recipe review

Over the weekend I tried 2 recipes I've never tried before and both were a hit! One was on my menu from last week and the other is on my menu for this week (not posted yet ). 

The first one I tried was Creamy Black Bean Chicken Burritos

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The recipe calls for smoked paprika & 1/2 tsp of chipotle peppers. I didn't have either of those and I didn't want to buy an entire can of chipotle peppers for 1/2 tsp. So instead I added a little regular paprika and a little taco seasoning (maybe 1 T). The recipe is super easy to make and only took about 30 minutes total. After the mixture was done I put 2 large spoonfuls on a tortilla, sprinkled with cheese and folded them up like a burrito. Then I put them on a hot flat pan and grilled either side til they were crispy.

And there ya go a delicious crispy chicken burrito. I thought they were delicious and so did my husband :)

The next recipe I tried was foil dinners from Little Miss Momma

To be completely honest I had never had a foil dinner in my life, my family never went camping so there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity to try them. So I was intrigued when I found the recipe. I thought they were delicious and so so so easy. Anything cooked on the BBQ that doesn't require the oven to be turned on in warm weather catches my attention. Try them out, they were yummy!

 

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They took about 15 mins to prepare and only 15-ish minutes to cook.

Dresden's Menu 4/20-4/27

Being out of town for 15 days really throws off your eating schedule. I still feel like it's dinner time but it's not even lunchtime yet! I am still adjusting from jet lag, last night I went to bed at 8:30pm and I still want to go back to bed! After eating only Italian food for 2 weeks I thought we'd steer clear of pasta and pizza this week. Here's what we've got going on for dinner through next Friday.

Friday: Chicken Quesadillas

Saturday: Steak with roasted potatoes

don't they look super yummy?!

Sunday: Hamburgers

Monday: Funeral Potato casserole (this with chicken added)

Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Black Bean burritos

Wednesday: Waffles with strawberries

Thursday: Cajun Chicken Pasta (ok, one pasta meal this week :))

Friday: Date night

snack time

Every weekend I go grocery shopping, prepare a menu for the week and prepare my lunches for the week. I typically take enough food with me on Monday to last me the entire week. If I prepared my lunch every night or morning during the week I would be really tempted to just eat out everyday. So preparing it over the weekend and having enough for the whole week keeps me from spending extra by eating out.

 

Besides lunch food I have to take some snacks with me to get me through the day. I love snacking :) but who doesn't? I get bored of the same snacks so I have to get creative. This week, two of my snacks came from Pinterest and I've been loving both. Here's a list of some suggestions for snacks...

at least snacks that I like :)

Frozen Yogurt-covered Blueberries

You can click on the link above for a recipe...I just used my favorite vanilla yogurt and dipped my blueberries in it with a toothpick then froze them on wax paper. I used a nonfat yogurt which I think made them a little more icy when they froze rather than creamy. I quite enjoy them!

Protein Ranch

This is a healthier version of ranch dressing. You use cottage cheese instead of mayo, less milk and less ranch dressing mix. I like it a lot! You have to blend it really well so the texture is smooth. But I highly recommend this with some veggies.

Other favorite snacks:

 

apples with peanut butter

apples with yogurt

cucumbers with lite Italian dressing

homemade granola bars

yogurt with granola or kashi go lean crunch

Dresden's Menu 2-27

I've started doing my grocery shopping on Saturdays so my menu has been changed up a little bit. Here's what we've got going on for dinner this week. Almost every single dinner has a link to a recipe, lots of ideas for you to use for your dinners!

Saturday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Sunday: Enchiladas with Mexican Rice 

I LOVE Mexican Rice and wanted to try making it, for a first time I thought it was pretty good, though I like almost any kind of rice. I used this recipe.

Monday: White Chicken Chili with Rolls

Tuesday: Tostadas

I just make hamburger taco meat or this delicious chicken taco meat, put some refried beans on a tostada topped with meat, lettuce, cheese and tomato. Delicious!

Wednesday: Garlic Chicken Pasta 

we had this like 2 weeks ago, but I loved it so much we're doing it again!

Thursday: Jelly Meatballs

my sister in law originally gave me this recipe a long time ago, but Our Best Bites posted it not too long ago and instead of writing up the recipe I'll just link to their post on how to make them.

Friday: Date Night!

Have a great week!

Kristine's Menu

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I haven't done a meal week like this in awhile, but I love it when weeks like this roll around!  Typically, I start the week by cooking a lot of meat with onions, garlic and other spices in a crock pot. The first night, we eat the meat and mashed potatoes and then continue to use the leftover meat (usually by adding other sauces and spices) in a variety of different ways.  I definitely recommend trying it out... it is a major time saver!

Monday: Pot Roast. Mashed Potatoes. Vegetables.
Tuesday: Shredded Beef Enchiladas.  Simply shred the meat, add in enchilada sauce (from the can or homemade), heat in the crockpot for 30+ minutes.  Fill the tortillas with meat, refried beans (optional, but it cuts down the amount of meat I have to use), cheese and roll up.  Top with additional enchilada sauce and cheese and bake!
Wednesday: Beef Sandwiches.
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner
Friday: Stuffed Quesadillas.  If we still have leftover beef, I will make a stuffed quesadilla with that meat. If not, this is one of my go to recipes.
Saturday: Pizza! Not sure if this will be homemade or going out for pizza. But it is one of my favorites!

Twice Baked Potatoes

These really take me back to my childhood. Sunday dinner in our house was special and usually involved barbecued chicken or steak, salad, my mom's homemade bread and a potato side. I liked sides even more than the main dish most of the time, especially when I saw her scooping out the middle of potatoes in preparation for twice baking them!

Twice baked potatoes are super easy to make and they taste amazing.
Here's what you need (makes 6 halves):

3 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons butter
2 green onions, chopped
2 cups cheddar, shredded
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Bake your potatoes in a 350 degree oven for an hour and a half, or until tender. Cut each potato in half and carefully scrape the potato insides into a large bowl. Take care not to scrape too much out because you want it to keep its shape. Add the rest of the ingredients into your bowl (I save a little cheese to top them with) an mix well, breaking up any potato chunks.

Now fill each potato with the filling and place it on a baking sheet. Top with more cheese if you want, or just more green onions. Bake the potatoes at 350 for about 15 more minutes or until the cheese on top is melty and filling is heated thru. These go well with grilled meat, pulled pork sandwiches or as a leftover lunch the next day. :)

Kristine's Menu

It has been far too long since I have sat down and organized a menu.  With the holidays, I got out of the groove, and it has taken awhile to get back into it!

Monday: Club Salad.  After the Superbowl junk that we ate yesterday, I think a detox is necessary!
Tuesday: Pioneer Woman's Cajun Chicken Pasta
Wednesday: Beef and Broccoli
Thursday: Quiche
Friday: Spicy Bean Burritos - this is a new recipe that I am excited to try!  I generally avoid any recipe that calls for chipotles in adobo sauce because I don't want to deal with it. But I am giving this one a whirl!
Saturday: Garlic Chicken Farfale  - not sure if I have posted this recipe before, but it's a winner!  I am cutting down on the bacon this time and I always cut down on the butter.  I am also going to do half and half with skim milk instead of the full cream!