Meal Plan Monday: December 28th - January 3rd

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  I have to tell you I was exhausted last night.  I tried having a cup of coffee to help me stay awake and get things done.  I totally fell asleep mid cup. We were having fun but we were on the go a lot and my youngest didn't feel well for most of it.  Between the holiday and she being sick I never planned out the entire meal plan for this weekend. I'm not even sure I know what I feel like having for dinner those days.  Maybe you can suggest somethings?  Yesterday I was so anxious that I hadn't gotten in a workout.  I was rushing around like crazy trying to get it done before the 1:00 football game and decided to stop five minutes in and just hang out with my daughters during the game.  It was nice to sit and be with them.  Something I would like to do more this year.  I was still able to do 30 minutes of the 21 Day Fix after the game so it all worked out and I was less stressed.

Are you ready for the New Year?  I have this feeling that it is going to be a great year.  I have ordered the new Beachbody program, Hammer and Chisel.  I will be officially starting that on January 4th.  Until then, I am following the Beachbody on Demand workout program.  I will keep you updated on my thoughts for that program.  I have a few other things in the works for the year that I can't wait to share with you.  Stay tuned!

Anyway, this week is all about fast dinners and catching up with friends since the girls are out of school and dance is closed.

Monday:  Healthified Copycat Turkey Bacon Ranch Wrap
A quick dinner before heading out to see Star Wars!
Recipe Here

Tuesday:  Taco Tuesday
I got the taco rack for Christmas.  I'm so excited to try it out.

Wednesday:  Crock-pot Ravioli and Salad
Recipe from Life in the Lofthouse

Thursday:  New Year's Eve Party
I am bringing a 21 Day Fix(ish) approved 7 layer Dip.  It's a combination of these two recipes from FantasicFood and Beachbody.  I'll write mine down and post it.  I am going to use sour cream instead of the Greek yogurt since I am taking it to a party.  I'm never sure how that substitution will actually be so I'd rather use the tried and true ingredient for a party and try the substitution at home.

Friday: Cranberry Pork Tenderloin, Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes
I had some cranberry sauce leftover from Christmas so we are having this instead of apples and sauerkraut.
Pork recipe from My Recipes.com

Saturday:

Sunday:

Meal Plan Monday: December 21st - December 27th

Merry Christmas!  I hope you all have enjoyed this holiday season and are ready for Christmas.  I'm going to be cutting it down to the wire so I have planned quick and easy meals for the week.    Because Chinese delivery is a popular Christmas dinner, I am making homemade Chinese food for Christmas Eve.  Making it at home in the crock-pot will cut down on calories and it will be ready when we get home from church.  I'm excited to make this Christmas dinner again.  It was so good last year it made me dance!  Just as food should!  What are your Christmas dinner traditions?

Monday: Subway 
I won a gift card at my office's white elephant gift exchange.  With tonight's busy schedule it seems like the perfect day to use it.

Tuesday: Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Recipe here

Wednesday: Cracker Barrel Chicken Tenderloins and Steamed Broccoli
Recipe here

Thursday: Beef and Broccoli in the Crock-pot
Recipe from Damn Delicious found on Lifehack 

Friday: Turkey Breasts, Arkansas Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Butternut Squash, Cranberry Sauce
Recipes here

Saturday: Left-overs

Sunday: Egg Roll in a Bowl
Recipe here

Meal Plan Monday: December 14th - December 21st

The countdown is officially on to Christmas!  I hope you are all surviving and not letting the preparation stress you out too much.  This week we have our daughter's first school chorus concert and a fun party to go to.  And, of course, we still have dance to navigate through.  This weekend we are going to bake our cookies.  What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Monday: Spaghetti Genovese - This is an Italian dish with pesto, potatoes and green beans.  Eating Well added spinach to give it a boost.
Recipe from Eating Well

Tuesday: Quesadillas on the Go
This is concert night.  I make four at time in the oven.

Wednesday: Red Beans and Rice
Recipe from Cooking Light

Thursday:  Christmas Cookie Beer Pairing Party
Beat that Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!

Friday: Dinner Date

Saturday: Tostado Nachos and Movie Night
Recipe here

Sunday:  Pot Roast
We ended up not having this last week because my parents took us out to dinner after the girls Christmas Pageant.

Meal Plan Monday: December 7th - December 13th

The countdown to Christmas is on and that includes Christmas parties!  We have my companies party this Saturday but before we get there we have to get through a crazy week.  I have three church meetings this week at church.  This doesn't always happen but I guess you can say the stars aligned.  This week is all about fast meals to help us get through this busy week.

