My First Meal Plan--I hope its not the last!

Here goes nothing.  In an effort to keep myself accountable and to make WW work this time around, I am going to plan weekly menus for meals and post them here.  When time allows, I plan to include a grocery list by section of the grocery store.  Some weeks I know I will be making more food that is really needed, and I plan to freeze those things to use when I don't have time to cook.  

This week the recipes come from Skinnytaste.com.  This site has great recipes, has the WW points listings, and is even being updated to include the new Smart Points.  So here is the plan for the week:

Breakfast (weekdays): On the weekdays I usually eat breakfast when I get to work.  Not ideal for all, but ideal for me.  These are things I can take to work on Monday and keep in my desk for during the week. 

• Quaker Lower Sugar Instant Oats with a fruit cup.  I like to mix the fruit into the oatmeal when I heat it. 

Breakfast  (week ends): In theory on the weekends I have more time to cook myself something at home.  This week I am trying to use up things I already know I have in my fridge.  

• 2 eggs and turkey sausage crumbles with salsa. 

Lunches: Either or, not both!

• Crock Pot Balsamic Pork and steamed Veggies
• Mini Turkey Meatball Vegetable soup

I plan to make these two things on Sunday Night and package into portions so I can grab and go.  

Snacks: Again, this is something that I will typically eat at work, and can be brought in on Monday for the Week and kept at my desk.

• Apples

Dinners:

• Chicken Pot Pie Soup and Salad  
• Farro and Chicken Sausage stuffed acorn Squash and Green Beans

I also plan to make these 2 things on Sunday.  I think I can make the  soup and freeze some, the squashes I will assemble to the point where I can just bake them.  

Dessert: (when points allow for it or I need something sweet) These shakes are really good.  You could use any vanilla protein powder instead of the WW version.  This tastes like an orange julius!  

• Weight watchers Vanilla Smoothie Blended with No Sugar added mandarin Orange cup.

SHOPPING LIST

Grocery Section

• Quaker Oats Lower Sugar Fruit and Cream Oats (I am using up what is in the pantry)
• Dole No sugar added Peach Cups (I already have some)
• 46 ounces chicken broth
• balsamic vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Honey
• Whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 2 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
• Bay leaves
• Chicken bullion
• Pearled farro
• Mandarin orange cups (no sugar added)
• Green Beans (canned)

Frozen Foods:

• Veggie Steamers without Sauce
• Frozen mixed veggies

Dairy Section

• Eggs
• Parmesan Cheese
• Fat free milk

Meat

• Jimmy Dean Cooked Turkey Sausage Crumbles
• 2 lb boneless Pork shoulder roast (sirloin roast)
• 1.3 lbs Lean ground turkey breast
• 16 oz cooked chicken
• 2 links raw sweet Italian Chicken sausage

Produce

• Salsa (I like the kind you find in the produce section)
• Parsley
• Garlic (minced)
• 4 onions
• Carrots (1 c diced)
• Celery (4 stalks)
• Rosemary
• Basil
• Zucchini (8 oz diced)
• Spinach (2 cups fresh)
• 3 packages sliced baby portabella mushrooms
• Thyme
• 2 red potatoes
• 3 acorn squash
• Sage leaves
• Apples
• Salad Mix
• Tomatoes for salads your choice

This list does not include basics like flour, EVOO, Salt and Pepper. 

Now I have no excuses not to buy this stuff and make it too.  

Mom's Chicken and Orzo

I think every cook should have that ONE recipe, you know, the ONE recipe that makes you think, MY MOM made this for me when ______.  And you can fill in the blanks with many things, cause its the favorite thing your Mom made for you and for whatever the reason might be, it just makes you think of MOM.  So this is it, my MOM recipe.  I used to ask for this when I came home from college, or at least that is how I remember it, It might have been high school.  Either way, my MOM used to make this for me.  Love ya MOM.  You are the best.

Mom's Chicken with Orzo

Enough Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts to feed your people
Favorite Chicken Marinade
1 box of orzo, unless you are serving an army, that should be more than enough
Olive Oil
Large Box of Chicken Broth
Parmesean Cheese (one tub of the preshredded should be enough, unless you are feeding an army)
Fresh Basil (as much as you like)
1 oz container of fresh sliced mushrooms
Frozen Green Peas.
Salt
Pepper

DISCLAIMER: Mom didn't do the peas and mushrooms, and sometimes I leave them out too.

Marinate some chicken breasts in your favorite marinade.  Mom always used Italian Salad Dressing. I have been using those premarinated and indivually packaged and portioned Purdue chicken breasts. 

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms in olive oil until cooked through.  Then add as much orzo as you think would be enough for your people to the skillet with the mushrooms  Half a box is plenty for two with lots of leftovers.  Allow some of the raw orzo to brown a little. Then add as much of the broth as will cover the orzo.  Cook, stir and watch as the broth is absorbed.  If all the broth is absorbed and the orzo is not done, add more broth. If you run out of broth, add water.  When almost all of the water is gone, add as many frozen peas as you would like.

Chop the basil. I have those nifty herb dicing scizzors.  Get some, they rock.  Add as much basil as you'd like.  Then sprinkle cheese to cover the top, and stir it in so it melts.  Add as much cheese as you prefer.  Salt and Pepper to Taste. 

Grill the chicken and serve with the orzo.  Yum.  Just like Mom used to make. 

