Here's What's Cooking {No. 5}

SHE'S BACK! And it feels so good. Whew. This week was a little stressful, but the big chunk of my portfolio project has been submitted. Now on to having a little bit of fun today!

Tonight is the first Saturday night service at our church and we are really excited to be serving and involved in growing our church!

After church some friends are coming over for game night. Here are a few ideas for Mexican-inspired appetizers:

Source: eatliverun.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: mykitchenaddiction.com via Arlene on Pinterest

Source: simplyscratch.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Coronas and Margaritas are a must.

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: mojitosandblow.tumblr.com via Rose on Pinterest

Here is this week's line up:
 

Sunday / Monday: Roasted Tomato & Spinach Pasta

Source: howsweeteats.com via Megan on Pinterest

Tuesday / Wednesday: Kale Mock Lasagna

Source: kalynskitchen.com via Megan on Pinterest

Thursday / Friday: Healthy Chicken Enchiladas

Source: christineavanti.com via Megan on Pinterest

Saturday: Clean up & Eat whatever's left over!

Oky doky...I'm off to do some shopping! Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Here's What's Cooking {No. 4}

It is Sunday already. This week is shaping up to look a lot like last week...but I am going to stay positive and trust that I am not alone and I don't have to do it alone. That will be the cry of my heart this week.

One important thing for me when my week looks like it's going to kick me around and spit me out on Friday evening, is to have a well planned menu. A tasty, healthy meal at the end of an altogether miserable day can really turn it around!

So here is what's cooking...

Sunday / Monday: Low Calorie Baked Potato Soup (see last week's post to check it out)

Source: skinnytaste.com via Megan on Pinterest

Tuesday / Wednesday: Mushroom Marsala Pappardelle

Source: rachaelraymag.com via Megan on Pinterest

Thursday / Friday: Honey Sesame Chicken w/ Brown Rice

Source: sixsistersstuff.com via Megan on Pinterest

Saturday / Sunday:  Stuffed Shells w/ Sausage & Spinach

Source: foodgawker.com via Megan on Pinterest

Grocery List:
olive oil
garlic
Chives
flat leaf parsley
2 lbs cremini mushrooms
Marsala wine
Parmesean-Reggiano
spinach
chicken broth
jumbo pasta shells
1 lb fresh pork sausage
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package frozen spinach
chicken breasts
honey
soy sauce
sesame seeds
frozen broccoli

In the kitchen: 
pappardelle pasta
butter
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
onion
ketchup
red pepper flakes
cornstarch
brown rice


I'm really excited about these meals! Check in on Tasty Tuesday to hear how last weeks menu shaped up!

Here's What's Cookin {No. 3}

Have you ever planned out a weekly menu? Once you start, it will totally change your life. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but seriously...it's a game changer. It takes some time, and you have to be willing to stick to it to save money (you don't want to end up wasting food if you change your mind last minute), but it takes away so much stress!

Last week I kind of over planned. By a lot. But it worked out rather wonderfully.

Forrest made dinner on Monday night, and on Tuesday I baked a Chicken & Broccoli Casserole which took us through Thursday night. Thursday I was itching to bake something so I made molasses cookies. I was feeling it in the kitchen, so I went ahead and made the curry I had planned on making that night anyway. Forrest surprised me with a date night Friday evening, so we enjoyed the curry Saturday and Sunday instead. So "Whatever happened to the Sweet Potato & Ground Turkey Shepard's Pie?" you ask...well I am making it tomorrow night. So here is the menu I have planed to take us through the week of 1.23 - 1.30:

Monday / Tuesday:
Sweet Potato & Ground Turkey Shepard's Pie

Source: oxygenmag.com via Megan on Pinterest

Wednesday / Thursday:
Mexican Lasagna

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest

Friday / Saturday:
Low Calorie Baked Potato Soup

Source: skinnytaste.com via Megan on Pinterest

Breakfast:
I'm sticking with the cocoa, peanut butter and banana smoothies and hard boiled eggs (1 whole & 1 w/out the yolk).

Morning Snack:
1 grapefruit

Lunch:
I'm going to simplify a bit this week and take leftovers.

Pre-Workout Snack:
1 chocolate crunch rice cake w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter
 

Grocery List:
rosemary
2 lbs ground chicken or turkey
1 can black beans
frozen corn
1 package spinach tortillas
2 packages shredded cheddar
scallions
1 small head of cauliflower
1 box of chicken broth
1 package turkey bacon

Substitutions:
Lasagna -- yellow onion instead of red
Soup -- scallions for chives, almond milk for low-fat milk

Already in my kitchen:
sweet potatoes
1 lb ground turkey
Greek yogurt
salt, pepper, olive oil
onions
celery
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
russet potatoes
fat free sour cream
chili powder, cumin
taco sauce


I get so excited every week about the recipes I find! Be looking for my take on Vegetable Curry coming up on Tasty Tuesday, and tomorrow you will find out a few other ways you can be following the Casita Cory Blog! Stay tuned!

