Meal Planning Monday: Oct 31- Nov 6, 2011

The weather is getting cooler and cooler, so our food is getting warmer and warmer.  More stews, chilies, and baked dishes than before.  And we also seem to be on the run more than a few months ago, so I've brought our my slow cookers and they are working hard for me these days.  :)

This is what I have on the menu this week:

Vegetarian

 Black Bean Tostadas

Beef
Slow Cooker Swiss Steak with rice and broccoli

Vegetarian
Lasagna Floret  with a green salad


Chicken
Chicken Stroganoff (in the slow cooker) with potatoes and peas with carrots


Vegetarian
Easy Vegetarian Pasta with salad and green beans


Pork
Slow Cooker Chili (nope, it's not a pork recipe - I just thought Saturday night chili sounded good!) with fresh buns

Hope this help you a bit this week! :)

Meal Planning Monday: Sept 19 - 25, 2011

I would like to start today with an apology.  Laila and I have both been MIA all week.  Laila is in the thick of moving and I've been quite ill, but I'm on the mend - I'm well enough to think about eating something other than toast with water.

Let's get right to it:

Vegetarian
Fiesta Soup

Photo Credit: I Eat Trees

Beef
Maple-Glazed Meat Loaf  with potatoes and broccoli

Vegetarian
Confetti Rice and Bean Salad  with a side of fruit

Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie  with Salad

Vegetarian
Tuscan Pasta with Tomato Basil Cream

Photo: Ralph Anderson; Styling: Rose Nguyen

Pork
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork on buns with salad

I hope you have a healthy, productive, and tasty week!

 

Meal Planning Monday: Sept. 11 - Sept. 18, 2011

Another weekend gone, another Monday has arrived. And with it, Monday has brought a new meal plan for the week. As far as this menu goes, I'm really excited to try the Crunchy Baked Pork Chops - they look and sound delicious!

Vegetarian
To Die For Fettuccine Alfredo  with a big salad tossed with my Grandma's dressing

Beef
Grilled Beef and Mushroom Burger with a marinated vegetable salad
Grilled Beef and Mushroom Burger

Photo Credit

Vegetarian
Lentil Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato Mash with garden fresh green beans

Chicken
Cowboy Quesadillas

Vegetarian
Grilled Vegetable Pizza

Pork
Crunchy Baked Pork Chops with roasted potatoes and asparagus

Photo Credit: Smitten Kitchen

Have a great week everyone!  :)

Bento Box Lunches

Hap Hap Happy Friday! I am so glad it's the 'tippy top' (as our 5 yr old would say) of the weekend. I have so many big plans to... clean the house! :P I hope you have bigger, more exciting plans than I do! lol

It's Friday, which means a fantastical post depicting my best finds for the week. This week my find is a no-brainer. We've just finished our first full week of school and already I'm wishing for more lunch ideas for the kids. Bento Box lunch ideas are circulating the web this week, and I'm taking full advantage!

If you're not familiar with bento boxes, they are basically a traditional Japanese home-packed meal.  Japanese style bento usually consists of rice, fish or meat, and vegetables packed into a box with various compartments.  At times they are organized into a theme or faces and caricatures are made by combining foods.  Take a look:

Phot Credit

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

 Of course, in North America, the majority of people won't pack a traditional bento box lunch, but we can make our own version and stock it with bright and delicious food that our kids will love.  And the following sites have done just that.  Take a look at the variety of bento box lunches that some moms pack for their kids - and by the end of this post, I can almost bet you'll be creating bento box lunches and snacks of your own!

Although the photos above are beautiful and show elaborate fixings for a lunch, I'm waaaayy too busy and would never have the patience to make such fancy schmancy lunches for my kids.  But I can see myself making Bentos like these on Monday morning:

Photo Credit: Lunches Fit For a Kid

Photo Credit: Fawn In BC

Photo Credit: Lunch In a Box

 How do you get started?  I would first take a look at   Lunch In a Box for a big list of frequently asked questions about Bento Boxes, which will give you all the information you'll need to get started.

