What's For Dinner Weekly ... my menu planner

It's been awhile since I posted my What's For Dinner Weekly series. Got off the meal planning wagon with the busy hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving and all that went on before and after the holiday. But trying to do better in the last few weeks that lead up to Christmas ...

Sunday: Turkey Pot Pie Soup
skinnytaste.com

Monday: Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce (recipe copyright 2012 by Eugenia Bone), this just looks so light and yummy ... and easy.
marthastewart.com

Tuesday: Soccer night ... need something quick and easy ... so I am reverting back to a recipe from the old South Beach Diet days ... Veggie Quesadillas made with whole grain tortillas, fresh guacamole and salsa ... and loaded with lots of fresh veggies like spinach, red pepper, onion, mushroom, zuchinni and low fat cheese.
photo from: iateapie.net  (this is not the recipe, but you get the basic idea)

Wednesday: Turkey Cranberry Monte Cristo with soup
pauladeen.com

Thursday: Chinese Chicken Salad
ladieshomejournal

Friday: Thyme Garlic Chicken Breasts ... I love that it is served over a bed of greens making it an all inclusive meal.
betterhomesandgarden

Saturday: Pumpkin, Chickpea and Red Lentil Stew ... I always make the smae old beef stew when the weather cools down, but this recipe got my attention. Looks hearty, healthy and stick to your ribs good.
betterhomesandgarden

What's for Dinner Weekly ... my menu planner

Sunday - Spinach Artichoke Pasta (love anything & everything Ree whips up in the kitchen, but i'm going to omit all the cheeses and breadcrumbs and just cook the core ingredients in some broth with a touch of freshly grated parmesan)
thepioneerwoman.com

Monday - Black Bean Chili with Avacado Salsa
deliaonline.com


Tuesday - Teriyaki Porkloin with Baked Delicta Squash & Veggie Medley (another one of my own recipes - i just marinate the pork loin in soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and grated fresh ginger, S&P to taste. the squash is cut in half, scraped of seeds, and baked flesh side down with a bit of water in the pan. needs nothing added, so good!)

Wednesday - Winter Minestrone Soup (this can be made and served in less than an hour... although veggies are more tender if you cook longer.) with Paninis on Ciabatta Bread
theurbanspork.com

Thursday - left over soup, chili and pork (waste not, want not)

Friday - Cranberry Cherry Chicken Wrap with Raw Veggies and Hummus (this is on our super busy, on-the-go night ... think this will do as a meal in the car in between activities) menumusings.blogspot.com

Saturday - Chinese Chicken Salad -
www.lhj.com

Anyone try any of the recipes I posted last time? Curious to know if you liked them?

What's for Dinner Weekly ... my menu planner

When the kids went back to school on Sept 5th, I decided to finally, whole-heartedly pour myself into a commitment to eat better and lose some of the weight that has been sneaking on over the last three years. I've talked myself through this so many times recently and have failed, but this time ... it felt different. I felt like a little switch had turned on. I felt like I could conquer. I read through the Eat Clean Diet book,  made notes on the basic principles, and organized my favorite recipes. Then I went shopping. And as I pushed that cart around the grocery market with all the lovely veggies, fruits, whole foods and organic goodness ... I knew I was not looking back. For the first time in my life I started drinking black coffee (half -n - half is a no-no). I haven't touched a sweet treat (I do allow myself a very small bit of dark bittersweet chocolate about once or twice a week). I've removed sugar from my diet almost completely (I'm not perfect ... I don't cook with it or add it to any of my home cooked recipes, but it is in a few of the items I buy.) A big part of my success is staying on top of my weekly menu. I prepare the week's meals and a shopping list ahead of time. This way I always have something healthy to make and do not resort to take-out or last minute whims. I can take pretty much any recipe and tweak it to fit the Eat Clean principles as closely as possible. The family is loving the attention to meal time and the new recipes. In case you struggle with What's for Dinner, I decided to put together this week's menu with links to the websites' that have posted these yummy recipes. Please know that I am not claiming these to be Clean Eating recipes. You will have do your own research on the principles of this way of eating and tweak as necessary. I'm just hoping you might find a new recipe to add to your meal rotation every now and then. Bon Appetit!

Sunday: Soba Noodles | Simply Reem
simplyreem.com

Monday: Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce | Ezra Pound Cake
ezrapoundcake.com


Tuesday: Slow Cooker Roast Beef with Veggies & Whole Grain Noodles
(just a recipe I have in my arsenal)

Wednesday: Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa | Souvlaki for the Soul (and Caprese Paninis)
souvlakiforthesoul.com

Thursday: Leftovers
(it's a fact of life)

Friday: Mushroom Stroganoff | Skinny Taste
skinnytaste.com

Saturday: Crockpot Chicken Tacos | Chocolate Therapy
mychocolatetherapy.com

Good Things are coming...

Just wanted to let you know JessicaSprague.com is having 20% off sale starting Black Friday, Nov 26th and it runs all the way through Dec 31st. Sweet! And ... the new free class starts Monday the 29th ... hope to see you in class.

Fruit Smoothies {Cosmo Cricket}
Early Bird Candy Candy
Early Bird Paper Pack
Early Bird Elements

{Kitschy Digitals}
Vintage Cabinet Cards
Fresh Blooms Digital Kit

{Creativity by Crystal}
You Are Awesome Mini Kit- kraft paper
Office Supplies Element Pack- staples

Fonts: Yelly, SpillMilk

Menu Planner & Shopping List I'm a list maker ... I *need* lists to survive. I often plan my meals for the week on a scrap piece of paper and make a grocery list for those meals, only to find I've misplaced my meal plans after my shopping trip ... and then my scattered brain cannot remember all the new recipes I had panned to try out that week.

I had been eyeing up Cyrstal's Meal Planner kit in the store for a while now. And Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection was the kick I needed to put this together.

I just put some papers and elements from Early Bird together to make a cover page to slip into my 3 ring binder. Printed a few of Crystal's Meal Planner papers, punched holes and I was done. I like the binder because I can keep it in my kitchen and not worry about it getting dirty as it is easy to wipe down. It has little pockets where I can stash the new recipes I print out.

But... I also needed a little pocket Grocery List so I made one with chipboard covers and binder rings. (Easy to fill with new Grocery Lists as I use them up.) I also added some Coin Envelopes (found at Staples/Office Depot) and will use them to store a few coupons. The size is perfect to stash into my bag. I used the polygon lasso tool to clip out the Grocery List side of Crystal's page and just added in a few fun Cosmo Cricket Early Bird elements. ~ Thanks for looking!

{Cosmo Cricket}
Early Bird Candy Candy
Early Bird Paper Pack
Early Bird Elements


{Creativity by Crystal}
Crystal's Printable Daily Schedule & Meal Planner
Crystal's {Doodley-Doo} 12x12 Borders
Crystal's {Playful} Font

Santa, I've been a Good Boy! New Merry & Bright Quick Pages by Crystal. So cute & perfect "as is". Love the Kraft paper. This page has just a few little touches ... & let's the photo & memory shine. Crystal has a few of these QPs coming out this week. You could use them to do a whole December Theme album in record time. Here I took a not so great photo & followed Jessica's recipe for a soft glow as seen in her latest Photoshop Friday #26 Soft Glow. Then I did some darkening of the background to "cover up" the distracting background. This is definitely one of my favorite PSFs!

{Creativity by Crystal}
Merry & Bright Quick Page #2
October '09 Sweet {Eye Candy} Elements