weekend(s) review: a whole bunch at once

so. hi there.

yeah, yeah. i haven't been regularly posting and you may (or may not) find that annoying, but i have to say it is good for me. it is good to break the pattern of 'i must post what i ate last weekend on monday or else the world will crumble' - because you know what? nothing happened at all except a backlog of pictures on my phone. you survived, i survived. it's all ok.

so, here it goes. a whole bunch of food at once. the best way for food to come. in massive quantities...

kale, mushroom, and riccota calzones with whole wheat dough from trader joe's + side salad. these are delicious and one of my husband's favorites.

skinny tuna noodle casserole + roasted Brussels sprouts. if i could sleep while encased in this casserole i would (i.e., it is wonderful).

honey roasted vegetable and smoked gouda pasta. this was good, but i remember it being better and there is too much pasta and not enough veggies!

crockpot bbq beer chicken sandwiches + un-fried pickles + kale slaw with red cabbage and carrots. so these pickles were such a let down. lesson learned: fried > un-friend. what was i thinking? on the bright side, this kale slaw was perfection.

crowd-pleasing tex mex casserole from oh she glow's new cookbook + simple salad. is it just me or does all homemade mexican food taste alike? i wasn't disapointed, i wasn't thrilled. i was just....

oh she glows maple-cinnamon apple pear baked oatmeal (p. 39 of her cookbook; made this several times before, delicious) + baked eggs on a bed of roasted tomatoes (yum) + fruit . i ate this and then died. it was that good.

dijon almond-crusted tilapia + salt & pepper caramelized Brussels sprouts (from how sweet eat's new cookbook you must buuuuy it) + sweet potato/apple mash (roasted two sweet potatoes and one apple with olive oil, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, & ginger. after roasting put in food processor with almond milk and earth balance until creamy). 

cooking light's shrimp fettuccine alfredo + roasted green beans. this is decadent but not at the same time - like perfect food should be.

oatmeal pumpkin breakfast cookies make the perfect fall mid-morning snack. yum!

weekly meal plan (9.15.14)

my weekly meal plan. the key to this week's success was making the meatloaf on sunday when i had extra time (along with banana chocolate chip muffins, but that is another story) and making a large baked-pasta dish on sunday night so we could enjoy leftovers throughout the week.

sorry for the blur!

meal plan, decoded.

saturday: fancy dinner date out with the husband.

sunday: honey roasted vegetable and smoked gouda baked penne + salad (i made a simple green salad with this honey dijon balsamic dressing).

monday: over the rainbow cabbage salad with tahini-lemon dressing + turkey meat loaf (my momma's recipe) + bread (for hubby).

tuesday: leftovers + green bean delight (every tuesday forever and ever until i get sick of it...which may be never).

wednesday: simple pan-seared chicken breast and avocado + roasted brussels sprouts + baked sweet potatoes all drizzled in trader joe's balsamic glaze.

thursday: more leftovers + roasted broccoli.

friday: kale, mushroom, and riccotta calzones (never made them last week) + salad.

weekend review: i like to cook and eat

i like to cook and eat

friday night's dinner: kung pao chicken lettuce wraps (will make again) & roasted broccoli.

sunday morning baking: my mom's favorite granola (a favorite!)

sunday night's dinner: parmesan pesto tilapia (was ok, will not make again), white cheddar yogurt cornbread (this makes my hubby droooool), & lemony arugula salad (a go-to simple salad).

weekly meal plan (9.8.14)

every saturday morning i sit down and make a weekly meal plan - just like my momma used to do. i always wonder what i had made in previous weeks, so i thought it would be a nice record (oh, and maybe some interest to my readers - if there are any?!? - ha) to post these on a semi-regular basis. 

so here is the list that gets stuck on the front of my fridge. excuse the typos and the acronymns. i have decoded things below and included links of the recipes in case you want to make them too!

meal plan, decoded.

