May 31 - June 6, 2015

Sunday:  Church Fellowship and Dinner at the Park

Monday:  Sweet Chili Lime Chicken Tacos with Fresh Fruits and Veggies

·          Chad had a softball game at 6:30, so we needed a quick, early dinner before going to watch him play.  I pulled out some Sweet Chili Lime Chicken (one of my fave recipes!) from the freezer, thawed it out, warmed it on the stove, and served it inside some tortillas we had leftover from the week before.  We added in fresh fruit and veggies, and dinner was served!  Some nights, I piece together our dinner based on what we have around, which is a great way to use leftovers AND save money!  J

Tuesday:  Dinner at Mom’s

Wednesday:  Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta with a Kale & Fresh Fruit Salad with Homemade Balsamic Dressing

Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta

I found this yumminess on Pinterest from Simply Mrs. Edwards.  If you are watching your carbs or dairy intake, you should probably avoid this recipe.  ;-)  But, thankfully for us, we are fine with all pasta and all dairy, so we were all in on this dish!  I made ours earlier in the afternoon so that all I had to do was stick it in the oven and bake it for dinner.  We had a friend over, and there was plenty for everyone.  I actually topped ours with panko bread crumbs and a little Italian seasoning before baking to give it a crispy topping. 

We all really enjoyed this, but we did need to add some salt and pepper.  I’ll make this again, but I’ll add in some more seasonings when making the sauce.  It made a wonderful leftover for lunch the next day, and I even topped it with some feta cheese, which made it super yummy!

Kale & Fresh Fruit Salad with Homemade Balsamic Dressing

I’m a little salad-obsessed right now, and I am especially fond of tossing on all of the fresh, seasonal berries and fruit that are available in the summer months.  Salad is such an easy side dish for any meal, and it requires little prep and no oven or stovetop, helping to keep you cool when a hot kitchen isn’t a fun place to be.  J  For this salad, I tossed some fresh chopped kale with a few mixed salad greens.  Then I toasted some pine nuts in a pan on the stovetop for a few minutes.  (Watch them closely and toss them around so they don’t burn!)  On top of the salad I threw on blackberries, oranges, the toasted pine nuts, and feta cheese.  I dressed our salad with this Homemade Balsamic Dressing from my friend, Dana and her blog Real Food – Real Family.  Check her out!  She’s an amazing cook, and she’s SO healthy!  (I have a salad dressing shaker, which is what I use to make, mix, and store my homemade dressing.)

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

1 clove of garlic, minced (or 1/8 – 1/4 tsp garlic powder)

1 tsp dried oregano or other herb of your choice

½ tsp salt

1/3 cup olive oil

{update 5/13/15:  I’ve started adding about 1 T lime juice (if I have any on hand) and it’s a great addition.}

pepper to taste (I usually add pepper to my salad rather than the dressing)

1.Mix first 6 ingredients with a wire whisk.  Slowly add in the olive oil while whisking.  Put a top on your container and shake well.  Homemade dressing works best in some type of jar that has a tight lid, rather than a bowl with lid.

2.  Store container in the fridge.

3.  Pull the dressing out a little while before using to allow it to come to room temperature.  (The olive oil hardens in the fridge.)  Give it a vigorous shake and then spoon out what you need.  I usually pull my dressing out in the morning so I don’t forget.  I put it back in the fridge after lunch.

Thursday:  Crispy Tortilla Tilapia with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Zucchini

This night was a total, throw it together night.  I meant to have a yummy Honey Lime Tilapia, but I forgot to thaw my tilapia.  :-/  In order for Chad and Ranger to have dinner before leaving for baseball practice, I threw out my original plan and just pulled some yummy Costco tilapia out of the freezer.  I made the crispy tortilla tilapia for Chad and me, but I made the basil pesto for the kids because it’s not spicy.  I diced up sweet potatoes and zucchini and roasted them at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Dinner was ready, and everyone cleaned their plates!

Friday:  Family Pizza & Movie Night!

My kids’ favorite night of the week!  J  This week, I bought some inexpensive meat and cheese pizzas from Aldi. I left the kids’ pizza just as it was, but I added fresh kale, basil, grape tomatoes, and bell peppers to the pizza for Chad and me; I also added a spritz of olive oil and fresh-cracked pepper.  I brushed both crusts with garlic butter before baking as well for extra yumminess!  

I do bake my pizzas directly on the rack, but for the first 10 minutes, I lay foil on the bottom rack to catch any falling, melting cheese and butter.  That prevents it falling to the bottom of the oven and stinking up my house!

Saturday:  Breaded, Fried Turkey Cutlets, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Rice, & Kale Salad

Chad breaded and fried some of his wild turkey he shot a few months back.  Our parents were over, so it was fun to prepare a meal for everyone!  While Chad worked on the turkey and fried it outside on the grill burner, I made a salad, rice, and sweet potatoes inside.  Voila!  It was delicious!

(Proof that my husband killed AND cooked our dinner!)