January 11-17, 2015

Sunday:  Church Family Night

Monday:  Chicken Lazone Over Spaghetti Squash with Salad and Bread

Chicken Lazone

·          I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was worth a shot.  It was easy, but truthfully I didn’t love it.  We all ate it…even the kids…but I think I should have added some more of the spices to it.  I went light because I didn’t want it to be so spicy for the kids.   So, if I make it or a variation of it again, I’ll add more spices or change them up to suit the kids.  J 

It was a good way to serve spaghetti squash instead of using regular pasta noodles, though.  I just stabbed the spaghetti squash several times with a knife (carefully J) then tossed it in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.  When it’s done, take it out and slice it in half.  Scoop out the middle seeds and throw them away.  Then take a fork and shred the squash out into a bowl…instant spaghetti squash noodles.

Tuesday:  Ground Turkey and Veggie Quinoa Stir Fry

Ground Turkey and Veggie Quinoa Stir Fry

·          This dinner was based on this recipe that I found on Pinterest from www.bestcleaneatingrecipes.com.  I didn’t have exactly the vegetables the recipe mentions, but I made a stir fry with what I had.  I sautéed diced zucchini, carrots, broccoli, onion, and garlic in olive oil and also added in some soy sauce.  Then I added quinoa to that as well as a little brown rice and sautéed it all together.  In another pan I browned some lean ground turkey just as the recipe suggests.  When it was all done, I spooned the vegetable and quinoa into a bowl and then put the turkey on top of it.  Chad and I really enjoyed it, and the kids ate all their turkey and most of the vegetables without too much prompting.  This dish also made a tasty leftover for the next few days.

Wednesday:  Turkey & Veggie Quinoa Tacos

·          Because we had leftovers, I made some homemade, whole wheat tortillas so that we could have quesadillas and tacos for dinner.  Chad and I don’t mind leftovers, but we wanted to eat them in a little different way so that we weren’t too bored with it!

Thursday:  Chad Cooked!

·          Chad had a co-worker come over for dinner, so he wanted to be the cook for the night!  He grilled some chicken and dove while I prepared some sweet potatoes, broccoli, and zucchini that we roasted in the oven.

Friday:  Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup with Biscuits

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

·          I made this recipe last year some time and then completely forgot about it.  Chad and I really liked it, so I’m glad I came across it again!  This time I followed her link and actually made it in the crockpot…her original recipe is done all on the stovetop.  Both methods made a delicious soup!  I used lean, ground venison, but any ground meat works well.

Saturday:  Baked Turkey, Cheese, Pear, and Blackberry Preserve Paninis with Salad

Baked Turkey, Cheese, Pear, and Blackberry Preserve Paninis

·          We were having a family movie night, so I needed an easy dinner that we could eat picnic style upstairs that wouldn’t take me long to clean up.  Any kind of grilled sandwich is usually a hit in our house, so I made baked paninis. 

The easiest way I’ve found to make multiple grilled sandwiches is baked in the oven between two cookie sheets.  This time I wanted the grill marks (for effect, I suppose J ), so I used my large grill pan.  To make them a little better than just a regular grilled cheese, I layered a small spread of blackberry preserves, turkey, thin-sliced pears, and cheese in the panini.  I assembled all of the sandwiches on the grill pan, (I buttered both slices of bread on the outside) then I put a piece of foil over them and pressed another cookie sheet over the top.  That smooshes the sandwiches together…yum!  I put them in a cold oven and then heated the oven to 400 degrees and cooked for about 15 minutes or so.  Just lift the top cookie sheet and foil to check the paninis until they are as done as you would like.  I served ours with a kale and Brussels sprouts salad topped with a vinaigrette dressing.  I buy the salad already cut up in a big bag from Costco.

Here are the kids' plates.