Meals for August 27th - September 8th

Hello, hello!

So let's discuss the meals from the past week or so - -

The alfredo pizza was aaa-mazing.  I'm not really sure why I've never substituted alfredo for marinera, but it was so tasty.
The pizza chicken was very good too.  Pretty easy and simple enough to make only as many pieces as you need for each person in your family.
Now, the taco loaf... I thought it was good the first night, but when it came to leftovers, it wasn't something that I ran toward.
I made the ginger salmon next and it was soooo good.  The b.f. really liked it as well.
The quick cajun chicken penne was good.  I made it last night and it was really just blackened chicken with alfredo sauce, chopped tomatoes, and green onions.

Also - here's the recipe from the stogonoff/veggie meal I made. I exchanged the barley soup with cream of mushroom soup so my version creates a whiter sauce that is incredibly tasty.

August 26 - September 1 Meals:

Monday:  Philly Cheese steak Stuffed Green Peppers from Peace, Love, and Low Carb blog
    (made it last night and these were sooo tasty!  I've got leftovers today that I'm very excited to eat).
Tuesday:  Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach & Parmesan Risotto from skinnytaste.com
Wednesday: leftovers (if any)
Thursday:  b/f is on his own as I'm not home
Friday:  Cheesy Chicken & Rice Skillet Dinner w. Bacon from Picky-Palate.com

September 2 - September 8 Meals:

Having a Labor Day picnic Monday, so here's the menu so far:
Hot & Cheesy Caramelized Corn Dip from HowSweetEats.com
Cobb Salad
Watermelon Raspberry Sangria from PipandEbby.com

Tuesday:  Italian Sausage with Apples & Onions
Wednesday:  Crispy Honey Lime Tilapia from HowSweetEats.com with Herb Crusted Sweet Potato Bites also from HowSweetEats.com

Thursday & Friday: leftovers of some kind

Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

And I'm back in action - hopefully!!

Meal Plan for Wednesday (August 15) - Sunday (August 19):

Wednesday:  Spaghetti (easy, go-to meal)

Thursday: Veggie & Ham Pizza with Alfredo Sauce from foodwhine.com

Friday: This stroganoff type meal with beef & you put it on top of baked potatoes.  This is another 'go-to' meal from my Betty Crocker cook book.  I'll locate the recipe.

Saturday:  Not at home, eating out

Sunday:  Pizza Chicken from genaw.com


My meal plan for Monday (August 20) - Sunday (August 26)

Monday:  Taco Loaf from foodwhine.com

Tuesday:  Not at home, hoping the b/f will eat the leftovers from Monday night

Wednesday:  Quick Cajun Chicken Penne from Taste of Home magazine (April/May) - link to come, apparently when you register for their 'Free' site, you have to include  your account number from your subscription.

Thursday:  Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon from HowSweetEats.com

Friday, Saturday, Sunday:  who knows!!

So I always have these very ambitious plans for how I will spend my evenings and weekends.  Usually, I finish about half of what I wanted to accomplish, but not because I'm lazy (well - sometimes, the moment just strikes you where you don't want to do anything except lay on the couch & watch tv... but other than that), but because I over extend myself & my time.


I REALLY want to make this wreath:

but I am also in the middle of this:

 

 yep - that's a fence being constructed in my backyard.  Constructed by myself & my boyfriend.  We hope to have it finished by the end of May.  We may have high hopes.  We just don't want to get stuck working through the hottest months of the summer.  And we're really very excited for our dogs to get to run freely in the backyard without us yelling at them all the time.

I also have this dresser (I'll take a picture soon & post).  Maybe it's called a 'high boy', but I bought it years ago before I went to college and it's travelled with me through several moves.  It has 6 small drawers and it holds my unmentionables - you know, and socks.  Right now, it's painted a beige color, which actually clashes with the 'beige color' that I painted my bedroom.  I've gotten in to the habit that when I'm at Walmart, I check their paint section for cans of paint that people decided they didn't want.  I've gotten some very vibrant colors for very cheap there.

I'd love to take the time to paint my dresser some incredibly crazy color. 

But when will I get all of this done?!!?

I'll check back in soon & let you know where I stand =)

- Rachel


pie anyone?!

Well - here's what I made & enjoyed during the week of March 12th:

Sunday:  Open-Faced Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches from Better Homes & Gardens
     These were pretty good.  They reminded the boyfriend of fajitas so he ate them on
     tortillas.

Monday: leftovers

Tuesday:  Cheesy Chicken Potato Soup from Rachael Ray magazine
       I didn't actually make this - it didn't feel very 'soupy' outside since it was about 70
       degrees.  I think I had the boyfriend make something instead

Wednesday:  Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Onions from Better Homes & Gardens
       OMG these were so tasty!  I think this is the first time I've used the thicker cut of pork
       and I have to say - I won't go back to the thinner cuts.  These pork chops were so juicy &
       not at all dried out like most other time's I've cooked pork.  The orange juice flavor
       comes out nicely in the sauce and makes everything taste wonderful.

