Meal Planning

Trying to get back on the band wagon... Aaron and I started going back to the gym in December. With my new membership, I received two free personal training sessions. The best piece of advice my trainer gave me was that 80% of the changes I want to see are going to come from my nutrition. So, I enlisted my friend Jenn, a nutritionist, to help me come up with some ways to make better choices. A few guidelines we decided on were:

1. Eat 5 to 6 times a day. This keeps my metabolism running all day.
2. Eat 20 grams of protein at meals. This will keep me fuller longer because it's harder for my body to break down and digest proteins. I would like to hit this goal with my snacks as well.
3. No starchy carbs at dinner. This means no white pastas, rice, potatoes, etc. I'm giving myself one day of allowance. Eventually I would like to turn this into my "meatless day"

So, here I am at the starting line.

Weekly Menu
	Breakfast	Snack #1	Lunch	Snack #2	Dinner	Snack #3
Monday	Smoothie	Cottage Cheese & Fruit	Lettuce Wraps	Hummus & Carrots	Curried Lentils & Chickpea Stew	Serbert & Almonds
Tuesday	Egg Whites, Toast, Yogurt	Smoothie	Lettuce Wraps	Air popped popcorn	Pasta Night	Serbert & Almonds
Wed	Egg Whites, Toast, Yogurt	Smoothie	Leftovers	Pretzels & string cheese	Chicken Stuffed with Spinach, Pine Nuts & Feta	Serbert & Almonds
Thursday	Egg Whites, Toast, Yogurt	Smoothie	Pita Sandwich with Veggie Chips	Hummus & Carrots	Mexican Tortilla Skillet	Serbert & Almonds
Friday	Smoothie	Cottage Cheese & Fruit	Pita Sandwich with Veggie Chips	Air popped popcorn	White Bean Chicken Chili	Serbert & Almonds
Saturday	Smoothie	Cottage Cheese & Fruit	Leftovers	Pretzels & string cheese	Fish Foil Packets	Serbert & Almonds
Sunday	Smoothie	Cottage Cheese & Fruit	Out	Hummus & Carrots	Tarka take-out	Serbert & Almonds

Summer is Here {Weekend Pics & Summer Recipes}

According to the heat index here in Austin and all the time we have been spending in the water lately, I would say that summer is officially here. At the moment Lily is taking one long nap after our play group met for pizza and pool time this afternoon. We are both happier and a little tanner after a few hours of fun in the sun.

Our first time in the pool was Sunday, and here are a couple terrible Iphone pics I snapped of Lily:

She really enjoys getting in and out of the kiddie pool by herself. Such an independent little thing.

Earlier that same day, she rode in our neighborhood Memorial Day parade in a wagon that her cousins had decorated for her.

Lily & her cousin Nathan

Lily in the parade with her cousins and her dad

It was a short parade, around the block actually, but she enjoyed the ride and the attention. Afterward the family came back over to our house for watermelon and pink lemonade. So appropriate for summer!

And speaking of summer treats, I made some tasty zucchini cupcakes earlier this week.

Zucchini Cupcakes Recipe
adapted from A Sweet Pea Chef

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 zucchini coarsely grated (1 cup)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in nuts.

In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, egg, milk and vanilla; add to flour mixture, and mix just until combined (do not overmix).

Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool in tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes out, right side up, and cool completely. 

Lily LOVED them! 

I wished I had snapped a pretty picture of them frosted, but I didn't. My frosting consistency was a little off anyway. I used something close to this recipe adding a little more butter and sugar, which led to the consistency issues...

Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

In a bowl, with a mixer on low speed, beat butter, 2 cups of powdered sugar, and salt until blended. Add milk and vanilla, beat until blended, then add remaining powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until incorporated. Turn mixer to high speed and beat frosting until fluffy and smooth.

And then, last night I made these...

What says summer more than Big Fat Bacon Sliders? Courtesy of your favorite & mine, The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. My husband devoured them and so did I. Do yourself a favor and add them to the menu plan, STAT. 

Can't wait to announce the giveaway winner tomorrow morning and show you some fun Friday Favorites!

Love, M

Monday Menu Planning & some helpful hints

Week of May 30th

Sunday: FEND (Aaron grabbed Torchy's Tacos and I had a bowl of cereal)

Monday: Aaron Grilling: BBQ Chicken with foil potatoes
Tuesday: Fettucini with Cilantro Jalapeno Pesto
Wednesday: Crock pot Pork Tenderloin
Thursday: Aaron Grilling: Hamburgers
Friday: Spanish Paella adapting from here
Saturday: Taco Night

Helpful hints: Themes help. 
I noticed that I usually make one pasta a week, Aaron grills once a week, use my crock pot once a week etc. If I start with these "themes", i.e. "pasta", it's easier to fill in the blanks next to that "theme", i.e. Fettucini Alfredo.

