Week 2 of meal-planning... some very yummy and easy meals this week and still on track for budget. The first thing I did was to take a look at what I had leftover from week 1.Many of the leftovers wer in small amounts and perfect for making fired rice, which I did for lunch on Sunday, at is such a great way to make sure those little bits of meats and veggies don't go to waste. A little weekend prep helped to make the week easier as well, Not only did I make the fried rice which was good for a lunch on Sunday but there was also enough for a couple lunches during the week. This was also a great finger food for my toddler who ate it all up! I also roasted some veggies for dinner on Saturday and used the leftovers in dinner on Tuesday. The chicken from Saturday also came in handy for snacks, toddler food, and Tuesday's dinner. Welcome to week 2!
Breakfasts this week:
Cinnamon Bites with Caramel Drizzle:
Here's the perfect reason for keeping a can of biscuits on hand in your fridge! A little treat for breakfast for all of us on Saturday morning. Homemade caramel drizzled over these little pillows of cinnamon were especially delicious and sent me straight to the gym after! For the recipe you can check it out here: http://youreahotmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/quick-cinnamon-bites-with-warm-caramel.html
Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!
We all like them a little different in our family.. my daughter likes them with chocolate chips, who wouldn't? My older son likes them plain with syrup. My toddler gets them plain and cut into sticks. And we like them with a little banana mashed in them and cooked in some coconut oil. Mmmm. And yes, I make them all those ways in one morning. Sometimes. You just take your basic pancake mix (for a homemade mix click here: http://youreahotmama.blogspot.com/2013/02/pancakes-never-from-box-again.html ) and start with the most basic, the plain. I make a few plain pancakes, then poor some batter on the griddle and add the chocolate chips, there's two down and finally I mash a little ripe banana and add it to the remainder. Scoop a little coconut oil on to the griddle and cook those and in minutes I'm back in Hawaii (without the added sugar of coconut syrup)!
Egg Sandwiches with Cheese and Bacon:
I have this handy little Pampered Chef Egg Cooker that I love! Visit my Pampered Chef page to order your own! http://www.pamperedchef.com/pws//amyleeelrite
When I am cleaning up dinner I crack a couple eggs, whisk and put them in this egg cooker and put the whole thing in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Once its done I top with some sliced cheese, add any meats I might have on hand like bacon or ham and then put between two pieces of bread, I like the Torta Sandwich bread from Costco for this. Breakfast for the morning is done!
Buttermilk Waffles:
These are always in my freezer. I make a big batch and freeze them for easy breakfasts and snacks. I just pull them out of the freezer as I need them and throw them in the toaster as you would a store bought freezer waffle. To make these I use either a pancake mix (above) or a boxed mix like Bisquick and add a ton of buttermilk, a little oil and eggs (I don't follow the boxed directions). These are super easy to add fruits to for different flavors. I do pumpkin in the fall, cocoa powder for a chocolatey treat, sweet potatoes, bananas, blueberries, etc...
Lunches this week:
Lunches are mostly leftovers from dinners I make but I did have a couple of quick things I made specifically for lunch this week.
Chili and Hot Dogs:
I don't know if it was a pregnancy craving or just because my Saturday was so busy running around. But whatever it was I discovered canned chili at Costco earlier that day and that was all I could think of. It was good and the kids liked it too so, why not!? I dressed it up a little with some shredded cheese and sour cream.
Fried Rice:
This is my go to for leftovers. I used up my left over carrots, hot dog, ham, egg, some onion, and garlic added to white rice with a little chinese sausage I had in the freezer but I've used kilbaska and that was good too. Saute your veggies with garlic and add meats and then leftover white rice. Add a little oyster sauce (you could use soy) mixed with just a little sugar and garlic powder. That's it.
Rotisserie Chicken with Steamed Artichokes and Roasted Asparagus:
I took a little help from Costco on this one, their Rotisserie Chicken is just too good and too good of a deal to pass up. Sure I could make a chicken and it would be great but why do that when this was right in front of me? I just dressed it up and made it look pretty on a platter to make my family feel special, I'm pretty sure they forgot they were with me when I bought it. For the veggies I steamed some artichokes, I cut in half and then scoop out the choke for easy eating at the table. And then I roasted a big bunch of asparagus in the oven on a baking sheet with olive oil and garlic until just starting to caramelize at 375 for about 15-20 minutes. Served with some leftover garlic bread from week 1 and butter, it was perfect, It was also great for leftovers to reuse later in the week.
Beef Stroganoff:
A classic comfort food and one of my children's favorites.This was a request from my daughter this week and it did not disappoint! A link to my recipe is here: http://youreahotmama.blogspot.com/2014/02/beef-stroganoff.html
Tortellini with Brown Butter Sauce, Chicken, Spinach, and Asparagus:
Another request from my daughter this week was Cheese Tortellini in Brown Butter Sauce. Sounds fancy but really it is easy. I just cook the tortellini according to package directions and then drain. I then add butter to the pan, let it melt over medium low until it starts to turn brown and then add the tortellini back to the pan where it soaks up the butter and gets a little crispy. Then I top with a little Parmesan cheese. For the kids I leave it at that and then give them their chicken and veggies on the side. For us, I added the chicken and veggies to the pasta. The spinach, I just threw in the hot pan with the pasta until it wilted a little. This made plenty for dinner, toddler meals, and a couple lunches of leftovers.
Avocado Toast with Lemon:
This is a yummy dish anytime of day, and I often make it for breakfast but this time it was dinner. You just take a slice of your favorite bread, toast it, spread a thin layer of cream cheese, and then top with a squeeze of lemon and garlic salt and pepper. I also like to add a little pepperoncini juice to it for some added spice too! It was a late night at work and this was perfect when I got home!
Sauteed Salmon and Haricots Verts:
Another late night at work and I had dinner on the table withing 15 minutes of stating the stove. Heat a tablespoon of butter and olive oil in a pan over medium high heat and season your salmon with your favorite seasonings, I use garlic salt, dill, and a spice blend from William Sonoma called Potlatch Seasoning. It is a little smokey, a little spicy and perfect on any fish. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/potlatch-seasoning/?cm_src=AutoSchRel I wait until the pan is fairly hot so that the fish gets a nice crust on it, it cooks quickly, just a couple minutes on each side. Haricots Verts, these little fancy green beans may be my favorite vegetable.Trader Joes sells them in a microwavable package and all I do is cut the corner off the plastic package and throw them in the microwave for 3- 3 1/2 minutes. I season with just a little garlic salt and they are the most perfect sweet little veggie ever! I could eat the entire package by itself. In fact I had the left over ones for lunch this week!
New York Steak with Spinach Salad:
This is my at-home-kitchen-date-night meal this week. I seasoned my steaks with garlic salt (my go-to), pepper, and some smokehouse steak rub and then cooked them in an iron skillet. Served next to a bed of spinach with some crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and some sauteed mushrooms. I topped with a homemade warm balsamic vinaigrette. (1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, a tablespoon or so of dijon mustard, a clove of garlic, some oregano and basil.)
And for dessert for our at-home-kitchen-date-night meal... the grande finale.. drum roll please...
Oh My! Check out how you can make these here: http://youreahotmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/strawberry-cheesecake-chimichanga.html
Week 2 is done and it was delicious!
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