Monday: Kielbasa, Pepper, Onion and Potato Hash
Recipe from The Two Bite Club

Tuesday: Philly Cheesesteak Burgers
Recipe here














Wednesday: School Fund at Moe's Southwest Grill

Thursday: Store Bought Quiche and Salad
I like buying a quiche and throwing an arugula salad together for a quick meal.  Changes up getting a frozen pizza or making a grilled cheese.













Friday: Chicken Tortilla Soup
My husband found this recipe on Reddit.  He's going to cook it too!!

Saturday: Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce
Recipe here

Sunday: Pot Roast
The recipe is a family secret.  Here is a similar recipe

Meal Plan Monday: November 30th - December 6th

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am not ready to go back to work.  I have had a wonderful weekend of online Black Friday shopping.  Did you go shopping this weekend?

Monday: Baked Potato and Chicken Noodle Soup
Mom' s Chicken Noodle

Tuesday: Baked Chicken Fajita's 
Recipe from Budget Bytes

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin, Sweet Potatoes and Arkansas Green Beans
We ended up having left-over in place of this meal last week.

Thursday: White Pizzas
Recipe is here

Friday: To Go Salads
Parent's Night Out at our church.  We are going to wrap presents while the kids are out of the house.

Saturday: Date Night
The girls are going to a sleep-over.

Sunday: Lightened Up Shepherd's Pie
Recipe from SkinnnyTaste

Simple Thanksgiving

We had this meal for Christmas last year (and probably will again but with cranberry sauce added) but it is perfect for Thanksgiving too.  Using turkey breasts instead of a whole turkey is great for a smaller get together.  We had five adults and three kids.

Roasted Honey-Brined Turkey Breasts recipe from Wegmans

Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes recipe from Betty Crocker

Arkansas Green Beans recipe from All Recipes

Maple Butternut Squash recipe inspired by Skinnytaste

I love the extra shelves I can add to the oven to get everything ready at the same time.

Here's the spread.  I can't wait to make this meal again.

Meal Plan Monday: November 23rd - November 29th

 I feel like I was just commenting on how I couldn't believe that it was November and now here we are at Thanksgiving.  I love this holiday.  Thanksgiving is my simple Christmas.  You go straight to the family time and good meal.  Though now that I don't wait for Black Friday to start my shopping Christmas is getting less stressful.  With all the gearing up for Thanksgiving the rest of the week  can easily get forgotten but you still gotta eat!  Here is what we are having this week...

Monday: Cashew Chicken
Recipe from Wegmans

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday!
I asked for this Taco Rack for Christmas.  I like to buy the soft corn tortillas and bake them in the oven.

Wednesday: Dinner Out for a Birthday Celebration

Thanksgiving Thursday: Cucumber Salad, Kale & Butternut Squash Salad, Turkey Fruit Plate
Obviously I'm not making the main dinner.  This is what I am bringing.
Cucumber Salad Recipe
Kale & Butternut Squash Salad Inspired by Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Turkey Fruit Plate Inspired by Pinterest

Friday: Crock-pot BBQ Pulled Chicken
Recipe from Gimme Some Oven - I'm cheating and using Wegmans Organic BBQ Sauce

Saturday: Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Arkansas Green Beans
Green Bean Recipe from All Recipes - You must make these sometime!

Sunday: Baked Chimichanga 
Recipe from Six Sister Stuff

Meal Plan Monday: November 16th - November 22nd

Countdown to Thanksgiving!  I'm gearing up with having our nutrition being on point!  I even made some Chicken Salad and Turkey Chili from the Fixate Cookbook for my lunches.  I was feeling a little tired of  salads last week so I thought I would liven things up at bit.  Of course we start Monday with a salad for dinner.  Go Figure!

Monday:  Cheddar Baked Potato Soup and Salad
Recipe from From Forks to Fitness
My girls have been loving Potato Soup from restaurants.  I like to duplicate things they like in hope that they will actually eat dinner without the constant reminder to actually eat dinner.

Tuesday:  Pesto Pasta
Pasta is always a good choice when you need a quick dinner and I have a PTA meeting this evening.

Wednesday:  Italian Chicken and Peppers
Recipe from Budget Bytes
Trying a new crockpot meal.

Thursday:   Sweet Potato Ricotta Gnudi in Pumpkin Sauce
Recipe from Fixate Cookbook

Friday:  Dinner Out
Both girls have dance at the same time!  Date night!!

Saturday:  Not sure what is going on this day.

