Easy Dinner

Well tonight was such a quick and easy dinner I thought I'd share it with my Menu Plan Monday bloggers (some of them post pictures of their dinners and include recipes-I've never taken the time to do this myself).



We had garlic roasted chicken with steamed broccoli and red potatoes. It was so very very easy. I bought whole chickens on sale a couple of weeks ago and boiled them and split the chicken up into ziplock freezer bags. So the chicken was already cooked. I defrosted it in the fridge over night and then sprinkled the roasted garlic seasoning into the freezer bag and shook it. Then I placed the chicken into a tinfoil pouch and placed in the oven for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. While the chicken was cooking I sliced red potatoes and broccoli and placed in a Ziplock steam bag. I then sprinkled powdered butter seasoning (intended for popcorn) and basil into the bag. I placed this in the microwave for seven minutes just before the chicken was ready. Everything turned out great...except the broccoli. The broccoli was cooked too long and ended up too soft and it soaked up way too much of the basil seasoning. So next time I'll just put the vegetables in individual steamer bags.

This dinner was super easy and quick and no clean up! You just toss the tin foil and steamer bag when you are done cooking!!

I got this "Tone's" roasted garlic seasoning at Sam's years ago and just LOVE it! It is super easy, especially since I have "texture issues" with sliced peppers and onions (I like the flavor just don't care for the texture).

Menu Plan Monday 1/29

Well I only have two nights to plan for this week. We will be leaving Wednesday on vacation and I won't have to plan menus for the rest of the week. But I did sit down last week and planned a menu for the month of February! Made out the grocery list for each week too, now if I actually stick to the menu we will be doing great!

So for this week it will be easy. I have pork chops marinating in the fridge for tonight and tomorrow I am thinking salad and sandwiches. Something easy, quick and won't require much cleaning.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Menu Plan Monday 1/14/08

My menu did not go as planned last week either. My problem was also getting things thawed in time to prepare dinner. So this week should be a breeze to come up with since I have so many menus from last week. I am doing alright with the weight loss-still only losing 1-2 pounds a week. Which I know is good but I miss the 4-5 pound losses per week.

I got a surprise in the mail Friday. My very own copy of the Weight Watchers 5 ingredients 15 minutes cookbook, thanks to my in laws! So now I can rate each recipe and mark the ones I've tried and the ones I want to try! Also the 2008 version of the cookbook, which I ordered from ebay, has arrived at the post office. So we will be making a trip to the post office today to retrieve it-cannot wait to see what new recipes are in the new edition!

So here is our menu for the week-as of today. I am doing a little better about adding more fruits and veggies to my diet. I am trying to cut out some carbs-mostly during my lunch and dinner meals. I cannot cut them completely I just love them too much. I do need to start using some of my freezer meals. So this week I'll be using some of the ham and a bag of soup. No weight watchers recipes for this week. But the broccoli cheddar soup recipe came from the "Fix it and Forget it Lightly cookbook" and it is delish!

Monday: Salad and potatoes
Tuesday: Hamburgers, baked fries and salad
Wednesday: Chicken Roll ups and veggies
Thursday: Ham (in the freezer) and veggies
Friday: Broccoli cheddar soup (in the freezer) and sandwiches

Menu Plan Monday 1/7/08

This week is pretty easy. I did the shopping yesterday and was very pleased with the bill-very small. If I keep it up I could actually come within our grocery budget for the month. I have several menu items that I carried over from last month that did not get cooked-so that has really helped.

I am still loving the Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. (I've seen a 2008 edition on ebay-I might have to check it out also!!) I am going to have to try to find one of my own so I can return this borrowed book. Then I can tag my favorite recipes-which is just about every one in the book! There are many soup recipes I'd like to try this month.

I am also trying to add more fruits and veggies to my menu-I have somewhat slacked off in this area this last two months and the scale shows it. I haven't been losing as much as I would have liked-but at least I am losing.

