February 21-27, 2016

Sunday:  Dinner with Friends

Monday:  Lemon & Garlic Baked Tilapia, Roasted Broccoli, Quinoa

Lemon & Garlic Baked Tilapia

  I had some tilapia in the freezer that I planned to use, so I just used Pinterest to find a recipe that looked yummy and easy.  This one from http://www.shrutisdilectabledilites.com did the trick!  We all enjoyed it, and it couldn’t have been any simpler!  Tilapia isn’t a very “fishy” smelling fish, so I don’t mind cooking it inside.  J  I served ours with roasted broccoli and some quick frozen quinoa from Costco that you can just throw in the microwave straight from the freezer!

Tuesday:  Macaroni-and-Beef with Cheese & Salad

Macaroni-and-Beef with Cheese

  This is like a MUCH tastier, MUCH healthier version of a box of something similar you could buy at the store.  This is all made from scratch, but it’s not difficult at all.  You can choose any type of pasta, meat, and cheese to suit your tastes and diet, so it can really be as healthy (or not!) as you care to make it!  It also makes a ton, so, with my small kids, I always have enough to freeze for another meal.  (Recipe courtesy of http://ruhlman.com/) 

Wednesday:  Dinner at Church

Thursday:  Grilled Venison, Brown Rice, Roasted Broccoli, & Bread

  Chad has been home all week, and so he offered to grill some venison for us!  I NEVER say no to that!  I had the easy job of roasting some broccoli (I buy the big bag of organic broccoli from Costco, so we eat it A LOT!), making some rice, and toasting up a little Ezekiel bread with butter.  Yum!

Friday:  Power Dogs with Fruit

  I left on Friday afternoon for a Mom conference, and the kids were so excited about their weekend with Daddy!  Before I left, I whipped up these “Power Dogs” using all-beef, nitrate free hot dogs and Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes.  I often wrap hot dogs in crescent rolls for a simple dinner the kids love, but I didn’t have any on hand.  My friend Dana at Real-Food Real-Family made these, so I took her idea.  J

Here's how you make them: Mix 1 1/2 cups kodiak cakes mix, 1 1/2 T olive oil, and 1/4 cup + 2 T warm water. Use your hands to form a ball of dough. Roll the dough out until you get a nice circle and then cut into 16 parts. Cut a package of 8 hot dogs in half to make 16 pieces. Roll them up and cook at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

I actually don’t even know how much they ate, but it was an easy dinner for Chad to throw in the oven and add some fruit to for he and the kids. 

Saturday:  Hawaiian Chicken & Yellow Pepper Pizza

  Chad was in charge of dinner Saturday night, which is never a problem for him.  He’s always willing to make a dinner out of whatever we have on hand.  I wasn’t going to be home from my conference until after dinner.  He pulled a frozen cheese pizza out of the freezer and added some Hawaiian Chicken we had diced up from making a ton on the grill a month or two ago.  We also had some sweet peppers in the fridge, so he tossed those on too.  J  Everyone was happy!  I think I’ll keep him.