Sunday: Chicken Scallopini with Pesto  

Chicken Recipe from Weight Watchers
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup marsala wine
2 tablespoons pesto
4 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese

Meal Plan Monday: November 9th - November 15th

So of course as soon as I vented about the dance everything fell into place and there was nothing to stress about.  Like calling the IT guy and then figuring out your problem.  By Friday I had so much excited energy it took everything I had to not jump in and dance; but, I had strict orders not to bust a move. It was a success if I say so myself.  I did have to give up my quiet night too myself but it was well worth it!

This Wednesday is my oldest daughters 10th birthday.  She has been waiting for this birthday since she turned 9.  She can not wait to be a preteen!  I have so many mixed emotions about this birthday.  I'm excited to see her grow and mature but she is growing faster than I can keep up.

Monday - Panera Bread Fund Raiser for the School

Not a bad choice as Panera always lands on the clean eating restaurant lists.  I hear the menu changed so I will definitely check it out and decide before we go.  

Tuesday - Black Bean Enchiladas

Meatless Monday on Tuesday!

Recipe from Wegmans / Gluten-Free version 

Wednesday - Cheeseburgers

My daughters favorite meal!

Thursday - Short Ribs and Polenta

We have a few friends at Disney this week and they have inspired me to make one of my favorite meals I had when we were there a couple weeks ago.  

Recipe from Cooking Light

From Chef Mickey's

Friday - Egg Roll in a Bowl

Take out at home!  We love this recipe.  It turned out so well last time.  I hope I can duplicate its tastiness.  

Saturday - Dinner Out

More birthday celebrating!

Sunday - Chicken Spiedies and Roasted Vegetables

Spiedies Pronounced "speedies"
Spiedies were originally from Italy. They are marinated cubes of meat, traditionally lamb, cooked on a skewer like a kebab. Pork, chicken, veal, venison, and beef are also used. The meat is marinated and then grilled. The marinade recipe varies, usually involving olive oil, vinegar, and a variety of Italian spices and fresh mint. The meat is then served on Italian bread. The bread is used to take the meat off of the skewer. I was able to find bottle Spiedie marinade at my grocery store.

Meal Plan Monday: November 2nd - November 8th

This week is going to be mad crazy.  I have been planning a Father Daughter dance for the girl's school and it is this Friday.  I have helped plan lots of events for our church so I'm not sure why this event is causing me so much stress.  To be honest I'm ready for it to be here and done.  One minute I tell myself to keep it simple and it's going to be great. Then I think about the To Do list that never seems to get shorter.  As soon as I think I can cross something off my list another something gets added.  Like ordering dresses on Wednesday because you have no time to shop and finally have UPS update to say they will be delivered the day AFTER the dance.  Or emailing parents to let them know they won a prize only to have their emails be returned.  Ugh nothing checked off the To Do list.  In the end I know everything will work out and it is going to be great I just don't know why the road to get there is not cooperating.  Such is life I guess.  I'm telling you this because the meal plan this week is a bit wonky so I thought you might want to know why I'm not doing that much cooking.  I'm giving myself as much extra time as I can.

Monday: Crockpot Baked Potatoes and Salad
These are prepped and ready to be thrown in the crock-pot before we head out to dance.  Hubby has a meeting he will be heading to shorty after we get home.  We will be topping the potatoes with black beans and salsa and I have a southwest bag salad ready to serve with it. I'm wishing I had picked up an avocado now.
Potato Recipe from Food.com.  There are tons on Pinterest too.

Tuesday: Steak, Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts
My youngest has a craving for steak so we picked up some perfect portioned New York strips.  These are very thin and used to make my husband very sad  but he has come around and was actually full the last time we had them.

Wednesday: National Eating Healthy Day! 
Pasta and Sauce
Pretty much this is spaghetti night but my oldest doesn't like spaghetti noodles.  Likes every other pasta shape! I have a planned dinner out with my Mom's Group.

Thursday: Sushi
The night before the dance!  I'm banking on last minute To Do errands so hubby said that he would pick up veggie sushi from Wegmans.

Friday: Sandwiches
Pretty much this night's dinner is eat something sometime.  Sandwiches are pretty easy.

Saturday: Hubby's Plan
I asked Hubby to make dinner or plan on eating out because I plan on shopping for my daughter's birthday on this day and don't want to have the stress of having to be back in time to cook dinner.

