menu plan. week of 1/2 to 1/8

happy new year, everyone.

here's the menu plan for this week. i hope to post some of these and how i edited the original recipe throughout the week. and of course, since it's january, everything will be a little healthier-- however i can make it. most of these recipes can be found over at my pinterest page, but i'll be making changes to them as i can to make them healthier.

monday: baked chicken topped with olives and roasted red peppers. served with salad
tuesday: crock pot roast beef
wednesday: grab something to go because of elder-led
thursday: black beans and sausage served over rice
friday: asian-inspired flank steak with veggies
saturday: chicken and rice with corn and sun-dried tomatoes
sunday: leftovers

see you soon!

beef kabobs (baked!)

i have been meaning to get an indoor grill for about two months now. but something always comes up-- moving, buying plane tickets, etc.-- so i'm trying to still find ways to enjoy fun summer foods. usually this involves turning the oven on. which heats the house up to 84 degrees. which is still better than the 101 it is outside. but still. a grill would be so much better.



so i still made kabobs, that turned out wonderfully! simple-- beef, green pepper, and onion.



served with rice pilaf and a delicious salad.

(speaking of not heating the house up, i haven't mentioned that my mom bought me a pressure cooker **squeal** and they don't heat up the house-- because they cook things in a tiny, enclosed area, and it cooks fast! yay!)

also, seeing these photos, i wish we ate dinner earlier so that i had some natural light to take the pictures with. this indoor lighting sucks.

vegan chocolate cake

so i was searching for a chocolate cake recipe that used applesauce instead of oil. i've heard about doing this but never tried it myself, so i was looking forward to it. it's actually harder than you'd think to search for this! i accidentally ran across a vegan recipe, which ended up being a lifesaver because i didn't realize we were out of eggs. you can find the recipe for it here, i won't reinvent the wheel. you can check out the details there, and trust me-- you'll want to. it's the best chocolate cake i've ever had. it's dense, but not heavy. it's sweet but not overbearing. and so moist (even two days later!) that it doesn't need icing.

not that i didn't add something. i made a chocolate glaze for it (found here), topped with some strawberries that had soaked in some sugar (for strawberry shortcake from a family dinner), and added a little bit of redi whip. yum yum.

what's that label? healthy? that's right. under 250 calories for this here amazing dessert. and worth double that in taste. for reals.

stuffed poblano peppers

i'm here, i'm alive, and i'm doing well!

i've been so busy lately, i haven't had a chance to upload and edit photos that were on my camera. but it's too hot out to do anything else, so i thought i'd go for it today! i have been cooking, i promise.

i was lucky enough to get a lot of garden veggies from my uncle when he visited-- things like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions. he's got a great garden. so i chose to make stuffed poblanos since i love to have fresh foods! here's what you'll need for this meal:

1/2 diced onion

2 cloves diced garlic

1 bell pepper

1zucchini

1 can of black beans

1 cup of corn

4+ peppers

preheat the oven to 400 degrees. cook the diced onion and garlic just until the garlic starts to turn a little brown.

add the green pepper and zucchini.

add the beans and (not pictured) corn.

stuff the peppers as best as you can. if you use young peppers, it's hard to do this so that they look beautiful. it's okay. keep them together as best as you can, and stuff them as full as you can.

cook for 20 minutes, then add feta and cook for another 10 or 15 minutes.

if you only have four peppers, like i did, and they're tiny, like mine were, then you'll have leftovers. us them in burritos!

this whole thing was vegetarian and amazing. the beans make it so filling, and husband didn't even realize that it was vegetarian because it was rich and filling. it's great. make it!

meal plan, week of june 27

i have been so busy cooking and baking lately, but i bet none of you believe me, because i haven't posted ANY of it! well, it's coming. honest. i can't wait to get some of these ready to post. and there's a few that i can't wait to make again (already!)

here's the meal plan for this week*:

monday: beef kabobs
tuesday: ham pasta primavera
wednesday: baked chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie side
thursday: erica's chicken paprikash
friday: steak salad
saturday: dinner out with friends!
sunday: figure something out. maybe homemade pizzas?

*all menu items are subject to change without warning, based on acquisition of money, lack of time, longer-than-expected work hours, or differing tastes.

tilapia foil packets

wow, did i make a great dinner tonight!



know what i love? when meals are healthy and easy and delicious. this one was all three! so, all you do is spray a piece of tin foil with non-stick spray and put a piece of tilapia (or your whitefish of choice) on it. season as you wish- i used basil and italian seasoning. then top with your vegetables of choice.

did i mention it's a flexible menu? cause it is.



i topped it with carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, tomato, and green beans. then i topped with additional seasonings, along with salt, pepper, and garlic.


cook in a 425 oven for about 20 or 25 minutes. delicious! we served it with brown rice, but i bet couscous would be great also. yum!

peanut chicken and pasta

i made a really really delicious pseudo-thai meal recently. and it's easy. and like all my meals recently, not too bad for you.

cook some chicken up. it's usually faster if you cut it into bite-sized pieced ahead of time. for the last minute or two, add large-chopped red (and/or green) peppers.

meanwhile, cook an entire box of spaghetti noodles. linguini would probably be good also, but I wouldn't use something thin like angel hair pasta. reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce.

in the same pan that you cooked the chicken, put about 1/2 cup of peanut butter (i used creamy, but chunky would be awesome) and 5 tablespoons or so of soy sauce. i also sprinkled some dried onion, garlic powder (NOT garlic salt, the soy sauce is salty enough!), and ginger.



don't trust this picture. It's after everything above is added, and before this next step. add at least a cup of the pasta water to the sauce mixture, more if it needs to be thinned. as with most of my recipes, i didn't actually measure any of those things. i just wrote down approximately what i used.

after the sauce is warmed, mix the pasta, chicken and peppers, and sauce together and you have a delicious meal!



tip: it's even better the next day. i really think that when I make this again, i'll make it the day before and just heat up the "leftovers" for dinner!