This Mommy's Meals

Friday, October 28, 2011

2011-10-28T18:19:00.000-05:00

So....where have I been, you might (or might not) wonder? Well, I finally went to the doctor on Monday, after being under-the-weather for 3 weeks, and was told that I had bronchitis, a sinus infection, and a double ear infection. So, this news led me to actually listen to my body, and the doctor, and do some good resting this week. We've been having leftovers of Monday night's cheesy potato soup, which I think was delicious, especially when served with sourdough french bread, and even better with bacon on top!

Breakfast:
The girls and I had whole wheat bagels with various toppings. Big girl had all-fruit jelly, little bit had strawberry cream cheese & I had honey nut cream cheese. The girls had milk to drink & Mommy had coffee!!

Lunch:
Big girl had a natural turkey sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread with carrot sticks, apple slices, and a 100% juice CapriSun. Little bit & I had a lunch date (it's been a few weeks) at her favorite restaurant, a local Japanese buffet with sushi, hibachi, warm foods, salads, desserts, and lots of yummy foods. It was a nice treat!

Dinner:
I'm making Sweet Peas and Pumpkins' FNB--Mom's Oh-so-good Tilapia. I mixed the sauce ingredients early & stuck it in the fridge. I used only one pinch of red pepper, as my family is not fond of spicy hot foods. I find that one or two pinches is usually their max. I also mixed the panko/sesame mix in the bag early, so it'll be ready when the fish is thawed. As I type, the rice is steaming on the stove, the fish is thawing in cool water, and everything's ready to prepare a yummy dinner! I plan to serve this with micro-steamed broccoli florets. Looking forward to it! I'll try to post pictures later tonight!

Getting nice & toasty!

Yummy pile of fish waiting for sauce

Simma down now, sauce!

Fish covered in yummy sauce.

Hubby declared this dinner "absolutely extraordinary!"

What did your family eat today?

Monday, October 24, 2011

2011-10-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls had whole grain waffles (egg-free for our big girl) spread with Nutella and natural turkey roll-ups. They had milk to drink. I had a whole grain waffle spread with Nutella and coffee.

Lunch:
The girls had saltine crackers with colby jack cheese rectangles, Simply Gogurts, diluted 100% apple juice, and big girl had a fruit pull apart as well. I was between doctors appointments and errands, so I treated myself to a maki sushi lunch at my fave sushi restaurant near my doctor's office. Miso soup, California roll & a snowcrab roll = just what this (non)doctor ordered! :-)

Afternoon Snack:
Little bit threw her leftover lunch away & told me that she ate it, so she has to wait until dinner to eat again. Big girl had a treat of popcorn while she watched a movie. She did her homework quickly and very well today & needed to rest her arm, which is now cast-free, but still healing from her break. The lack of cast makes her arm more tender. Hoping and praying that the brace will allow her arm to complete its healing process.

Dinner:
I'm trying this Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup tonight, and will serve it with sourdough french bread. I made a couple of changes to the recipe due to budget and time constraints. First, I threw the diced potatoes into the crock pot while still frozen. Also, instead of frozen onions, I diced a large fresh onion. I cooked the recipe for 4+ hours on high (because I needed dinner ready on time & doctors appointments didn't get me home in time to get dinner in the crock pot to cook on low for 6-8 hours). Lastly, instead of bagged American-Cheddar shredded cheese, I shredded 8 oz. of medium cheddar cheese. As I type this, the milk/flour mixture has been in the crock pot for about 15 minutes, so dinner is about 20ish minutes out. I'll try to post about what the family thinks of this recipe later tonight!

Soup before cheese

Yummy cheese!

Delish!

Mmmmm! Warm and yummy in our tummies!

What did your family eat today?

God bless!

Friday, October 21, 2011

2011-10-22T14:56:00.002-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls had baggies of Honey Kix in the van on the way to carpool & milk before we left the house this morning. I had half of an apple as I sliced the other half for my big girl's lunch and coffee. I met a friend for a late breakfast at a local beignet shop. Oh My Goodness! Nutella beignets and hot chocolate!!! Can you say Chocolate Heaven?!? Yum! It was a great treat on this day that had a rough start!

Lunch:
My big girl had a PB & all-fruit jelly sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread with apple slices and celery sticks with diluted 100% apple juice to drink. My little bit & I surprised big girl with a lunch date at school. Little bit loves to order a lunch tray at the school & I wished I had purchased a lunch ticket once I saw what was on my little bit's tray! Ham slices with pineapple, sweet potatoes, peas, & wheat bread! Little bit had a 100% apple juice container with her lunch tray. She wants to have hot lunch in the cafeteria once she starts there next year, and with such healthy & yummy options, I just might let her! I treated myself to a Jimmy John's turkey sub on the way home with vinegar & salt chips, & a soft drink. Mommy's been in a funk lately, and treats have made life more pleasant.

Afternoon Snack:
Big girl had a friend over for an after school playdate and really wanted her friend to try Nutella, so the girls had Nutella on 100% whole wheat bread with diluted 100% apple juice. Big girl's friend loved it! :-)

Dinner:
Chicken Tikka Masala leftovers made their appearance with brown basmati rice. A friend came over later and shared a flamingo daiquiri with me & we shared some popcorn while we watched Bridesmaids. A very nice end to a very hectic week!

What did your family eat?

Thursday, October 20, 2011

2011-10-22T14:47:00.001-05:00

Exhaustion & non-stop schedules have taken over & sleep took over blogging responsibilities!

Breakfast:
The girls had whole grain waffles (egg-free for our food allergy sweetie) with pure maple syrup and turkey breakfast sausage links. The girls had milk and I had coffee.

Lunch:
The girls had peanut butter and all-fruit jelly on 100% whole wheat bread, apple slices, and diluted 100% apple juice to drink.

Afternoon Snack:
The girlies had Simply Gogurts for snack.

Dinner:
My girls are SOOOO over the Chicken Tikka Masala, but I served it over brown basmati rice with flatbread.

What did your family eat Thursday?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

2011-10-19T21:54:00.001-05:00

Breakfast:
It was another hectic morning in our house, so the girls had baggies of Honey Kix & I had a baggie of Multigrain Cheerios on the way to carpool. The girlies drank their milk & took their vitamins before we left, and I had coffee.

Lunch:
The girls had natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread with salad leftover from last night's dinner and apple slices. They had diluted 100% apple juice to drink. I had another Smart Ones for lunch.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls had frozen GoGurts for snack & I had a leftover chocolate chip cookie from our big girl's school fair last weekend.

Dinner:
Our church's choir had a fundraising dinner to support their upcoming Christmas Cantata, and the food was homemade and DELICIOUS! We had fried chicken, corn, green beans (with bacon!!), mashed potatoes, a giant salad with lots of fresh veggies, bread, dessert (I skipped tonight), and so much more! Yum! You could tell it was cooked with love! Our big girl was allergic to most of the food, so I brought some of last night's Chicken Tikka Masala over rice, and flatbread, for her to eat. She had a package of Annie's Strawberry Fruit Snacks for dessert.

What did your family eat today?
God bless!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

2011-10-18T21:37:00.002-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls & I had peanut butter and local honey on 100% whole wheat toast. The girls had milk and I had coffee (very much needed today).

Lunch:
The girls had natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread with grape tomatoes and apple slices. They had diluted 100% apple juice to drink. I had another Smart Ones for lunch.

Afternoon Snack:
Honestly, I don't remember what we had for snack. I know that I had a massive caffeinated beverage to make it through the afternoon!

Dinner:
We were blessed to have a dear friend from church over for dinner, who was willing to be a guinea pig, along with the rest of our family, when we tried Sweet Peas and Pumpkin's Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala for the first time ever. I served it with brown basmati rice, Italian blend salad mix (romaine & red cabbage) with grape tomatoes, and flatbread. We had chocolate cookes & ice cream for dessert.