So here it is...

Monday: Balsamic Pork w/garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli
Tuesday: Tortellini Primavera with Pesto Sauce and broccoli (new one for me)
Wednesday: DH's night to cook-probably something w/chicken
Thursday: Ham and veggies
Friday: Creamy Chicken Spinach Soup and sandwiches (new soup to try)


Balsamic Pork is one of my favorite recipes from the WW cookbook:

4 (4 ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops about 1/2 inch thick
1 tsp salt free lemon herb seasoning
cooking spray
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (this stuff smells really bad-but tastes great!)
1/3 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth

Sprinkle chops evenly on both sides with seasoning. Coat a medium non stick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chops, and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chops from skillet, and keep warm. (At this point I just pour the balsamic vinegar in the pan and cook the chops again on both sides for about a minute each side-but here is the rest of the recipe)

Wipe drippings from skillet with a paper towel. Combine vinegar and broth in skillet. Cook over medium high heat until mixture is reduced to a thin sauce-about 5-6 minutes-stir occasionally. Spoon sauce over chops.

This is quick an easy and delicious!

Menu Plan Monday 12/3

Well we have eaten out more this week than we have in a while. So I really need to stick to the menu this week if I want to have a nice loss on weigh in day. These one pound losses each week are driving me crazy. I'd like to lose ten more pounds before the end of the year-won't meet my original goal (seventeen pounds to go for that)but I'll just have to set a new goal. I did much better sticking with the menu last week so hopefully I'll do the same this week as well.

We tried a few new recipes from the Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook last week. The 'grilled honey balsamic salmon' wasn't my favorite. Maybe I cooked it too long but it wasn't nearly as good as the Orange glazed salmon recipe I tried a few weeks ago. The Philly steak and cheese sandwhiches were really good. We will have to do that again. The terriyaki pork loin and terriyaki chicken I have cooked before and again they were good.

This weekend I sat down and planned my menus for the month-don't gasp yet it may seem organized and it'd be great if I'd follow my monthly menu for a full month but I never do. But I still sit down at the first of every month, plan my menus for five days a week, and even make out a grocery list for each week. Then every weekend I'll check the menu for that week and see what we already have and add the items we need to the main grocery list which is on the fridge. But there are days we might eat out or eat elsewhere, or there may be days I forget to defrost the meat and the menu gets a little jumbled. But I enjoy planning and even if I don't follow it perfectly it is much better than not having a plan at all.

Monday: Baked potatoes and salads (back to my easy Monday menus)
Tuesday: Tex Mex Pepper Steak
Wednesday: Skillet Ziti & veggies
Thursday: BBQ meatloaf-never made meatloaf before so we'll see how we like it
Friday: Taco Chicken tortilla wraps

All the menus are from the Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. I cannot rave enough about this cookbook. I just love it! I've been using a lot of recipes from it the last few months. I borrowed it from my mom, and she had borrowed it from someone else. So I will have to return it someday. I am hoping to get one for Christmas!! *hint* *hint*

Hope everyone has a great week and happy planning!

Menu Plan Monday 11/26

We had lots of leftovers from Thanksgiving, so much that I opted to put them in the freezer for Christmas instead of eating leftovers by myself this week. Dh doesn't care for a lot of the holiday casseroles and I really don't need to be eating them since I am trying to lose weight. So into the freezer they went. So we have a small pan of dressing, sweet potatoes, lima beans, and dressing. Plus I had prepared two large pans of mac & cheese, one for Wednesday dinner with my in-laws and one for Thanksgiving day with my family. We only ate half a pan on Wednesday so we just used the leftovers for Thursday and put the full pan in the freezer. And a friend made us a HUGE pan of dressing and we halved it and only cooked half of it Thanksgiving day and put the other pan in the freezer (and ended up only eating about half of the dressing anyway). So that is a lot of cooking already taken care of for Christmas-hopefully they will all freeze well and recook well. Will see.