Potato Leek Soup

This is delicious, requires few ingredients and is relatively easy.
Adapted from myRecipes.com, and Cooking Light September 2005

1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 cups Finely Chopped Leeks, (approximately 4 leeks)
5 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
3 cups 2 inch diced red potatoes
3 cups chopped cauliflower
1 cup Fat free milk
Black pepper to taste
1/8 tsp salt
1 14 oz can creamed corn
bacon crumbles to taste


In a dutch oven, add oil and heat over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir them frequently to avoid browning. Set the cooked leeks aside.

Then mix the broth, potato, cauliflower in the pan, bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potato is tender, about 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and stir in the mix. Add a fourth of the leeks back in and puree the mixture in several batches until smooth. Then mix it all back together. For added texture, also set aside some of the whole potato and mix back in after its pureed.

Put it all back in the pot, and add in the creamed corn and cook until heated through. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with bacon crumbles.

Basic Buttercream

This is adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 4 Cups of Frosting
3 Sticks Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 pound powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

food coloring

Beat butter until creamy, and pale on medium speed. Then add the vanilla. Add the sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Add more confectioner's sugar to make desired consistency.

RED BAY, Alabama

NOT A FUN PLACE.  Just sayin.  Not the culinary capital of the world.

The most recent yummy dessert-CARAMEL BUTTER BARS

THIS RECIPE IS SO GOOD!


This recipe comes from another one of my favorite blogs.  I made these for my grandma, cause she is such a lovely lady.  I was not able to give her them myself, but I hear she loved them.  Again, from one of my favorite sites, Taste and Tell, who took the original recipe from the Cookbook, Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey Desserts, these Carmel Butter Bars are dee-lish-us!  The original recipe called them gooey,  but they weren't messy at all!


I made them in an aluminum pan lined with parchment, and then turned them out on to a big cutting board to slice.  Inch wide pieces were enough, as they are buttery and rich.  I believe they traveled well as my mom took them in a a plastic container in her carryon on a 3 hour flight. 


For St. Patty's day I am gonna dye the cookie batter part with green food coloring for a little fun!  I would also like to try sprinkling the caramel filling with mini chocolate chips. 

Caramel Butter Bars

Preheat oven to 325 F

Crust:
4 sticks  unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
In a mixing bowl, mix together the butter and both sugars until creamy.  Add vanilla, salt until mixed together.  Add in the flour a little at a time until it forms a dough.   Set aside two-thirds of the dough, wrapped in plastic or in a zip bag, flattened and placed in the fridge to cool for about 20 minutes while you make the rest. 

Coat a 9 x 13 aluminum baking pan with a little cooking spray, cut parchment to line the pan so you can later use it to lift out the finished and slightly cooled bars.  Press the remaining one third of the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan to make a crust.  Bake in the oven at 325 degrees F, for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool while you do the rest. 

Caramel filling:
14 oz caramel candies, (about one bag of those individually wrapped kraft or generic ones). Get an assistant and make them unwrap each one. 
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 1/2-2  cups nuts of your choosing (cashews are delicious)

While the bottom crust cooks, make the caramel middle.  Put the caramels (unwrapped, we dont want to eat plastic now do we?) in a microwave safe bowl, add cream, vanilla and salt.  Microwave on high for 1 minute, remove and stir.  Continue to microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring between each until caramels are completely melted, and all the cream is incorporated and smooth. 

Sprinkle your nut of choice, liberally over the bottom crust.  Pour and spread the caramel over the nuts evenly.  Add some more nuts, or other toppings you may choose. 

Top Crust:
Take the remaining two thirds of the dough out of the fridge. You want it to have firmed up a little.  Crumble it in large pieces over the top of the caramel.  There will be a lot of it just keep crumbling until its all covered and press it down a little. 

Cook for another 30 minutes or until golden.  Let cool, and remove from pan using the parchment.  Slice in to inch square pieces.

Crock Pot Tortilla Soup with Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

Yummy!  When its winter (or what we call winter down here in So. Fla)  this is a good quick dinner.  Its also good when this Texas girl misses good, REAL TEX MEX and it isn't cold in So. Fla. at all!

The recipe says to do it in the crock pot, but I have done it stove top.  My favorite way to do it is to dump everything in the crock pot on a Sunday morning, and its ready for dinner that night, with leftovers for freezing of for the week.  I came across a similar recipe on the Fort Worth Star Telegram website a while back, but could not find the link.  I also consulted this recipe on Food.com .  Hope you enjoy! 

Crock Pot Tortilla Soup with Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

From The Fort Worth Star Telegram

Prep time: 30 minutes

1 1/2 pounds cooked shredded chicken (what I usually do is buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery and use all the chicken off of it in the soup.  Just shred it up and dump it in.)         

1  15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1  14 oz. can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (in the Mexican food Aisle.  Comes in a can.  Not the green salsa) 

2  7 oz. cans Diced Green Chiles

1  15 oz. can pinto beans, drained

1  medium onion, chopped

2  tbsp minced garlic (or just use the chopped jarred kind)

2  cups water

1  15 oz. can chicken broth

2  tsp each: cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper (or to taste) (I usually just sprinkle each all over the top of the crock pot, and then taste to make sure its enough for me)

1  15 oz. can corn, drained.  I like to use the "summer" variety corn.

Tortilla Chips, for garnish (optional)
Mexican Blend Cheese, for garnish (optional)
Sour Cream, for garnish (optional)
Avocado, for garnish (optional)

In crock pot, combine everything together.  Hold the garnish for, I don't know, garnish???? Cover and cook for 6-8 hours. 
To serve it up, I crush the chips up and put them in the bowl first, sprinkle them with a little cheese and then top with the hot soup.  Top it off with a dallop of sour cream and chunks of avocado or more cheese if you like.