Here's What's Cooking {No. 2}

What a fabulous weekend! I'm posting a little late on this because I flew in from Nashville around midday and have been busy getting ready for my week to start. Whew.

Our menu is a little different this week because my wonderful hubby cooked dinner for me tonight to help me have more time to get all settled. What a treat! So here's what's cooking at Casita Cory!

Menu Week of January 16

Tuesday / Wednesday: Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

Source: myrecipes.com via Megan on Pinterest

Thursday / Friday: Sweet Potato & Ground Turkey Shepard's Pie

Source: oxygenmag.com via Megan on Pinterest

Saturday / Sunday: Vegetable & Chickpea Curry w/ Whole Grain Rice

Source: cookinglight.com via Megan on Pinterest

Grocery List:
onion
ginger
serrano chili
3c. chickpeas
2 baking potatoes
green bell pepper
frozen cut green beans
vegetable broth
3 c. baby spinach
light coconut milk 1c
1 lemon
12 oz broccoli florets
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can evaporated fat free milk
fat free mayonnaise
fat free sour cream
sherry
cream of mushroom soup
grated parm cheese
rosemary
celery
ground turkey breast
1 bag frozen mixed veggies

Breakfast:
Hard Boiled Eggs
Banana & Peanut Butter with Cocoa Powder, Greek Yogurt & Almond Milk Smoothie

Morning Snack:
Greek Yogurt (coconut)


Lunch:
1 cup whole grain spaghetti w/ low-fat veggie pasta sauce
1/2 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup spinach
1 tbsp Auntie Annie's Goddess Dressing

Afternoon Snack:
Mixed Nut Trail Mix

I'm excited to make curry this week because I have never tried that before. I have been craving a chicken and broccoli casserole, but didn't want all of the fat, so I am happy that I stumbled upon this recipe!

Weekly Menu {Jan. 9}

Back in September I wrote out a 9 week menu and cooked the majority of the food in advance and froze it to make my life easier. And it totally did. For that season of my life the 9 week menu saved me so much time and energy that I just did not have to invest in menu planning.

With the dawn of 2012 (a shorter commute and an easier semester in grad school), I have decided to change things around a bit and re-prioritize my time. I love to cook healthy fresh meals, and even though that menu was mostly healthy, I actually want to focus this year on cooking with fewer carbohydrates and eating more lean proteins. To cut back on carbs I knew it was time to say good-bye to Mexican Mondays and Italian Tuesdays.

I have decided to set aside about 20 minutes to plan my meals on Sundays and do my big grocery shopping trip then. My menu will plan for meals from Sunday to Sunday so that I won't have to brave the stores on Friday or Saturday to get food for the weekend. The 9 week plan was great, and I thought not planning the weekends ahead would give me more flexibility, and it did, but the Friday night / Saturday morning grocery trips to get food for Sat/Sun were less than enjoyable. I'm not sure that there is one perfect way to plan for eating healthy, but I think this change will be a good one for 2012.

So here it is:

Weekly Menu {Jan. 9 - 15}
This week will be a little tricky for us because I will be out of town celebrating my baby sister's July nuptials, so I have planned a pretty easy meal for Forrest to get him through Fri, Sat & Sun nights.

Breakfast Menu:
Mini breakfast quiches w/ Spinach, tomato and mushrooms (no cheese)
1/2 grapefruit

Lunch Menu:
Spinach salad w/ Baked Chicken, Cucumbers, carrots & tomatoes
1 Clementine

Snacks:
(am) Greek yogurt
(pm) Craisin & Nut trail mix (mix of raw almonds and cashews)

Sunday & Monday: Turkey Burgers w/ Sweet Potato Chips

Source: oxygenmag.com via Megan on Pinterest

Tuesday & Wednesday: Chicken Florentine w/ Brown Rice

Source: oxygenmag.com via Megan on Pinterest

Thursday & Friday: Sweet & Smokey Turkey Chili w/ Steamed Veggies

Source: oxygenmag.com via Megan on Pinterest

Saturday & Sunday: Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce & Steamed Veggies
(no recipe included here...just cook whole wheat spaghetti according to box directions, cook meat in medium skillet until browned then stir in spaghetti sauce...serve with microwave steamed veggies)

Grocery List
8 - 10 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 14 oz cans crushed tomatoes (if you can find fire roasted crushed get 1 can of those)
Fresh spinach (10 oz for florentine, about 8 oz for quiches and the rest for salads during the week)
Grape or cherry tomatoes
1 bunch fresh parsely
1 bunch celery
Garlic
2 lbs lean ground turkey
1 can black beans
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
Thin Whole Wheat Burger Buns
Yoplait Greek Yogurt (I found coconut--yum)
Clementines
1 package whole wheat spaghetti
1 can spaghetti sauce
Romaine lettuce
Tomatoes
1 bag baby carrots

You can check the recipes and decide what else you might need to get. I had some things around the kitchen like the brown rice to serve with the Chicken Florentine and the sweet potatoes.

