Hunkered Down & Creating Cuisine

Ahh - we are in one of those Twilight Zone weekends, known as the unscheduled weekend... where it's bizarrely productive and relaxing all at the same time.  This weekend has resulted in fall decorating, pumpkin bread baking, fashion origami, embroidery (look at what I'm chomping to start with the girls for xmas presents), homework, reading, and  a little dance & soccer practice to round it out quite nicely :-).  These types of low-key weekends are a bit of an anomaly in our house, and are supremely welcomed.  Let's talk about the work I got caught up on, as well as the 11 hour night sleep I got Friday night  in which I had to wake up to put the girls to bed - YES, that's what I'm talking about!!      -- Geez, I sound old. Wait, what's that? I don't care! --

Before I break out my plan for the week, I wanted to show some pictures of the Vegan Panini Breakdown... one of my healthy eating challenges (well 1 of them), is I don't like to feel hungry after I've finished a meal.  I like that satiated, full feeling from eating something hearty, and I'm pretty sure that's why I love the Vegan Panini so much.  It's huge, tasty and full of veggies - the perfect tri-fecta!  Even if you're not a dairy free fan, I still recommend using hummus instead of cheese, as it melts nicely, and is so tasty with all of the veggies.... 

Directions:  Load on a great combination of veggies, slather on hummus as your condiment, melt and grill to perfection... and enjoy!  Check out this Pinterest search and see all the crazy combo's available.

This Week - Basic Planning, nothing too wild and crazy here - definitely leaning towards the cozy weather side of meals, while trying to keep some focus on veggies :)  The Ribollita is a proven soup in our house, am trying to remember to keep it quicker during the week, and the newbie of the week is our chili on Friday!

WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Ribollita with crusty bread
• Monday - Stuffed Bell Peppers 
• Tuesday - Spaghetti, Garden Salad
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Chicken Fried Rice - butter abuse alert
• Thursday - Ham Hot Pockets *The recipe linking to is a lengthier version - I'm going to check Bob's red mill for an easier pizza/bread dough that's more ready to go..
• Friday - Crockpot - Black Bean & Sweet Potato Turkey Chili

• Jar Salad - Greek Jar Salad -
 

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)
• Grill Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week.
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Jar Salad- Greek Salad - Opaaaa!
• Other - Cooking Rice for Monday's stuffed Peppers & Wednesdays Chicken Fried Rice!

RECIPES/NOTES:

Greek Jar Salad - Load in this order:

• Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Red Onions
• Garbanzo beans
• Cooled, cooked quinoa
• Chopped Cucumbers
• Grape Tomatoes
• Kale/Spinach
• Chopped Chicken (optional)

GROCERY LIST  (Including most everything needed for recipes, just cross out the staples you already have... I won't always include some things - like spices etc.. that are always on hand.  To be on the safe side, check the recipe over to be sure you have everything!)

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Bag of onions (dn)
• Celery
• 1 zucchini
• 1 Large tomato
• 1 small bunch swiss chard
• 8 ounces mushrooms, minced
• 1-2 jalapenos, minced
• Mixed Greens
• Spinach/Kale
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Tomatoes 
• Apples
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• cilantro
• Scallions
• 4 bunches of kale
• 8oz of mushrooms
• 6 bell peppers (Love our bells - stuffing this week)
• Garlic
• Mushrooms
• Pico De Gallo
• Mango (oatmeal buffet)
• Celery
• Strawberries
• Shredded Carrots
• 1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes*

 Bulk - 

• walnuts
• cashews
• Oats

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's (dn)
• SinDawg
• Corn Tortillas
• Flour Tortillas
• Pizza Dough

Protein -

• Chicken Tenders
• Ground Turkey
• Dinner Sausage
• Turkey Lunchmeat
• Breakfast Sausage (nitrate free @ winco)
• Cubed Ham (nitrate free @ winco)
• Bacon

Freezer -

Dried Goods -

• Almond Milk
• Corn and Flour Tortillas
• Crackers - Trisquits
• Annie's or Trader joe's mac n cheese - missing food dye and other junk
• Rice (dn)
• Cereal.. Winco has Organic/GMO free Panda Puffs etc.. 10g of sugar or less -works for me & the kids think they're getting a treat
• 1 can cannellini beans
• Snacks from natural food section
• 1 28 ounce can tomatoes (not drained)
• 2 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 32 ounces beef broth (one box/carton) **I actually bought the jar of beef boullion seasoning from Costco that is all natural and tastes really great.
• 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree (make sure you’re not using pumpkin pie filling :)

Dairy -

• Parmesan
• Small carton milk
• Simple Go-Gurts

(dn - don't need, but want to store on list for using this menu later!)