As for this week of meal planning, I am doing my best not to have to make a grocery run. I might have to make a run for milk and sprites but that will hopefully be it. Tonight we tried Philly steak and cheese sandwiches. They turned out very tasty. Wal-mart sells a small box of thinly slice meat in the freezer department, saw it the other day and thought I'd try it out. I pulled a few pieces of green and red bell pepper from the freezer (that I had previously cut up and placed in freezer bags) and stir fried them with the meat. Placed them on tasted buns with shredded mozzarella cheese-delish! This was a recipe from Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook Everything on the menu this week comes from this cookbook- I JUST LOVE THIS COOKBOOK!! I will let you know how everything turns out. I am not a fan of salmon-but I did cook it several weeks ago using a recipe from this book and it was WONDERFUL! So I cannot wait to try it again!

Monday: Philly steak & cheese sandwiches, w/apple slices and chips
Tuesday: Terriyaki Pork Loin
Wednesday: Grilled Honey Balsamic Salmon w/veggies and baked fries
Thursday: Terriyaki Grilled Chicken
Friday: Roast w/mashed potatoes and corn

Menu Plan Monday 11/19

We have two Thanksgiving dinners this week, plus I meet with my Bunco group tonight so the menu is very easy to plan this week! We have Thanksgiving dinner at the in laws Wednesday evening and then again with my family Thursday evening. Since my family is coming in Wednesday I will prepare taco soup in the crockpot-so that will be very easy. I am planning on leftovers for the rest of the week. So I really only need to plan for two menus outside of Thanksgiving dinner.

As far as the weight loss-I haven't been doing as well as I would like. I am not getting my water in nor am I getting my fruits and veggies. Gotta work on that!! Especially if I don't want to come to a screeching hault during the holidays. I also need to get back on the stair stepper and get started running.

I did come across a blog last night that really got me inspired to get on my bike again. While Dh and I were dating we would ride a lot. We had cheapo bikes but we knew we probably wouldn't stick with it so we didn't want to purchase expensive bikes. Good choice since they have been steadily rusting away in the storage shed. But I would like to get them out and see if they are ridable. Especially since J is getting his first "big boy" bike this Christmas. I have very fond memories of riding bikes through the neighborhood with my family when we were in kindergarten. It would be great exercise and great quality time together as a family. So we will see how that goes!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Monday: Mommy has bunco-nothing planned
Tuesday: Philly steak sandwiches-a new recipes I'll be trying from the WW cookbook
Wednesday: Crock pot Taco soup
Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner!!
Friday: Leftovers!

menu plan monday 11/6

We just returned late last night from a 4 day/3 night camping trip. So our menu planning will start today. After a quick inventory I realized we still had at least a weeks worth of menus that were planned for but not used. So except for a few items we needed and things we need for the upcoming birthday party, we really didn't need much this week to complete our meals for the week.

So here is our menu:

Tuesday: tacos, beans
Wednesday: italian pot roast sandwiches-frozen i
Thursday: chicken alfredo w/italian green beans
Friday: Easy quesadillas w/veggies

Menu Plan Monday 10/29

I have been loving these new Weight Watchers recipes. I have tried several of them this month and every one of them have been great. I cannot wait to try more of them this week. These recipes are really helping with the weight loss also. Trying new recipes that are low in calories is a great way to keep the menu fresh and delicious.

Monday: Dinner Out-Dad's in town and we are treating him tonight
Tuesday: Lemon-Lime Chicken
Wednesday: Italian Pot Roast-frozen
Thursday: Ham & Veggies
Friday: Left overs

Looking Great in 2008 Weigh-in #3 (#1 for me)

OK I joined the "Look Great in 2008" challenge on October 3rd but had started my weight loss journey on September 3rd. My initial goal was to lose 86 pounds-WOW that's a whole person-well a kid anyway. As of October 3rd I had lost 8 pounds in about 5 weeks. Not bad but after losing 6 pounds the very first week I was really hoping for at least 2-3 pounds a week.

