I got quite off course again this past week. I made my planned meals for Monday and Tuesday and then changed my mind for the rest of the week. I actually used the leftover flank steak meat and some leftover shredded chicken (I made another slow cooker rotisserie chicken one night) to make fajitas on another night. This was a great use of leftovers and the first time I had ever done that! I must remember to do that again.

I also decided to use my canned salmon in a different way. For some reason, I was craving a pink vodka sauce, and found this recipe online. I added shrimp, a can of wild salmon and some frozen peas . I left out the parmesan cheese for myself, and apparently it makes the dish taste much better this way. I thought it was pretty good but everyone else, who had parmesan cheese, raved over it.

I’m also on a bread making kick. I love my bread machine! This Rosemary Bread is divine. Of course I used white whole wheat flour for all of the flour in the recipe and a little bit of ground flaxseed. It was delicious – just light enough in texture with a lovely rosemary aroma. I also made my Cinnamon Raisin Sunflower Bread, though I made it with walnuts instead of sunflower seeds. I also used all white whole wheat flour. I don’t know why it has taken me this long to use white whole wheat flour, but it is my new go-to for bread recipes – gives a similar texture to all-purpose flour, but with more fiber and better for you overall.

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law moved in with us a few months ago and it has been so wonderful having them here with us. They have been incredible helping out with my children, especially my three year old as we adjust to a new baby. He has a blast playing with them. It is also just nice spending time with them. We eat most dinner meals together and we are working out a cooking plan to divide up those duties each week. So some weeks, I may know what they are preparing and some I may not. But here is this week’s menu plan:

Monday: Cheesy Beany Zucchini Quesadillas from the Meal Makeover Mom’s No Whine with Dinner (sans cheese for me!) with fresh fruit salad

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Quinoa and Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots

Wednesday: My sister is providing dinner (no idea what, but she mentioned curry chicken and lentils – yum!)

Thursday: Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted New Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli (brother- and sister-in-law cooking)

Friday: Beef Stew (brother- and sister-in-law cooking)

Saturday: Stuffed Peppers (may be making up my own recipe on this one – stay tuned!) with Green Beans

Sunday: Simple Supper (odds and ends out of the fridge)

Have a wonderful week! Click on over to Menu Plan Monday on I’m an Organizing Junkie for more menu inspiration!

Last week’s menu had to be revamped pretty early on as I have had to make some more drastic changes to my diet. In addition to avoiding dairy, I now have to cut out all soy from my diet. This is because we suspect my daughter has MSPI, or milk soy protein intolerance. Since I am breastfeeding, I have to change my diet to protect her from the effects, which includes copious spitting up and reflux. Despite all that, she is gaining weight well! I just hate her obvious discomfort at times.

Fortunately these dietary changes are only temporary as she should outgrow it by the time she is a year old, if not sooner. My son had an intolerance to only dairy products and outgrew it by the time he was 9 months old. I miss cheese! I will say that avoiding soy is the larger pain though as soy is in everything these days. Good thing I like to cook! Now if only I had about 5 more hours in every day. It is all worth it though in providing the best possible nutrition for my daughter, and in the grand scheme of things, it is really just a short period of time.

From last week’s menu, I ended up making the Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken rather than the rotisserie-style. I love this one too and it renders a fabulous broth that I used to make a wonderful barley pilaf the next night. It also gives me an excuse to trim back some rosemary off our bush that is growing to an insane size.

My husband and I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I am planning on making one of his favorite meals anyway! Here is this week’s menu:

Monday: Chicken Noodle Soup with a Green Salad

Tuesday: Grilled Flank Steak with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Sautéed Green Beans

Wednesday: Vegetarian Taco Salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Easy Salmon Cakes with Steamed Broccoli

Saturday: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala with Brown Rice

Sunday: Friends bringing dinner

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! For more inspiration, check out Menu Plan Monday over at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Have you recovered from watching the Super Bowl? Did you overindulge? If so, get back on track today. We had a very quiet evening at home. Hard to believe our daughter is a month old today! Where does the time go? (Sorry for jumping around – sleep deprivation is wreaking havoc on my thought processes – try and keep up!)

Last week’s menu turned out to be more of a suggestion rather than a plan for us. But I did make the Slow Cooker Maple Country Style Ribs and Sweet and Savory Brussels Sprouts with Quinoa. Well, actually I more directed their making than actually made them myself. Thank goodness for a wonderful mother-in-law and sister-in-law who did the brunt of the work as I was too wiped out from teaching a college course that day. These were both great recipes though. The Brussels sprouts recipe is great for those who do not really like Brussels sprouts. I do think it would be even better with an addition like sherry vinegar – I may play with it some to boost the flavor overall.