Sunday: Football Potluck
We are having some Patriots and Redskins fans over to watch the game.  So far I have come up with Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (maybe as a slider) and smashed red potatoes.  See what I did there? ;)
Meatball recipe from Skinnytaste
Red Potatoes from The Pioneer Woman

Enjoy your week!  I'll see you on the other side.  lol

Meal Plan Monday: October 26th - November 1st

I can't believe I just wrote November.  The crazy holiday season is upon us.  We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween this year! It's always nice when it ends up on a weekend.  We have a tradition of picking up a Jack-o-Lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's on Halloween.  Do you have a tradition for Halloween?

Here's what we are having for dinner this week...

Monday:  21 Day Fix Sloppy Joes
Recipe from Fixate

Tuesday:  Taco Tuesday

Wednesday:  Breakfast Dinner

Thursday:  Buffalo Chicken Pita Pizzas
Recipe Coming Soon
Did you know that Franks Red Hot is free on the 21 Day Fix program?

Friday:  Pork Tenderloin and Chunky Applesauce with Broccoli and Cauliflower
Recipe from Cooking Light

Saturday:  Jack-o-Lantern Pizza and Baked Ziti
I need to change my Baked Ziti recipe because I used to add cream cheese too my sauce.  It's not really 21 Day Fix approved anymore.  I will definitely use the left over Fixate sauce I'm making for the Sloppy Joes.

Sunday:  Beef Marsala Stew
Recipe from Cooking Light
I have wanted to make this recipe for some time.  Perfect for Sunday dinner.

Meal Plan Monday: October 19th - October 25th

Wow!  We had the best vacation at Disney.  It really is the happiest place on earth.  Such a magical place.  Reality quickly set in with unpacking, laundry and of course meal planning.  This week we will be having some of my favorite fall meals.

Bonus Recipe from Sunday: Beef and Vegetable Potpie

Recipe from Cooking Light

I substituted the zucchini for butternut squash and the breadstick dough for Immaculate pie crust.

Monday: Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas 

Recipe from Skinnytaste

Tuesday: Kielbasa, Pepper, Onion and Potato Hash

Recipe from The Two Bite Club

Wednesday: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Thursday: Skillet-Toasted Penne with Chicken Sausage

Recipe from Skinnytaste

Friday: Fall Festival at the school, Subway

Saturday: Potluck Trunk or Treat at church, Green Salad and Butternut Squash Soup
I'll share the recipe later. I'm competing in a cook-off.

Sunday: Dorito Enchilada Casserole 

Recipe from Charlie Gibson 

Meal Plan Monday: All Time Favorites

We are in Disney this week so we will be eating from that Meal Plan instead.  I have put together a list of my most popular meals on the blog.

1. Pita Pizza - Recipe Inspired from Fits Simple - I added sausage, made the sauce less chunky and added arugula on top.

2.  Egg Roll in a Bowl - This recipe is great for Friday Night "Take Out" nights.

3. Zoodles and Turkey Meatballs from the Fixate Cookbook - This is the number one recipe on the blog and of my Pinterest posts.  You have to get the cookbook for the recipe!  It's so good.

4. Cracker Barrel Chicken Tenderloins

5. Tomato Pesto Grilled Cheese - I want one just thinking about it.

I can't wait to share the awesome meals we have at Disney.  Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram!
I will be doing the 3 Day Refresh after my trip.  Leave a comment, if you would like to join me or if you would like some more information.

 

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Meal Plan Monday: October 5th - October 11th

What a start to October.  As I am writing this the sun is finally making its first appearance in six days.  Of course, it is setting at the same time but it has me looking forward to tomorrow.  This week has the possibility to go by very quickly or very slowly.  We are taking the girls to Disney for this first time this Saturday.  So it will go by quickly because we have so much to do.  Or it will drag because we are all so excited.

Here is what we are having for dinner this week:

Monday: Cashew Chicken
Recipe from Wegmans
We love this recipe and have not had it in forever.  Can't wait!

Tuesday: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower
Meatloaf Recipe from this month's Cooking Light Magazine
Mashed Potatoes Recipe from The Chic Life

Wednesday: Restaurant Fundraiser
This is a fundraiser for my daughters dance company.

Thursday: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage-Walnut Butter
Recipe from Food Network the butternut squash instead of cheese.
This is one of those super easy recipes that comes together so nicely that it feels like a restaurant meal at home.  Great for a date night in.
The girls are having their regular Kid Fresh Mac and Cheese.

Friday: Wegmans Pizza
It is going to be a busy night.  Going with an easy dinner!

Saturday: Leave for Disney!!

Make sure to follow me on Facebook to see all of our yummy Disney dinners!