Recipes this week!

Feeling a bit in a rut lately with recipes, so I had to rifle through my big 3-ring binder for a couple of old favorites to liven things up!

As always, one meatless meal and one fish meal!

Cozy at Home (Cauliflower) Mac and Cheese - Ok, this one isn't new... but its one of my favorite meatless options! You can use any veggie in place of the cauliflower, and sometimes we add peas, too. I like that the cauliflower blends in... though I feel a little guilty sneaking them in on my toddler...

Raspberry Chicken Salad (first recipe here on Cooking Light's recommended uses for apricot preserves). I swap in canned, no-salt green beans for the salad greens for my toddler. I also lay out each ingredient separately on his plate, like an artists palate. This is one of his favorite meals :) If you miss the carbs, you can serve with some crusty bread or whole wheat toast.

Chicken Tortilla Soup - Easy and filling! I put this in a pre-warmed thermos for my toddler's lunch.

Gulf Fish en Papillote + Kale Pesto Pasta - Dusted this off from the back of the 3 ring binder! The gulf fish is so simple, fast and healthy, but has the best presentation!! Serve this one to guests! This was my first time making the Kale Pesto (recipe from weelicious.com). It was tasty, but we had tons of leftovers!! I think I still prefer the basil variety, though...

Easy Chicken Curry - truth is we didn't get to this one this week... it will be the first one we make next week, though!

Recipes this Week

Just returned from a week vacation visiting our parents over Easter break, but we are hitting the ground running to make our weekly meal plans, and keep my sanity. Sunday morning after we flew in, hubby and M ran to the store for breakfast supplies (eggs, sausage, fruit, bread and milk). Then later he went back during naptime for the veggies for the sausage and rice! My motivation for cooking most weeknights is to have leftovers - so I have something to pack for M's lunch as well as our own. It helps us all make better food choices when we are crunched for time, and let's us spend our $ on meals out over the weekend when we can really enjoy it.

As usual the lineup includes one meatless dinner and one fish dinner.

Sausage and Rice - Our dinner-in-a-pinch, this week with brown rice! I still haven't perfected this, but I try to sub whole grains for processed ones in as many places as I can. I started 1 cup of brown rice with 3 cups of water. Brought to a boil and then simmered for 10 minutes before adding the kielbasa rounds. Cooked with sausage for 10 more minutes, then added the chopped broccoli and red pepper. Cooked for a final 10 minutes. The result was still a little soupy, and a bit creamier than the white rice version, but I let it rest, uncovered for a bit, served with a slotted spoon. By the end of dinner the extra water had been absorbed/evaporated.

Chicken and Bean Nachos - adapted from this recipe, We make the avocado salsa (usually omitting the jicama if we can't find it). Otherwise we layer tortilla chips, then shredded rotisserie chicken (we use about half of one, and save the rest for something else), rinsed canned pinto or black beans, and a thin layer of shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese on a cookie sheet. Broil for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, and top with the salsa. We usually make one cookie sheet-ful for our family of 2.5, and the rest makes all our lunches for the next day.
To make the next day lunches, I put all the topings together in a tupperware, one in each corner, and pack chips seperately. Hubby and I assemble all but the salsa, microwave to melt cheese, then top with Salsa. M eats all his seperately.

Not your mama's tuna salad - courtesy of Rachel Ray. This is another easy favorite of mine :)

Tacos & re-fried beans - The tacos are your average recipe (store-bought shells; meat seasoned with a store-bought packet of seasoning... we used half a pound of leftover bison, and some of our leftover rotisserie chicken from the nachos above; diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, avocado chunks, plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream) and we used Ellie Kreiger's recipe for the beans (delicious! even my husband was pleasantly surprised!)

Quinoa salad - adapted from this recipe, I swapped quinoa for the wheat berries, but everything else is the same - YUM!

This week we also took a family urban hike to our closest grocery store on a chilly, overcast day and picked up frozen pizzas (hubby and I always get our own since we like different things, which means plenty for M and lunch leftovers) + frozen veggies for a Saturday-night-in dinner. We also picked up ingredients to make our favorite breakfast casserole Sunday morning:

2 cans reduced fat crescent rolls
1 roll reduced fat breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
8 eggs (1 yolk reserved)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350
1. Unroll one can of crescent rolls on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.
2. Top with sausage and cheeses (beware: too much cheese will make the casserole too greasy).
3. Scramble the 7 eggs and 1 egg white (reserving the 8th yolk), and pour over the sausage and cheese.
4. Unroll and top with the second can of crescent rolls.
5. Brush top layer with reserved yolk.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until center of casserole is set.
Cut and serve!!