Anyway, this morning I got on the scale...and I've lost 5 pounds this past week!! I have really been watching what I eat, trying to add fruits and veggies-still not a big variety of either but at least I am eating them. Funny thing is I have eaten out 4 times this last week. Went to a pizza buffet twice-but only ate one slice of pizza at one visit and none at the second. Went to Applebee's twice-got what I thought was a good meal, but looked it up when I got home to find it was a 1000 calorie meal!! YIKES! Still only had 2k calories that day. But did much better the second visit to Applebee's and chose something off the WW menu.




So I feel much better this week. Hopefully I'll be able to fit in some of my old jeans soon.

Menu Plan Monday 10/8

We I didn't stick to the menu to well last week so we have a lot of leftover items on our menu. I did make the Pan-glazed chicken w/basil-and I have to highly recommend it. It was great! I'll be adding it to my list of favorites.

So here is the menu this week:

Monday: Italian Pot Roast
Tuesday: Grilled Teriyaki chops
Wednesday: Taco Chicken Tortilla Wraps
Thursday: Hamburgers
Friday: Leftovers-as I will be out of town

Menu Plan Monday 10/1

Alright a start of a new month!!! Last month I lost a total of 7 pounds!! YIPPEE! But six pounds were lost in the first week and one pound in the last-so what happened in between??? Who knows. I did stray a bit but I still stayed below 2000 calories a day. So I am going to give it another try with the low calorie diet and try to watch my fat and carb intake. The website I use to track my food intake shows my diet is about 50% carbs, 32% fat and 18% protein. So I think I need to work on my carb and fat intake and get them both below 20%. My mom just did Atkins for 6 months and lost 50 pounds. But in reviewing the foods that you can eat-I just don't think I could do Atkins. I am a very picky eater and I don't care for too many vegetables. It seems most of the veggies I do like are not allowed on the Atkins diet. Plus I love sandwiches-cold or hot-and I just don't know if I could go without bread. So I am going to give another good go at the low calorie diet for another two weeks. If I don't see the results I want then I might just have to try Atkins. I really want to meet my goal of losing all my baby weight before January 1st. That is 33 pounds, in three months!!!

So this week I am going to try some new recipes from the WW Cookbook I borrowed a couple of weeks ago. I love trying new recipes so we will see how it goes.

Monday: Taco Chicken Tortilla Wraps pg 158 w/refried beans
Tuesday: Grilled Teriyaki Chops pg 93 w/corn
Wednesday: Pan-glazed Chicken w/basil pg 105 w/brown sugar sweet potatoes pg 184
Thursday: Roasted Garlic Potato soup pg 162
Friday: Italian Pot Roast pg 91 w/broccoli couscous pg 186 (if i can find couscous)

The dessert for this week is Caramel Banana Sundaes from page 30 in the WW cookbook.

Menu Plan Monday 10/1

Alright a start of a new month!!! Last month I lost a total of 7 pounds!! YIPPEE! But six pounds were lost in the first week and one pound in the last-so what happened in between??? Who knows. I did stray a bit but I still stayed below 2000 calories a day. So I am going to give it another try with the low calorie diet and try to watch my fat and carb intake. The website I use to track my food intake shows my diet is about 50% carbs, 32% fat and 18% protein. So I think I need to work on my carb and fat intake and get them both below 20%. My mom just did Atkins for 6 months and lost 50 pounds. But in reviewing the foods that you can eat-I just don't think I could do Atkins. I am a very picky eater and I don't care for too many vegetables. It seems most of the veggies I do like are not allowed on the Atkins diet. Plus I love sandwiches-cold or hot-and I just don't know if I could go without bread. So I am going to give another good go at the low calorie diet for another two weeks. If I don't see the results I want then I might just have to try Atkins. I really want to meet my goal of losing all my baby weight before January 1st. That is 33 pounds, in three months!!!