Routine or Bust

Happy Sunday!

Have you ever noticed whenever you visit Costco.. that even though you've purchased 24 granola bars, they are still gone in the same time your 6 pack is?  What's wrong with this picture?  I need to hoard my goods apparently!

Another thing I'm contemplating this week is our routine - some things are really becoming habits like picking out the clothes at night & daily after school chores... others like packing lunches at night are starting to wane a bit, as well as mutiny is setting in for hot lunch.

This weekend's prep is going to include some extra lunch items. There are some great pins on making all school lunches the weekend before, so I'm going to check those out along with the 'we don't like sandwiches' pins to come up with some creative lunches ... heavy sigh - whatever happened to my PB&J child, she was so easy to please last year!  Here are some ideas that the girls are down with for the week:

• Strawberries
• Chex Mix (finding something like this at Trader Joe's)
• PBJ Tortilla Roll ups
• Turkey Cheddar kabobs
• Veggie Salad rolls
• Fruit/Nut trail mix

Veggie Upgrade this week - Vegetables in sauces.... Going to marry my love of avocados and pasta with the creamy avocado pasta recipe this week!  Not a lot of time to prep today, so keeping it simple, and heading to TJ's to help augment some healthy 'convenient' food.

As I head to the grocery store, the girls are paying me back some energy this week with some house chores - ala my most recent book favorite (albeit a cheesy title, and we don't have any bad grade issues at this point... but has great tips about working hard/determination/character! that have made a positive impact in our house: From Bad Grades to a Great Life 

Cheers to a peaceful week everyone :)
xoxo,
Meg

WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Moved to Friday night - looks like it's a potluck... will be scrambing at the store as to what to bring!
• Monday -  Creamy Avocado Pasta with sautéed shrimp
• Tuesday - Israeli Couscous salad with grilled chicken
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Panini Night!
• Thursday - Kid's Choice and Cooking Night!  Mac-N-Cheese, couscous & cooked broccoli
• Friday - Creamy Mushroom soup, garden salad, crusty bread

• Jar Salad - *Really Hoping Trader Joe's has something here to fill in :)
 
• Favorite Treat - Banana Milk... Real Oatmeal... we've been skimming by in the mornings with some instant - and it just does not look appetizing... Kudos to the girls for slurping it down, but going old-skool this week with oats that we can stir in nuts and fruit.  Kind of like the oatmeal buffet pin I've noticed popping up lately.

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)
• Grill Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week.
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Jar Salad- Not this week
• Other - 
• banana milk -  1 banana, 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1tsp vanilla & cinnamon - blend

RECIPES/NOTES:

Sautéed shrimp - I have a bag of shrimp from Costco already cooked... but I will be heating up a sauté pan, adding some of my new Mediterranean oil blend from Costco (olive, grapeseed & canola blend)... along with garlic - Adding shrimp and heating through for a quick, simple protein packed alternative to the exorbitant amount of chicken that we seem to consume.

 

Panini Night - My most favorite item to eat since operation more veggies - A veggie Panini. 

 

Here's what goes into it:

Hummus (instead of cheese)

Every vegetable you can find.. My favorite combo is:  red onion, avocado, tomato, shredded carrots, mushrooms, kale.

 

Kids Panini - Tuna melt with shredded carrots and hummus... Av loves the avocado added... Usually we do cheese for the girls, but they have become super-fans of hummus (Score 1 for Mom!), so am going to upgrade them this week!

 

Break out your George Foreman if you don't have a Panini press, and throw the sandwiches in until toasted and ready.  Please note that you really don't need a butter on the outside of the bread - they still toast up to perfection, and the hummus is warm and melted - Yum, drool worthy - Yum.

 

GROCERY LIST  (Including most everything needed for recipes, just cross out the staples you already have... I won't always include some things - like spices etc.. that are always on hand.  To be on the safe side, check the recipe over to be sure you have everything!)