This recipe for tikka masala was very true to what I've tried in local Indian restaurants, but kid-friendly, in that it's not spicy (peppery hot), so the children's palates are introduced to new flavors without the assault of pain. :-) If you like Indian food without the kick, I highly recommend this recipe!

Here are some pictures from our fun night:

The flowers and dessert are ready!

Preparing the table.

(Yes, the plastic covers are still on the chairs & I plan to leave them there until the girls are older, since the girls are so very good at spilling on ivory fabric!)

Dinner's ready!

Yummy!

We had a lovely time and the girls had joyful input into each step of the process! They LOVE having special guests for dinner, and they love being little hostesses! We look forward to more dinners with special guests!

What did your family eat today?

God bless!

Monday, October 17, 2011

2011-10-17T18:28:00.004-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls had baggies of Honey Kix, and I had Multigrain Cheerios in a baggie on the way to work. The girls drank their milk & took their vitamins before we left & I had coffee at work!

Lunch:
Due to this mommy setting her alarm clock for PM instead of AM, the girls had a thrown-together lunch of leftover pizza from Saturday night's free Papa John's pizza (from earning Papa Points), frozen Simply GoGurts, and 100% juice Capri Suns. I had a SmartOnes from the freezer.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls' behavior was pretty good at Target during our weekly shopping trip, so they earned a bag of popcorn (the cashier is usually sweet enough to split it into two bags, one for each girl), and I had the caffeinated beverage that came with the popcorn "meal!" :-) I grabbed a blueberry all-fruit pull-apart this evening to make it until dinner time.

Dinner:
We'll be finishing off the Egg-Free Baked Fish Sticks with natural ketchup, edamame & salad.

What did your family eat today?

This Week's Meal Plan (October 17-23, 2011)

2011-10-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

Breakfasts:

Cinnamon raisin bagels with strawberry or honey nut cream cheese, or butter and all-fruit jelly for my big girl
Whole grain waffles or 100% whole wheat toast, with peanut butter and pure maple syrup
Last minute breakfast choice: Honey Kix or MultiGrain Cheerios in baggies on the way to carpool.
The girls always have skim milk to drink & I always have coffee!!!

Lunches:

Natural turkey or peanut butter & all-fruit jelly sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread
Veggie: Depends on what looks fresh & is priced well at the store. Most likely carrots, grape tomatoes, or colored bell peppers *Grape tomatoes it is - on sale at Target*
Fruit: Gala apple slices (were on sale last week, so I grabbed a lot of them)
Drink: Diluted 100% apple juice
I'll have sandwiches, soup that I purchased with a rebate, and/or frozen light meals that I purchased with coupons a few weeks ago.

Dinners:

Monday: Leftover Fish Sticks with edamame and salad (Caesar for the non-egg-allergy family members & Italian dressing for our food allergy sweetie)
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala over brown basmati rice, with flatbread (couldn't find naan, but I think that usually has egg in it anyway) and a salad of romaine lettuce & grape tomatoes, and ice cream for dessert, since we're having a dinner guest tonight.
Wednesday: Choir fundraising dinner at church (fried chicken with sides). Food allergy sweetie will have something safe (mac & cheese, sandwich, or something else)
Thursday: Leftover Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala with salad & flatbread
Friday-Sunday: Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup with sourdough french bread

What's your family eating this week?
Blessed week!

Friday, October 14, 2011

2011-10-14T17:35:00.001-05:00

Breakfast:
The girlies had cinnamon raisin bagels with strawberry cream cheese and I had a cinnamon raisin bagel with honey nut cream cheese. My big girl barely ate any breakfast at all, telling me that the reason she devoured her cream cheese bagel on Monday and told me how much she loved it, is that she wanted to earn computer time. She's over strawberry cream cheese. Her little sister gladly finished big sis' breakfast! The girls had milk to drink & I had coffee.

Lunch:
My big girl had cheese squares, apple slices, edamame, a frozen Simply GoGurt, and a 100% juice CapriSun. My little bit and I had our weekly lunch date at "the suchies restaurant" (the sushi restaurant). She loves to eat there because there is so much sweetened and fried food (something not usually found in our house), and if she does a good job eating her lunch, ice cream is included in the Japanese/sushi buffet. I love our Friday lunch dates when there is no lunch at PreK for her. It's our last year of Friday lunch dates, when we have special time together and can eat anywhere, and not have to worry about eggs, because big sis is at school. We'll cherish these memories!

Afternoon Snack:
My big girl finished her cheese from lunch and then we all had Nutella spread on 100% whole wheat bread. I had a hot mug of Lemon Zinger tea with local honey.

Dinner:
The family will be having leftover Egg-Free Baked Fish Sticks with edamame. I'm having my Book Club friends over, so I hope to have time to make Nutella Crescent Rolls & Apple Dumplings. I'll try to post those recipes later & link them to this page. Right now, my little bit is calling me to go play a game with her.

What did your family eat today?
Blessed weekend, all!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

2011-10-13T21:41:00.002-05:00

Breakfast:
Our food allergy sweetie had a whole wheat egg-free waffle with Nutella spread on it, and the little bit and I had whole grain waffles spread with Nutella. The girls had milk & I had coffee. Mommy's still feeling under the weather (can't shake this allergy stuff & yesterday's vacuuming has my throat hurting again)....Nutella can go a LONG way in helping the Mommy's morning start off a little bit happier!

Lunch:
The girls had natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread, strawberry fruit pull-aparts, and baggies of almonds. They had diluted 100% apple juice in their thermoses. I had the remaining leftovers of the Filipino Adobo Chicken, brown rice, and broccoli. Still....so good!

Afternoon Snack:
It was a busy afternoon of errand running (needed milk & egg-free mayo from Whole Foods, and needed to see if Albertson's had restocked their tilapia so I could use my rain check for the Buy 1 Get 2 Free coupon - they had!!), so it was a rushed snack time. Each girl chose a small apple from the kiddo-friendly free snack stand at Whole Foods. Big girl's class had been rewarded with Starburst gummies by their music teacher, so after checking the ingredients, she was allowed to enjoy those. Little bit was treated to Annie's Strawberry fruit snacks that I purchased with Amazon's Subscribe & Save feature when they were on super-sale last week. So, they each had an apple & fruit snacks for snack. Not our healthiest pre-soccer practice snack, but not the worst either! :-)

Dinner:
We were blessed with a recipe my good friend, Angie, shared with us for baked fish sticks. We had Egg-Free Baked Fish Sticks with microwave-steamed edamame and natural ketchup. Because both girlies finished their dinners so quickly, they each had a small serving of mini chocolate chips for dessert. I highly recommend trying this fish stick recipe, even using regular egg mayo. Very yummy!! Thanks, Angie, for offering our big girl and family, another fun, egg-free & yummy recipe!

What did your family eat today?
God bless!

Egg-Free Baked Fish Sticks

2011-10-13T21:25:00.002-05:00

This recipe was shared with me by my good friend, Angie. She makes this recipe with regular mayonnaise, but prompted me to try it with our daughter's egg-free mayo. The results were phenomenal! Thanks, Angie!

I started with these ingredients:

I really like these Panko breadcrumbs. The first brand we ever tried was a horrible fail & the meal was a disaster...and I like to eat, so that's saying a lot! :-) These are crunchy, crispy, and delicious! Best of all, they're egg-free!

After thawing 1 lb. of tilapia in cool water (in plastic bags), I used kitchen shears to cut the fillets into smaller strips. In a small bowl, I combined ~ 3/4 C of the egg-free mayo, the zest of a large lemon & the juice of 1/2 of the lemon. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees (F), lined a baking sheet with foil & sprayed it with canola oil from my Pampered Chef mister. I set up an assembly line that went like this, from left to right: plate of fish strips, bowl of mayo/lemon mixture, plate covered in Panko breadcrumbs, and prepared baking sheet. A few at a time, I coated the fish strips in the mayo/lemon mixture, then coated them with breadcrumbs, and then placed them on the baking sheet. Once I'd coated all of the fish sticks, I squeezed the juice of the other lemon half all over the fish sticks & sprinkled them with salt. My friend's recipe calls for kosher salt, but I only had regular table salt.