Thursday:  Sizzling Beef & Scallions from Rachael Ray magazine
       This was also very tasty.  I split the dish in half (and there was still PLENTY for me!) and
       only put peas in my half as the boyfriend isn't a pea fan.  I ate this dish for breakfast and
       dinner.  It reminded me a lot of fried rice. 
I plan on making the below meals during this upcoming week (the 26th):

Monday:  Shrimp alfredo
       Kind of self explanatory, except that I wuss out and buy the frozen shrimp and just thaw
           them out. 
       I also use jarred alfredo sauce - but the Classico kind is tasty!

Tuesday:  Lil' Smokey Sausages & Potatoes
       No actual recipe here.  We are going to borrow the 'recipe' used by boyfriends' aunt
       when she makes meatballs & use it for the lil smokey sausages.  It's just currant
       jelly, dijon mustard, and ketchup.  I haven't figured out the ratios yet, but I'll report back
       in.

Wednesday:  I'll be out to dinner with a friend, and we've got steak stir-fry planned for the
       latter portion of the week, so we'll see if boyfriend makes it on a night I'm not home, or
       if he waits until Thursday.

Thursday & Friday:  I'll have to scrounge for leftovers

I did make this Cherry Fluff Cheesecake last night that is AMAZING!
The recipe was from Ginger Lemon Girl & you can find it here.  I substituted the cherry out & used raspberry pie filling instead and it tasted wonderful.

a LOT of catching up to do!

Good morning.  I've been slacking.  I'll keep my excuses short & just get to the meals i've been serving over the past couple months.


The week of January 16th:
Monday:  Original Carabba's Chicken Bryan from food.com
       This tasted wonderful.  Of course, I love goat cheese so you can do no wrong when a recipe includes it!
Tuesday: (was supposed to be) Deer Tenderloin & boxed scalloped potatoes made by the b.f., but I think we went out instead.
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Marinated steak with pasta & mushroom sauce (from Rachael Ray)
     I belive the sauce I made was supposed to be based on the above recipe, with some mushrooms thrown in. I enjoyed the pasta, but I don't like super heavy sauces, or too much sauce on pasta.
Friday:  leftovers or dinner out


The week of January 23rd:
Monday: Cashew Chick Stir-Fry from Rachael Ray
      This tasted okay.  I actually enjoyed the snow peas more than the chicken.  I may make this again, using the sauce recipe, and leave out the protein.
Tuesday: Polenta Birds in a Nest from Rachael Ray
       Okay, this was AWESOME.  I had it for breakfast most mornings.  It's just hearty enough to get me through to lunch.  I will definitely be making this again!
Wednesday:  Dinner with a friend at the Mexican resturant in Front Royal (awesome enchiladas!)
Thursday: Stuffed Pepper Soup from SkinnyTaste.com
        This was alright.  I added cheese to my first bowl and thought it tasted wonderful.  I still have some leftovers of this to eat and may eat that tonight.
Friday: went to a movie & then ate Taco Bell (so gourmet!) afteward


 The week of the 30th:
I went grocery shopping Saturday night so I got stuff to make for Sunday for lunch & dinner.

Sunday (lunch):  Beef & Blue Pizza from Better Homes & Gardens from September 2007 - therefore, I can't find the recipe anywhere
   But this pizza was SOOO tasty!!
Monday:  I've moved in to having weekly meetings on Monday night so I can't make anything Monday night or it would be 10 o'clock before I eat
Tuesday: Philly Cheese Stuffed Bread from Rachael Ray for the b.f. (and it's been so long that I don't remember what I ended up having...)
     Rob said that this was good.  I think the bread became a little too crunchy though..
Wednesday:  Spinach-Mushroom Quiche from a CorningWare cutout from the Rachael Ray magazine - please see recipe card below.  Sorry that it's so small - you should be able to click on it and enlarge it.
  This was alright.  I think I had the 'crust' wayyy too thick and it didn't cook properly.













For lunch through out the week - I purchased the stuff to make Turkey Wraps with Cucumber Cream Cheese.  The recipe is from Rachael Ray magazine and they were so very tasty!!

You'll see in my last post that I was out of town the week of February 6th, so I of course didn't cook. 
The week of the 13th, I am very unsure why I didn't get on the ball and figure out meals for the week...
The week of the 20th, we had been out of town that weekend so I didn't get to plan the meals out or go grocery shopping so we were flying by the seat of our pants.

But finally - I've caught up to this current week!!