I had a hankering for a salmon burger rather than the salmon cakes – subtle difference, I know. I found recipes for Salmon Burgers and Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns that I couldn’t resist and had all of the ingredients on hand. I loved both the burgers and the buns, as did the rest of the family.

We’ll see how I do this week with getting back in the kitchen. Here is my plan for this week:

Monday: Slow Cooker Rotisserie-Style Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday: Grandmother’s 96th Birthday Dinner

Wednesday: Corn and Chicken Chowder with Flax and Sunflower Seed Bread

Thursday: Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry over Brown Rice

Friday: Dinner Out at In-Laws

Saturday: Chinese Pork and Vegetable Hot Pot with Noodles

Sunday: Paprika Shrimp and Green Bean Sauté over Quinoa

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! For more inspiration, check out Menu Plan Monday over at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

This past week we enjoyed some more wonderful meals courtesy of good friends. One of my neighbors is from Peru and brought us a traditional Peruvian dish, called Lomo Saltado. It is strips of marinated beef, stir-fried with onions, peppers and potato wedges served over rice. My family couldn’t get enough of it! I’m hoping she’ll share the recipe with me so I can re-create it. Another friend brought over a delicious Chili Verde with cornbread and a Strawberry Pound Cake. And another friend brought over Turkey Tetrazzini, Cheese Bread and a Green Salad. We have certainly been well fed and blessed with such wonderfully talented friends.

Hopefully as life settles down a bit I can actually start taking pictures of our food with my wonderful camera. As it is right now, I seem to only have a few minutes to eat before I have to go back to feeding my daughter. She has an insatiable appetite in the evenings! But I love the time bonding with her. And I’m finding ways to involve my son, such as reading with him or cheering him on as he builds legos or plays ball with his dad.

I did manage to make one treat this past week, and that is this Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread. I followed the recipe fairly closely, though I did substitute white whole wheat flour for half of the flour. I also didn’t put enough of the filling into the middle of the batter, leaving too much for the top which much of fell off as soon as I removed the bread from the pan. I want to play around with the recipe some more though to cut back on the sugar and make it slightly healthier while retaining its great flavor and texture. But my whole family loved it and over half the loaf is gone in less than 24 hours!

I’m actually going to attempt to cook one or two dinners this week. We’ll see how that goes. But here is my tentative plan for the week:

Monday: Skillet Gnocchi with Swiss Chard and White Beans

Tuesday: Turkey Bratwurst Patties on Whole Wheat Buns with an Apple and Green Salad

Wednesday: Easy Salmon Cakes with Roasted Carrots and Fresh Fruit

Thursday: Slow Cooker Maple Country Style Ribs with Sweet and Savory Brussels Sprouts with Quinoa

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Friends bringing dinner

Sunday: SUPER BOWL!! (not sure of our plans just yet)

Need some Super Bowl snack ideas? Check out my post highlighting my segment on  Better Mornings Atlanta from last year!

Happy Chinese New Year! It is now the year of the dragon! Our family celebrated last night. My mother-in-law prepared a delicious hot pot feast, which was incredibly easy and delicious. We had a plain broth as well as a spicy broth in which we cooked all different kinds of seafood and meat, in addition to lots of great veggies.

I did make it into the kitchen to make one thing this past week, and that was Apple Pie Steel-Cut Oats in the slow cooker. This was a cinch to prepare the night before and then have it steam overnight in the slow cooker so that we awoke Sunday morning to the delicious apple-pear aroma wafting from the kitchen. I did make a few minor adjustments to the recipe based on what I had on hand. I used soy milk in place of the half and half, substituted a grated pear for the apple and used both apple butter and apple sauce (probably totaling about 3/4 cup). Even my son lapped it up. I enjoyed the leftovers this morning too!

We continue to be blessed by the generosity of friends bringing us delicious meals. Last week, we had spaghetti, a chicken pesto and vegetable pasta and a taco salad. I have more friends bringing us meals this week as well. I can’t wait to see what new and wonderful foods we’ll get to have this week!

