cooking

Meal Plan Monday 3/19/18

Abby H.

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Bitty Bird has been sick for the past week and I’m hoping that it clears up soon. We’ve been cooped up into the house, and I want to take the kids to the park!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Grilled Chicken and veggie skewers

Tuesday:

  • D: Frittata and fruit salad

Weds:

  • D: Colonial Chowder and cheese biscuits (I’ll be posting these recipes this week)

Thursday:

  • D: Been, Rice, cheese, and veggie bowls – Think Chipotle Bowls at home. 

Friday:

  • D: Turkey Meatloaf, mashed potatoes/cauliflower, and fruit

Saturday:

  • D: Henry has been asking to go out for dinner, so maybe Souplantation (one of his favs).

Sunday:

  • D: Chef Salad/leftover buffet. I love chef salad because you can just put whatever you’ve got in the fridge in the salad.

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).

Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies!

Abby H.3 Comments

img_8846.jpgI know today is Pi Day, but Henry doesn’t really like pie (except Cheesecake), and I’m always looking for ways to get more protein into my buddy. He has a lot of food aversions, so most meat is a no-go (I don’t really count the occasional chicken nugget he inhales), same with beans, lentils, peas, and most other traditional sources of protein.

And who doesn’t love chocolate chips cookies…..

On the Back of the Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes mix I noticed that they say you can swap their mix  1 for 1 with flour, leavening, and salt in any baking recipe. Challenge accepted!

I turned to my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, the one on the back of the Tollhouse Chips Bag.

Making a few modifications based on what we had in the house, and we were ready to bake!

Here is the Original Recipe. One thing I really recommend is to cream the butter (basically use the electric mixer to “fluff up” the butter) for 30 seconds to a minute before adding the sugars.

IMG_8851.jpgIngredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups Kodiak Cakes Mix
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar or Splenda (I used baking Splenda)
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

 

 

 

 

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Cookie Dough

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Directions:

  1. Cream the butter for 30 seconds to a minute.
  2. Add Sugars and mix until combined.
  3. Add eggs one at a time, and mix completely before adding second egg.
  4. Add vanilla, Kodiak Cakes mix, blend until dough forms.
  5. Stir in chocolate chips.
  6. Spoon 1 Tbs. blobs onto a greased cookie sheet or a silicone cooking pad on a cookie sheet. I love Sil pads.
  7. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Here are the calorie stats for the entire batch of cookies and per serving, which is 2 cookies. I serve Henry 2 of these with an 8 ounce glass of milk. So the total protein for his snack is 12 grams.

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This recipe makes 5 dozen cookies.

Do you have a secret to getting your kids to eat more protein?

Corned Beef Deals (and a recipe)

Abby H.

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Even if you aren’t Irish, most of us love an excuse to party and eat. Saint Patrick’s Day is this coming Saturday.

I’ve scanned all of the ad’s for local area grocery stores to find you the best deal on corned beef. The winner for this year is Von’s/Albertson’s (They are owned by the same company, so they run the exact same ad).


Log on to your preferred stores App (or website) and add this clipless coupon to your card:

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Or, check the circular in store- There is a coupon in the circular too!

I’m not a huge fan of boiled meat, so I cook my corned beef in a crock pot. My recipe is here.

Meal Plan Monday 3/5/18

Abby H.

file000738334533.jpgSpring Break is just 2 weeks away and Henry is asking daily if it’s “Time for Spring Adventures” yet. I tell him not yet.

Even though he’s got school each day, I try and plan an adventure for him, it can be as simple as a walk at Walker Preserve or making cookies (these Justice League sugar cookies have been a recent hit).

The reason my Meal Plan Monday is so late today is that we had our daily adventure after school today. After school I treated the kids to Cheesecake Factory for cheesecake. By The Way… The pieces are HUGE. I know have three half decimated pieces of cheesecake in the fridge. We’ll be eating cheesecake for days!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Pancakes and applesauce.

Tuesday:

  • D: roasted chicken and veggies- I’ve got tons of marinated chicken in the freezer. I’m trying new combinations of veggies and chicken roasted in the oven. Onions, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, and garlic have been popular together.

Weds:

  • D: Black Bean Soup, cheese toast, and fruit salad 

Thursday:

  • D: Cheese quesadillas, beans, rice, and green salad

Friday:

  • D: Date Night

Saturday:

  • D: Family night in- Not sure yet, maybe home made pizza?

Sunday:

  • D: Chef Salad/leftover buffet. I love chef salad because you can just put whatever you’ve got in the fridge in the salad.

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).

 

2/26/18 Meal Plan Monday

Abby H.

dsc07997The batteries in my mouse died this morning, and we spent the day running errands, and of course.. I forgot the batteries. So, on the way home from group ABA therapy (which was at Chuck E. Cheese today- Woo hoo!), we finally got batteries!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Leftover Pizza From Chuck E. Cheese, Applesauce, and carrot sticks.

Tuesday:

  • D: roasted chicken and veggies- I’ve got tons of marinated chicken in the freezer. I’m trying new combinations of veggies and chicken roasted in the oven.

Weds:

  • D: Turkey Meatloaf and mashed cauliflower with cheese and caramelized onions.

Thursday:

  • D: Cheese toast and soup.

Friday:

  • D: Date Night

Saturday:

  • D: Family night in- Not sure, but we sometimes have breakfast for dinner (pancakes and eggs)

Sunday:

  • D: Chef Salad/leftover buffet. I love chef salad because you can just put whatever you’ve got in the fridge in the salad.

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).

2/20/18 Meal Plan… Tuesday?