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Bag of onions (dn)
• Mixed Greens
• Spinach/Kale
• Bananas
• Tomatoes 
• Apples
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• cilantro
• Scallions
• Sprouts
• 4 bunches of kale
• 8oz of mushrooms
• 3 bell peppers (Love our bells)
• Mint
• Garlic
• Mushrooms
• Pico De Gallo
• Green beans
• Mango (oatmeal buffet)
• Celery
• Strawberries
• Shredded Carrots

 Bulk - 

• walnuts
• cashews
• Oats

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's (dn)
• SinDawg
• Corn Tortillas
• Crusty Loaf of bread
• Flour Tortillas

Protein -

• Chicken Tenders
• EGGS
• Shrimp (dn)
• Turkey Lunchmeat

Freezer -

• 1 -1 pound bag frozen corn kernels
• Frozen Peas

Dried Goods -

• CousCous
• Almond Milk
• Orange Juice
• Vegetable broth (dn)
• Chicken broth (dn)
• Chocolate chips (oatmeal buffet)
• Craisins (why do I keep skipping these while shopping?!)
• Healthy snacks @ Trader Joe's for lunches
• Crackers
• Annie's or Trader joe's mac n cheese - missing food dye and other junk

Dairy -

• Small carton milk
• Coconut cream (Trader Joes' - can't wait to try this out!)
• eggs (dn)

(dn - don't need, but want to store on list for using this menu later!)

Fast & Furious Into Fall

Week's Meals | Prep | Recipes | Grocery List  

No, this is not a review of a really awful movie series (sorry to all you super fans out there..), but a wow.. school starts and here's a week of stormy weather! (update - it's crazy hot now & we all got a bit too much sun yesterday... but carry  on :))

I'm happy to say the plunge back into planning and prepping meals made the week a very smooth one. We were so prepped that we were a week early to dance class! We scurried around getting ready, found missing foot paws, repaired broken tap shoes, clambered into the car devouring granola bars to stave off starvation until dinner... only to find out after the 30 minute drive that dance starts next week. -.-

Hope y'all survived and thrived the 1st week back to school, and are enjoying less: tracked in chalk dust, a lull in demand for Band-Aids & popsicles.. an earlier bedtime for all, as well as not missing your babies too much <3.   It's such a strange contradiction, You're ready for back to school, yet miss them fiercely when they're gone.  

This week's meals have me going down Asian cuisine alley this week, so I hope you're ready for some chopstick love!

xoxo,
Meg

PS - I'm also going to be getting some canned pumpkin this week, in preparation for fall recipes and possibly pumpkin butter from Trader Joe's (this stuff looks as good as cookie butter?!) - Canned pumpkin is a good way to incorporate some veggies into muffins, pancakes and even pasta dishes - and perfect for fall!

WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Beef Noodle Pho with salad & wontons (thx Costco)
• Monday - Bbq'd Chicken legs with corn/tomato/garbanzo/avocado salad & bread/butter
• Tuesday - Chicken Satays & Shrimp Salad Rolls with dipping sauce..
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Tuna Melt Pizza's - Tandoori Naan bread for large tuna melts & veggie of choice
• Thursday - Cashew Chicken with sautéed green beans
• Friday - CrockPot - Mexican Corn & Bean Soup

• Jar Salad - Quinoa Tabouli (courtesy of Costco) with spinach & chicken added.

• Random -  Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins!  Using recipe out of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook... Appears that she uses more canned pumpkin,  applesauce, brown sugar, and a couple other swaps that give these some good healthy upgrades :)  Here's a similar recipe that looks great!

• Favorite Treat - This Sopapilla pin has been making me drool daily - I'm not going to fight it anymore - 4 ingredients, looks really easy - Dairy Free - YES

PREP DAY -
(My key sanity saver and essential to our family eating on the healthier side)

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal)

• Roast Whole Chicken (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week.

• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 

• Jar Salad- Quinoa Tabouli (courtesy of Costco) with spinach & chicken added.