Here's what they looked like before going in the oven:

They baked on the first side for about 7 minutes. I flipped them over, and rotated which side of the baking sheet went into the oven first (for more even baking), and then baked them for 10-11 minutes, as they just looked as though the recommended 7 minutes wouldn't cut it. I'm sure the baking time varies, depending on the size of your fish sticks & how crammed they are on the pan (ahem!). :-)

When they came out, they looked & smelled yummy (I wish my pictures could do the food justice, but this is the best picture I was able to take):

I served the fish sticks with natural ketchup & microwave-steamed edamame tonight, as we were running short on time due to soccer practice & an easily-distracted and tired Mommy! They were so yummy, it was very hard to stop eating! I highly recommend giving these a try, even with egg-mayo, if you must! :-) Thanks again, Angie, for sharing your recipe with us! The girls & I enjoyed them very much!!

Egg-Free Baked Fish Sticks

1 lb. tilapia
~3/4 C egg-free mayonnaise (we really like to use egg-free & yummy Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise)
1 large lemon
~2-3 C Panko breadcrumbs
Kosher salt (I used table salt b/c it's what I had on hand)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with cooking oil (& lining with foil first, if you prefer an easier clean-up). In a small bowl, combine the mayo, zest of the lemon, and juice of half of the lemon. Stir together well. Cut the tilapia into strips & coat in the mayo & lemon mixture, & then coat in Panko breadcrumbs. Lay them on the prepared baking sheet. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon half over the fish sticks, and then sprinkle with salt. Bake on one side for 7 minutes, then turn the fish sticks over, and bake for another 7-10 minutes, or until cooked through.

These were DELISH! Finally, a safe way to serve our girls kid-friendly foods! Thanks, Angie, for sharing your recipe!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

2011-10-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls had cinnamon raisin bagels with strawberry cream cheese & I had a cinnamon raisin bagel with honey nut cream cheese. The girls had milk to drink and I had coffee.

Lunch:
The girls had natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread with celery sticks, apple slices, and diluted Simply Lemonade to drink. I was treated to a delicious sushi lunch by a sweet friend. I had the snowcrab roll & BBQ roll, and the lunch came with tempura veggies: broccoli, onion, sweet potato, and eggplant. It was all delicious & a wonderful treat! Of course, the company of my friend & her sweet baby was an even better treat!

Afternoon Snack:
Both of my girlies earned a treat today, so we went to the local Sonic where the servers wear roller skates to deliver the food (my girls LOVE this!!!). The little bit had ice cream with M&Ms on top, and my big girl had a strawberry slush. I had a sweet tea - gotta love Sonic's Happy Hour! :-)

Dinner:
We were blessed with a delicious egg-free dinner at church tonight. My big girl even got to serve her own plate (broken arm & all) because all of the food was egg-free! She was so excited and ate almost every bite! We had pork loin, macaroni casserole (don't remember the exact name, but it was yummy & topped with cheese!), broccoli, a delicious salad & rolls. The hubby & I had a delicious 2-layer brownie for dessert, filled with chocolate frosting, and topped with a dollop of a delicious cream cheese or sour cream topping. Don't know exactly what it was called, but it was delightful! The chef was thoughtful & generous enough to provide an egg-free double chocolate chip cookie for my big girl. My big girl was SO excited and loved it! We were even sent home with the extra egg-free cookie from the 2-pack. Again, we are so blessed with such a loving & supportive church family who go above and beyond for our severe food allergy sweetie! Thanks, Hope & fam!

What did your family eat today?
God bless!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

2011-10-11T19:41:00.001-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls and I each had cinnamon raisin bagels, all with different toppings. Our big girl had butter and all-fruit jelly, our little bit had strawberry cream cheese, and I had honey pecan cream cheese. The girls were still hungry, so I gave both of them half of a container of strawberry Greek yogurt. They had milk to drink, while I had coffee.

Lunch:
The girls had peanut butter and all-fruit jelly sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread, celery sticks, apple slices, and diluted Simply Lemonade to drink. I had leftover taco soup. Yum!

Afternoon Snack:
The girls finished their lunch leftovers, and our big girl had fresh fruit & Goldfish crackers at her Daisy Scout meeting. I had Lemon Zinger tea with local honey. I can't seem to kick this sore throat/sinus junk. I love that tea nice & hot with a sore throat.

Dinner:
We had leftover Filipino Adobo Chicken over brown rice, with microwave-steamed broccoli seasoned with salt & pepper, and a pat of butter. Yum!

What did your family eat today?

Monday, October 10, 2011

2011-10-10T20:07:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls had toasted cinnamon raisin bagels with strawberry cream cheese while I had honey nut cream cheese on mine. The girls had milk to drink and I had coffee.

Lunch:
The girls had natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread with celery sticks and strawberry real fruit peels. They had diluted Simply Lemonade to drink in their thermoses. I had some of the yummy taco soup I made last night.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls had apple slices with peanut butter spoons sprinkled with just a few mini chocolate chips.

Dinner:
Dinner was a hit tonight...well, at least the chicken & rice part of it. The girls are not used to fresh, sauteed spinach. Anyway, we had Filipino Adobo Chicken with brown rice & sauteed spinach. The 1/2 box of uncooked brown rice was leftover from when we had Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Steak & Rice & the baby spinach was leftover from last week's Minestrone & Turkey Meatball Soup. It was a great way to use leftovers & clear that space in the pantry and fridge.

Our youngest's plate

I made the Filipino Adobo Chicken in the crock pot. I added all of the ingredients, except for the water, to the crock pot & cooked it on low for 6 hours, and it was perfect after 6 hours of cooking! I only used 1/2 of a jalepeno because I didn't know how spicy it would be and I'd never used a fresh jalepeno before (tip: wear gloves to seed & chop jalepenos!). The jalepenos ended up being completely mild, so I'll chop an entire jalepeno next time. Also, I didn't have peppercorns on hand, so I just sprinkled the raw chicken liberally with black pepper before pouring the marinade over the chicken. It's important to note that the linked recipe calls for an entire head of garlic to be peeled and crushed, not just one clove of garlic. Yum! The chicken & garlic were delicious after cooking so long! This recipe will definitely be making many more appearances in our household! I highly recommend it!

What did your family eat today?

Sauteed Spinach

2011-10-10T20:02:00.001-05:00

I had half of a bag of baby spinach, extra garlic, and lemon quarters to use, so I threw together this side dish.

~1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 bag baby spinach
salt & pepper to taste
juice from 1/4 lemon
1 tsp. butter

Heat the olive oil over medium low heat & saute the garlic until it's toasty, but not brown or burned because that just ruins the dish with bitterness. Add the baby spinach & saute until wilted. Add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a small pat of butter, about 1 tsp. Cook until the spinach is the desired doneness. I enjoy very well-cooked spinach, probably because I grew up on canned spinach. I found this to be very yummy! *Have to add this! I just asked the hubby if he would prefer canned spinach or tonight's spinach & he said he preferred tonight's spinach! Score!*

Here's the sauteed spinach served with Filipino Adobo Chicken & brown rice (October 10, 2011)

Enjoy!

This Week's Meal Plan (October 10-16, 2011)

2011-10-09T22:09:00.003-05:00

Breakfasts:

Cinnamon raisin bagels with choice of strawberry or honey nut cream cheese. I imagine my big girl will ask for butter & all-fruit jelly, but I'll still give her the cream cheese option & ask her to taste it.
Peanut butter & honey on whole wheat toast.
Last minute breakfast choice: Honey Kix or Original Cheerios in baggies on the way to carpool.
The girls always have skim milk to drink & I always have coffee!!!

