Menu Planning Monday!

Alright, so last week was only semi-successful. Here's what happened...

Monday :: out to eat...Tyson made me do it! :)
Tuesday :: duck....it was really good! Duck leftover is not so good though.
Wednesday :: quesadillas...super tasty and easy! We left out the avocado though.
Thursday :: leftovers...tasty
Friday :: out to eat with friends :)

And here's what I have planned this week!

Monday :: Tyson's birthday, so out to eat!
Tuesday :: meatloaf (I can't help it, I love it!)
Wednesday :: Christmas party for Tyson's work
Thursday :: black bean & bacon soup

Menu Planning Monday

Even though my break flew by, I am rejuvenated to finish the semester strong. As such, I am rededicating my cooking efforts (my mom says I am being ambitious...we shall see!). Here's a peek at this week's plan...

Monday :: seared duck breasts with honey, soy, and ginger (I found duck breasts on sale last week and couldn't resist!)

Tuesday :: baked garlic chicken with glazed carrots

Wednesday :: "Korean beef" with rice and steamed broccoli

Thursday :: cheesy chicken + bacon quesadillas with black beans

Alternate meal :: chicken and corn chowder (in case I need something extra or we decide to call an audible)

I'm on my iPad and can't link up recipe sources, but three came from sixsistersstuff.com, the duck from allrecipes UK, and the quesadillas are inspired from kevinandamanda.com. Hoping we are in for a yummy week of dinners...right now I am planning on doing a review post to hold me accountable on how much I actually cooked. ;o)

Menu Planning Monday

Helloo....it's been awhile since I've posted something food-related. Tyson's been taking a review course, so I've been scrounging or eating out a lot lately. But I am turning it around this week!

Tonight I made Mexican-style meat in the slow cooker...with quite a few modifications. Super tasty and spicy! I don't think I've had a more flavorful pulled slow cooker meat (maybe ever??). We served it with basmati rice and some corn. Super easy!

Monday :: leftovers
Tuesday :: black bean tostada with cilantro sauce
Wednesday :: leftovers
Thursday :: meatloaf + zucchini

Okay...kind of lame-ish. But it is a vast improvement from past weeks! Baby steps, people...

Random Photo Wednesday

Last night I made lobster ravioli with a tomato cream sauce (there was steamed broccoli too, but it was a backup dancer, not the main event). Y'all. So good. We made happy plates. I cooked up the ravioli (thank you, Trader Joe's!) and made the sauce from this fabulous recipe. I will definitely be making this again, but halving (or quartering?) the sauce.

Random Photo Wednesday

Tyson got the tomahawk at my birthday dinner this weekend. It was so very large and in charge...bigger than his face. Unreal.

Food ponderings.

One of my absolute favorite parts of summer is that I can spend as much time as I would like making my lunch. Or eating my lunch. Or driving elsewhere to dine. If I were to make a list of things I dislike about teaching, the short lunches fall somewhere between one and three. I could rhapsodize about this further, but I have a feeling that it doesn't make for good reading.

That being said, I tend to take advantage of the oven to make lunch in the summer. I really feel like my quality of life would improve during the school year if there was a toaster oven in the teachers' lounge. But then everyone would want to toast things, the line would be insane, and I still probably would be stuck reheating leftovers or a Lean Cuisine.

Anyways, I have been making pizzas for my noonday meal. My first round consisted of Trader Joe's naan bread as the vessel, and now I have moved on to tortillas (because I ate all the naan bread. boo.). I made a big batch of this pizza sauce back in February (in small portions) that I've been using and loving with fresh mozzarella and Italian seasoning.

I also used the pizza idea to use up pulled pork leftovers with BBQ sauce. What else can you do with pork (we have a LOT)? I am contemplating enchiladas...I think I read about using up Thanksgiving turkey that way last year. Maybe a stew? I will continue to ponder...

3 years!

Tyson and I celebrated our three year anniversary on Wednesday at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, and it was delicious and so much fun!

We started out in the lounge with drinks! The sparkletini--super yummy!

They even had an arrangement on our table to celebrate with us!

We both got the special...filet mignon, lobster tail, and mashed potatoes with asparagus. 

The midnight cake and dessert wine pairing was sublime. Yum yum yum.

A very memorable evening...they even called us back on Thursday to make sure we enjoyed our experience. Too cool!

Love of food (totally random).

I have decided to be a connoisseur of lobster bisque.

This recipe has been on my list to make for almost a year. I need to just make it already!