Abby H.

dsc07997The past two days have been CRAZY. Yesterday was a holiday, so.. no school or therapy. In the morning we hosting a rock painting and hiding event. The kids painted, played and had a great time.  Then in the afternoon, we went to an afternoon playdate at KidVentures sponsored by NFAR. Afterwards, we were hungry and pooped out from a very busy day of play, so we stopped at Denny’s!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Denny’s!

Tuesday:

  • D: Southwestern Chicken Stew

Weds:

  • D: Roasted chicken and veggies- I found some cool recipes in the most recent EatingWell Magazine, and this is one. 

Thursday:

  • D: Grilled cheese and soup ( I really want to make soup from scratch- It’s been super cold here lately). Maybe Colonial Chowder, I’ll post the recipe, whatever I choose. 

Friday:

  • D: Date Night- Probably Himalayan food, since we’ve both been craving it.

Saturday:

  • D:The kids and Daddy are having pizza, I’m going to an influencer event where there will be tasty noms.

Sunday:

  • D: Chef Salad/leftover buffet

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).

Flex your Creativity: 100 Days of Art!

Abby H.2 Comments

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I decided last week that I needed to get back to my Artsy roots.

Each day for an hour I will work on some kind of art. Textile, painting, drawing, cooking, whatever. I will try to post pictures of whatever I work on each day on Instagram and Facebook.

Before we had kids, every day when I came home from work I did art in some form or another for about an hour. It was a wonderful way to be creative and keep my mind sharp. And I feel like I need to get back to that.

So far, I’ve worked on some sewing projects, embroidered, cooked, and colored. I’ve started a Pinterest Board too to keep track of my ideas and projects.

So does anyone else want to join me?

2/5/18 Meal Plan Monday

Abby H.

dsc07997The next few weeks will feature a lot of meals with chicken. Vons and Albertsons had Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts on sale for .99/lb (limit 10 lbs) on Friday. Of course, I picked up 10 lbs. I then spent an hour cutting up the meat, as it was whole breasts. I prepped 10 ziploc freezer bags, some with spices or marinade. We’ve now got 10 meals worth of meat prepped! Yes, I did use the kitchen scale to make sure that each bag was as close to 1 lb. as I could get.

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Salsa Chicken- It’ll be going into the crockpot in a bit!

Tuesday:

  • D: Cheese Enchiladas, Beans & Rice

Weds:

  • D: Chef Salad

Thursday:

  • D: Chicken Divan (recipe will be posted tomorrow)

Friday:

  • D: Leftovers (I will be at the Influential Summit for the day, so I’ll pull together some leftovers when I get home)

Saturday:

  • D: I’m not sure- We’ll be out of town for an event during the day, and I don’t know when we’ll be home.

Sunday:

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first). My birthday is this weekend, so we may be using up a lot of my birthday freebies as we are in the vicinity of deals.

Family Recipe: Aunt Linda’s Mess

Abby H.

file8721293943264.jpgAunt Linda’s Mess, this recipe has been in my family for at least 50 years. When I was a kid we ate it at least once a month. My mother was born on her Aunt Linda’s birthday.  Aunt Linda and her husband live in Minnesota, where the majority of my mother’s family still lives today.  This dinner is what is referred to in the midwest as a “hotdish” and is frequently prepared in an electric skillet. This recipe serves 6-8 with a side dish, like a green salad, or steamed veggies.

This cheesy delicious mess is a great meal for kids and grown ups alike.  I’ve modified it a bit from it’s original form (which calls for Velveeta and canned mushrooms).

I’m not sure if Aunt Linda invented this dish or if she inspired this dish- and no one knows why it’s called a mess.  It reminds me of a cheesy stroganoff. Regardless- No one can say no to this dish!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1C chopped mushrooms (fresh are better, but you can used canned mushrooms if you prefer- just remember to drain them!)
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup (you can use low fat/low sodium if you prefer)
  • 1/2C+ shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 carton sour cream (or plain Fat free Greek yogurt)
  • 1 package cooked spaghetti (you can use any kind of pasta or macaroni- you want 6-8 cups of cooked pasta)

Directions:

  1. Brown and crumble beef.
  2. Add onion and mushrooms. Sauté until onions are transparent and mushrooms have softened (about 10 minutes).
  3. Add canned soup and cheese.
  4. Cook until the cheese is melted.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.
  6. Add the cooked, drained pasta and toss to coat the pasta.

You can omit mushrooms if you don’t care for them. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if there are any vegetarian or vegan work arounds for this recipe, since it’s mostly meat and dairy products!

I’ll be posting more family recipes over the next few weeks.

 

Ralphs Free Friday Download: Chobani Smooth!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2018-01-17 at 8.16.21 PM.pngThis week, you can download an offer for a two pack of Chobani Smooth!I love Greek Yogurt, and I can’t wait to try this kind!

If you are new to Free Friday Downloads from Ralph’s, here is more info about how it works:

WHAT IS FREE FRIDAY DOWNLOAD? An exclusive benefit to having an account online at ralphs.com is FREE products (yes, we said FREE!). When you download the free product coupon, it will be loaded directly to your Shopper’s Card and applied at checkout in-store.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Visit this page on Fridays

DOWNLOAD the digital coupon for the free product (make sure to download between 12:01 am and 11:59pm PT). View the coupon under ‘My Coupons’ in your account online or in the mobile app.

You have two weeks to redeem this coupon in store! Pick up the product at your local Ralphs store and digital coupon will automatically apply at checkout.

Don’t forget to check out the Kroger affiliate in your area, if you don’t have a Ralphs. There are usually freebies for all of the stores!