Lunches:

Sandwich: Natural turkey or peanut butter & all-fruit jelly sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread (Nature's Own is still $1.99/loaf at our Target!!)
Veggie: Celery sticks
Fruit/Dessert: Apple slices, frozen Simply GoGurts, and/or Archer Farms' new Pull-Apart Fruit Peels in strawberry or blueberry
Diluted Simply Lemonade or 100% apple juice
I'll probably eat the leftovers of the yummy taco soup I made tonight to bring to church friends.

Snacks:

Nutella on 100% whole wheat bread
Apple slices with peanut butter
Frozen Simply Gogurts

Dinners:

Monday & Tuesday: Skinny Taste's Filipino Adobo Chicken with brown rice & microwave-steamed broccoli
Wednesday: Dinner at church
Thursday & Friday: My friend Angie's Oven Baked Fish Sticks with sweet potato fries
Saturday: Date night, so kiddos eat at the in-laws' house
Sunday: Dinner at church & leftovers for our food allergy sweetie

Most of the items listed or used in the listed recipes have been purchased with coupons, a special deal, or price-compared. Please check out my Great Deals page for links to coupon websites, or ask me & I'll be happy to share with you!

Can't publish this post without linking to a wonderful article posted on The Finer Things In Life. Loved it!! "Do the Next Thing {Get it Together ~ Day 8}"

Blessed week!

Mrs. Brenda's Taco Soup

2011-10-09T21:20:00.002-05:00

This delicious recipe came to me through my twin sis, and she got it from her mother-in-law. This soup is simply yummy & delightfully simple to make! It can easily be doubled & put in the crock pot to keep warm or left on the stove when you have large crowds coming to eat. As with most really yummy soups, this one is best after it has had a chance to sit in the fridge overnight, but it is still yummy the first night! It just gets better! In fact, when I was expecting our second daughter, my oldest daughter & my hubby couldn't eat this soup due to food allergies, so I would make 1/2 batches and eat it EVERY DAY for lunch! Yum! Did I mention how easy it is to make? :-)

Here's the recipe:

Mrs. Brenda's Taco Soup

1 lb. ground turkey (we like the 85/15)
2 cans corn, undrained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained (I like to use the petite diced tomatoes)
2 cans pinto beans, undrained
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
1 1/2 packages taco seasoning

Directions:
Brown turkey. Drain fat (I usually just skip this step). Season meat with 1/2 package taco seasoning. Combine all others in pot with meat. Cover and let simmer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. Garnish with tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese.

I usually skip the tortilla chips and make egg-free cornbread to go with it, although I've yet to find an egg-free cornbread recipe that doesn't fall apart after baking. So, we usually have cornbread crumbles in the soup! :-) If you have suggestions for crumble-free egg-free cornbread, I'd love to read them!

Tonight, I'm making this for a friend & her husband, who are watching their sodium intake, so I'm using no sodium & reduced sodium ingredients, except for one can of tomatoes & the ranch seasoning. I'll repost after I've tried it to let you know how it fares! **The reduced sodium version is delish! I'll probably make it like this from now on!** I'm sure this could also be made with homemade taco & ranch seasonings (without the MSG & other additives), but I haven't tried that yet. I'll post once I attempt it!

Do you have a yummy recipe for taco soup (or non-crumbly egg-free cornbread)? I'd love for you to share it in the comments section! Thanks!

God bless!

Friday, October 7, 2011

2011-10-07T19:25:00.004-05:00

Breakfast:
We were out of our routine this morning because our big girl was off of school this morning. The girls had original Cheerios & I had Multigrain Cheerios in baggies in the van. I grabbed some coffee once I arrived at the preschool for work!

Lunch:
The girls & I used a FB deal coupon for a free small cheese pizza from Hungry Howies & enjoyed that with apple slices. The girls had milk to drink & the little one had some colby jack cheese slices because she was still hungry.

Afternoon Snack:
Big girl had a GoGurt & I don't remember the little bit having a snack. We had surprise visitors this afternoon, so we enjoyed our visit & then played with our sweet neighbor.

Dinner:
The girlies had the last of the Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets with natural ketchup, sweet potato fries, apple slices, and milk to drink. Little bit was able to choose a treat from our treat box (old, cleaned out coffee container, where all of the egg-free candy from Halloween & other celebrations goes for treats) & big girl chose to eat some Nutella from a spoon for dessert. I had a big bowl of last night's Soccer Night Minestrone & Turkey Meatball Soup.

What did your family eat today?

Brooke's Soccer Night Minestrone & Turkey Meatball Soup

2011-10-06T19:15:00.003-05:00

I used this recipe from SkinnyTaste.com as the basis for my recipe, but made changes due to our budget this week & a busy soccer practice night. I threw this together between our big girl's afternoon carpool & when we had to leave for the little bit's soccer practice. When we arrived home, the house smelled delish! I think this is going to be a family hit! It received rave reviews from the kiddos, which means it's definitely a success!

Brooke's Soccer Night Minestrone & Turkey Meatball Soup

1st part of the soup:

1/2 red onion, diced
1 C carrots, diced
2 celery hearts, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (I like a lot of garlic!)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (28oz)
1 can Great Northern Beans, drained & lightly rinsed (15 oz)
4 C natural chicken broth
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind
1 tsp. dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 C chopped Italian parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste

Meatballs:

1.2 lbs ground turkey (we like the 85/15)
~1/4 C chopped Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (could grate or shred, but I was in a rush, so I just chopped it up!)
Garlic powder, to taste
Onion powder, to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

Added to the Soup before running out the door for soccer practice:

1 large zucchini, chopped
2 C chopped baby spinach (I'm sure regular spinach leaves would work just fine)
1 C uncooked small pasta shells
3 C water

In the beginning....
I'm not sure about all crock pots, but mine has a removable pot that can be used on the stove. So, while I chopped the veggies & herbs (and the girls played), I heated the chicken broth, tomatoes & beans in the pot on the stove over medium low heat. As I chopped the veggies & herbs, I added them to the pot & stirred. After adding all ingredients, through the salt & pepper, I made the meatballs.

Meatball Directions:
I combined all of the meatball ingredients & rolled them into small meatballs, dropping them into the simmering soup one at a time, giving them space, so they'd hold their shape.

As the little bit' was putting on her shin guards & we were ready to run out the door:
I turned the crock pot on low while I prepped the last ingredients, so it would keep everything nice & hot, and hold the cooking temperature, once I was ready to move the pot from the stove to the crock pot. I added the zucchini, chopped spinach, pasta shells & extra water, stirred it all together and brought the soup to a slow boil/high simmer on the stove. I moved the pot into the crock pot base (with oven mits!!), covered it & let it simmer on the low setting for the ~ 1 hr 1/2 we were at soccer practice.

When we returned home, we were greeted with a yummy-smelling house & very, very happy & healthy bowls of soup! This would be great with toasty sourdough bread, maybe with some of the Parmigiano Reggiano melted on top! Yum!

**Remember to remove the bay leaves & cheese rind before serving!**

Note: If you have time beforehand (I didn't), cook the pasta separately in salted water & serve it directly into the bowls & ladle the soup on top. If the pasta sits too long in the soup, it gets mushy. If you use this method, you'll need to omit the 3 C water, and can reduce the chicken broth to 3 C, or go ahead and leave the broth as 4 C for the flavor. Either way it's a delicious soup!

I would love to hear your feedback on this recipe & any changes you might make based on your budget & family preferences. Happy & healthy eating!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

2011-10-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
Mommy's sick & the girlies just weren't in a rush to get ready this morning, so they had their milk & vitamins before leaving the house this morning & had baggies of Cheerios in the van on the way to carpool. I had a bag of Multigrain Cheerios & coffee in the van.

Lunch:
For the girlies, I packed saltine crackers ("square crackers") and squares of colby jack cheese, with carrot sticks and apple slices as their fruit & veggie. They have diluted Simply Lemonade in their Thermoses. I'll probably finish the last of the hot & sour soup for lunch.

Afternoon Snack:
We'll probably have something quick & easy, like frozen Simply GoGurts or 100% whole wheat bread spread with Nutella.