In the meantime, here is a pieced together menu plan from last year:

Monday: Roasted teriyaki salmon with quinoa and Asian stir-fry veggies

Tuesday: Turkey bratwurst patties with mixed vegetables

Wednesday: Shrimp and grits with spinach

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Slow cooker cassoulet with broccoli

Saturday: Curried lentils and rice (loosely based on recipe found here) and sliced tomatoes

Sunday: Herb garden slow cooker chicken with roasted sweet potatoes and green beans

Need even more ideas? Check out Menu Plan Monday on I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Image: Naypong / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Yes, it is Tuesday. I’m a day late! I have lost track of my days after giving birth to our daughter last week! Our little girl arrived last Monday night. We are home and doing well. Big brother is adjusting well and loves his Mei-Mei (Chinese for little sister).

We are very fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have been incredible with my son, playing with him daily and helping out around the house with whatever we need. As has my mother-in-law and my mom. A dear neighbor and friend has coordinated meals being brought to us through the website Lotsa Helping Hands. This is a terrific website for any family that has a need where you can create a community to help out. It isn’t always easy to ask for help, but this website makes it very easy to fulfill needs. I feel very blessed.

With all that said, I will be taking a break from my weekly meal planning for the next few weeks and relish having friends and family bring us meals! Though I will still try to post something in this spot every Monday. More than likely, I’m going to recycle old menu plans from this past year and of course still link up to Menu Plan Monday over on I’m an Organizing Junkie. It is good sometimes to look back at what you’ve already created rather than reinvent the wheel all the time! Hope it sparks some inspiration for you.

So here is what I had planned this time last year:

Monday: Chili (I’ll be making up the recipe as I go in my crockpot)and spinach salad

Tuesday: Baked salmon, broccoli & brown rice (I’ll make up the seasonings as I go, depending upon my mood)

Wednesday: Garden turkey meatballs and spaghetti from No Whine with Dinner (I’ll probably make another veggie on the side)

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Homemade pizza and spinach salad

Saturday: Mustard maple pork tenderloin, Mediterranean vegetables and quinoa

Sunday: Flaky fish sticks from The Mom’s Guide to Meal Makeovers, roasted sweet potatoes and green beans

Well, it is finally here. Our daughter will arrive this week! I’m getting induced. On the one hand, it would be nice to experience going into labor naturally, but my doctor has decided it would be best to go ahead and induce. The planner in me is very happy about that, not to mention, I’m ready! We are very excited. Of course I can’t wait to be up and about again rather than on bedrest, though I will certainly be taking it easy for a while since my stamina is fairly low.

Here is a menu plan for this week with some of our favorites that might give you some inspiration:

Monday: Skillet Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans

Tuesday: Tuna Melts with a Spinach and Apple Salad

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Old Fashioned Pot Roast with Steamed Broccoli

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Homemade Pizza and Caesar Salad

Saturday: Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice with Mixed Green Salad

Sunday: Simple Supper

Hope you all have a wonderful week! I know we will!

Happy New Year!!

It is hard to believe that 2011 is now behind us and 2012 is here! I’m not much of a resolution person, but the other day on twitter, I saw someone proposing the idea of a one-word theme instead. This resonated with me.

My theme for this year is going to be “intentional.” Meaning to be present in all my interactions, projects, friendships, etc. it is so easy to get caught up sometimes in our everyday lives that we just go through the motions and don’t devote our full attention to what we are doing, who we are speaking with, what we are writing, and so on. I find myself doing that far too often as I allow myself to be easily distracted. Therefore I want to be more in the moment and intentional in everything that I do.

Last year at this time, I committed to writing weekly menu plans and posting them on my blog as not only a way to share what we are doing, but to hold me accountable. Menu planning has revolutionized my home life – making my life so much less stressful as well as helping my family save money. Having this platform on which to share it has really kept me committed, especially on those weeks when I’ve been busy and haven’t felt like doing it. Or even now as I really can’t cook for my family as I continue to be on bedrest. At least I have a plan in place whether it is me fulfilling our dinners or someone else. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me in this endeavor over the past year. I love having friends come up and tell me how much they appreciate my plans and recipes. But don’t be shy, feel free to leave comments on the blog as well!

Our baby girl’s arrival might be imminent. Unfortunately I have moved to total bedrest rather than just partial, but hopefully our bundle of joy will arrive within the next 2 weeks. If I am unable to menu plan next week, I will have a guest do it for me. I’ll keep you all posted. I’m excited and nervous all at the same time!