Still obsessed with macarons. This is the evidence of last Friday's taste test (Chocolate PB and Caramel for me, lavender and peach for Tyson).

Tyson grilled amazing steaks Saturday night. And the good thing is that we have leftovers for this week!

I also found a Chick-fil-a gift card in the junk drawer Friday night. Score!

Menu Planning Monday

I'm finally getting around to a more normal cooking schedule. :o)

Menu Planning Monday
monday :: spicy garlic salmon* with couscous
tuesday :: honey sesame chicken (slow cooker recipe!)
wednesday :: beef enchiladas
thursday :: pesto tortellini
friday :: baked potato night

*I seriously love this salmon recipe. So easy. I have only made a few alterations...

Makes two (4-6 oz.) servings

2 cloves of garlic, minced (1 t.)
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. whole grain or dijon mustard
1 T. olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t.(ish) freshly-ground pepper
salmon fillets

1. Preheat oven to 400*F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum (if that's your thing...easy clean-up!). Lay fillets skin side down on the pan.
2. Mix together remaining ingredients in small bowl. Using a brush, coat the fillets with the mixture.
3. Bake 12-15 minutes until salmon flakes with fork.

Snow's BBQ

On the way up to Arlington this weekend, we stopped at Snow's BBQ. It was recommended to Tyson by a coworker, Texags, and Texas Monthly...so we couldn't resist. They are only open on Saturday mornings and serve until they run out of food. We waited for about 40 minutes and ended up being one of the last getting their delicious brisket. Totally worth the wait.

Fluffy deliciousness.

So, I guess macarons are...trendy right now? We got one at the end of a meal in Vegas, and I was surprised at how pillowy and lovely it was. Tyson found a place locally that makes them. We both agreed that we now understand the hype.

Menu Planning Monday

I enjoy relaxing weekends. After being sick for half of last week, I loved chilling in pajama pants for the weekend. I watched Blackboard Wars on Saturday night--pretty awesome to see the need for education reform on tv. After raving about it, Tyson wanted to see it on Sunday (he fell asleep on the couch Saturday night), so I re-watched an episode with him. I think he enjoyed it more than I did! It gives outsiders a view of education for sure. And then saw that there was a shooting outside the school this past week. So very sad.

Menu Planning Monday
sunday :: yesterday we had teriyaki-marinated skirt steak...mmm
monday :: braised roast (no recipe, we are improving and using several ideas from different sources...scary, yet fun.), mashed potatoes, and broccoli
tuesday :: caribbean chicken salad (recipe inspired from here)
wednesday :: quesadillas with leftover miscellaneous meat :)
thursday :: creamy garlic pasta with steamed veggies
friday :: I want to make skillet lasagna but I am told we will probably not be home :(

Menu Planning Monday

Aww.

Last week, we ate hamburgers for dinner almost every night. None of them were eaten from our Super Bowl shindig. I mean, not that I can blame anyone--we had ribs! As a result, this week is using up the proteins purchased for those meals.

monday :: bbq meatballs (pioneer woman)

tuesday :: grilling steaks for early Valentine's day

wednesday :: leftovers, plus I'm making jalapeño dip for small group

thursday :: beef and broccoli

friday :: pasta

saturday :: I think I'm going to try to make salted caramel chocolate cupcakes for my dad's birthday. We shall see.

I need some new healthy recipes! Any good ones out there?

Menu Planning Monday

After grilling ribs and burgers for the Super Bowl, I wanted a week of low-cost dinners to make up for our large grocery bill! We only had to buy the proteins and a bottle of soy sauce because we had run out. Pretty good, I'd say.

monday :: ravioli with alfredo sauce and grilled chicken
tuesday :: pioneer woman's bbq meatballs with wild rice
wednesday :: leftovers before small group
thursday :: pioneer woman's beef with snow peas (substituting broccoli)
friday :: pasta for Tyson/leftovers for me

Tyson's thinking about going to the ranch this weekend, so I'll probably be eating baked potatoes or quesadillas or other meatless items while he's gone. I am super low-key when he isn't here emphasizing the importance of protein.

Weekend in Photos

 Tyson smoked ribs (pretty much all day).

 Sophie sat and looked cute.

 And pondered the meaning of life...

While Tyson played with the temperature and fire...

...and Brody practiced his Elvis impersonation.

End result. So delish. He also grilled corn on the cob and I made twice baked potatoes (recipe here but I made some modifications)

Coffee. Always a weekend favorite. Especially in my Houston mug!

