Menu Plan Monday: 1/30 - 2/5

I'm really excited about our menu this week! All three weeknight meals are things I've been wanting to try for a while now and I think my husband will really like them, too. Three meals might not sound like a lot, but Thursdays are a hectic day for us and leftovers are the perfect solution. We keep our weekend meals pretty basic so that we can maximize our time together. It also makes them easily adjusted if we get an invitation or decide to do something at the last minute.

Monday: Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage (Weight Watchers)

Tuesday: Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry (Weight Watchers)

Wednesday: Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: pizza night

Saturday: hot dogs, tater tots, green beans

Sunday: chili and gourmet grilled cheese


Recipe Follow-Up: The Crock Pot Garlic Honey Chicken I made last week was a huge hit in our house!

Menu Plan Monday: 1/23 - 1/29

I'm calling this week "something old, something new." Some of the weeknight recipes are tried-and-true favorites, but there are a couple of newbies, too. The other half are new-to-us recipes. Hopefully we'll find at least one keeper to add to the recipe binder. Thank you, Pinterest!

Monday: Spicy Beef Noodles

Tuesday: Flank Steak, Pinterest potatoes, salad

Wednesday: Crock Pot Garlic Honey Chicken, Mushroom & Barley Casserole (both new to us)

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: pizza night

Saturday: cheeseburgers, tater tots

Sunday: paninis, soup

I hope you have a great week! If you're trying any new recipes, I hope they're all successful. I'm off to browse your menus to get ideas for next week. Love how that works! :)

Menu Plan Monday: 1/16 - 1/22

It's time for another edition of Menu Plan Monday! My husband is out of town for a few days on a business trip so it's just Peanut and I. When he's away, I tend to make recipes I've been wanting to try, but that I know he wouldn't enjoy because of a certain ingredient, texture or flavor. That's definitely the case this week. While we miss him terribly, I'm excited to try some of these dishes. I may end up switching things from one day to the other depending on my mood. Lunches will be dinner leftovers.

Monday: Fiery Shrimp with Bok Choy & Rice (from the new Weight Watchers One Pot cookbook)

Tuesday: Mushroom & Lentil Stroganoff (vegan)

Wednesday: Turkey Biryani (from the "meals for one" article in Weight Watchers Magazine Jan/Feb 2012)

Thursday: Hot Spinach Salad (from the article mentioned above)

Friday: pizza night

Saturday: cheeseburgers, oven fries

Sunday: grilled chicken salads with all the fixins'


Do you cook differently when a member of your family is away or when you're cooking for one?

I can't wait to see what all of you are eating this week!

What I'm Loving Wednesday: 1/11

Woot woot! Two posts, two days in a row. How's that for getting back to blogging?! Okay, so yesterday's post was actually a day late and..well we're just going to overlook that part shall we? ;)

WILW is one of the reasons I missed blogging so much. Not only do I love sharing my latest finds, but I also love seeing what everyone else who links up is loving. I usually end up loving a lot of it myself.

So here's what I'm loving:

I'm loving working at Weight Watchers this time of year! We have so many new members joining and there's definitely a buzz in the air. The excitement takes me back to the day I joined. I was nervous, excited, skeptical and optimistic all at the same time. I won't launch into singing my praises for Weight Watchers because it's something I'm passionate about and I can get pretty windy if you get me started. Let's just say it worked for me.

While we're on the topic of things I love, the fact that this lovely lady (That's Jennifer Hudson.) is our spokesperson is one of them. Doesn't she look amazing? 

I'm loving the PhotoShop Elements 10 I got for Christmas. Thanks, mom! There are so many things this can do! I've been playing around with it on my own, reading blog and watching online tutorials, but I've only just skimmed the surface. I can't wait to learn more. If anyone has any great resources about learning to use PSE, I'd love you to tell me about it in the comments.

I'm loving that The Biggest Loser is back on the air. Hard to believe this is Season 13. Last week I wasn't really feeling the contestants this time around, but after the most recent episode, I feel like it's going to be a good season.

I'm loving Goody Spin Pins. I'm sort of hair challenged and these are the perfect quick & easy styling gadget. The first time I used them, my husband (who is not one to notice my styling) said "You look so fancy!" Buy these just about anywhere Goody hair accessories are sold. They best part? They're super inexpensive.