• Other - 
• Pumpkin Muffins - Double Batch, freezing a bunch for easy heat-up!
• Prep chicken satays from the roasted chicken, marinade and bag up for later in the week

RECIPES/NOTES:

Beef Noodle Pho - I can't find my recipe that I had floating around here... So put on your throw it in with exact measurements cap and roll with it - This is easy, quick, warm and tasty :).  You can also search roast beef pho on pinterest

You can pretty much throw anything in that you would find a typical Asian dish... I do not recommend throwing in beets, or Italian tomatoes lol.... keep it in the Asian food profile and anything goes. I could list broccoli, bells, spinach as more throw-ins, but I like the simple version below.   Because the roast beef is already cooked - this is a chop your veggies, boil, combine and eat dish!

• 4-8 cups beef broth
• 1 lb deli roast beef
• scallions
• sliced onion
• chopped cilantro
• bean sprouts
• sliced mushrooms
• sliced jalapeno
• rice noodles  *I would like to make a note that it is hard to find the perfect rice noodle - most stores either sell the bean thread (which is a bit funky in texture), or the super thick pad thai noodles... Do your best to find something in between, and if you like the soup - stock up at the Asian market (our closest is on 181st and division)
• sesame seeds - *Did you know sesame seeds were a calcium powerhouse?
• peanuts

Soak rice noodles in separate pot, while in another pot add beef broth, sliced onion, sprouts, mushrooms, jalapeno and bring to a boil.  You may want to add in more beef broth or water if it's looking like not enough liquid.

Once it's to a boil, add roast beef to the broth, top with cilantro & sesame seed. season accordingly (AKA - Salt.. asian spice blend etc..). When ready to serve, put the rice noodles in your dinner bowls and pour soup over the top.

Salad Rolls - If you've never tried salad rolls before, I recommend you run, not walk to your local Thai or Vietnamese restaurant to do so!  These are a requirement whenever dining out, and are actually quite easy to assemble in your own home.

The trickiest ingredient is the rice paper - which can now be *usually found in supermarkets.. 

It really is up to you what you want to combo - Usually there is a protein of chicken, shrimp or tofu in them, julienned carrots, spinach/romaine, mint... if you wanted to add sprouts, scallions you could 

Soften the rice paper with a bit of water, layer your ingredients and roll.  *Note - They do not have to look like the restaurant's beautifully rolled versions to taste great - shoot, make them into a taco, and drizzle your dipping sauce and enjoy.

Finally - Hoisin, sweet chili or peanut dipping sauces can be found anywhere - try them all to see what your prefer - YUM

Chicken Satay - Chicken breast tenders skewered vertically, marinade in teriyaki, or any Asian dressing/marinade that tickles your fancy ;-)  Throw on the bbq, or stick in the oven to cook :)

Bbq'd Chicken legs with corn/tomato/garbanzo/avocado salad & bread/butter

• Simple weeknight meal - Place chicken legs in 9x9 baking pan, coat with bbq sauce and sliced onions - Bake at 375 for 35 - 40 minutes.
• Corn garbanzo salad - scroll down quite a ways on this post to read garbanzo salad throw togethers
• Dave's slice of bread & butter :)

 
Tuna Melt Pizza's - Winco, Freddy's & Costco all have this amazing Tandoori Naan bread that is so great for easy pizzas at home.  To mix up my tuna melt, I'm using naan for tuna melts. Everyone has their own recipe for tuna melts... I like to add in shredded carrots as a veggie upgrade - the kids groan when they spot it, but still inhale :)).  Layer your tuna salad, top with cheddar or hummus if you want a dairy free option, throw in the oven until toasty melted easy goodness.   

GROCERY LIST  (Including most everything needed for recipes, just cross out the staples you already have... I won't always include some things - like spices etc.. that are always on hand.  To be on the safe side, check the recipe over to be sure you have everything!)

