Thursday, December 28, 2017

Meal Planning: December 30th - January 4th

Review from last week:

Christmas eve dinner of filet, burgundy mushrooms and roasted asparagus:



Christmas crew!


Fresh fettuchine with prosciutto and kale.


Roasted chicken, collard greens and mashed sweet potatoes:


Tilapia with lemon butter and black lentil salad.  This one I LOVED.


Plan for next week:

Saturday:  Blue Apron Meal: Beef Ragu & Whole Grain Pasta with Cheddar Cheese (from last week that we didn't get a chance to cook)

Sunday: New Year's Eve!  We are celebrating the east coast's new year at 9 pm out our neighbors house with oysters, prime rib and champagne!  BYE 2017, you SUCKED.



Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Leftovers

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Meal Planning: December 24th - 29th

Review from last week:

Really enjoyed this sausage and smoked provolone pizza made with a frozen Trader Joe's crust.



This quinoa chicken bake was AMAZING.  Just a handful of easy ingredients (I made this with a rotisserie from QFC) and it was a big hit.  I'll make this one again for sure.


I kind of ruined this dish from my Skinnytaste cookbook.  It cooked way too fast in my crockpot, but I could tell it would have been good! ;)  Next time.

 

This was a super easy one pan dinner - Greek chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots.  Toss it all with lemon, olive oil, fresh oregano and a few seasonings and pop it in the oven.  Yum.



This baked chicken Parmesan was a healthier take on it and so delicious. This will definitely be the new recipe I use!





Plan for next week:

Sunday (Christmas Eve!): Grilled steaks and Burgundy Mushrooms 

Monday (Christmas!):  Another big group, sadly minus one special person this year. :(  With this loss of my dad, this holiday is going to be a difficult one.  I'm happy that we will have our friends that feel like family attending to eat, drink and be merry with. I'm making a meat Lasagna, Roasted Broccolini, a Kale & Artichoke Dip for an appetizer, and Raspberry Champagne Spritzers.

Tuesday: Leftovers




Sunday, December 17, 2017

Week in Photos: Over Due Photo Dump

And now, an unorganized dump of photos:

Thanksgiving!  We had probably my favorite Thanksgiving ever this year - and also our largest!  13 people and a truly wonderful gathering and meal.  Ben made the place cards :)



The most adorable place mat Ben made at school!  This one is a keeper :)



An old friend from high school's wife started her own floral business, Petal & Posy, and I decided to purchase a centerpiece from her for Thanksgiving.  So beautiful, isn't it?






I put Evan on turkey-carving duty.  He nailed it! (And also looked so cute in my apron).



Our neighbors Melissa, Marc, Sammy and Sully joined us this year.  Marc, being in the wine business, offered to handle the wine and he went above and beyond!  7 bottles on the table for dinner followed by wine parings to go with dessert!  Epic.



My mom picking Ben up on a rainy Wednesday at the bus :)



We went to go see The Bodyguard at the Paramount and it was surprisingly SO MUCH FUN.  I loved it.



We had a long overdue dinner date with Freya and her parents!  These two cuties are so sweet together. 



Eating a giant Cocoa Puff Cereal Bar at The Wandering Goose.



Crafting.





Doing homework:



Word searches are a new fun pass time around here:



We took Ben to The Learning Store in Bellevue on Black Friday so we could get some ideas about what he wanted for Christmas.  He found the map section and put everything on his list ;)



I made these peppermint kiss cookies for the cookie exchange this year.



A cold morning at the bus stop:



Watching a particularly intense Steeler game.



Picking out our tree this year! 





I really really love our tree this year.





Ben's elf has arrived.  Ben brought his little stuffed animal over to keep him company on this particular day.



On another day, he brought a painted rock of himself for Ben to keep!



My friend Kristin brought over a tin of Christmas cookies mere hours after I commented on a picture she had posted of them.  It was the best surprise!



Watching Christmas movies and snuggling:



For a fun adventure, we went ice skating.  It wasn't fun at all and our feet still hurt ;)





The end of a long week:


Friday, December 15, 2017

Meal planning: December 16th - 22nd

Review from last week:

Tuna Casserole.  LOVED this.  Can't wait to make it again.  It made for a ton of leftovers which was awesome for lunches all week.


Paleo nachos.  Hadn't made this one for awhile and it was good to have again.



Plan for next week:

Sunday: Smoked Mozzarella and Sausage Pizza

Monday: Tabasco Quinoa Chicken Bake

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Baked Chicken Parmesan and Kale Caesar 

Thursday: Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner (from the Skinnytaste Cookbook)

Friday: leftovers 

Friday, December 8, 2017

Meal Planning: December 9th - 15th

Review from last week:

Tried a new chicken tortilla soup recipe last week.  Pretty good.  Lacking in flavor, but nothing some hot sauce, salsa and cheese couldn't fix.



Meatballs and Salad:


Loved this one from Blue Apron last week:


Spicy shrimp bucatini pasta.  Also delicious:


Plan for next week:

Saturday: Out to eat

Monday: Tuna Casserole from the Cravings cookbook

Tuesday: Paleo nachos: http://paleogrubs.com/nacho-recipe

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: My office is having our holiday party, so I’ll be there for dinner

Friday: Ricotta Meatballs in Chianti Sauce (frozen leftovers from last week)

Friday, December 1, 2017

Meal Planning: December 3rd - 8th

Review from last week:

After all of the stuffing leftovers were gone, it was time to reboot after Thanksgiving with a big salad:



Lagered Turkey Chili, which always hits the spot:



Tried a new recipe this week: Mediterranean Chicken with spiralized vegetables.





Plan for next week:

Sunday:  Greg and I have a little date day/evening planned to take care of some Christmas shopping for Ben - so we are grabbing dinner out.