I'm loving the Zoo Talkers Zoo from Fisher Price. Yes, this is Peanut's Christmas present but, after chasing all over God's green Earth searching for the extra animals to go with it, I believe I've earned the right to play with and enjoy it. For the record, she really does like it, too.

 

Well, that's it for now! I'm off to check out what you're loving in the linky party. I'm also hoping to sneak in some time for working on my newest post series. Curious? You'll have to keep checking back!

Menu Plan Tuesday: 1/9- 1/15

Well, hello there! I bet you've missed me! Yes? No? Maybe? As I'm sure it is for everyone, life got really hectic around the holidays and I stopped blogging because I felt like I didn't have anything interesting to say. Never fear! I'm back now and I'm hoping to incorporate blogging much more into the coming year. I've been doing some brainstorming and working on a few projects to share. I can't promise that I'll blog every day (which just isn't going to happen), but I hope to at least be more consistent and have some interesting content.

My first order of business will be sharing our menu for this week, even if I am a day late. I love getting feedback on these and blog hopping to see what the rest of you are eating. 

Monday: Weight Watchers Double Mushroom Soup (which was awesome!!!)

Tuesday: Crab Stuffed Ravioli (Sam's Club impulse buy. This is what you get for taking your husband to the grocery.) w/ marinara sauce

Wednesday:  Spicy Beef Noodles

Thursday: Tacos w/ lean beef, black beans & all the fixins

Friday: Pizza Night!

Saturday: Cheeseburgers, tater tots

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Salads

Well, there you have it. I can't wait to see what all of you are cooking up this week!

Menu Plan Monday: 11/7 - 11/13

Quick post today because I'm really tired. I spent the better part of the day about an hour away, shopping with my mom & aunt. We had a great time and a yummy lunch at Noodles & Co. It was my first time there and you bet your bottom dollar I'll be going back!
Our meals are pretty plain & simple this week. Tomorrow, I'm starting a 10-day herbal cleanse program. It's not a liquid fast (heaven knows I need to chew), but there are a few dietary restrictions I'll be following to help the process. Honestly, most of the "restrictions" are really common sense things I should be applying to my eating habits on a normal basis so it's not that bad.

Monday: Chili (DH volunteered to cook!)

Tuesday: Turkey Piccata (as seen on Biggest Loser)

Wednesday: Flat Iron Steaks, Baked Potato, Steamed Broccoli

Thursday:  Mexican Black Bean Soup with Sausage (we use turkey kielbasa)

Friday: Super Saver Sloppy Joes for my husband, Grilled Chicken Salad for me

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner: omelettes, hash browns and pancakes for Peanut


I hope everyone's November is off to a great start!

Menu Plan Monday: 10/31 - 11/6

Happy Halloween, everyone! Our Trick or Treat was last Thursday. The first year we lived here I bought 5 bags of candy...and had 4 trick or treaters. The sidewalk doesn't extend out to our house and I didn't realize how that would influence the foot traffic. Since then, the tradition has been to go to my sister-in-law's house for the festivities. Peanut is still a little backwards around new people so we decided to help pass out candy there again this year rather than go door-to-door. My husband did take her to 3 of my sister-in-law's neighbors' houses, but they had to bring the candy out to her because she refused to go any further than the sidewalk.

Peanut was Minnie Mouse...minus ears, shoe covers & bow. So basically, she wore a red polka-dot dress (made by my mom), black leggins & a black long-sleeved shirt. Oh well. She was the cutest little earless mouse you've ever seen. :)

I've missed the last few Menu Plan Mondays. Life happened and things just got too hectic for me to be able to sit down and type up a post. I'm excited to be back with this week's plan, though!

Monday: Sausage & Vegetable Calzones

Tuesday: Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

Wednesday: Flat Iron Steaks, Baked Potato

Thursday: The Most Amazing Pork Chops Ever, brown rice

Friday: Pizza Night!

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Cookout for sister-in-law's birthday

I hope everyone has a fun (and safe) Halloween. My only remaining festivity is a special Zumba party tonight. It's sure to be frightfully fun!