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Bag of onions
• 1 head of romaine (egg sand/tostadas)
• Spinach/Kale - Jar Salads
• Tomatoes 
• Apples
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• 2 Bunch of cilantro
• 2 Scallions
• Sprouts
• 4 bunches of kale
• 8oz of mushrooms
• 3 bell peppers (Love our bells)
• Mint
• Garlic
• Zucchini - 1
• Pico De Gallo

 Bulk - 

• Peanuts - Roasted/Salted
• Cashews - 
• Oats

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's
• SinDawg
• Corn Tortillas
• Crusty Loaf of bread
• Pita Bread

Protein -

• Shrimp (Hallelujah Ella has grown out of her shellfish allergy!!)
• Chicken Legs
• Whole Chicken
• Turkey lunchmeat
• 1.5 lb roast beef
• EGGS

Freezer -

• Outshine Popsicles
• Puff Pastry
• 1 -1 pound bag frozen corn kernels

Dried Goods -

• Hoisin
• 2 ounces thin rice vermicelli noodles (Asian market on 181st or any grocery) 
• 8 sheets (8 ½-inch round) rice paper (Asian Market on 181st) (dn)
• 2 cans of garbanzos (during the week snack with avocado cubes, cilantro and lime juice.. toss and eat all week)
• 2 -15 ounces cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 -28 ounces can diced tomato
• 1 32 oz vegetable broth (dn)
• Triscuits
• Hoisin or sweet chili or peanut sauce
• Tortilla chips
• mayo (dn)
• Craisins
• Honey
• Cinnamon (dn)
• Sugar (dn)
• Spelt Flour - Woohoo breaking into a new kind of flour!
• Veggie Oil
• Almond Milk
• Beef Broth
• Tuna Fish

Dairy -

• String Cheese
• Individual hummus's for kids' lunches
• Eggs
• Small carton milk

(dn - don't need, but want to store on list for using this menu later!)

Sucked into Summer & Back to School Scramble!

Panzanella Italian Bread Salad -
The Best Part being olive oil
Sauteed bread cubes - Mmm!

I hope everyone got sucked into summer as much as we did! The sun, the fun, the outdoors, fresh air, and fresh foods!  What is not to love?  This is most definitely my most thriving season of the year, and if I could bottle up the summertime mojo and open it up in February, I would gladly do so.

What has been everyone's favorite summer foods?  I've literally not planned one week's menu this summer, and it's been a nice respite.  Summer = Simple & Fresh... Grilled Goods,  Salads, Fresh vegetables and fruit are all in abundance. 

I'm hitting up the zucchini this week, along with all of the great tomatoes that are springing up everywhere... Heck I'm even making my peach galettes... fresh sliced peaches over pie crust, topped with little dabs of butter (or fake butter shh), and raw sugar to make a lovely little glaze - Very simple, very delicious - Drool worthy recipe below.

Back to School!!  1st Day of school will bring warm, baked oatmeal.  A quick trip to Trader Joe's is providing some fun dried peas, good granola bars and produce for the lunch boxes.. not to mention Trader Joe's O's (organic, non chemically jacked up spaghettios), because what is the point of school, if you can't bring a thermos of Spaghettios I ask you?  A run to Grocery Outlet has given us Annie's Bunny Grahams, Some tasty almond cashew Pops cereal, as well as some Kashi cereal. Now, I know I've heard about Kashi getting a bad rap about non-gmo's etc... But if given some perspective and my 'upgrade' philosophy.. are they still wayyyyyy better than all the junk cereal out there?  Yes they are - no question.

This school year, I will be continuing:

• Sunday Soup night with a vengeance (follow my Pinterest Soup board)
• Fridays - just crock it
• Wednesday's let's make it over the hump
• and making sure a sandwich night gets thrown in for good measure too.  

As mentioned before, I don't like to make a meal more than once, so by logging these weekly meal plans, as well as dating them - I hope to increase my repeat-worthy meals, save a little time, sanity and my family's adventurous palate (Oh Wow, another concoction Mom?).  I also like to slowly upgrade our food choices, increasing health, one switch at a time.

Meal Planning on the road. This weekend, while wanting to cram as much fun & activity as possible before back to school routines, commitments and homework commences - I decided to plan my meals while in the car.  I am not a think up something on your own kind of person - I need a lot of resources to get the ideas rolling. So, I broke out my stash of cooking magazines (Oh yes.. I did), and tore out (GASP) the recipes that looked good.  Hey, if you don't use them/tear them out/whatever - chances are, the magazines will collect dust and then eventually be put into recycling - So I'm using these puppies :)  I've tried to find the recipes online.. If I couldn't you'll find a photo of them linked to the recipe.

xoxo,
Meg

WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Next week!