So this week I am going to try some new recipes from the WW Cookbook,= I borrowed a couple of weeks ago. I love trying new recipes so we will see how it goes.

Monday: Taco Chicken Tortilla Wraps pg 158 w/refried beans
Tuesday: Grilled Teriyaki Chops pg 93 w/corn
Wednesday: Pan-glazed Chicken w/basil pg 105 w/brown sugar sweet potatoes pg 184
Thursday: Roasted Garlic Potato soup pg 162
Friday: Italian Pot Roast pg 91 w/broccoli couscous pg 186 (if i can find couscous)

Menu Plan Monday (on Wed)

OK again I am a little late posting but I did have my menu planned out for the week-although we haven't followed it yet. We decided to pop in a frozen pizza Monday night. Tuesday night I joined the ladies for Bunco-so DH ate some leftovers from the weekend. But we will get right back on track tonight-for two days only and then I'll be leaving with the kids Friday to go out of town. Oh well all that hard work planning just goes to waste this week, but we'll have a few menus to carry over next week.

I am planning on trying some recipes from a Weight Watchers cookbook this next month. I want to try a few a week starting next week! Can't wait-some new things to try.

On the weight loss journey: I have lost another pound. That is one pound this week and a total of seven pounds in 3.5 weeks. Six pounds the first week a big fat zero for weeks two and three-how is that? Oh well-just gotta keep at it. I think I can still make my goal of being at my "pre-pregnancies" weight before Christmas (that is the weight before I got pregnant with our first child). That is 33 pounds to go-YIKES. That will be pushing it but we will see how low we can go!!

Hope everyone has a great week. Here are our menu's for the next two days:

Wednesday: Terriyaki pork loin
Thursday: Poppy Seed Chicken-frozen

Menu Plan Monday 9/17

OK I am a day late but I did have the menu planned just didn't get it online yesterday. Also while visiting my parents this weekend I borrowed a WW cookbook "5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook" and I have found some great recipes!! Every recipe has five ingredients or less and takes about fifteen minutes to prepare. So I went through the book and tagged my favorites-ended up with a months worth of new recipes!!! I cannot wait to try them. But since I was out of town this weekend and had already done my grocery shopping for this weeks menu I'll have to wait until next week.

I weighed in this morning-not pretty. I did so great the first week losing six pounds-now I am up one. Maybe it's just too early in the morning to weigh-I'm sure if I waited until after I nursed a few times I may be down one pound-but that still means I didn't lose any weight last week. How frustrating is that!?!?! I am still staying under 2000 calories and still didn't lose any weight last week...argh! I am definately not going to meet my first goal of losing that baby weight before September 19th. I am still ten pounds away. Oh well. Here is to stepping it up and trying to add exercise into my daily routine.

I made some low-fat brownies this weekend and brought them home. I could see a potential problem: I was cleaning yesterday after we got home (you know leaving DH home alone for 4 days can get really messy)each time I went into the kitchen I had to grab a piece of brownie. So I took some advice from the WW book. I bagged each brownie into individual snack sized ziplock bags and placed them in the freezer. That way I have to set them out to defrost before I eat them.

Monday: Usually salads but we opted to eat out-Corky's BBQ!
Tuesday: Shredded beef tacos (freezer meal), salad, chili beans
Wednesday: Broccoli Soup (frozen)
Thursday: Lemon-Lime Chicken, cauliflower, corn
Friday: Roast, carrots, salad

Menu Plan Monday 9/10

Well last weeks menus were great. I tried broccoli soup for the first time and it turned out pretty good. Although I added much more cheese than the recipe called for it was great. I think I'll try a new soup each week-although my husband doesn't like soup. I pulled out my "Fix it and Forget It-Lightly" cookbook and I hope to try some new recipes each week.