Monday:  meeting tonight - I'll find something to somewhere
Tuesday:  I'll be making pasta with the Philadelphia cream cheese Cooking Creme along with the spaghetti sauce I canned this summer.  This concoction is soo very tasty! 
Wednesday:  I'm going to try and make a pot roast in my crock pot. 
   I think I'll cut up two onions and lay them cut side down on the bottom, then put a large chunk of thawed-out beef on top of them, and then put enough water (and I'm going to use a can of beef broth as well) in the pot to cover the beef.  I'll keep the crock pot on low all day, and I'll probably chop up carrots, potatoes, and green pepper prior to Wednesday so that I can call the b.f. around 3 or so and get him to add more water to the crock pot and throw the veggies in.
  I hope this works out and I will defintely report back in!
Thursday:  book club ladies are all meeting up for dinner and book discussion
Friday:  I'm going to attempt making stromboli's!

Shew - that was an incredibly long post.  I will work to keep up with posting weekly so this doesn't happen again!

- Rachel

Good morning!!  I am still alive, and still cooking and planning meals.  I haven't had a chance to add my last couple of weeks of meals on to here, so I apologize.

The first week of February, I was in San Antonio for work.  It was a lot of fun but I was very happy to be back home and back to my normal routine.

My boyfriend and I took the two pooches to his parents house this past weekend for a long overdue visit, therefore, I did not get a chance to plan my meals for the week or go shopping on Sunday.  We've kind of been playing dinner by ear - which I have to say, I don't really like.  I don't enjoy standing in front of the fridge or in the pantry saying 'well what will I throw together tonight?' after a long day at work.  

Just to make this post not entirely just words - here's a picture of my boyfriend and I taken by his mom in October.  This was at a place called 'Bear's Den' in Clarke county.

I'll be back later to fill you in on the meals I've made recently.

Rachel

P.S. I forgot - while browsing through a friends' sisters' blog - I found out that there is a 'Blogging from A to Z in April' challenege that I'm thinking I may partake in.  I don't know if I'll be able to follow through due to lack of creativitiy... but I'll try.

Here's the link to the challenge website & where you can sign up - Blogging from A to Z in April

Monday, Monday, Monday

Good evening all!   How was everyone's weekend?  I actually caught a cold (probably from the late nights and possible drinking on New Year's) and was kind of down for the count this weekend - but we were productive enough that we rented a wood chipper & cleared out the brush in our backyard that had been accumulating for 1+ years.  It looks so great back there.  This was in preparation for us to build a nice privacy fence in the back of our house for our two dogs & (of course!) for some privacy from our neighbors.  This will take a little planning as we have to go through the 'Architectural Review Board' in our town and get their approval before we can even begin purchasing the materials and building the fence.  Hopefully I'll get the application in & we'll get the go-ahead by April so we can start working before it gets too hot here.

On to the food!!!

The red wine & goat cheese risotto that I made was very yummy.  I think I put a tad too much goat cheese in it, even though I love goat cheese - it was a little too powerful.  The recipe calls for 6 ounces, I believe, next time, I will probably put about 3 in.

The baked french toast bites with amaretto were decent.  It was a fairly quick meal to prepare, but I just wasn't wowed by it.

Yesterday, I went to the grocery and purchased my food for the week and I bought the items to make the Chocolate Dream Tart from Betty Crocker.  I had made this in the past but made a very juvenile error and forgot to bake the crust before putting the other ingredients in it, but this time, I made the crust the proper way.    This pie/tart is soo very tasty - but you will only need a small slice as it is very rich.

This week, I'll make:

Monday:  Cream-Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Bacon (this is not from a recipe, but from my mom's kitchen! - - I'll explain how she taught me below)

Tuesday: Haystacks from Rachael Ray
   I will use no meat for mine, but for my meat-loving boyfriend, I'll probably add some meat & turn his meal in to soft-tacos.

Wednesday:  leftovers (lasagna that I've thawed out from a month or so ago, or home-made Chicken Noodle Soup) because I have a meeting after work.

Thursday:  Dinner out with my mom!

Friday:  Dinner out with the book club ladies!

As for how I'll make the chicken tonight:

I'll use:

4 chicken breasts and do a butterfly fillet/cut to get them to be a bit thinner
2 blocks of cream cheese, softened
fresh chives, minced
Onion
Garlic powder
Bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
I will cut the chicken as stated above & possibly pound them to make them thinner still.
Mix:  Softened cream cheese, diced chives, some garlic powder, and minced onion.
Spread this mixture on all 4 flattened chicken breasts
Roll chicken breasts & wrap with 1 slice of bacon
Fasten with a toothpick if necessary

Place rolled chicken in sprayed, or greased baking dish & cover with aluminum foil.
Bake at least 30 minutes.  At this point - pull out and check done-ness of chicken.

Cooking time could go up to 45 minutes.  Enjoy!!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Monday!