One Hot Mama challenge!

And so it begins!!

I headed to my OB/GYN today for my 6-week follow up visit. I got my green light to get back into shape!!

I have been reading Erin Cox's book, One Hot Mama, which was a Christmas gift to me from a family friend. I have read half of it already, but I am going to be re-reading it week by week, as she's intended for it to be read, and trying to incorporate her tips bit by bit as I readjust to being a mommy of TWO kiddos.

During my first six weeks postpartum, I have walked practically every day, at least some. I even went ahead and found a great jogging stroller (one of Erin's tips) on Craigslist and have been using it. I have been retraining my core muscles using Erin O'Brien's Postnatal Rescue video, and just started the 3rd phase (I love that this video gives you some stretches you can do starting day one home with baby - and I love her prenatal video, too!). Core includes the pelvic floor, ladies...

My starting point: 15 lbs of pregnancy weight left to lose! You gals keep me honest!! I'll be tracking food and fitness along using the MyFitnessPal app (my name is Jillfrog if you want to link up there!)

Also tomorrow I am starting a Fit4Mom Stroller Strides class. I scored 10 classes in a Plum District deal towards the end of my pregnancy. I plan to use it for some AM classes at a local park. I am not sure I'll be able to continue them (if I like them) when I return to work, but we'll see.

And the Challenge isn't just focused on getting back in shape - it's about taking care of myself in other ways, too - so I don't forget who I was before I was a mom of two, and also so I can stay sane and happy.

I'll try to post each week about my progress, so stay tuned - and advice/discussion is welcome! I also intend to be realistic. I am still going to be a working mom of two, so I will be truthful in what works for me (so, yeah, that was me with a scoop of Ben and Jerry's on Free Cone Day yesterday...).

Also, Erin Cox has agreed to give away a signed copy of her book each month.
Answer the question for each week to gain an entries!

Month 1 *now open*
Week 1 - putting yourself first
Week 2 - money talks
Week 3 - no comparison
Week 4 - new normalcy

Month 2
Month 3

Tell me about your own 'Hot Mama' journey!

Three more weeks of simple cooking!

If you are working on your simple cooking weekly recipe planning, here are our last 3 week's recipes (again, each week includes one fish recipe and one meatless recipe. And leftovers from all meals were turned into our lunches the next day - including for the 2.5 year old!)

Week 1

I am leveraging some of the goodies from our CSA box this week: carrots, broccoli, lettuce.

Pear struessel muffins, Once a Month Mom. with blueberries instead of the chopped pear and applesauce instead of the pureed one... YUM! We put most of these in the freezer and are doling them out for special breakfasts.
Meatloaf Cupcakes w/  mashed potato 'icing', modified from Cooking Light with a side of broccoli
Shrimp 'Fried' Rice, Weelicious (140 Fast, Fresh and Easy Recipes) - very similar to their Veggie Fried Rice recipe + peeled, deveined shrimp
Turkey Spanikopita Burgers, Rachel Ray (365: No Repeats) with a side salad for mom and dad, green beans for M (he's still not into the texture of lettuce...). Also always a surprise for guests that no, they will not even notice the spinach IN the burger. It's just yummy!
Veggie Bowtie Pasta Salad, Parenting.com. Use your favorite Italian dressing and you can't go wrong. I love all the veggies mixed in, too!
Veggie-filled Sausage and Rice, modification of my mama's savory, FAST recipe :)

Would anyone use it if I included the shopping list for the week, too?

Week 2

This week we leaned heavily on a new cookbook we received from a friend: Williams Sonoma: One Pot: Food Made Fast

Chicken Stew with Dumplings
Chicken and Vegetable Curry - made with zucchini and green curry... so not really spicy. Served with brown rice that I'd made the day before while we were eating dinner
Mustard-crusted salmon & potatoes (& Caesar salad for the adults, canned peas for M). This one actually didn't go over all that well with my crowd, if I am being honest. Too strong a mustard taste.
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (from Eating Well When You're Expecting)
Mu Shu Pork Stir Fry. This didn't look like it was all going to fit in the pan... but as the cabbage wilted, I could add the rest. Surprisingly good!