I also did great sticking to my diet last week- I lost 6 pounds!! I ate about 1700 calories each day which is well within the recommended range for nursing mothers. I need to work on my water intake and make sure I drink enough each day.

So here is our menu for the week and here is to hoping for another weight loss this week!

Monday Tacos
Tuesday Salad
Wednesday Chicken and Rice
Thursday Spaghetti-from the freezer
Friday Baked Ziti-from the freezer

Menu Plan Monday 9/3

Well I didn't do well with the healthy eating/cooking this past week. Hopefully I'll get to it this week. I am doing better with my water intake but still need to do better about staying away from the diet coke.

So this week we are trying a few new items: broccoli soup-which I have never cooked before. I know my husband won't care for it or even try it. But since my mom will be here a few days this week I figured it'd be a great time to try it out. Especially since she is doing the low carb thing. also quesadillas, an easy meal but I've never made them before.


Monday: Salad-as always
Tuesday: Quesadillas and baked fries and maybe some black beans if we have them
Wednesday: Broccoli Soup and salad
Thursday: Hamburgers and beans
Friday: Homemade Pizzas

Menu Plan Monday August 27th

Ok I am back at it, trying to plan and stick to the menu. I throughly enjoyed having menus brought to my house during the first two weeks following the birth of our daughter. And now it is time for me to get back in the kitchen. I also plan to start eating healthier. I want to lose all my pregnancy weight from the last pregnancy by September 19th, and be at my pre-pregnancy weight by January 1st (that is the weight I was before I got pregnant with our first). And then I'll get started on losing the rest of the extra weight I've been carrying around since my husband and I started dating.

So this week will be easy-mostly trying to use up some frozen meals as we continue to try to get back into a reasonable routine.

Monday Salad-I always try to keep Monday easy and light
Tuesday Roast with vegetables
Wednesday BBQ Sandwhiches-with leftover roast w/beans and baked fries
Thursday Poppy Seed Chicken-a frozen meal w/broccoli and cheese
Friday Shredded Beef Tacos-a frozen meal w/beans and maybe rice


Not sure the nutritional value of these meals-but since they are currently in my freezer and will save me a trip to the grocery store I'll use them this week.

We strayed from the menu a bit last week. Mommy just wasn't feeling up to cooking much. But we did have the ham casserole. I cooked the noodles in the microwave, then added cubed ham, green peas, cheese and a can of cream of chicken soup and cooked it in the microwave for about 7 minutes. It was delicious. Even my husband enjoyed it and he is not a casserole eater.

The Teriyaki Chicken-from the freezer was also great. Will be putting more of that in the freezer when I find another good deal on chicken.

This weeks menu again will be easy and simple since we have yet to get our oven fixed.

Monday: Tosquitos with rice & beans
Tuesday: Lemon-lime chicken (frozen)
Wednesday: Beef Enchiladas (frozen)
Thursday: Grilled chicken sandwiches
Friday: Hamburgers with fries and baked beans

Menu Plan Monday

Well we stuck to the menu for the most part last week. We had an unexpected (well appreciated) guest and our oven went out. So believe me those pre-cooked frozen meals I have stored in my freezer really came in handy last week. All we did was thaw overnight and heat in the microwave.

I have always read mixed reviews about freezing pasta meals ahead. But for the most part the pasta turned out edible, wasn't as firm as I like it but it was good.

We had a huge ham in the freezer so I thawed it this weekend and we'll be eating on it most of the week-starting tonight. I just threw some in the crockpot to warm during the day, then baked potatoes in the microwave and warmed a can of peas. Easy and simple!

Here is our menu for the week: Hope pour hubby doesn't get too tired of ham!

Monday: Dining out (our house is being shown at dinner time)
Tuesday: Ham casserole-includes veggies
Wednesday: Teriyaki Chicken-from the freezer
Thursday: Ham & Potatoes with a vegetable Carried over from last week
Friday: Tacos -might serve with beans or rice (hubby doesn't like either one)