Dinner:
I have plans to make this yummy-sounding Crock Pot Ministrone Soup with small turkey meatballs thrown in & the crescent rolls I purchased with coupons. If this happens, it might happen on the stove, as Mommy plans to spend much of the school day sleeping. So, if this soup doesn't happen tonight, then we'll probably cash in some Papa John's rewards points for a free pizza.

What's your family eating today?

*The links in the breakfast section are links to coupons that you can print. The Cheerios one is for original Cheerios only {Link removed because coupon offer is no longer available.}. The link for the crescent rolls is to the coupons.com website. I believe there are still coupons available for the Simply GoGurts & Simply Lemonade available on coupons.com. It's also good to check Target for coupons, as you can use Target coupons with a manufacturer's coupon for the same item.

If you're already a member of Swagbucks, you can print coupons.com coupons through the "Coupon" link on Swagbucks & earn points for printing & using these coupons. The beautiful thing about Swagbucks is that your points can be used to purchase items on Swagbucks. My personal fave is the $5 Amazon gift card! If you're not a member of Swagbucks already, I highly recommend it! There is a link at the bottom of this page, or you can just click here to join.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

2011-10-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girlies had whole grain waffles (egg-free for my food allergy sweetie) with pure maple syrup & peanut butter. My big girl drank milk & I had coffee. Little bit chose to play instead of finishing getting ready, which means that her milk is back in the fridge instead of in her tummy. I had coffee and the bites of waffle my big girl didn't finish on our way out the door & picked up a big bottle of Bolthouse Farms' C-Boost smoothie on sale at Target and drank half of it on the way home.

Lunch:
The girlies have Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets in their hot food containers, natural ketchup, carrot sticks, frozen Simply GoGurts & diluted Simply Lemonade in their Thermoses. I had leftover hot & sour soup mixed with egg drop soup & finished the immunity-boosting smoothie I bought this morning.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls will have apple slices with peanut butter for dipping & I'll be having some Lemon Zinger tea w/ local honey.
*We had a change of snack plans! Big girl earned a treat from Sonic (happy hour!!), so she had a strawberry slush & I treated my sore throat to a pumpkin pie shake!! Little bit got her hands on my treat, so I'm hoping that a sore throat & fever won't be her punishment, in addition to the time-out she's serving now. The little one had her leftover chicken nuggets & carrot sticks she didn't eat during lunch. Our big girl also had the carrot sticks she didn't finish during lunch time.*

Dinner:
The fam will be eating whatever delicious food the chefs at church provide. Our family is blessed that the cooks at our church keep our daughter's food allergy in mind and are VERY careful to have a safe meal for her & keep the labels for me to read. So, so very thoughtful & such a blessing! If I don't feel well enough to join them at church, I'll probably eat more soup.

What is your family eating today?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

2011-10-04T18:11:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
My food allergy sweetie had a Van's whole grain waffle with Nutella, and my younger daughter and I each had an Eggo Nutrigrain waffle spread with Nutella. Both girlies had milk & I had coffee (another rough night of sleep in our house).

Lunch:
Both girlies had natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread with carrot sticks, apple slices, and Simply Lemonade in their Thermoses. I had another Smart Ones entree for lunch.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls and I each had a piece of 100% whole wheat bread spread with Nutella. Sooooo yummy! :-)

Dinner:
I'm feeling under the weather, so I'll be having hot and sour soup that my sweet hubby picked up for me this evening. I find that it helps when my sinuses & throat get angry. The hubby & girls will be eating leftover Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets, Oven Roasted Cauliflower, and sweet potato fries.

What did your family eat today?

Monday, October 3, 2011

2011-10-03T16:41:00.001-05:00

So sorry for not posting this weekend. We had a whirlwind of a late week & weekend. Let's just say that our severe food allergy sweetie had a doozy of a day on Thursday & ended up getting picked up from school by 9am for hives, having 7 vials of blood drawn for new allergy testing (no tears!!), and ended the day with a broken arm, which was put into a cool, hot pink cast Friday morning. Busy life with little sweeties never ends! :-)

So....now to our eating for the week!

Breakfast:
My oldest was ready early enough to have a whole wheat egg-free waffle spread with w/ pure maple syrup & peanut butter & milk to drink. My youngest ended up eating Cheerios in the car & I had Multi-grain Cheerios in the car. She had milk before we left & I had COFFEE (she hasn't slept well the past 2 nights, so neither has Mommy).

Lunch:
The girls both had wheat crackers, colby jack cheese cubes, satsumas, frozen Simply Gogurts, and watered down Simply Lemonade (coupon!!) in their Thermoses. I had a Smart Ones Mini Rigatone w/ Vodka Cream Sauce.

Dinner:
The plan for tonight is to have Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets (16 oz packs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts are on sale NOW at Target - I'm going to make a double batch so we'll have leftovers, so I bought 2 packs). I'll be making my own Italian seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs (thanks to Sharon & Julie W. for telling me how easy this is) because Target only had the breadcrumbs with eggs in the ingredients. I'll be making Oven Roasted Cauliflower, and possibly salad &/or sweet potato fries, if time & patience allow!

Dinners for the rest of the week:
Tues: Leftover nuggets, cauliflower, salad and/or sweet potato fries.
Wed: Dinner at church
Thurs & Fri: Crock Pot Ministrone Soup with turkey meatballs and crescent rolls (coupons for Progresso broth & crescent rolls are available online now!)
Sat: Date night - girls will eat with their grandparents
Sun: Leftovers

What did your family eat today & what do you plan to eat this week?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

2011-09-27T21:55:00.004-05:00

Breakfast:
Leftover apple cinnamon oatmeal with milk to drink (coffee for me!!).

Lunch:
Girlies had natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread with red & yellow bell pepper strips, and satsumas, with 100% apple juice to drink in their Thermoses. I had a ricotta & spinach pasta Smart Ones & it was pretty good!

Afternoon Snack:
Gogurts

Dinner:
Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Steak & Rice (see Sept. 26th post for changes I made to the recipe). The girls had "broccoli trees" with theirs & Nutella spoons for dessert. I had diced cucumbers w/ Italian dressing & the hubby skipped veggies & had kiwi.

Here are links to the meals I've made this month & what I plan to make next month.
September 2011 Meals
October 2011 Meals

What did your family eat today?

Next Month's Meals (October 2011)

2011-09-27T20:15:00.000-05:00

These are the meals I plan to make for dinner next month. Because our girls are still young, many of the meals I prepare make enough for us to eat for at least two or three days. Also, we eat dinner at church at least one night per week. So, I only plan to prepare 2 or 3 meals per week. Unless something great comes to mind when I plan the main course, I usually wait to decide on side dishes until I see what's on sale and what is fresh when I do my grocery shopping.

Here's what's planned for dinner next month:

Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets with a veggie side
Crock Pot Ministrone Soup with turkey meatballs added while cooking
Filipino Adobo Chicken w/ brown basmati rice & veggie side
My friend, Angie's Oven Baked Fish Sticks recipe with a veggie side (maybe oven baked sweet potato fries)
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikki Masala over rice
Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup
Mom's Oh-So-Good Tilapia with a veggie side (maybe steamed broccoli)
Slow Cooker White Chili
Autumn Penne Pasta with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts in a Light Ragu

You can see that I'm hoping for cooler weather! Mommy's ready for yummy hot soup!

What is your family planning to eat next month?

