Let's Eat (Halloween Edition!)

Happy Halloween Week!  This week I'm sharing some festive recipes for you and your's!  Enjoy if you dare.

Let's Eat!  (We are working backwards in a way this week...dinner first!)

Dinner -

We love meat loaf in my house.  It is by far my husband's favorite main dish.  Here is a scary take on meat loaf from Fabulessly Frugal:  Meat Loaf Zombie!



Every week we boil eggs to have on hand for breakfasts and snacks.  Maybe this week I will devil them up like they did over at Tadka Pasta?  We'l have them for a side!






Here's a breakfast / dessert option - home made pumpkin pie pop tarts from The Recipe Girl



Well there are some yummy ideas for this week.  I hope you have a fun filled week ahead!  See ya later!

Let's Eat

Now we're in the thick of it - fall that is - lets have a yummy and delicious week together.



Lemon Chicken & Potatoes in Foil from Damn Delicious

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup from Gimme Some Oven

Meat Loaf

Breakfast pick of the week....



Easy Cheesey Breakfast Casserole from Gimme Some Oven

Lunch Bowl of the Week...



Chicken & Broccoli Lunch Bowls from An Edible Mosiac

Fun Dessert of the Week:



Pumpkin Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cooking Classy


Mmm, what ya eating this week, darling?

Let's Eat

Grab a fork and dig in.  It is tine for this week's food piece!

To celebrate fall, we pull out our crock pots!

Breakfast....

Now that it is officially fall you can trust the best apples are ripe.  You can also trust that this girl has oatmeal ready to go in the crisp mornings that autumn offers.  I love oatmeal, my kids love oatmeal, my husband doesn't eat, and my dog is all about any human food.

Apples and oatmeal go together like -



Overnight Apple Oatmeal

Two power foods melding together in your crock pot while you catch your beauty sleep - sounds perfect.  It does call for a bit more of the sugar and butter than you want for a heart healthy option.  Be smart and do some subbing - if you cannot have butter use a margarine or butter knock off.  For sugar you can sub in stevia or any other healthier option.

Lunch

I mentioned in August how awesome bento boxing is.  Last year the fad was salads in a jar.  Now I am loving the way bento is going a step further to "lunch bowls" - one bowl chock full of healthy and yummy food.  Though it may look like grown up food these are great for kids too.  My bowl pick for the week is Easy Burrito Bowls



I love how this will work great for dinner too!

Dinners

Last weekend we purchased an 8lb bag of potatoes.  This isn't normal for us.  Why did we buy an 8lb bag when we rarely eat potatoes?  Because it was cheaper than buying 4 single spuds.  My husband said, "You can make potato soup."

Smart man.

Slow Cooker Skinny Potato Soup


Slow Cooker Italian Chicken


Beef Tips in Mushroom Sauce


Happy slow cooking!!!

Let's Eat!

For the week of September 20th....

Let’s Eat!

Hey guys back for another Let’s Eat Edition today.  I’m focusing on maxing out what is already in the cabinet, pantry, and freezer.  Sometimes you don’t feel like going to the grocery store.  Other times you really don’t have the money to go to the grocery store.  Realistically, you probably do not need to go to the market because this is America and we waste more food than we eat.

I have a challenge for you this week – utilize what you have on hand to make meals.  Take inventory of every inch of your kitchen and then plug in ingredients into websites like allrecipes.com and find out what different dishes you can make.

This will save you a lot of money and also allow you to see how much you actually have on hand.

Here are some things I’m making this week with what I have on hand:

Breakfast

Pumpkin Spice Muffins are the idea for the week...
These muffins are simple and satisfying and not terribly horrendous on your middle or heart.

1 can of pumpkin puree and a spice cake mix – mix together and bake for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.



Also Pepperidge Farms seasonal swirl breads are out and I really like the Caramel Pie and the Pumpkin Spice.  Just go easy on them because they are high in calories.

Lunch/Dinner

Easy Meatball Calzones

I found this on the website:  {Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom}. 

Meatballs, pizza crust, pizza sauce, cheese, yes easy!

This is something that the majority of my household will really enjoy eating. I can also pack these in the lunchbox!  I love a double score.  (If you are in my area:  Harris Teeter has meatballs as part of this week's meal deal!)

Add in avocado for some healthy fats and an even better taste!

My go to lunch is a spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, boiled egg, olives and celery.  Why is she sharing this?  Because I hear of people who have fresh spinach for a recipe but never really use it for anything else.  Do this!  It is healthy and so filling thanks to the protein from the egg.  Spinach is incredibly healthy with all the vitamins and nutrients that leafy greens offer.  Your doctor will be super proud of you.  Stay away from creamy dressings and opt for vinaigrette's.

Here’s your lunch box site for the week:  {From Live Simply: 7 Lunches You Can Make & Freeze}
Recently, I read an article about how more of us freeze meals in the fall and winter than any other time of year.  This post has seven great ideas of lunch foods (and dinner) that you can whip up in bulk and slide in the freezer for easy lunch packing.

Dinners

Salsa Verde Chicken

One of our favorites – green salsa, chicken breast together in the crock pot for the day then cover with Monterrey jack cheese for the last thirty minutes of cooking.  Yes, I’ve posted it before!  Consider serving it over rice one night and turning it into tacos the next.  Of course you could freeze half and save it for next week!

Progresso Night

You know we love soup.  Duh.  Serve it up with a grilled cheese and apple slices and we’re happy!  I do this on Wednesday nights aka church night.  We are in a rush and need a quick healthy meal.

