Meal Planning Monday

Recently one of my friends shared a link with me about a group doing meal planning.  Being a new mom and not having a whole lot of time to think about dinner each night, this idea really appealed to me.  I used to meal plan but then kind of fell off the wagon.  I find meal planning helps me stick to a budget and buy exactly what we need at the grocery store each week.  My goals in meal planning are to include a couple of our family favorite meals each week and to try out something new each week.  We try to do one meat-less night a week and I try my best to make healthy substitutions where I can.

Here is our meal plan for the week....
Breakfasts (I don't really plan these out but rather just have the right things on hand):
Toaster Waffles & Fruit
Oatmeal & Fruit
Eggs & Toast
Yogurt & Fruit
Cereal

Lunches:
Turkey sandwiches, fruit and veggie sticks
Soup & salad (I had a couple of canned/boxed soups that I wanted to use up this week)
Pita pizzas with carrot sticks and fruit of kids choice
Quesadillas stuffed with leftover chicken & cheese

Dinners:
Monday - Crock Pot Lemon Chicken, fresh veggies and rice (new recipe for the week).
Tuesday - Chicken Enchiladas - this is a meal that I made a month or so ago and froze.
Wednesday - Mac & Cheese (homemade), salad and veggies
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - Taco Pizza
Saturday - Turkey Chili
Sunday - Corn Flake Crusted Chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies

It has to be healthy, it's a salad..

I think I have mentioned before that I have a slight addiction to Pinterest.  My primary interest there is drooling over fabulous looking recipes and photos of food/desserts.  I think I may gain a few pounds every time I look at the site.  If you value your figure then stay away from the food (especially those deliciously evil desserts) on Pinterest.

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a "Snickers Salad".  The woman who posted the recipe described it as similar to a caramel apple and I was hooked.  See, I haven't had a caramel apple since before I got braces (umm that would be pre-8th grade folks).  The day I got my braces on I told my mom that my big treat after they were off would be to indulge in a caramel dipped apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  For some reason it never happened.  In the ummm 15 or so years that have passed since my braces were removed I have walked past the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory numerous times and always admired those delicious looking apples.  I never have purchased one for a multitude of reasons.  I think next time I visit my Mom that she should treat me to one! --- Now back to the salad --- When I discovered it consisted of only 3 ingredients, apple, a Snickers bar and Cool Whip, I knew I had to try it.  With Big Brother's peanut allergy and the fact that I am trying to avoid nuts while nursing, I decided to substitute a Milky Way in place of the Snickers.

Snickers Salad (or Milky Way if you are like me) -- try it, you won't be sorry!!!

1 apple diced into bite sized pieces - you should try to use Granny Smith but I only had Gala in my house and I was desperate for a sweet treat!
1/2 milky way bar chopped into pieces (refrigerate it for ease of cutting)
1 heaping spoon-full of cool whip

Mix ingredients into a bowl and enjoy.  This served one, just me.  I am sure you could share it if you wanted but I did not.

Frozen Banana Bites

We have been making weekly (or more) special treats around here.  The boys love when we get to make special little treats and well -- so do I!  One of our favorites have been the chocolate covered banana bites.  I have seen many different methods of making these and even tried out several different options.  The one that worked best for us was to 

1.  slice banana into bite-sized pieces  

2.  put sliced banana in the freezer for about an hour or so  

3. melt some chocolate 

4.  drizzle the chocolate over the sliced up banana bites 

5. let the kids put sprinkles on the bites 

6. enjoy!

I wish this was not blurred!  He literally dumped half of the contents in one spot.

you better act fast - they will gobble the entire plate up in seconds

Little bro's giant blob of sprinkles and some chocolate covered bananas! 

Blackberry Picking!

A couple of weeks ago I took the boys out to the country to do a little blackberry picking.  I realized that the last time I did this I was quite pregnant with Little Brother.  Blackberry picking is actually MUCH easier than strawberry picking -- you don't actually have to bend down as far and about equally as messy.  I knew that I wanted to make home made blackberry ice cream.  One of the best things I bought this summer was my ice cream maker.  If you are in the market for one, I suggest this one,  it is awesome!  

We picked blackberries to our heart's content.  I am fairly certain that while big brother was running around through the field that little brother ate at least a pound of blackberries.  No worries, they don't use any pesticides.  :)  Once we had a decent amount to take home we cleaned up and headed back home.

he was probably eating a leaf here.  lol

what a mess!

blackberry juice everywhere!!!

So delicious!

I found this recipe for blackberry ice cream from the Pioneer Woman.  Let me just say that I had NO idea what I was doing.  It was the first time I have ever tried to make ice cream that involved cooking too.  It took much, much longer than I was expecting it to take.  The ice cream was super delicious but I am just not sure how often I will be going to the trouble to make custard-based ice cream.   It was SO good though!

After a couple of disgusting diapers (TMI, sorry), I decided we needed to be done with the blackberries and that I needed a way to polish off the rest.  Enter Pinterest.  I found a recipe for blackberry limeades. I made a few changes to it because I can never leave a recipe as is.

Blackberry Limeade

Serves 8

Ingredients:
6 cups water (the recipe calls for 6 cups - I added in another 3 or 4 - the limeade was very strong and I decided to dilute it - it was perfect with the extra water).
2 cups fresh blackberries
3/4 cup sugar (you can add more but this was plenty sweet for me)
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
Lime wedges and fresh blackberries, for serving

Directions:

Blend the blackberries and 1 cup of water together until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add the remaining 5 cups of water, sugar and lime juice to the pitcher. Stir until sugar dissolves. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge and a few blackberries, if desired.

Baked Chicken Penne

I can't remember if I found this recipe on Pinterest or not but it is a modified version of one I found here.  The Real Mom Kitchen is a fantastic site with tons of great recipes, so check it out!

Here is the recipe -- for the way I made it.

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate 
• 1 swirl of olive oil for veggies
• 1 package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I just used one entire package of sliced mushrooms)
• 3 whole carrots diced up
• 1 bag of frozen broccoli - thawed and drained
• 1 onion
• 1 1/2 cups shredded italian cheese
  
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter use cooking spray in two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta; drain pasta and set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Dice up chicken pieces.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the carrots and onion in and saute for approximately 5 minutes.  Add in mushrooms and saute until golden brown.  Use a little extra olive oil if needed.  Remove from heat, add in broccoli and set aside.
3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add vegetables; cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in italian cheese mix and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.  If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top.
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I actually found this dish to be slightly bland, but very good.  Next time I would add a little more seasoning.  I am thinking some fresh basil would go really well with the other flavors.  One of the best parts of this dish is that it makes enough for leftovers and an entire freezer meal for later on.  

Enjoy!  And be sure to check out Real Mom Kitchen -- she has some of the BEST recipes!