Then visit these sites for North American kid-style Bento Box lunch and snack ideas:

Lunches Fit For a Kid 

Not Exactly Bento 

Bentobloggy

And then visit these sites for eye candy - Bento style:

Happy Little Bento

Ohayo Bento

Bentolicious

And THEN, come back here (or go to our Facebook Page) and tell us what you're planning to feed your kids come Monday for their school (or homeschool!) lunches.

PS - I am happy to be blamed for your newly found addiction!  :D

Meal Planning Monday: 05.09.2011 - 11.09.2011

Welcome back to Meal Planning Monday!  After taking the summer off and completely 'winging it' with meals, I am so happy to be back to making meal plans and grocery lists - and saving money!  :P

I've found a few terrific recipe sites over the summer and this week's meal plan is entirely from  Skinny Taste.  The site is great because it showcases fresh and tasty food all the while listing all of the nutritional information, including Weight Watchers point values.

I think you'll really like what I've chosen this week:

Vegetarian
Easiest Pasta and Broccoli with salad

Beef
Mom's Beef Stroganoff over rice with a hearty helping of asparagus

Photo Credit

Vegetarian
Arroz Congri - Cuban Style Black Beans spooned over rice with a side of tossed salad with vinaigrette

Chicken
Chicken Parmigiana Burgers with vegetables and dip


Vegetarian
Carmelized Onion, Red Pepper, and Zucchini Frittata with a big spinach salad

Photo Credit

Pork
Slow Cooked Pernil (Puerto Rican Pork) with whole wheat rolls and peas fresh from my mother-in-law's garden

Love to hear what will be on your plates this week.  And if you have a favorite food website you think I should check out, let me know in the comments!

Meal Planning Monday: 04.07.2011 - 10.07.2011

This week is supposed to be sunny, sunny, SUNNY! And that means BBQ, BBQ, BBQ!

This week I bought The Barbecue Bible and The Pioneer Woman Cooks - so that's what we're having this week.


              

And let me tell you - The Barbecue Bible is fantastic for pretty much everything - it goes from the basics to gourmet -  the author travelled the world for three years and then wrote this enormous book of recipes and techniques from around the world.   I think it would make a fine gift for any of the men in your life.

Speaking of gifts - The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook will be given aplenty this coming Christmas.   This book is gorgeous - the photos are incredible, as anyone who is familiar with her knows, and the recipes are delish.

This week's menu comes entirely from these two books.  I would highly recommend clicking the links and buying your own copies.  Quickly.

I'm also making one change - since it's a short week for us, I'm making only 5 meals this week - 2 vegetarian and 3 non-vegetarian.

Here goes nothin'...

Beef
Beef and Basil Rolls (The Barbecue Bible, pg 67) with rice and fresh green beans

Vegetarian
Potato and Leek Pizza (The Pioneer Woman Cooks, pg 110)

Pork
North Carolina Pulled Pork (The Barbecue Bible, pg 175)
North Carolina Coleslaw (The Barbecue Bible, pg 176)
Fresh Crusty Rolls

Photo Credit

Vegetarian
Yam and Nut Kebabs (The Barbecue Bible, pg 390)
As suggested in the book I'll serve with Naan bread, and a platter of lemon wedges, onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Chicken
Chicken Spaghetti (The Pioneer Woman Cooks, pg 130)
Tossed Salad

How is your week going to taste?
 

Meal Planning Monday: 20.06.2011-26.06.2011

Good morning! It's so good to be back in full swing after our computer crash a couple of weeks ago - going without internet is not an easy thing these days, so happy to be back!

For the first time in weeks, our weather forecast looks faily sunny (and for the 'sunniest city in Canada', it's about time!!), so I'm keeping meals simple and cool this week. It's also the last full week of school and soccer is (finally!!) winding down, which means that all our crazy running around will cease by Friday. That means simple but delicious food for the week.

How is your week looking?