Menu Planning Monday

monday :: cheesy rice bake

tuesday :: skinnytaste's baked chicken parm

wednesday :: taco soup

thursday :: spicy honey glazed chicken

friday :: date night!

Menu Planning Monday

My weekend was full of deliciousness.

Hooray for a day off (and Martin Luther King, Jr.)! For about a week, I've been planning a fun crafty day...and maybe a wee bit of relaxing and snuggling with the dogs.

Menu Planning Monday

monday :: honey lime shrimp with quinoa

tuesday :: balsamic flank steak with couscous and steamed broccoli

wednesday :: chicken, black bean, and corn soft tacos

thursday :: leftovers...I have a late basketball game, boo.

friday :: pasta (most likely)

saturday :: ribs in the new smoker!

Menu Planning Monday

Sophie cheered on the Aggies from her jail cell on Friday. We had friends over with a new baby and she wasn't as down with that as Brody was.

Tyson has a marathon on Sunday, so he is quite particular about what he consumes. This is what I have planned...we shall see if we stick to it!

sunday :: spicy salmon, green beans, and couscous
monday :: leftovers
tuesday :: honey chipotle turkey meatballs with steamed broccoli and wild rice (i wanted to make hoisin glazed turkey meatballs, but I am not going to the grocery store before tuesday. officially on the "to make" list!)
wednesday :: jalapeño chicken with mexican rice and salad
thursday :: pasta
friday :: pasta
saturday :: spaghetti with meat sauce

On another food-related note, I was wanting a cheaper option to jarred pasta sauce to make pizza rolls this weekend and give this recipe a try. I was 6 ounces short on tomato paste but rolled with it anyways. It was totally delicious. It made extra, so I even got to freeze some for future yumminess. I am in awe of how good pizza sauce can be now.

Yumminess.

Menu Planning not-Monday
Monday :: Pork tenderloin win mustard sauce (modified from beef to pork and shallots to onion...really tasty!) with couscous and steamed broccoli
Tuesday :: red beans and rice
Wednesday :: cheesy chicken, rice, and broccoli
Thursday :: sloppy joes with homemade wheat buns
Friday :: leftovers

It is so difficult to not gain weight during the holiday season! I am seriously going to have to get back on the wagon after the new year. Trying to do everything in moderation. With lots of snacks and lunches of Greek yogurt, turkey bacon, and french vanilla granola (new fave). I feel like I need a few more "healthy" dinner recipes though...

I had a complaint from HR that I have been neglecting photos of my beloved Brody. He's still here and loving life.

Menu Planning Monday

monday :: meatloaf with green beans

tuesday :: parmesan chicken bake with broccoli + wild rice

wednesday :: corn, bacon, and potato chowder

thursday :: three cheese pizza

friday :: undetermined...Christmas party, out of town, or leftovers??

saturday :: some sort of pasta...Tyson has a half marathon in College Station the next day!

Tyson is training for the Houston marathon this January. This weekend he casually mentioned that he'll probably do a five mile run before the half on Sunday...craziness.

General shenanigans.

This little bug better be glad I love her. Today I found out that my little Sophie has tapeworms...joy. Kind of confused on how that happened. So more medicine for the sweet girl, which she loves because that means pill pockets (her favorite). I do love her so much, and I think we're definitely BFF now. She hardly ever leaves my side. Even if I'm in bed and I won't let her up with me, she gets under the bed right beneath me. Kind of funny. My favorite Sophie-ism is that any time we put on shoes, she trots over and lays down right on our feet. Like, please--take me with you!!

I mentioned earlier about how I have been lazy in the kitchen lately. To emphasize this point, Tyson called on his way home yesterday to see where I wanted to get dinner (since he just assumed I didn't have anything planned). Little did he know, I had already been to the grocery store (ugh: sidenote...I did not have a good shopping trip, and then a former student today said he saw me and I was "zooming through the store" with a serious face. Ha!) and was marinating shrimp for this delicious recipe: honey lime shrimp. Definitely a favorite. Thank you, Pinterest.

Menu Planning Monday/Tuesday
monday :: honey lime shrimp, brown rice + salad (yum as always. love this recipe!!)
tuesday :: pork tenderloin with raspberry chipotle sauce, quinoa + salad (yum--seared in a skillet + baked)
wednesday :: cheesy chicken and rice bake (out of chicken, used a little ground beef I had and it was pretty tasty)
thursday :: crispy buffalo chicken + salad (didn't make. we went out for mexican food. yuuum.)
friday :: leftovers!

Random favorite quote: "Why do Americans like macaroni and cheese so much?" --Norwegian student