It is Chili Time!!!

I plan on making a big pot of chili later in the week.  This is the ultimate cabinet clean out crock pot meal.  Beans of all sorts, corn, tomatoes, garlic, onion, pepper, meat if you opt in for that, it is fabulous!  I like to add all sorts of spices and seasonings to mix it up and play with the flavor.  I’m not posting a recipe for this because I think you should get creative with chili.

Have a great week!  See you on Monday with Monday, May I?

Let's Eat!

Here's Let's Eat for September 13-19th, 2015!

We’re getting closer to fall so my palate is starting to change just like the weather patterns.  I am looking for more versatile meals and trying to cater to yet curb my sweet tooth.  September is a busy month so let’s look at some meals to help us take a load off in the kitchen!

Breakfast

Around our home the kid is still eating skimpy at breakfast – a Nutri-grain bar and a yogurt.  I am still stuck on my bagels but ready to get some of the fun flavored ones for the season change.  We’re also moving towards a muffin kick around the house.  However, I’m toying with some recipes.  Here are a few to share with you…

These are the protein packed muffins and they are customizable!

Protein Packed Muffins

Lemon Poppy Seed Energy Bites

Skinny Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Lunches

My favorite lunch is a spinach salad with chopped boiled egg, black olives, celery and chopped tomato.  Mmmm, truly love it my favorite, for reals.

This week several dinners will be able to be packed in the old box de lunch.  I will just heat them up and then toss them in so the Diva will enjoy them a few hours later in the cafeteria.

Great ideas for kids and adults from one of my favorite sites!

My lunch pin of the week comes from Family Fresh Meals I adore this site for food ideas!  Last week’s lasagna soup was picked up from this site as well.  These ideas are kid and adult friendly.   They also help make the shopping list a bit simpler.

Dinner

As you already know we’re a soup family.  We love some soup all the time and any time.  This week I’m going to make a stew in place of our regular soup night.  The stew I have decided on is Cowboy Stew and I’m using the recipe from Betty Crocker.  This is hearty stew that I think I will be able to stretch from dinner to the lunchbox the next day.  

If you follow my Pinterest boards then the next meal is not surprise. Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing will probably be a huge hit with my kids and husband.  I will be honest with you, I’m not too thrilled to make this because the sodium level is going to be insane.  Expect me to tweak this dish and I’ll give you a full report on it on a future Tasty Tuesday post!

You may remember a week ago my kids were turning all Italian on me wanting lasagna and spaghetti in the same week.  Last week I agreed to make the lasagna soup.  This week I’m going to bring back my classic baked spaghetti.  I love to make this dish because we always have leftovers.

Finally, I think we’re past due on having a big fat salad night.  I plan to fire up the grill and throw some marinated chicken on and make a large and fresh spinach and dandelion salad complete with cukes, tomatoes, egg, carrots, and whatever other veggie the kids are up for.

Well that’s this week in a nutshell.  I hope you have a relaxing and wonderful Sunday or Monday (or whatever day you are reading this).  I appreciate you and would love to hear from you too!

  

Let's Eat!

Hey, hey!  Another week of prepping, cooking and eating ahead.

Well we made it past the second full week of school and today we're rockin' a holiday. All I can say is so far SO good!

I noticed last week that my daughter became interested in eating breakfast again.  She wanted a yogurt and a Nutri Grain bar.  To be completely honest with you she's easing into wanting mom to cook large, elaborate breakfasts (a.k.a. homemade waffles) by the end of the month.  Just watch.



The last Sam's trip I ventured out on I picked up a multi pack of Nutri Grain bars which included a box of the apple cinnamon, blueberry, and strawberry.  Also worth noting the box had a code in it for a free book of my daughter's choosing.  Scholastic and Kellogg's teamed up to do this wonderful program.  We ordered a book by Dave Pilkey, you know the Captain Underpants genius.

I'm telling you all this to inform you of a great program and to say, it is OK to feed your kid a Nutri Grain bar and yogurt for breakfast. (Especially when it comes with a free book.)

Snacks

Right now is a great time to buy:

Apples
Grapes
Pears

And you know what else?  Those are fabulous snacks.  If you leave the peel on they are even more fabulous because a lot of the nutrition is in the skin/peel.

Pair these with a protein so they stick around longer on the tummies.  I suggest nut butter and cheese sticks and Greek yogurt!

Dinners
(Wait, did she skip lunch?)

I mean this is why you read this post, right? Riiiiiiight.

Since I'm working more this week I'm relying on my old trust friend Mr. Crock Pot. I asked my kids last week what they wanted for dinner this week and this is what I heard:

"SPAKETTI!"
"LASAGNA!"

I was baffled are my children blonde Italians?

I cannot do spaghetti and lasagna in the same week.  I just cannot do that to my intestines.  So instead I'm making this....

Click here for this site!

We are going to fill the soup night with a crock pot LASAGNA soup!  Kids are happy because they get soup (their favorite) and one of their requests (lasagna).  Then it will go into the lunchbox the next day as not a soup but a lasagna.  How fabulous is that?  Totally.

(Ahhh she didn't skip the lunch grouping...you're comprehending that now.)

Our other meals of the week include:

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Beef Nacho Casserole

Fun meal:  Sloppy Joe's

Here's why I skipped lunch....

A lot of the main courses this week will carry over to lunches this week!  I love versatility in meals.  This will save a lot of money and time.  In case you haven't noticed your grocery bill tends to rise during the school year.