Week 3

* bought a bag of spinach to add to 'beef' up the vegetable quotient of some of our recipes

Baked Shells (from the weelicious cookbook) (adding chopped spinach to the sauce). I couldn't find jumbo shells at either the grocery store or Super Target, so I just used whole wheat penne instead and sort of threw all the ingredients together (plus a few handfuls of spinach!) and baked for 20 minutes. It was still delicious! And the toddler ate every last bit of his without us doing acrobatics or bargaining.
Chicken and Kale Risotto with Pine Nuts and Bacon (using spinach instead of kale; from Start Fresh by Tyler Florence )
Taco Salad (from Eating Well When You're Expecting). Hubby said it: this is always so good. Never fails. We serve the toddler's with a side of green beans instead of on a bed of romaine.
Tomato-Ricotta Salata Spaghetti. Another regular in our rotation. We finally found our local CA grocery store is carrying ricotta salata!... and after three weeks in a row, this week they weren't. So I subbed goat cheese. Not bad.
Shrimp and Corn Chowder (& quesadillas made with whole wheat tortillas, Mexican cheese and chopped spinach; from Cooking Light) This is one of our favorite recipes to make. M loves shrimp (he's a southern boy at heart!) and the soup is SO savory!!! It's a quick and easy one to impress guests!!!

This Week's Recipes!!

Another easy, healthy recipe plan for the week! Includes one fish dish and two meatless dishes! And, yes, all except the tortellini and egg salad wraps became my 2.5 year old son's lunch for school the next day (and only because there wasn't enough left over)!

For the Tortilla Soup and Enchiladas, I bought a rotisserie chicken (split between the two recipes) to save even more time. Those things are money-savers, too!! $6-8 for two meals' worth of chicken!

Kale, Gruyere, and Sour Dough Strata, FitPregnancy (I can't get enough eggs in this pregnancy!)

Creamy Tortellini with Bacon, Dream Dinners (side of red pepper strips and spaghetti squash - our first Dream Dinners taste! Look for my upcoming review)

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Weelicious

Not Your Mama's Tuna Salad, Rachel Ray (Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers, shell pasta + tuna = yum! This week, I swapped lightly sauteed carrot slices for the grape tomatoes)

Mexican Enchiladas, Weelicious

Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps, Fit Pregnancy (got some beautiful heads of Bibb lettuce in our CSA box this week! Served with toasted slices of our leftover Sour Dough!)

I can't find links to the egg recipes from Fit Pregnancy this week, so I am reprinting them below:

(From the Dec/Jan '13 issue of FitPregnancy)

Sourdough Kale Strata

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large finely diced shallot
6 cups kale, washed, deveined, and torn into bite sized pieces (about 1 bunch)
1/4 tsp salt
10 eggs
2 cups 2% milk
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups sourdough bread (best with stale bread) torn into bite-sized pieces
1.5 cups shredded Gruyere cheese, divided

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute 2 minutes. Add kale and salt and cook another 2 mintues. Set aside.
2. Whisk together eggs, milk and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Coat a 9x13 in baking dish with cooking spray. Add kale mixture, torn bread and 1 cup cheese, Toss together and spread evenly over pan.
4. Pour egg mixture into the dish and top with remaining cheese.
5. Cover strata with aluminum foil and let stand 20 minutes (this allows the bread to absorb the eggs mixture) or refrigerate overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 400 F. (If dish was refrigerated  let it warm up at room temperature for a bit so it won't crack in the oven.) Bake 35 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking 15 to 20 minutes until puffed and golden brown around edges. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.



Curry Egg Salad Wraps

6 large eggs
3 tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt
3 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp curry powder
Pinch salt and pepper
1 celery stalk, diced
1/4 c finely chopped radishes (we used carrot instead)
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley (or dill, chives or cilantro)
8 large Bibb, Boston or butter lettuce leaves

1. Place eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. when water reaches a boil, immediately cover saucepan, remove from heat and let sit 12 minutes. Place eggs in ice water for 3 minutes to stop the cooking. When cooled, rinse under cold water to peel. Chop coarsely.
2. In a large bowl, stir together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, curry powder, salt and pepper until combined, Add chopped eggs, celery, radishes, red onion, sunflower seeds and fresh parsley and stir until combined.
3. Divide eggs mixture evenly among lettuce leaves (about 1/4 cup each). Roll up and serve.

Fresh Cooking for the Week - How to Simplify

Hoppin' John Soup & corn muffins

How can you work full time outside the home and still get good home-cooked meals on the table for your family most nights of the week? There are several options, but the one that works best for us is what I like to call IE Meal Planning.