Vegetarian
Veggie Pitas - simply smear the inside of a pita pocket with hummus and guacamole, toss in your favorite veggies and cheese, and voila! Dinner!

Photo Credit

Chicken
Chicken - on the BBQ to be exact! I'll defrost and rinse chicken before letting it marinate in italian dressing. We'll have this with rice and veggies.

Vegetarian
Vegetable Fajitas - fajitas loaded with onions and green, red, and yellow peppers topped with salsa and sour cream. The kids will likely have sour cream and cheese rolled up with a side of veggies and dip.

Pork
BBQ pork chops with vegetable packets

Vegetarian
Vegetarian appetizers - we're keeping it simple with veggies, cheese, crackers, veggie spring rolls, cheese puffs, and mushroom caps. Or something like that! :P

Photo Credit

Beef
Yep - you've guessed it. More BBQ!  Burgers (homemade patties, of course!) topped with onions and mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese. On the side we'll have Japanese Cabbage Salad (which according to our previous Japanese student, is not Japanese at all...) and a big lettuce salad.

What are you cookin' up for your family this week?

 

Nettle Smoothies, Kale Chips and More!

Since Heather's computer has crashed and I don't really meal plan per se (I just go with what Heather posts a lot of times to be honest! :D), I thought it would be fun to look at a couple of great seasonal greens and some very cool things you can do with them that even I had never thought of!

I was peeking around on A Handmade Life and came across her post on Nettles. Now, you are probably thinking that Nettle is that awful nasty weed that can 'sting' you and make you rather itchy if you decide to play in it. Nettles are so misunderstood and really do deserve a better rap than they get. They are incredibly healthy and the list of their benefits is much, much longer than you probably realize!

"Since nettles contain numerous nourishing substances, they are used in cases of malnutrition, anemia, and rickets, and as a tonic to help repair wounds and broken bones. You can cook nettles and eat them as you would steamed spinach -- their taste and appearance are similar. Nettles are a healthy and tasty addition to scrambled eggs, pasta dishes, casseroles, and soups."

Quoted from Discovery Health - How Stuff Works

I've always had my Nettles in the form of a tea or tincture. I never thought of making ice cubes and smoothies out of them!

Pop over to A Handmade Life and see how Heather (yes, her name is Heather too!) whipped up some yummy smoothies with Nettle Ice Cubes. While you are there, (and you will be there a long time because her blog totally rocks!) be sure to also check out her other recipes for a super simple and tasty supper - Pasta with Greens and Chickpeas and her Apple Pie Muffins. Oh and her Granola! You have to try out her Granola Recipe, it is soooooooo yummy! *drool*

Okay, I will stop there because otherwise I'll be here all night linking to all my favourite spots on her blog!Click on over and see why she is one of my favourites (and prepare yourself to get absolutely nothing done for the next couple of hours while you get totally absorbed in her site)! I'm off for 10 days to my BFF's cabin and you can bet I will be on the hunt for Nettles to try this out myself (while stuffing my face with Granola too most likely :P)!

Speaking of being green...remember Nicole from Girl in a Boy House? She was one of our fabulous Guest Bloggers awhile back and since then she has started another awesome blog called Cooking in the Boy House. She is hysterically funny as always and she whips up some rather unique and tasty treats with ingredients you wouldn't think of using at first. Kale Chips are on my list to try out and you can bet I will definitely be making some of her Avocado Chocolate Mousse this week as well!

So, after hearing about Nettle Smoothies, Kale Chips and Avocado Chocolate Mousse, you're probably all ready to beg for Heather to come back to her Meal Planning Monday post aren't you? :D She'll be back next Monday with her regularly scheduled post of delicious meal plans and fabulous recipes! And in the event her new pc hasn't arrived by then, I pinky swear promise I'll share some other of my favourite sites and recipes that don't involve kale and nettles. :Þ

Before I sign off, I just wanted to remind you all of our awesome contest for a set of Noshpockets!

 

Entering is easy peasy but you only have until Friday! Get your entries in today so you don't miss out!

