Week Two

After last week's meatloaf debacle I made sure to have Chris review the menu selection as well as any questionable ingredients.

• Breakfast: Blueberry muffins (from scratch)
• I made sure these were bigger than the applesauce muffins from week one, but now I encountered a storage problem. What is the best way to store muffins so they don't get stale (or slimy on top if they have a sugar topping)?

• Sunday -  Mexican Style Turkey with Pasta (for lunch)
  
• This one was from one of those magazine style cookbooks.  Basically it was ground meat, pasta, pasta sauce, salsa, and cheese. Overall, not bad - but it was missing something although neither of us could put our finger on it.  Chris just added more cheese (this may be his "ketchup")

• Dinner out with friends, but smores at home for dessert 
• We LOVE doing smores at home.  We just use a sterno and some kabob sticks.  I have to admit I'm not a purist when it comes to smores.  Cadbury Dark Chocolate wins over a Hershey bar for me.
  

• Monday - Pseudo Jambalya (turkey sausage and teriyaki flavored rice).
• This an easy meal and would have gone ever better but I put too many kidney beans into the mix.  It tasted fine, but lead to ...discomfort....later.  

• Tuesday - Leftovers
• I'm still working on portioning, so we had a lot of pasta and jambalya left over.  (Even after taking it for lunch).  Apparently Chris was already spoiled with having fesh dinner every night because I heard about the fact that we had leftovers for quite some time....he better get used to it.

• Wednesday - Turkey Cutlets and Stuffing
• What could be easier - mix up the stuffing, place it in a casserole dish, place the cutlets on top and bake for 45 minutes.  I even remembered to to broil it at the end so we could have the crispy stuffing.  This was a big hit.
  

• Thursday - Buffalo Chicken Dip
• EASY and DELICIOUS
• I used ranch, instead of bleu cheese dressing, and all fat free/low fat ingredients so it was healthier than it could have been.  We had it with celery (for me) and tortilla chips (for Chris)

• Friday - Buffalo Chick Dip round 2  
• I guess not all leftovers are that bad :)

Lesson #4: Leftovers

• Buffalo Chicken Dip = okay
• Mexican Style Pasta = not as okay

Lesson # 5: Less is more when it comes to beans

New Year's Resolution...and then some

So it's that time of year when we all pledge to make big changes...and that lasts for about a month (if we're lucky). This year, I'm adding this blog to my resolution to help me stick with it.

My resolution for 2010?  Stop using ketchup... Really.

Okay, I'm not swearing off the 57 altogether, but I will stop using it to cover up my poor cooking.  Other than cereal (which doesn't really count as cooking anyway) I have masked most of my handywork with a big squirt of the red miracle.

This resolution has several caveats:

• plan our meals weekly (yes, I have been subjecting my husband to my cooking as well)
  
• try new foods
• stick to the plan
• meals must be healthy, budget friendly and EASY

Armed with my cookbooks, magazines, and bookmarks I will begin my year of being (almost) ketchup-free.

Week One

It took almost two hours to plan 5 meals....

The plan was to buy a large portion of meat and use it for several meals.

• Breakfast - Applesauce Muffins
• These were in the weekly grocery ad and were pretty tasty but I made them too small so they didn't make it to the end of the week.
  
• Sunday - Homemade Chicken Soup
•  We've made this before. It was delicious and healthy, as always.
• Monday - BLTs
• We ended up eating leftover Chicken Soup instead.  I forgot my husband, Chris, doesn't like tomatoes, making the "T" a tough sell.  Besides we had enough soup for lunch and dinner.
• Tuesday - Meatloaf (beef/turkey blend) with Mashed Pot. and Veggies
• Day 3 and we already needed the ketchup...and not just because it goes well with meatloaf.  Not only was it a little dry, but I distinctly remembered a conversation between my husband and his brother about carrots in meatloaf.  Apparently it was anti-carrots but I remembered it as pro-carrots.  
• Wednesday - Tacos
• Chris ate it all up - and not just because it was doused in nacho cheese (Although this was his excuse to have a ton of it)
  
• Thursday - Ziti with meat sauce
• Turned into left over meat with rice....easier.
  
• Friday - eat out
• THANK GOODNESS
  

Lesson 1: Chris does not like tomatoes, so BLTs are not an option.
Lesson 2: Meatloaf - no carrots, less time in oven.
Lesson 3: Make sure Chris listens to the menu before heading to the store