE IT when I get a big plate of vegetables with my meal.  It was very good.  I was surprised on how good the tri-tip was.   The tri-tip was served with a salsa that was VERY good.   The potatoes were equally delicious.  I almost couldn't finish my meal.

The girls both ordered the Mafalde Pasta with Italian Sausage-- Curly ribbons of pasta tossed in a Piemonte-style ragu with spicy Italian sausage, sauteed bell peppers and sweet onions. 

They seemed to enjoy this but told me later it wasn't as good as the pasta in Epcot. 

For dessert they brought out a small tray of items to share.

The tray had meringue cookies, a white chocolate conch shell, fresh fruit, smore bites (which were delicious), lava cake and chocolate chip cookie strips.   It was perfect for a great ending as it wasn't too  much food.

Would we go here again?  You bet!!!  It was a great place for a nice meal.

Coming up next:  The worst meal of the trip....  Was it worth it???

Meal Planning for the Week of 01/01/12

Every year I start the year off trying to diet and eat healthier and this year is no exception.   One of my biggest struggles is finding foods that EVERYONE in my family will enjoy.   I usually do a lot of recipes from my weight watcher cookbooks but sometimes these recipes have a very adult taste.  But recently I discovered this blog site and she has tons of low fat weight watcher friendly recipes.  She even provides the point count.   If you want to check her out, look here:  www.skinnytaste.com

Anyways, this year is the year of no excuses.  I bought some of my girls favorite back up meals like frozen chicken alfredo so, if I make something they don't like they have a backup meal.   And,  I won't feel guilty.  For the most part, they like every thing I make but occasionally they don't especially when I serve fish.  My oldest doesn't like it at all.

So, here's my menu for this week.  I already went shopping too.

BREAKFASTS -   Egg white sandwiches with ham and low fat cheese or my famous crock pot Steel Cut oats.  I love eggs even egg whites...

LUNCHES -- I will make one recipe for the week:  Turkey and Black Bean Chili to eat (recipe from Weight Watchers).  I'll send some with John to work as well.   Otherwise, I'll eat leftovers or turkey sandwiches.

DINNERS are as follows:

• Chicken Rollatini with Spinach Alla Parmigiona, pasta and Broccoli from Skinnytaste.com
• Garlic Lime Marinated Pork Chops with roasted zucchini and plain rice from Skinnytaste.com
• Carne Guisada (Latin Beef Stew) served over rice with steam carrots from Skinnytaste.com
• Balsamic & Fig Glazed Pork Roast with Roasted Sweet potoates and Green Beans from Skinnytaste.com
• Poblano Chicken Tortilla Bake (not sure of the sides yet) from Weight Watchers
• Homemade Pizza with side salad
• Chicken Sausage & Spinach Alfredo (see previous post for shared recipe from Weight Watchers)

SNACKS:  Now, I need to have something sweet once a week plus, my girls like snack type foods in their lunches.  I try to make some homemade things they can eat without the extra calories.

• Pineapple Bliss Cupcakes (from skinnytaste.com)  I'll make the cupcakes but I will only frost a few and then, I'll put the rest in the freezer for another day
• Yogurt and fruit
• Homemade granola bars (from weight watchers)

And, I'm also making crockpot applesauce to have on hand for next week's pork chops with applesauce and apple bread

I'm trying out 5 new recipes but we need to change up our eating style.   Our new MOTTO will be NO MORE TAKE-OUT.