I hope you all have an amazing week!

With love and light ♥,

 

Meal Planning Monday: 06.06.2011-12.06.2011

This week I'll be kicking time's butt instead of time kicking my butt! Tuesday and Thursdays are the most difficult for our family dinners right now, as we are home for about 30 minutes between work and soccer. We've been relying on fast food twice a week for the past few weeks, despite my meal plans - there just isn't enough time!

I am finally taking out my much loved slow cooker from its hiding place deep in the pantry. While I'm hard at work, it will be hard at work cooking up some tasty dinners for us. What do you make in your slow cooker?

Our plates will be filled with these delish meals this week:

Vegetarian
White Bean and Kale Soup (slow cooker) with french bread

Chicken
BBQ chicken breasts, rice, asparagus, salad

Vegetarian
Corn and Grain Gratin (slow cooker) with side salad from this cookbook:






Pork
Pork Souvlaki with rice and greek salad

Photo Credit

Vegetarian
Ravioli in Brown Butter Sauce (sounds complicated, doesn't it?  It's not.  At all.  Read on my friends.)

Buy a package of your favorite ravioli.
Cook ravioli according to package directions while making the sauce.

For the sauce:
3/4 c butter
1.5 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme
1/2 c slivered, toasted almonds or chopped, toasted pecans

While ravioli is cooking, melt butter in pan.  Add the nuts and cook gently for about 4-6  minutes, until the butter browns.  Add vinegar and thyme.

Toss the sauce with the ravioli and voila!  Ravioli with Browned Butter Sauce.  :)

Beef
Seared Steak, Pepper, and Onion Fajitas

Baking
Our 5 yr old came grocery shopping with me and he quickly spotted the cans of pumpkin puree and begged me to make 'something pumpkin', so something pumpkin it will be!  I'll find time this week to whip up a batch of Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars, to be exact.  When I saw the amount of sugar in this recipes, I could already feel the sugar rush.  I always cut the amount of sugar in anything I bake to about half and whatever I'm baking still comes out plenty sweet enough for our family.  If you have a sweet tooth, follow her recipe to the letter and if you don't, try cutting it down.

And there you have it - six meal ideas to help bring your family together around the dinner table this week.  Have a super week!

 

Meal Planning Monday: 30.5.2011 - 05.06.2011 (Thanks Once a Month Mom!)

I have been dying to share some of the recipes from Once a Month Mom, so today is your lucky day!!  You absolutely must zip over there to see what's shakin' in their kitchen.  The whole premise of Once a Month Mom is to do most of your cooking in one day - for the ENTIRE month.  Now, I've tried a number of 'popular' cookbooks and have rarely found a recipe worthy of a second round of grocery money.  But no longer!  Here a are 6 recipes for you to dip your fingers into.  Have a go and let us know what you think!

Vegetarian
Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi, mixed greens salad veggies

Photo Credit

Chicken
Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken and quinoa salad

Vegetarian
Black Bean Salsa Quesadillas, veggies for dipping in ranch dressing

Pork
Gluten Free, Dairy Free Country-Style Ribs with Homemade BBQ Sauce,  salad, and foil packs of potatoes and carrots with onions

Photo Credit

Vegetarian
Fire Roasted Vegetable Pasta with tossed salad

Beef
Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels, ceasar salad and corn

Photo Credit

This week I will not be baking, but I will be freezing!  Strawberry Banana Breakfast Popsicles are sure to make my kids' heads spin.  I am sure I'll get the "Who are you and what have you done with Mommy?!" schpiel...  But I'll take it with a smile on my face.  :D

So, what's your plan, Stan?

 

Meal Planning Monday: May 23-29, 2011

It's another busy week for our family (though hopefully the forecast of rain will help to slow things down a bit), so as usual, I'm keeping things simple!  How are you doing in your meal planning for the week?  If you haven't begun, hopefully this will help a bit.

I've taken out the days of the week, because I always mixed them up anyway!  I always have good intentions to follow the plan to the letter, right down to which day, but since it rarely happens like that, I've removed the days. 