IE = Industrial Engineering. This was my major in college - and grad school. The simplest way I've seen it explained is on a nerdy bumper sticker: "Engineers make things. Industrial Engineers make things better." So in case I haven't discussed this already on this blog, it kind of is my hobby to optimize everything, not just the traditional factory stuff the profession was born from. All aspects of life can benefit from the intersection of 'taking the easy way out' and 'doing it right'.

So you and I probably know at least half of the recipes our families make regularly by heart, but I still pull out the recipes for them each week, like a Kan Ban system to help me plan our meals (ok, I am boring you, right? My professors would be so proud, though!). Not only does this help me make sure I have all the ingredients I need, the instructions are still handy in case hubby needs to jump in and help out while we cook.

On Saturday or Sunday, I take requests from the family and pick 4-6 recipes for the week. I generally try to have at least one meatless day and one seafood day - and just enough servings to make dinners and lunches for all of us for most of the week (I admit I look forward to NOT cooking by Friday!). I put the pages on the cookbook holder (even for recipes out of books, I prefer to make a photocopy of the pages I'll use - just to accommodate this system. Is that OCD?). I review the recipes and add the ingredients we don't already have to the OurGroceries app (along with the stuff we need for breakfasts and snacks) and head to the store, reusable grocery bags and phone in tow.

I should interject here that 95% of our recipes are healthy, fast and tasty. Very few make the cut that take too much time or work and even those have to be earmarked for a Sunday evening when we have extra time. Fairly often a recipe for muffins or another snack will make the pile - but those have to be made on the weekends, too!

During the week, Daddy picks up from daycare (I do drop-off), so I can usually get an uninterrupted start on dinner. And most days the meal is in its final stage of cooking (or close to it) when the boys get home.

We dish out our plates, eat together, play a little, then its off to bed for the little one. After he's bathed and tucked in, we pack up the leftovers into our lunches for the next day (check that box on the To Do list!), wash dishes and still have some time to relax ourselves.

As an example, here are our recipes for this week:

Fish Sticks with Green Beans and Potatoes (from Tyler Florence's Fresh Start)
Hoppin' John Soup (adapted from this Parenting.com recipe, by swapping in a can of black eyed peas for one of the cans of white beans, and adding a cup of cooked brown rice)
One Pan Lasagna (from Tyler Florence's Fresh Start)
Cozy At Home Mac n Cheese (from What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting, we use cauliflower as our veggie add-in)
Two Cheese Pesto Pizza (from Weelicious.com)
Pear Struesel Muffins (from OnceAMonthMom.com - but I'll be honest, we probably won't get to these until THIS weekend...)

(if you use MyFitnessPal, I can share the nutrition info I already input for some of the recipes below that don't provide it!)

more weekly recipes:

1 week
3 weeks' worth

Toddler Lunch Ideas, part 1



Monday

In case you are struggling with what to pack/make your toddler, I wanted to share some ideas. It includes a mix of things I 'cooked' and things that are pre-packaged. We usually try to buy organic when we can but healthy and sometimes just handy, is good enough. I try to include a fruit or veggie in each snack and one of each with lunch. Please share your ideas, too!!

To get the conversation started, here are a few we packed this week:

For Monday

Lunch: 3/4 of a mini-whole-wheat-bagel pizza with peas (the recipe from weelicious.com), apple slices, steamed baby carrots, and milk

snack 1: yogurt + blueberry flax granola (blue container)



Tuesday



snack 2: cereal bar + clementine, peeled (yellow container)

Tuesday-lunch: leftover homemade whole wheat macaroni & cheese & steamed cauliflower (a recipe we loved from What to Eat When You're Expecting) , hard-boiled egg, halved cherry tomatoes, clementine sections, milk; snack 1: peach cubes + cereal bar; snack 2: yogurt + blueberry flax granola

Wednesday

Wednesday-

lunch: leftover stuffing from our stuffed peppers (from this month's Real Simple), steamed carrots, apple slices and milk; snacks 1& 2: mix and match a hard boiled egg, string cheese, simply baked potato chips, mixed blueberry granola and raisins.

Thursday -


Thursday



lunch: turkey, cream cheese, spinach roll up (on a half of a tortilla), frozen peas, raisins; snack 1: apples + steamed carrots; snack 2: cereal bar + plain yogurt mixed with blackberries

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