This Month's Meals (September 2011)

2011-09-27T19:13:00.004-05:00

These are the recipes I remember making during this whirldwind of a month:

BBQ Chicken Sloppy Joes with green beans. I use ground turkey to make these & use 1 tsp or less of Tabasco & that's plenty of hot sauce for our family. I serve them on WhiteWheat buns so the family gets a little more fiber, and won't turn up their noses at whole wheat buns. I know, we eat whole wheat bread & lots of other whole wheat items, but they just don't want the whole wheat buns. I don't make the cheesy waffle fries listed with the recipe, as we had waffle fries with these sloppy joes once & it was too much to eat. They would probably work well for a big family with lots of growing teenage boys, or for a slumber party with lots of girls! :-)
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork on rolls with egg-free potato salad. This is also very good w/ coleslaw. When I make this recipe, I add the entire can of tomato paste, since I don't want to waste what's left in a typically-sized can. I also use 2 pinches of cayenne pepper & still find it's not too spicy.
Crock Pot Girls' Bacon Ranch Chicken over baked poatoes with fresh cut carrot sticks. I found this to be very salty, so I will probably use lower sodium ingredients the next time I make this recipe. I used 5 chicken breasts, since that's how many came in the pack & shredded them after cooking to soak in the sauce. This also made it easier to top the potatoes with the chicken. My family inhaled this recipe! They loved it!
Moo Shu Pork with flour torillas. I found these to be missing the sweetness from the plum sauce that I'm used to in restaurants, so I added some all-fruit jelly to them when I reheated them. Yum!
Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Steak & Rice (see post from September 26, 2011 for the changes I made to the recipe). Served with Target's refried black beans w/ lime juice, boiled corn-on-the-cob, and lime wedges (and other fresh veggie sides when we ran out of beans & corn).

I'll post more if I can remember them!

What yummy recipes did your family eat this month?

Monday, September 26, 2011 & Meal Plan

2011-09-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
Leftover homemade oatmeal with milk to drink (coffee for me!). Made the oatmeal on Sunday morning with vanilla extract, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and a diced apple leftover from last week's trip to the fresh veggie/fruit market. When I make oatmeal, I use milk for half of the liquid & water for half.

Lunch:
Kiddos had wheat crackers with cheddar cheese blocks, red & orange bell pepper strips (leftover from making dinner), apple slices & 100% apple juice in their Thermoses. I had cheese & crackers. I was also blessed to sample a friend's yummy Orzo with Garlicky White Beans and Chicken Sausage. The garlic breath was totally worth it! :-)
Afternoon Snack:
Gogurts (Target ran out of Simply Gogurts & I had a coupon to use, so I settled for additives & dyes...this time only!) & No Bake Energy Bites.

Dinner:
Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Steak & Rice, Target's refried black beans with lime juice, buttered corn-on-the-cob for the girlies & me, and leftover cucumber & tomato salad for the hubby, who is allergic to corn. Everyone had a wedge of lime to sqeeze on the steak & rice (or whatever part of their meal they felt like covering in lime juice).
*When I made the steak & rice, I made some healtheir changes to the ingredients. I used 1 C of Swanson's 100% natural beef broth (reserving the remainder for reheating leftovers in the microwave), cut up half a red onion, half of a red pepper, and half of an orange bell pepper & threw those in before cooking, instead of adding defrosted frozen veggies at the end. I also used instant brown rice instead of white rice. This meal received a HUGE thumbs-up from the fam, so it will be a redo for sure!

Meals for the rest of the week:
Breakfasts:

Oatmeal leftovers, whole wheat waffles (Van's egg-free whole wheat waffles for my egg-allergy sweetie) w/ pure maple syrup, or Cheerios with milk to drink.

Lunches:
Girls will have natural turkey sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread, fresh veggies (cucumber, bell peppers, or broccoli), satsumas & apple juice to drink. I bought Smart Ones with a coupon today, so I'll be having those this week.

Dinners:
Tues: Last night of steak & rice with green leaf lettuce salad w/ leftover cut-up fresh veggies (cauliflower, broccoli & cucumber).

Wed: Dinner at church.

Thurs-Sat: Thawing out gumbo a friend brought over after my surgery (Thanks, Wendy!!). Will make rice & we'll have green salad, and I'm going to try this Oven Roasted Cauliflower recipe to use the cauliflower I found on sale & had a coupon for this week.

Next week:
Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets (Not sure of the sides yet.)
Crock Pot Ministrone Soup (Going to add some ground turkey meatballs to make the hubs happy!)

What did your family eat today?

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

2010-01-05T14:34:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

Breakfast:
One kiddo had Cheerios mixed with vanilla yogurt, the other had Kix mixed with the same yogurt, and I had a Special K Meal Bar (great protein and fills me up pretty well). On such a cold morning, I was thankful for a hot mug of coffee with some vanilla caramel creamer.

Morning Snack:
Pretzels and cookies at school for the youngest and me - not sure what the oldest had in her class.

Lunch:
The girls and I had peanut butter and all-fruit jelly on whole wheat and clementines. The girls also had whole grain Goldfish crackers.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls and I had baggies of a snack I threw together in a hurry: whole grain Goldfish, peanuts, and raisins, and the girls had a juice box in the van on the way to dance.

Dinner:
The hubby and kiddos had leftover thin cut top sirloin steaks that I cooked on the stove in butter and olive oil. I seasoned them with TexJoy Steak Seasoning and salt and pepper. Lesson learned: thin cuts of meat require much less seasoning than thick cuts. :-) I micro-steamed broccoli and cauliflower and added just a touch of butter and salt and pepper so the girlies would devour them. This was all in service of using up the remainder of the Mexican Rice I made last week to go with our tacos and black refried beans.

What did your family eat today?

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

2009-10-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios and raisins with milk.

Morning Snack:
My oldest had Teddy Grahams and/or whole grain Goldfish at school. My youngest and I were in the throes of errand-running and grocery shopping, so we settled for an early lunch date with Daddy.

Lunch:
The hubby, my youngest and I ate at California Pizza Kitchen for an event that gives proceeds to Komen for the Cure. The hubby and I split a shrimp scampi pizza and a piece of their red velvet cake. My youngest had their mac and cheese with edamame.
My oldest had honey wheat pretzel sticks with peanut butter and raisins - it was definitely time for Mommy to do her weekly grocery shopping! :-)

Afternoon Snack:
We had the pleasure of having a friend's sweet daughter with us, so we had a treat at a local allergy-free (hooray!!) bakery. Each kiddo had a football-shaped cookie with the theme of our local college team, an oatmeal raisin cookie (because they were still hungry), part of my double chocolate chip muffin (Super yum! You must try it if you ever visit there!), and split a blackberry Izze. Yes, I then took them to a park to allow them to burn all of that sugar! :-)

Dinner:
We had California Pizza Kitchen again (For the Cure!), with our sweet little friend, and her Mommy, who was able to join us. The kiddos all had some sort of kiddo pizza. My hubby had a caesar salad with chicken (and "with extra dressing on the side" - always!) and I had a half Cobb salad with beets added (you have to request them there because some people are finiky about beets). My oldest ate her entire pizza, so she was able to have the 99 cent kiddo fruit cup. Fun, affordable, and healthy dessert! Score!

What did your family eat today?

Monday, October 5, 2009

2009-10-05T16:04:00.001-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios with raisins and milk.

Morning Snack:
My youngest and I had Cheez-Its and Oreos at school, and my oldest had her usual of Teddy Grahams and/or whole grain Goldfish.

Lunch:
We had a combination of "oval crackers", lunch meat rolls, sliced colby jack cheese, and peaches.

Afternoon Snack:
Didn't happen. :-)

Dinner:
We had tacos (soft and crunchy) with refried beans, sauteed onions and red & green peppers, and "sushi sopapillas."

Here's my recipe for Sushi Sopapillas:
Ingredients:
Tortilla
Butter (I like to use Land O Lakes Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil)
Honey
Cinnamon

Spread butter on one side of a tortilla. Drizzle buttered tortilla with honey and then sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll the tortilla up and microwave for ~35 seconds, until warm. Slice into rounds. Viola! Sushi Sopapillas!
What did your family eat today?

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

2009-09-30T14:30:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios and blueberries with milk.

Morning Snack:
My youngest and I had Ritz crackers and chocolate chip cookies at school. My oldest had chocolate chip Teddy Grahams and whole grain Goldfish crackers at school.

