Meal Plan Monday - 4/28/14

Hello!  I hope you had a great weekend.  Jax and I finally got the garden planted.  Well, most of it.  I still need to get some bell pepper plants and he wants to plant sunflowers.  Yesterday was stormy and brought in cooler weather.  I'm liking the 50's and 60's very much.  Hot and humid summer will get here soon enough.

This week's menu plan is as simple as I could make it due to the fact that I started the 21DSD (21 Day Sugar Detox) again.  I almost made it all the way through last time.  Please don't judge the 21DSD by my meal plan.  There is such a variety of food you can eat, but to make it easier on myself this go-around, I will be repeating a lot of meals.  For more info, go HERE.

Monday:  Stir-fry with Napa cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic and mushrooms.

Tuesday:  Brown rice and quinoa with kielbasa.

Wednesday:  Salad with mixed greens, chick peas, feta cheese, hard salami and Red Pepper Vinaigrette.  This vinaigrette is tasty and lasts all week in the fridge.  Maybe longer, mine gets eaten before then.

Thursday:  Ham, mixed sauteed greens (collard, spinach and kale) and sweet potato.

Friday:  Asparagus, oven-roasted with olive oil, garlic and sea salt, baked sweet potato and grilled steak.  (Hey, ya gotta splurge every once in a while!)

Lunches will be combinations of salads, rice, tuna, beans and leftover veggies.

Breakfasts will be primarily eggs, cheese and either bacon or homemade breakfast sausage.  I bought some chia seeds over the weekend so I might make the Noatmeal.

Thank you for stopping by!  Check out the links below for a whole gaggle of meal-planning ideas and recipes!

Natosha

Quesadilla Recipe Roundup {Or, My Obsession With Quesadillas}

I thought since I have been slightly obsessed with quesadillas lately, I would share some of my favorite recipes and also some I want to try.  I knew I had a problem when I saw how many quesadilla recipes are pinned to my Pinterest boards.

Hawaiian BBQ via Around My Family Table

recipe via The Seasoned Mom

recipe via Five Heart Home
(this seriously good eating)

recipe via About A Mom

recipe via Six Sisters' Stuff

recipe via Bake Your Day

How about breakfast and sweet quesadillas?

recipe via Hearts in My Oven

recipe via The Pioneer Woman

recipe via Dishing The Divine

recipe via Daydream Recipe

recipe via The Cookin' Chicks

recipe via Modern Alternative Mama

recipe via lemon tree dwelling

You can put just about anything you want on a quesadilla.  What are your favorite fillings?

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha

Menu Plan Monday - 3/24/14

Hi!  Long time, no see.

Here is what I am planning on serving this week.

Monday:
Spinach, mushroom and cheese quesadillas for a meatless Monday.  Jaxon will just have cheese on his with a side of steamed broccoli.  I found my inspiration here.

Tuesday:
Chicken pot pie.  Here are several versions.  Served with rice for Jaxon.

Wednesday:
Balsamic roast beef, like this one.  Only, I don't usually cook in a slow cooker, I find it makes meats mushy so I usually bake my roast.  Served with sweet potatoes and green beans.

Thursday:
Tomato soup, like this one.  Served with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Friday:
Hamburger with sweet potato fries.

For lunches this week, I pre-made 4 salads and am thinking of making this yummy avocado and bacon pasta salad.

Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

Linking up here:





A Southern Fairytale

Bean Burgers

I finally decided to go back to our theme-night style of menu planning as it helped make dinner so much easier when I was using it.  Here's are my themes for the time-being:

Sunday:  Chicken
Monday:  Meatless
Tuesday:  Tacos
Wednesday:  Salad (with or without meat)
Thursday:  Whatever Mike wants to cook!
Friday:  Takeout  (see how I gave myself 2 nights in a row off!)
Saturday:  Anything goes!

There are SO many different variations of each meal, it shouldn't be hard to keep it interesting.  I'll probably change it around every one or two months.

So, last night I decided to make bean burgers (because somehow we got mixed up and had tacos on Monday night 0_0).  I used this recipe by Mark Bittman:



Bean Burgers (found here)
Time: 20 minutes, with cooked beans 

2 cups well-cooked white, black or red beans, or chickpeas or lentils, or 1 14-ounce can, drained 
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered 
1/2 cup rolled oats (preferably not instant) 
1 tablespoon chili powder, or the spice mix of your choice 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1 egg 
Bean-cooking liquid, stock or other liquid (wine, cream, milk, water or ketchup) if necessary 
Extra virgin olive oil or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn. 

1. Combine all ingredients except liquid and oil in food processor and pulse until chunky but not puréed. If necessary, add a little liquid for a mixture that is moist but not wet. Let mixture rest for a few minutes. 
2. With wet hands, shape into patties and let rest again for a few minutes. (Burger mixture or shaped burgers can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to a day. Bring back to room temperature before cooking.) Film bottom of a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet with oil and turn heat to medium. When hot, add patties. Cook undisturbed until browned, about 5 minutes; turn carefully with spatula and cook 3 or 4 minutes until firm and browned. 
3. Serve on buns with mustard, ketchup, chutney or other toppings. 

Yield: 4 servings. 


I used canned cannellini beans (1 can) and for my spice mix I used about a tsp of garlic powder and paprika.  After eating the burgers, I would have added a tsp of minced fresh garlic and a little more paprika.  Since I didn't cook my beans from dry and I didn't want to use the liquid with the beans (I rinsed the beans well in cold water before using them), I used a little chicken stock.  If you are going for vegetarian, you could use vegetable stock, water, or whatever you have on hand.  


My food processor is tiny so I did mine in two batches.  The first batch turned out like bean dip, really creamy.  The second batch I just pulsed several times in order to leave the beans kinda chunky.  I mixed the two together and it was way too soft to form into patties.  I put the mixture in the fridge in the hopes it would tighten up some.  


After about 30 minutes I took the mixture out of the fridge and it was still pretty soft.  So, I took some panko bread crumbs and put them in a plate.  I got my non-stick pan, added some olive oil and set the burner on medium heat.  I wet my hands and formed a patty, flipped it over onto the panko and pressed the bread crumbs all over the patty.  This was really messy.  I got 4 good-sized patties.  I let them sit for a few minutes before putting them in the pan.  In hindsight, I might have put them in the fridge for a little while.  Anyway, I cooked them for about 5 minutes on each side, until they were golden brown.  Let them sit for a couple of minutes and as they cool, they will firm up some.


They were really good.  Mike liked them and I even got my picky 2 year old to take 3 bites!  We didn't eat them on a bun.  I just served them with a chopped salad and some french fries.  We used Tapatio hot sauce on them.  Yummy!


Sorry, I didn't take pictures.  I promise I will next time.