My goal for this week is to stick to the menu and eat only the snacks I allow myself each day.

9 Week Menu Update & Printables

I have been wanting to post this all week, so here it is! 


This 9 week menu plan is the best idea I have ever had. The stress I have been feeling about cooking and grocery shopping is completely lifted. Last week all of the meals were delicious and took no more than 20 minutes to prepare. I posted pictures last week of the Fajitas and Pesto Tortellini with Sun-dried Tomatoes which you can check out here along with the Week 2 menu, grocery list and recipe card. The week rounded out wonderfully with the BBQ chicken serving as dinner Friday and lunch on Saturday. I made a pasta casserole for dinner Saturday which took us through lunch and 1/2 a dinner on Sunday (we only had one portion left at dinner...guess who got it--hint*itwasntme*). 


On Monday we actually decided last minute to celebrate our anniversary out. I was kind of relieved because as much as I love my Big Ole Burrito recipe, nothing about refried beans sounds romantic on your anniversary.


Tuesday night the Penne with Vodka Sauce and Baby Bellas took approximately 15 minutes to throw together (once the water came to a boil), and on Wednesday the chili and spicy cornbread totally rocked my socks. 

Vegetarian Chili with Spicy Cornbread

I froze half of the cornbread after baking it for the next chili week

Here are my favorite things about the planned ahead meals:
1) I no longer waste time during my day worrying about how to get everything done
2) I have had time each night to work on my grad school work for about an hour or more
3) I don't have to eat the same meal two nights in a row
4) I look forward to picking what I get to eat for Leftover Thursdays
5) I have more time to bake and think about what to bake
6) I have more time to blog


Here is the grocery list and menu for week 2...I'm sorry I am just posting it, but I will have week 3 posted Saturday morning! I changed the format on it just a bit, so let me know what you think. 

Click to enlarge, download and print!

Have any of you tried any of the ideas in the 9 Week Menu yet? Are they working for you? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Just another not-so-manic Monday...

Mexican Monday: Chicken & Steak Fajitas w/ Spanish Rice

Some people really hate Mondays. I can understand why. The weekend comes to an end, no more lounging on the sofa or late night dinners with friends. Once the work week starts some of my favorite things get put on hold until Friday comes around again.


But I actually really love Mondays. I love a new beginning. A new day, a new week and a chance to start fresh. It's like every seven days I hit a reset button somewhere in my psyche and old habits I want to shed or new hopes I have for self-improvement get another chance. I like that. By Thursday some of my resolve and excitement may have faded, but that Monday morning feeling that I get--to start again--is something I look forward to. 

Tues: Cheese Tortellini and Sundried Tomatoes with Pesto 

This Monday I kicked off my first week of our 9 week menu-athon (get it..haha). A few posts ago I gave you the calendars I created with 9 weeks of pre-planed, pre-cooked, and pre-purchased meals. I work full-time and am also working on my masters degree online at night, so I was looking for a way to simplify my life. 

After a day at work and a good butt-kicking at the gym, my possible hours for grad school work begin preciously ticking away. Normally I frantically scan my brain thinking of what I will be cooking and how long it is going to take to get it done. And then there are the days that I forget something for a recipe and have to run to the grocery store on my way home. My anxiety starts to build. By the time I get home from the gym and showered, I resent the meal I am about to cook so much I feel that resentment in every bite. It is just plain awful for me to eat a meal I can't even enjoy. 


To make my life a little easier until I finish my masters in May, I decided to try this menu idea and see if it made my day-to-day dinner making easier. 


I cannot tell you how great it felt yesterday after sweating to the oldies in BodyStep to head home knowing that all I had to do was chop up some peppers and onions and throw them into a skillet with my previously prepared chicken and steak strips while the Spanish rice simmered away on the stove. I had a plan and all of my materials. I felt calm as I cooked. It was comforting to  know that within 20 minutes I would be sitting down to catch up with my hubby over a delicious meal. No stress. By 8:45 I was at my desk click-clacking away at my instructional analysis flowchart. That my friends is victory. 


I even had a chance late in the evening to do some research on formatting the blog and have made some updates. Let me know what you like and if there is anything you would like me to fix. I also am new to blogging, so if you have any tips on ways to enhance your blog, I would love to know!

To try and make it so that you can follow along on the 9 week menu, I have created a grocery list, menu reminder and mini recipe card that highlights what you will need for this week's menu. Let me know if you like the format or if you think I could make it more user-friendly in the future.  You can print it out and fold it in half for easy carrying.

 

Keep cooking :)

Megan