Don't stress - keep things as simple for yourself as possible.  Take a look at the meal plan every night so you can grab something out of the freezer and allow it time to defrost before you might need it.  By planning ahead just a bit, you'll find your meals are so much easier to assemble quickly.

Vegetarian
Fajita Pizza with veggies and dip
This is such an easy recipe - perfect for the weekend with a movie or as leftovers to take for a picnic at the park!

• Buy crust (or if you have time, make your own).
• Sautee a bunch of onions and peppers (we favor yellow, orange, and red).
• Add in a package of fajita sauce. You'll want it drier than the package will call for, so it doesn't make the crust soggy!
• Spread salsa on the crust instead of traditional pizza sauce.
• Top with onions and pepper mixture.
• Top with cheese of your choice.
• Bake and enjoy!

Photo Credit

Beef

Steak, baked potatoes, ceasar salad

Lean how to cook a perfect steak here.

Vegetarian

Chili Rellenos Casserole with tossed salad

Chicken
Parmesan Chicken, carrots, salad with vinaigrette

Vegetarian
Creamy Orzo with salad

Pork
Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, coleslaw

Baking
Nonna's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits

Let us know what you're having this week!

 

Meal Planning Monday: May 16-22, 2011

This week is a change in our routine. I’m going back to work full time for the next 6 weeks (I’m really excited!) and the kids are in soccer and ball, which keeps us running 4 nights a week. Dinners this week have to be very quick (and still be delish) to enable us to get out the door  less than an hour after getting home. I’ll have to be creative in how I’ll get them on the table in time. How do you get in and out in a short time while still having dinner with your kids?

Monday (Vegetarian)
Spinach Fettuccine with Sauteed Vegetables, Artichoke Hearts and Shredded Mozzarella, tossed salad

Tuesday (Beef)
Mini Meatball Sandwiches, fresh beans, and carrot sticks

Wednesday (Vegetarian)
Summer Steamed Vegetable Packs (Clean Eating Magazine, July/Aug 2010, pg 48), homemade ice cream for dessert

Thursday (Chicken)
Janet and Greta’s Gourmet Chicken Burgers, veggies with dip, fruit with dip

Photo Credit

Friday (Vegetarian)
Eggplant Parmesan Melt, angel hair pasta, Caesar salad

Saturday (Pork)
Cilantro Chili-Lime Pork chops, baked potatoes, garlic-roasted asparagus

Photo: James Baigrie

Snacks this week will include:

• Trail mix with fruit
• Cheese and crackers
• Apple and celery with peanut butter
• Veggies with hummus
• Yogurt and fruit parfait

This week I’ll be baking Overnight Cinnamon Rolls.

What'll be on your plate this week?

 

Meal Planning Monday: May 2 - 8, 2011

If you've been following along with my meal plans, you'll know by now that I like to keep things simple.  You can have a huge variety of meals without spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  Try this week's menu and see how you like it.  And be sure to tell us about it!  :)

Monday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Apple Cobbler, yogurt, fruit
Dinner - Cheesy Manicotti, Salad

Tuesday (Beef)
Breakfast - Egg and turkey bacon on english muffin, fruit
Dinner - Steak and Potato Kebabs with Creamy Cilantro Sauce, packets of veggies

Photo Credit

Wednesday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Quiche, apples with peanut butter
Dinner - Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Thursday Vegetarian
Breakfast - Smoothies
Dinner - Honey Mustard Chicken Burgers, veggies and dip

Friday Vegetarian
Breakfast - Cereal, milk, fruit
Dinner - Veggie and bean wraps with hummus

Saturday Pork
Breakfast - Potato and cheese frittata, fruit salad
Dinner - Sweet and Sour Pork, rice, snap peas

Snacks this week will include:

• celery with cheese
• grapes and muffin
• granola bar with carrot sticks
• fruit salad with yogurt
• hard boiled eggs and crackers

I'll be baking Hearty Morning Muffins.