With all that said, here is our plan for the week:

Monday: Chili and Cornbread (courtesy of my dad!) with a Green Salad

Tuesday: Sunflower Zucchini Pie

Wednesday: Chicken Florentine Casserole (courtesy of my mom!) with a Fruit Salad

Thursday: Ground Turkey and Vegetable Spaghetti

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Easy Salmon Cakes with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Sunday: Slow Cooker Chicken Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo (leftovers in the freezer)

Hope everyone’s 2012 is off to a great start! What is your theme for the coming year?

It has been fun to look back on my blog this past year as 2011 was the first year that I really devoted myself to weekly postings, spearheaded by Menu Plan Monday. It has inspired me to be more creative in the kitchen and to try new foods as well as share some of our family favorites.

I’m hoping that 2012 brings even more delicious ramblings and food postings once life settles down after I have my baby here within the next 2 week or so! I’m also looking forward to learning to use my new camera so that my food photography vastly improves! As you’ll see, there is much room for me to do better!

According to my readers, the following were the top 10 recipe posts on my blog:

10. Banana Coconut Pancakes

I must admit this is one of my favorite recipes that I recently created. These pancakes were light, fluffy and bursting with flavor. I have a soft spot for pancakes and love trying out different recipes.

9. Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I use my slow cooker at least once a week. This was an easy dump and go recipe, perfect for those hectic days when you need a satisfying dinner on the table in a hurry.

8. Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

This casserole is the ultimate in comfort food and very easy to prepare, especially if you have leftover chicken.

7. Pumpkin French Toast

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals and I love making French toast when I don’t have time for pancakes. This was a delicious way to use pumpkin, another favorite ingredient of mine.

6. Chicken and Tofu Enchiladas

I created this recipe as a way to use some leftover chicken as well as stretch it a little further with tofu. It is a great way to introduce picky eaters to tofu as well.

5. Happy Hummingbird Muffins

I’m also a muffin fanatic and this recipe turned my favorite cake, Hummingbird Cake, into a whole grain muffin.

4. Thai Basil Peanut Pesto

Recipe Redux started in June as a monthly cooking round-up created by dietitians. Each month has a different theme and I created this twist on pesto for our sauce, dressing and condiment month. I put it on mini pizzas as well as soba noodles.

3. Grilled Flank Steak with Grilled Corn and Peach Salsa

This was the first Recipe Redux post that I created and definitely one of my favorites. Grilled flank steak is probably one of my husband’s favorite meals.

2. Roasted Pumpkin, Squash and Apple Soup

Another Recipe Redux post, this one from October featuring fresh pumpkin. This was my first time using fresh pumpkin and I was really happy with how easy and wonderful it was!

1. Summer Beverages: Concord Grape Spritzer, Ginger Orange Juice & Cucumber Water

I’m surprised this was the top post for the year (and yes, another from Recipe Redux), but I do love all of these refreshing drinks, especially since I was pregnant at the time and couldn’t enjoy some of my favorite cocktails.

So what were some of your favorite recipes from this year?

Thank you for the positive feedback, inspiration to continue and for returning here to see what I have come up with lately.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah this past week. I know we had a wonderful Christmas. It was so much fun watching my son really start to understand and enjoy Christmas. I especially loved watching my husband bake cookies with him and set them out with milk for Santa. We’ve been reading a little book about the meaning of Christmas with my son so it was nice to be able to relate to the story on Christmas day with him.

It was hard sitting on the sidelines throughout this holiday season and not doing my usual activities such as baking and cooking and spending more time with family and friends. But keeping my little girl incubating just a little longer is my job right now. I did manage to make these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls though on Christmas Eve so we could enjoy them on Christmas day. I adapted the recipe for my bread machine to do most of the work as well as used all white whole wheat flour and they came out fantastic!

My husband’s family came over for lunch on Christmas day and we had a fabulous Chinese feast. I’ll need to post our recipe for Ma Po Tofu that my husband and I created years ago. It is spicy but a family favorite! We also had a variety of other dishes that my mother-in-law made that were outstanding. It is nice to have some non—traditional foods on Christmas day! We then had a large dinner with my extended family at my grandmother’s house. I contributed a salad with persimmons, dried cranberries and apple. The persimmon really added some nice flavor and color to the salad. I just love putting fruit in my salads! How about you?

Here is our menu plan for the week:

Monday: Christmas Leftovers

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna and Green Salad (missed last week)

Wednesday: Leftovers from Freezer

Thursday: Rotisserie-style Slow Cooker Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans

Friday: Chicken and Tofu Enchiladas with Sautéed Spinach

Saturday: New Year’s Eve Brunch at my sister’s house

Sunday: Black-eye Peas, Collards and Brown Rice

Happy New Year!