But remember: 
Things come up, people get sick/tired, plans change and you can always choose to switch things up, make something the next week or not at all and order a pizza. Menu planning isn't a strict set of rules for me causing extra stress because I forgot to defrost the chicken or don't have a can of tomato paste. Instead, it's a game plan or rough outline that makes the day move more smoothly so I don't have to worry about what we are eating for dinner!

I also found great Menu Planning Boards on Pinterest and had to share!

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Why I Love Spinach & Our Menu for the Week

Sunday: Pad Thai
Monday: Farfalle Pasta & Chicken(We had leftovers one day last week & had dinner with our family one night, so these two recipes are from last week added to the beginning of this week)
Tuesday: Aaron Grills (chicken most likely)
Wednesday: Crock pot Pulled Pork
Thursday: Spinach & Lentils
Friday: Spinach Tortellini Bake
Saturday: FEND

Great way to marinate chicken for the grill is to place two chicken breasts in a plastic bag with about half a cup of margarita mix, add a little olive oil, a little lime juice, some shakes of garlic powder and a little salt. It's really yummy!

We are eating spinach twice this week. It's just such an easy veggie to add to our dishes. I'll add it to almost any pasta dish, indian dish, or throw in our crockpot chilis because it has almost no calories, very healthy, and takes the flavor of whatever it's being cooked with. I always use fresh, usually the baby spinach leaves that are pre-washed in the bag. Never frozen, because frankly, frozen spinach is gross. Try it this week and please send any yummy spinach dishes my way!

P.S. I added a tab at the top of the blog to find our menus and recipes from past weeks!

Monday Menu Planning

One of the things I love about blogging is the sense of accountability it brings. Since posting about my daily routine I've never let myself miss a day and the same goes for menu planning. I posted my menu plan last week, I thought I would make it a regular feature (read: until baby arrives and it all goes to h*ll.)
So without further ado, here is this weeks dinner menu, with a couple of easy recipes included:



Sunday: Indian Take-Out (from our favorite new place)
Monday: Beef Broccoli (adapted from Pioneer Woman's Beef & Snow Peas-- just love her!)
Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos (recipe below)
Wednesday: Aaron's night to grill (probably pork loin, potatoes, and broccoli)
Thursday: Tomato & Spinach Pasta
Friday: Pad Thai
Saturday: Chicken with Farfalle Pasta

Beef Broccoli
adapted from the one and only PDub
Ingredients
1-½ pound Steak, Sliced Very Thin Against The Grain
½ cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Dry White Wine
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Ginger
12oz Frozen Broccoli
1/4 small onion chopped finely
3 Tablespoons Peanut Or Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper, For Sprinkling
White Rice, Cooked According To Package

Preparation Instructions
In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, wine, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Add sliced meat to bowl and toss with hands. Set aside.
Heat oil in wok or heavy skillet over high heat. Add broccoli and stir for 45 seconds, or a 1 minute and a half if fully frozen. Remove to a separate plate. Set aside.
With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving the marinade in the bowl. Spread out meat as you add it to pan, but do not stir for about a minute. Add half the onions. Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to the plate with the broccoli.
Repeat with other half of meat. After turning it, add the first plateful of meat, broccoli, and the remaining marinade. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Mixture will thicken as it sits.
Serve immediately over rice. Sprinkle crushed red pepper over the top to give it some spice.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos:
I will cook this meat for tacos and enchiladas, or add beans and veggies for a chicken chili. Options are endless!
Ingredients
2 to 3 chicken breasts (or whatever chicken meat that you have on hand)
1 can of diced tomatoes (rotel works well for this)
1/2 to 1 cup of water (just enough to cover the chicken)
1/2 packet of taco seasoning
1/2 cup of corn optional (canned or frozen, but make sure it's drained)
1/2 cup of bean optional (black or kidney beans will do, just be sure to drain)

Preparation Instructions
Place chicken in crock-pot.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken
Add tomatoes, corn and beans, then add water.
Cover and cook until the chicken shreds easily with a fork, about 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 on high.
When the chicken is cooked, remove from slow cooker, shred with two forks and return to mixture.
Serve with flour tortillas or taco shells and all the fixings.

Do You Menu Plan?

We menu plan... kinda.

I've tried different ways of going about it, like menu planning every meal for a week, for two weeks, or specifying certain days of the week to cook different things (i.e. Taco Tuesdays). But now in order for me not to pull my hair out meeting the insane criteria I've set myself, I just do this:

Breakfast:
On Sundays, I check the pantry and frig to make sure we have cereal, bread, pancake mix, milk, eggs, creamer, fruit, yogurt, and refrigerated cinnamon rolls. These are the family breakfast staples. If we have these items, breakfast will take care of itself in the morning. Even if we only have half of these items, I don't worry too much.
I do lunch last....