• Monday - Mike's Bday Dinner Night with Family!  
• Addictive Panzanella & Go-To Grilled Rosemary Pork Tenderloin For Dessert - Fresh Peach Galettes with vanilla bean ice cream

• Tuesday - Egg Salad Sandwiches with edamame (Frozen edamame, cook and salt according to directions - Kids love them!)

• Make it over the Hump Wednesday - Dinner Sausage with potato/zucchini hash

• Thursday - Chicken Tostada Salad

• Friday - (Crockpot next week)  Vegetable pad thai,  side of stir fry vegetables courtesy of Trader's Joe's great produce department, & Teriyaki steak skewers - Marinate 1lb sirloin in teriyaki, sliced into strips, skewer and grill.

• Jar Salad - Beet, Spinach Salad with chicken

• Random - Power Juice - 1 bunch kale, 1 granny smith each - Breakfast Baked Oatmeal

• Favorite of the week - School Supplies - I <3 Them!

PREP DAY - 

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and the no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal..some weird fact about  onions will absorb toxins from plastic storage/air around - best to chop fresh!)

• BBQ 4 Chicken breast halves with skin (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week.

• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 

• Dressing/Sauce Prep - Balsamic maple glaze

• Jar Salad- Beets, Red Onions, Garbanzo's, spinach, Trader Joe's red wine vinaigrette dressing, Quinoa, frozen peas, walnuts

• Other - Hard Boil Eggs for Egg Salad Sandwiches, freezing grapes for lunches/snacks

Balsamic Maple Vinaigrette (Eat Like a Farm Girl)

This will make a good-size batch, and lasts for a couple of weeks in the fridge.  I use this on my egg and quinoa breakfast, and pretty much everything else!  Will be using with Panzanella this week!

• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 T maple syrup
• 1 T Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic (I always do 2 cloves)
• S&P
• 1/2 cup EVOO

Blend/Emulsify/or whisk with your fork until it is a creamy consistency!

GROCERY LIST (Including everything needed for recipes, just cross out the staples you already have)

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Bag of onions
• 4 Bags of Spinach ( Or jumbo container - Panzanella & Jar Salads are spinach happy)
• 1 head of romaine (egg sand/tostadas)
• Tomatoes - Grape/Heirloom - panzanella & tostadas
• Apples
• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• 1 Bunch of cilantro
• Potatoes
• Chives (dn)
• Scallions
• 4 bunches of kale
• 8oz of mushrooms
• 3 bell peppers (Love our bells) (dn)
• 2 red onions (dn)
• Garlic
• Zucchini - 4
• Pico De Gallo
• Peaches!

 Bulk - 

• Almonds - Dry roasted/salted (dn)
• Peanuts - Roasted/Salted
• Walnuts
• Oats

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's
• SinDawg
• Corn Tortillas
• Crusty Loaf of bread
• Pita Bread

Protein -

• 2 Pork Tenderloins
• 4-6 chicken breast halves with skin on (For great natural seasoning!)
• Breakfast sausage (NY&Company - found at Winco - Nitrate and preservative free!)
• Cubed Ham - Nitrate/Preservative free - found at Winco, not freddies
• Turkey lunchmeat
• Aidell's or other organic dinner sausage ( I like chicken apple!)
• EGGS
• 1 sirloin steak

Freezer -

• Outshine Popsicles (UGH - Not the sugar free kind that we accidentally got last time - blech)!
• Bag of Unshelled Edamame
• Frozen Peas

Dried Goods -

• 2 cans of garbanzos (during the week snack with avocado cubes, cilantro and lime juice.. toss and eat all week)
• Triscuits
• Soy sauce (dn)
• Balsamic Vinegar (dn)
• Dijon (dn)
• Tortilla chips
• mayo (dn)
• Raw sugar (dn)
• Craisins
• Teriyaki Sauce
• BBQ Sauce
• Dried Rosemary (dn)
• Grapes

Dairy -

• String Cheese
• Block o' cheddar
• Mozzarella (buffalo)
• Individual hummus's for kids' lunches
• Prepared Pie Crust (NOT a food upgrade - If I had more time... but this is about busy working Mom making food upgrades, not making things from scratch all week long - ok guilt party over, please move on ;-p)

(dn - don't need, but want to store on list for using this menu later!)