Short Week Plan (December 10-14)

We are heading out of town on Thursday night for the weekend.  My in-laws will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this Christmas and we are having a surprise party for them on Friday night.  I am thinking a ham and a hot dip will be my contribution to the party?

Monday:  Taco salad (didn't get to it last night)
Tuesday:  Continental pork chops, rice and spinach salad
Wednesday:  Creamy sausage pasta bake and cesar salad
Thursday:  Leftover pasta before we hit the road

A couple of quickies for you:

Continental Pork: 

• Mix 1 can of cranberry sauce, 1 envelope of onion soup mix and 1/3 c. french dressing.
• Pour over pork chops, tenderloin or loin OR chicken breasts or thighs.
• Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.
• Serve with rice or mashed potatoes, because the sauce is practically drinkable.

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing:

• Mix olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, cider vinegar, garlic and s&p.

Heyhey, goodlookin', whatcha got cookin'? (Dec. 3-7)

My cousins own a farm and we inherited a large box of ground beef over the weekend.  It doesn't get much more local and free-range then a cow I petted out in the pasture this summer!  Between our new-found ground beef stash and my husbands yield from hunting, we have a VERY full freezer!  If you see an unusual amount of ground meat based meals on the agenda for the next six months, you know why!

It's funny, I was talking to a co-worker about our meat "situation" and she was kind of grossed out.  "Really, deer meet?  And a cow that you have met?  It's really creepy."  Ummm... no.  Given all of the media in Canada these days about meat safety and the (lack of) processes at some of the countries largest meat plants, I am so happy and relieved to have a freezer of local, free-range, grain fed, organic meat.  I know exactly where it came from, what it ate and where it was butchered.  People need to get connected with their food!  Where do they they think that ground from Costco came from!?

I digress... without further ado, here is the plan for this week!

• Homemade pizza, topped with pesto tomato sauce, shrimp, red onion, feta, mushrooms and spinach
• Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, veggies soup
• Chicken legs, potatoes, spinach salad
• Taco salads, with the aforementioned ground

LePlan (November 25-30)

I have an extremely busy week at work coming up.  I tried to keep the menu simple, but healthy.  And easy, so the husband can make himself useful too!

Sunday:  Quinoa and ground venison stuffed peppers and salad
Monday:  Chili
Tuesday:  Mediterranean pasta casserole (from the freezer), green beans and roasted chicken thighs
Wednesday:  Leftovers
Thursday:  Venison, sweet potatoes and green beans
Friday:  Homemade pizza

This morning, I had the most delicious and filling brunch (500 calories and 22 grams of protein!)

English muffin with a fried egg, pesto, feta, red onion and red pepper
Banana with peanut butter and a yogurt

The Best Tuna Salad Ever

Generally, I am a tuna salad purist.  Tuna, mayo, chopped celery and onion.  I saw this recipe on pinterest and was intrigued.  I needed a quick and easy meal for tonight, so I gave it a go.

O. M. Gee.

I don't think I will ever make boring old tuna salad again.  I added a few extra ingredients, but overall, I followed the spirit of the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cans of tuna, packed in water
2tbsp light mayo
1/4 c. pesto
Sundried tomatoes, chopped
Red pepper, chopped
Green onion, chopped
Zerto 4 cheese blend
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

If you are making this as a sandwich or as filling for a lettuce wrap, just mix it all up and filled your vessel :)

I made this as a melt, so I left out the cheese and used it to top my open faced sandwich instead.

Whatcha got cookin'? (November 12-16)

I got the huge bag of broccoli from Costco.  You know what that means... broccoli for all!  Wooohooo!

Here's the plan, the order is up for grabs depending on what time I get out of work.

Roasted sole with greek pasta
Pulled pork tossed in sweet chili relish, rice and roasted broccoli
Roasted chicken legs, baked potatoes and broccoli
Homemade pizza
Beef and broccoli stir-fry

The Good Wife

My husband had a hard day.  Cracked pepper triscuits are his very favorite, so I dressed them up as a surprise for him. 

Apparently, I am a good wife :)

The line-up:

• Goat cheese and sweet chili relish
• Marble cheese and pastrami
• Feta, sundried tomato and green onion
• Marble and salsa

An appetizer buffet would of course not be complete without drinks... Leffe for the husband and a vodka water with a squeeze of lime for me.

Back on Track Menu (Nov. 5-9)

Last week, we booked a trip to Mexico for the March break to celebrate one of my best friend's weddings.  I am a bridesmaid, so not only do I have bikini motivation, but bridesmaids dress motivation too!  It is likely indicative of my screwed up weight loss mentality, but having a trip planned always gives me a kick in the pants where the scale is concerned.

With that said, I have been back to healthy eating and meal planning for a few weeks now.  I have mastered the week, now I just need to make some inroads on the weekend and fitness fronts.

The plan for this week:

Monday:  Baked potato topped with taco seasoned venison, salsa and shredded cheese and a side salad
Tuesday:  Sausage penne bake and Cesar salad
Wednesday:  Veggie omelette's with roasted potatoes
Thursday:  Homemade pizza and Cesar salad
Friday:  Steak, twice baked potato, green veg

Loaded Baked Potato and Salad (a delicious mess!)