Dinner:
Here is where I really menu plan. I try to plan about 5-7 days worth of meals.

1. I look at our calendar, and take into consideration any outings with friends or family we have planned in the evenings (excuses for me not to cook). That will knock out at least a day or two.
2. A is a great cook, and he will usually cook dinner grill dinner about once a week. One less day for me!
3. I schedule one crock pot day. It's usually the day that I am the most busy and would rather have dinner taken care of in the morning and not have to think about it the rest of the day.
4. If the week isn't too hectic I plug in one new recipe for the week. I really enjoy cooking and trying new things, but if we have a lot going on it's best just to stick to the basics. 
5. Then, I just plug in our basics-- pasta recipes, taco night, or an easy skillet meal and leftovers

Here's what our dinner menu looks this week (I started it on last Friday):

Saturday: fajitas in margarita marinade & Mexican rice

Sunday: steak, corn on the cob, pasta side, salad (Aaron grilling for Mother's Day) 

Monday: Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce (new recipe for the week)

Tuesday: FEND (dinner plans with my girlfriends and A has to  "fend for himself"=leftovers or pizza)

Wednesday: crock pot chicken (this could be anything, but probably will include some veggies that we need to eat before they go bad)
Thursday: leftovers or FEND 

Friday: taco night

See, easy peasy!

Lunches:
I plan lunches last and determine if we might have leftovers that we (Lily included) can eat. Then, I might decide to cook "extras" for Lily. For example, if we are having a pasta night, I might cook a little extra pasta for Lily to eat for lunch without the sauce or with the sauce on the side. we call this "dip dip" This will work for her dinners as well since she usually eats before we do, so not necessarily the same thing we are having that night.

Then make sure we have our lunch staples: bread, lunch meat, sliced cheese, peanut butter, fruit, frozen veggies, salad ingredients, snack cracker/chips and frozen pizzas. 

Taking a little time out to do this once a week keeps our groceries and eating out budgets low, and there's less stress in the house trying to figure out what in the world we are going to do for dinner.

So, do you do this? How? Any fun recipes to share?

Linking up to: 

Show Us Your Life: Denver, CO & Pineapple Upside Pancakes

A and I took Lily on her first plane ride back in March for a little visit to Denver, CO. A's brother moved there recently, and we thought we'd visit him and his sweet girlfriend while taking a fun vacation. It was wonderful! LOVE me some Denver.

The city reminded me a lot of Austin, down to the Green Peace activists on the street corners. Our favorite spots were the Denver Zoo, where Lily got to see her first real life giraffe up close and personal, okay, maybe I was more excited about this than she was....

Lily with Denver (her littler souvenir)

The 16th Street Mall. A huge outdoor mall that had about every national store you could hope for...

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then we randomly found a little street called Pearl Street in Washington Park and it have some cute boho charm to it. Of course I didn't take any pictures...
and last but definitely not least, Snooze.

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It's hands down the BEST breakfast place I have ever been to. And their Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes are something out of a pregnant woman's dreams. They. are. heavenly. One part breakfast, one part dessert, all parts delicious!

A makes a mean pancake, and since he knew how much I loved the Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes from Snooze, he tracked down their recipe online and got up extra early on Sunday to make them from scratch for me for Mother's Day. Is that love or what?!

They turned out fantastic! Snooze's buttermilk pancake recipe is a secret, but A used this one and said it worked great! He used Snooze's recipe found here for everything else. Here's how he combined the two recipes:

A's Mother's Day Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes
This recipe is for 12 servings
Ingredients for Pancakes:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Ingredients for Everything Else:

• 1/2 fresh pineapple, skinned, cored and chopped into small chunks
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
   
• Cinnamon Butter:
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  
  Vanilla Crème:
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Steps:

Cinnamon Butter: Place the stick of butter, cinnamon and brown sugar in a food processor. Purée until combined and smooth; place in a small glass dish and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Vanilla Crème: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, pour in the heavy cream, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and the vanilla extract. Heat to boiling.Turn down heat and continue to slowly simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened. Remove from heat and pour into a small pitcher to use for serving. Set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

Pancakes:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter.
2. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it's ready!
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it's just blended together. 
5. Ladle about ½ cup batter onto hot griddle and sprinkle a heaping tablespoon or so of pineapple chunks onto the cooking pancake.
6. When pancake is ready to be flipped, sprinkle a dash or two of granulated sugar onto the pineapple and then turn; this will caramelize the pineapple side.
7. Place finished pancake on a plate in a warm oven and repeat process until all batter is gone.
8. Stack two pancakes and serve with a dollop of cinnamon butter on top and the vanilla crème on the side.
   
   Here's all that was left...

Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco De Mayo Eve! Big plans for tomorrow? A, Lily and I are planning an outing to a local Mexican restaurant for some family friendly fun. I've been telling Lily all about mariachis and margaritas this week so she'll know what to expect. Kidding!

This little Latina was a little hot and bothered this morning while browsing through my tweets. Saw a link to Cinco de Mayo dessert on anot
her blog. Clicked through and it was a recipe fried ice cream! What?! Let's be clear, while fried ice cream is a delicious treat it is not authentic Mexican cuisine. I did a little googling just to be sure, and one site referred to it as "a dish found in Mexican restaurants with a heavy American influence". I liked that. And while one might say, "But Marisa, it's on the menu at El Chico?" I would reply, "That still doesn't make it so." This really isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of life, but is a nice lead in to...

So, I thought I would share one of my favorite Mexican desserts, Bunuelos!

Growing up, my mom would usually make these for the New Year, but I think they are grand all year round. I'll do my best to recreate her recipe for you, since we have a bad habit in our family of never writing recipes down or using exact measurements. Her version would go something like "roll out the masa, fry it, then shake with cinnamon and sugar." Which is exactly right, but if you need a little clarifications, see below:

Start with this (4c should do):

which can be found here

 You'll also need:
1c warm water
Oil for frying
Cinnamon
Sugar
Flour for your work surface

If you can't find the harina preparada, you can also make bunuelos REALLY quick and easy by using ready made flour torillas. Just skip the directions in the first paragraph and go right to the second.

Combine quaker harina preparada and warm water, mixing until dough forms ball. If dough is dry, add a little more water. Knead dough about 5 minutes and then let stand for another 5 minutes. Shape into 1" balls (should make about 20-24) Cover with plastic wrap to prevent dough from drying. Roll out very thin pulling with hands if necessary. If dough is sticky, sprinkle flour on the rolling area. In fact, just sprinkle flour before you start rolling.

In a frying pan, place 1 inch of oil and allow it to get very hot. Place bunuelo in pan, let brown to a golden brown on each side. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil, then quickly sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on both sides. My mom used to put cinnamon and sugar in a paper lunch sack and shake the bunuelo until it was fully covered. either way works great. Do not cover the bunuelos or they will get soggy. Enjoy! You can even top with vanilla ice cream, ha!

And if you want a another fun treat, check out my Mexican Wedding Cookies!

Friday Favorites: Party Recipes

Fall means lots of get together-- parties, pot lucks, tailgates, you name it. I'm excited to share a few of my favorite "take alongs" for these occasions. You can always count on me for appetizers or desserts. (But, really it's A who makes the desserts, I'm no baker.) And no, I'm not giving away the "famous" salsa recipe. Those who know me, know that will go with me to the grave.

My FAVORITE appetizer recipe  is from one of my best friends Steph. After she made it for a friend's wedding shower, we all began to request it for special occasions, and now I make it all the time! She has a great 7 Layer Dip recipe too!

Chokes & Cheese Dip

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14.5 oz can quartered artichokes (drained)

1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
4 oz can green chilis
2 cloves garlic (minced)
8 oz shredded parmesan cheese
cracked pepper (to taste)
Preheat oven to 350. 
Mix all ingredients, except for 1/4 c of parmesan, and bake in an oven safe dish for 25 -30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining parmesan and bake until cheese is melted. 
Serve with pita wedges or pita chips.


The Easiest Guacamole You'll Ever Make
This one is courtesy of another bestie, Sarah, who I know would suggest using Sadie's salsa. It's her family's favorite!

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2 ripe avocados
1/4 c salsa
cumin
chili powder
salt
pepper
Scoop out avocado into a bowl, add salsa (more if necessary), and cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Done. Seriously it's that easy. I always squeeze a little lime on top to keep the avocado from browning and add a little fresh cilantro, but not completely necessary. 
Serve with chips, obviously.


A's Sugar Cookies
This recipe came from A's grandma, and he has perfected it! 
True story: I asked him bake these for a friend's bachelorette party in the shape of lingerie. He did, but  he wouldn't decorate them. Ha!

lingerie cookies

Preheat oven to 350. 
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
1 med egg or 2 small egg yokes
Beat these ingredients together, then blend in:
2 c flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
Shape into a ball and chill for 1 hour. Then roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Bake for 10-12 minutes. (Makes 3 dozen)

To glaze the top: 
3/4 c sifted powdered sugar
3-4 tsp water
food coloring
Mix together and brush on warm cookies. 


Mexican Wedding Cookies
These were my favorite growing up! It's a family tradition to make these around Christmas.

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Preheat oven to 350. 
1 c butter, softened
1/3 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
Mix together, then mix in:
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c chopped pecans (or peanuts, walnuts)
Shape into crescents. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Cool and then roll in powdered sugar.