Lunch:
The girls had peanut butter and all-fruit jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread, green salad with tomatoes, and peach slices. I had the same sandwich and peach slices, but had leftover pretzels from my youngest's snack the day before.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls had chocolate chip Teddy Grahams & whole grain Goldfish crackers. I had a Skinny Cow vanilla ice cream sandwich.

Dinner:
The girls and I will have chicken pot pie and sides at church tonight.

What did your family eat today?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

2009-09-30T14:26:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls had Cheerios and blueberries with milk. I was fasting for bloodwork, so I had tons of water!

Morning Snack:
My oldest had chocolate chip Teddy Grahams and/or whole grain Goldfish crackers at school. My youngest had pretzels and a lollipop at the doctor's office. I was still fasting, so had nothing!

Lunch:
My oldest had a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with grape tomatoes & no sugar added Granny Smith applesauce.
My youngest and I went to a Japanese/sushi buffet because I could finally eat! :-)

Dinner:
We had the leftover pizza I made Monday - whole wheat pizza dough with turkey pepperoni and sauteed red pepper, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. We also had green salad.

What did your family eat?

Monday, September 29, 2009

2009-09-28T16:21:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios and raisins with milk.

Morning Snack:
My youngest and I had butter cookies and Cheez-Its for snack at school, and my oldest had Teddy Grahams and/or whole grain Goldfish crackers in her class.

Lunch:
I had a BLT & Kit Kat mini, thanks to my employers! :-)
My youngest had "oval" crackers, colby-jack cheese squares, petite carrots, and apple slices.
My oldest had honey wheat pretzel sticks, apple slices, and carrots with peanut butter in which to dip them.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls had animal crackers while I grocery shopped and I had a vanilla Skinny Cow (that name is so offensive!) ice cream sandwich once I finally got them down for nap.

Dinner:
We're having homemade pizza on a whole wheat crust with sauteed red peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic, and turkey pepperoni with salad.

What did your family eat today?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

2009-09-24T21:34:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios and raisins with milk.

Morning Snack:
I had a chewy chocolate granola bar. My oldest had Teddy Grahams and/or whole grain Goldfish at school and my youngest had whatever they gave her in the nursery while I was in a Bible study class! :-)

Lunch:
I had a teachers' meeting today, so the girls had Red Baron pepperoni pizzas and fruit salad, while I had a BLT on whole grain bread with Harvest Chedder Sun Chips, mini dill pickles, cream cheese brownies, and a Skinny Cow (such an offensive name!!!) chocolate ice cream sandwich. Yum! :-) I can tell I'm going to enjoy meeting days! :-)

Dinner:
It was DATE NIGHT! The hubby and I each had a salad (caesar for him & garden w/ raspberry walnut vineagrette dressing for me), split a pizza (supreme for his half and spinach & artichoke on my half), and shared a massive white chocolate macadamia nut cookie w/ vanilla ice cream on top! Yummy!
The girls had chicken nuggets, carrots, and sugar free strawberry applesauce.

What did your family eat today?

Edited to add: The grocery store was out of our normal chicken nuggets, so I bought new ones. I missed the egg white on the list of ingredients of the nuggets I did purchase, which made my older daughter sick. For those of you w/ food allergy kiddos, please, never let down your guard, and check those labels at least 3 times before you serve! Scary!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

2009-09-23T20:36:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios and raisins with milk.

Lunch:
We had peanut butter and all-fruit jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread with carrots and nectarines.

Afternoon Snack:
We had whole grain Cheez-Its and whole grain Goldfish crackers.

Dinner:
We had dinner at church tonight! :-) The girls had yummy red beans and rice. I had one of the most amazing and addictive meals I've had in a while: chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo, potato salad (mustardy and onion-free = yummy!), and triple chocolate cake with a dark chocolate ganache. AMAZING!

What did your family eat today?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

2009-09-13T21:17:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls and I had more of the egg-free banana muffins. I also had yummy spinach, mushroom, bacon frittatta and a biscuit provided by a co-worker.

Morning Snack:
Cheez-Its in the nursery at church.

Lunch:
We finished off all of the leftover pizza and cheese sticks from the last week.

Afternoon Snack:
Apple slices and peanut butter

Dinner:
The girls had chicken nuggets and popcorn in Sunday School and in the nursery at church, and had chips and Clif Kidz Fruit Twists after church.
I'm having a Healthy Choice Portabello mushroom pasta thing. There's an odd flavor in there I'm not too crazy about.
Hubby is having a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and chips.

What did your family eat today?

Saturday, September 12, 2009

2009-09-12T21:47:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the gap in posts! I was down with the flu and my hubby has been in bed with what might be the flu since then. I'm also having trouble using the editing features (bold, italics, etc.) Here we go! Please jump in and share!

Breakfast:
We had egg-free banana muffins. I used The Joy of Cooking's yummy recipe, left out the nuts and used extra oil, water, and baking powder to substitute the egg. Oh my! Possibly my best egg-substitute baking yet! Hooray!
I gave sick hubby a scrambled egg with cheese, and whole wheat toast with butter and all-fruit jelly.

Lunch:
The girls had hotdogs at my in-laws' house. I treated myself to chicken and sausage gumbo, potato salad, and Mississippi Mud Slide (glorified chocolate pudding with whipped cream and crushed chocolate on top) from a local restaurant. Yum!
Hubby had leftover pizza and breadsticks from Papa John's, from when I was sick.

Dinner:
We had leftover spaghetti and meatsauce, spinach, and garlic toast. I added sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and red wine to the sauce. Yum! :-) I think I hear some leftover Mississippi Mud Slide calling my name!

What did your family have for dinner tonight?

Sunday, September 4, 2009

2009-09-06T21:43:00.000-05:00

Today's meals were so random and crazy, that I'll just list all of the foods that I can remember at least one member of our family eating at some point today.....
Cheerios, raisins, powdered donut, Goldfish crackers, sausage jambalaya, salad, nachos, pretzels, cheese, grapes, crackers, hummus, carrots, Truly Free chocolate cupcake, Lean Cuisine spaghetti thing, cookie, ice cream cake, sausage balls, chocolate chip cookie bars, Fritos, bean dip, Clif Kidz fruit twist, animal cracker...
I'm sure there's more to our unhealthy, unplanned meal day! Gotta have one every once in a while to remind ourselves and the world that we're human and to have fun! :-)

What did your family eat today (and did you actually eat at normal times)?

Saturday. September 5, 2009

2009-09-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
I had a chocolate chip chewy granola bar when I woke up late. Sadly, I have no idea what the hubby fed the girls for breakfast. I just like to assume they were fed! :-)

Lunch:
The girls had homemade Lunchables (rolled up lunch meat, cubes of colby jack cheese & crackers) with grape tomatoes and milk to drink. The hubby and I finished off the Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches on rolls with provolone cheese and the last of the baked sweet potatoes.

Afternoon Snack:
We were at a birthday party, so we had pizza w/ veggies & fruit, cake, an egg-free cupcake for my oldest, thanks to the hostess, and ice cream.

Dinner:
The hubby and girls had pizza leftover from the birthday party (thanks, again, to the hostess!) and I had the leftover spinach and goat cheese pizza from lunch earlier in the week.

What did your family eat today?

Friday, September 4, 2009

2009-09-04T17:38:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios and blueberries with milk this morning.

Morning Snack:
We had whole grain Cheez-Its in the van while running errands this morning.

Lunch:
We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread with grape tomatoes and apple slices for lunch.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls had Clif Kids fruit twists and we shared a bag of popcorn.

Dinner:
We're eating more of the Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches on rolls with provolone cheese, and I might just microwave the sweet potatoes this time instead of making sweet potato fries in the oven. We'll see..

What did your family eat today?

Thursday, September 3, 2009

2009-09-03T22:41:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had baggies of Cheerios and raisins again while we ran to pick up the sweet girl who was babysitting my girls so I could go to my first morning of work in many, many years!