saturday: oh she glows maple-cinnamon apple pear baked oatmeal (p. 39 of her cookbook; made this several times before, delicious) + baked eggs on a bed of roasted tomatoes (new to me recipe) + fruit 

sunday: crockpot bbq beer chicken made into sandwiches (apparently i can't spell this word) + un-fried pickles (i saw these on Trisha Yearwood's cooking show last weekend and can't stop thinking about them so i planned this entire dinner around these pickles. i hope they are good!) + kale slaw with red cabbage and carrots (new to me recipe)

monday: roasted cauliflower and chickpeas in orange cumin dressing (make all the time, fabulous) + couscous (Near East box) + chicken (for the hubby)

tuesday: green bean delight + leftovers or pesto pasta (for the hubby)

wednesday: kale, black bean, and avocado burrito bowls + spicy roasted cauliflower (made both before, yum)

thursday: leftover pulled chicken (from sunday) on baked sweet potatoes + roasted broccoli

friday: kale, mushroom, and ricotta calzones (one of the hubby's favorites) + simple green salad

weekend(s) review: catching up

whoa long time no blog post. where did i go? it's called: i am working a whole lot more than i care to and i'm also living my life and not prioritizing my blog like a crazy person and this gives me ahhhh freedom. but, i've still been cooking and eating and taking some photos that i want to share with you and my future self. so here is two weekends worth of delicious food.

friday's night dinner (weekend before last - not that you care, but my ocd compels me to specify): healthy chicken skewers and tzatiki sauce, whole wheat pita, and roasted broccoli. 

out of the oven: baked honey sesame chicken. omg this is like heaven transformed itself into chicken form and then i ate it. like that good.

sunday night's dinner (weekend before last): baked honey sesame chicken served over brown basmati rice, and  healthy chinese broccoli.

sunday night' dinner (this weekend): ohe she glows lentil and walnut loaf (from her cookbook) and the best shredded kale salad, which i am obsessed with and is basically better than a cupcake, as i  talked about before.

weekend review: banana shortage

the week before last i bought 10 bananas and we ran out. i panicked. this week i was so petrified of making the same mistake that i must have loaded my cart with at least 20. turns out, we had enough for the week and to make this delicious and healthy banana bread. more bananas is always better. 

saturday afternoon baking: whole wheat oatmeal banana bread.

sunday night's dinner: turkey and feta stuffed peppers and the best garlicky kale salad. 

sweat it out

this morning i woke up hungover. i debated pancakes (oh, cracker barrel why must you tempt me so).

instead, i pounded out 9 fantastic miles.

just think what i could do if i laid off the booze.

weekend review: breaking in the iron skillet

one of the things i've missed most about this blog is my ability to capture (and remember!) the dinners i create via my weekend review posts. time to bring them back.

after an indulgent friday night, saturday called for vegetables.

...gasp...

beautiful vegetables, which i turned into saturday night's dinner: weekend glow kale salad.

i got an iron skillet for a wedding gift (yes, we have a lot to catch up on) and i broke it in sunday night with some delicious white cheddar yogurt cornbread.

sunday night's dinner: dijon almond crusted tilapia, white cheddar yogurt cornbread smeared with earth balance, and roasted green beans.

green bean delight

let's be honest, the weekend is the time for wineicecreamcheesechocolatedidimentionwine? but by the time monday rolls around i am craving a bowl of veggies so large that it makes people stare. i love this bowl of veggies so much that i didn't even envy the cheesy enchiladas my husband was eating right next to me. fast, light, & healthy - this bowl of beans is the perfect weeknight dinner.

green bean delight

coat a shit-ton of green beans and cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. roast at 400 degrees for ~25 minutes, turning halfway through (i like mine roasty).

fill a bowl with an exorbitant amount of roasted green beans and tomatoes (hey, they are veggies) and top with chopped pecans (or walnuts) and a solid drizzle of tahini. 

add a toasted piece of healthy bread (Ezekial sprouted grains) if you just finished spinning for two hours and need to refuel (it happened, i needed carbs and i needed them fast).

curl up on the couch with your veggie bowl and be delighted...