Lunch:
We had an end-of-the-summer/treat-the-sitter-to-lunch date at California Pizza Kitchen! The girls had mac & cheese and a cheese pizza (also treated to chocolate milk and Sprite as a special treat). The sitter and I split the garlic cheese bread appetizer. For the main course, I had a half grilled veggie salad with shrimp added, and she had the California club eggroll appetizer. It was all so yummy! We then went to Menchie's for some yummy frozen yogurt - love that they always have a dairy-free flavor for my daughter!

Afternoon Snack:
The girls had apple juice and whole wheat Cheez-Its.

Dinner:
Date Night! Woohoo! The hubby and I split a pizza at BJ's - his half was the meat/veggie combo and mine was spinach & artichoke. We split the Cookies and Cream Pizzooki dessert, which is great because it's yummy and a portion of the profit is donated to a very worthwhile recipient.
The girls had chicken nuggets and bananas with the sitter.

What did your family eat today?

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

2009-09-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
We had Cheerios with blueberries and milk. My 2-year-old also had a banana - I found her at the table eating one that she must have taken down off of the counter and peeled for herself.....poor, hungry, self-sufficient girly! I was on my way to make breakfast! I promise! :-)

Morning Snack:
We each had a banana for snack this morning, and the girlies also snacked after their preschool/PreK Open House. They had animal crackers, Goldfish crackers, Cheez-Its, vanilla wafers (2-year-old only because my oldest is allergic to the egg in them), and they both, unfortunately, found the lemonade dispenser, which is probably why they lost the privilege of going to a "nice" restaurant for lunch and then having yummy frozen yogurt after as a treat. Oh well. Mommy got her shopping done instead! :-)

Lunch:
We had an Archer Farms Spinach and Goat Cheese pizza. Well, I ate plenty of it, my 2-year-old ate the crust and cheese, and my 4-year-old didn't really like it at all. Oh well. At least she attempted to try it.

Afternoon Snack:
We'll have apple slices and the whole grain Cheez-Its I found at Target today! Wahoo!

Dinner:
We'll be having more of the Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches on rolls with provolone cheese. I really, really hope to have time to make oven-baked sweet potato fries to go with them!
For those who asked about my review of this recipe:
I think that if you're a French Dip kind of person, this might be right up your alley. I'm not really into it - might be all of the MSG in the soups, but it tends to be overwhelming and almost has a fake flavor in the background. The hubby and my 4-year-old LOVED it. In fact, my 4-yr-old asked if I could make it "every day!" I couldn't really tell that there was any cheese on the sandwich, altough I loved knowing it was there! :-) Also, even though the meat cooked probably an hour or so over the time I planned to cook it (I spent about an hour in traffic on my way home, grrr!), it was still very tender and juicy! I say, give it a go to see if you like it!
After the second night of eating it, it IS pretty good! I DO recommend it, just wish I could find a way to make it so yummy without the MSG. Enjoy!

What did your family eat today?

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

2009-09-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls and I had apples & cinnamon oatmeal and ham for breakfast.
The hubby probably had his usual: egg, toast, hashbrown, & OJ.

Morning Snack:
The girls and I had apple slices with peanut butter. Yum!

Lunch:
The girls and I had grilled cheese (colby-jack) sandwiches on whole wheat bread with carrot and celery sticks and dressing for dipping.

Afternoon Snack:
The girls had no sugar added strawberry applesauce and whole grain Goldfish crackers. I had a banana while stuck in traffic for almost an hour (yikes!).

Dinner:
Tried out a new recipe tonight! It's been cooking in the crock pot all day and smells yummy! It's from the same blogger who posted the most delicious pulled pork recipe I've ever had! Tonight, we tried her recipe for Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches. As she suggests, I served them on French rolls with provolone cheese, and we had grape tomatoes on the side.

What did your family eat today?

Monday, August 31, 2009

2009-08-31T15:23:00.000-05:00

Breakfast:
The girls and I had baggies of Cheerios and raisins as we hurried across town to a doctor's appointment I'd almost forgotten! Breakfast on the run!
The hubby probably had his usual breakfast - scrambled egg, toast, hash brown & OJ. He's on his own for breakfast. I'll buy the groceries, but he gets up super duper early, and let's just say....I'm not a morning person! :-)

Lunch:
My 2-yr-old and I shared chicken fingers & fries from Cane's. My 4-yr-old ate a Red Baron (microwaved) pepperoni pizza because Cane's uses eggs in their batter and that is lethal for her (oh, and the manager tried to tell me the egg gets "cooked out" of the chicken - what?!?). So....she didn't have it. Man, I have to start getting it together to feed the girls and myself healthy lunches on days I'm working in the classroom. I'm sure once school starts, I'll get into my routine of sandwiches on whole wheat bread, veggies, and fruit. As of now....yeah, not so much!
The hubby probably had his usual of two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Again, I buy the groceries, but he's on his own to make his lunch!

Dinner:
We're going to have the last of the lentil vegetable soup with the last of the homemade buttermilk drop biscuits. If that's not enough to feed all of us, I'll improvise and update tonight! :-) Making a new meal in the crock pot tomorrow!

What did your family eat today?

Sunday, August 30, 2009

2009-08-30T17:08:00.000-05:00

Breakfast
I had a quick breakfast of a buttermilk drop biscuit leftover from dinner last night before I left for church and 1/2 of a tea cake at church. Sunday morning...on the go!
The girls were given toast (?) and ham by Daddy this morning, as far as I know.

Lunch
I had a wide variety of yummies at a co-worker's bridal shower. I brought heart-shaped cucumber cream cheese sandwiches, and some of the other goodies were a cranberry & orange spice cheese ball served with graham crackers, a chipotle cheese ball covered with a strawberry chipotle sauce, crab dip, Cane's chicken fingers, spinach & artichoke dip, chicken salad, chicken/almond/basil sandwiches, and lots of other yumminess! And, of course, a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
I have no idea what the hubby fixed the girls or had for lunch. Mommy needed a break! Just hope they ate! :-)

Dinner
After the bridal shower this afternoon, I just had a small bowl of the lentil vegetable soup I made yesterday with a small piece of biscuit.
The girls and the hubby had soup & biscuits, and munched on snacks after the evening service at church.
Again, it's Sunday, the day of grazing and grabbing what you can find! :-)

What did your family eat today?

Saturday, August 29, 2009

2009-08-29T19:21:00.000-05:00

Dinner
Tonight, I've pulled out a relatively new recipe I've only made a few times. It smells delish and I can't wait to eat it tonight! We're having Lentil Vegetable Soup with some homemade buttermilk drop biscuits. I haven't made these biscuits in years, but I'm so glad I did tonight because it reminded me that they're super easy and pretty yummy and I should make them more often!

Here's a recipe I came up with after playing around with biscuit recipes in The Joy of Cooking:
Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

2 C Flour
2-2 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1/2-3/4 t. Salt
1/4 C Shortening or 5-6 T cold, unsalted butter
1 C milk
1 T white vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine milk and white vinegar in a measuring cup. Let sit for at least five minutes. This is an easy way to make buttermilk when you don't have any in the fridge. Next, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix together using a whisk. Using a pastry blender, your fingers, or two forks (I use a pastry blender), cut in the butter or shortening until it resembles peas. Stir in the homemade buttermilk mixture until all of the dough is moistened. If it's too dry, add more milk. If it's too sticky, add more flour. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes (I like to turn the pan halfway so things get cooked evenly). Cool on a wire rack.

BTW...These aren't your typical breakfast biscuits. They're more of a pick 'em up and take a big bite & if you want to dunk them, dunk them...if you want to smear them with jelly, go for it, kind of biscuit! I used butter for the 1st time today instead of shortening and it was delicious finding little butter pockets! :-) Hope you like them, or play with them until you do! I played with many recipes a few years ago until I found this easy & quick combo. They were really yummy w/ the soup!

Enjoy!

What did your family eat today?