Dinner Menu August 22 to August 28

One the major turning points in my weight loss journey was quitting sodas, sweet teas, and all those yummy sugary drinks.  It was pretty hard but I would tell myself that all those drinks were poison.  And we don't ingest poison.  After a week the cravings started to go away.  And after about a month I quit craving sodas all together.  In fact after a couple of months after quitting sodas I had a sip of one, and it was the NASTIEST thing ever.  I'm so glad that I was able to quit them.  Sodas are probably one of the worst things you can put into your body.  I know people it's hard to quit them but do it!  It will only take a little while for your body to adjust to the change, and you won't be sabotaging all the hard work you are doing.  And don't think that by choosing diet sodas that you are doing yourself any favors, because diet is even worse than regular.  Just drink WATER!

Saturday:  Out of town.  Today my sister and I took our kids to Odessa.  We wanted to do some shopping before school started on Monday and for a special treat we went to The Orange Leaf for dinner.  Yes I know it's not conventional to have frozen yogurt for dinner, but oh well we love it! And the kids had a lot of fun!

Sunday:  Chicken and brown rice dinner, black beans, and mixed veggies. A quick dinner for those busy nights. All you need to do is add a side vegetable and dinner is done in no time.  My husband really like this dinner.  He told me it reminded him of a chicken soup that he used to eat as a child.

Chicken and Brown Rice Dinner

1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1 1/4 cups water
1 (10.5 oz) can Campbell's Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked

Spray a large skillet with Pam. And heat on medium high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet, and cover to keep warm. Add water and soup to skillet. Stir in rice. Bring to boil reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with fork. Top with chicken and serve.

I always have black beans in my fridge.  It's one of the foods that I prep along with chicken.  I buy a can of No Salt Added whole black beans, not the refried ones.  Rinse them in a colander.  I take a medium size skillet add about 1/4 cup of water.  Heat over medium, and once the water is hot I add the beans.  Then I season them with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, hot sauce, and 25% less sodium seasoned salt.  Stir it all up and then mash them.  You can add more water if you want them to be bit more runny.  And all the seasonings are to taste.  Just depends on your taste buds.  I cook them for about 5-7 minutes on low.  This is actually one of the foods that I prep on Sundays.  And then after they have cooled down I keep them in the fridge for tostadas, burritos, or just as a side.
 
For the mixed veggies, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.

Monday: Lemon Pepper Cod, green beans, and fries.  I love baking fish.  You eliminate the batter, the oil, and so many bad calories.  All you have is beautiful fish.  I just wish they sold fresh fish here in the middle of the desert...that's not catfish...catfish I HATE!!!  Sorry catfish lovers.

Lemon Pepper Cod

2 lbs. cod
lemon pepper seasoning
2 tbsp. butter
juice of 1 lime

Heat oven to 450.  Spray oven safe pan with Pam.  Place cod in pan.  Sprinkle the cod with lemon pepper seasoning, to your taste.  Roast 5-7 minutes until opaque.  Melt butter in a small sauce saucepan.  Add lime juice and cook for 1 minute more.  Before serving drizzle butter mixture over cod.

The french fries were a single serving tray that you can just pop in the microwave.  Follow the directions.  When they are done I like to pour them into a bowl, sprinkle with Mrs. Dash, pepper and dried dill.  Toss to coat and then serve!

For the green beans, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.

Tuesday:  Enchilada Casserole, black beans, and squash.  I'm always trying new twists on enchiladas.  I really like this recipe because there is not a lot of tortillas and beans are a nice addition to the enchiladas.

Enchilada Casserole

1 lb 93/7 lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
2 tbsp white flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
12 corn tortillas
1 (10 oz.) can mild enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet brown ground beef, onion, chili powder, and cumin over medium heat until onion is tender and beef is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in pinto beans and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, flour, and garlic powder; set aside. Place half of the tortillas in the bottom of a sprayed 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with half of the meat mixture, half the sour cream mixture, half the enchilada sauce, and half the cheese. Repeat layers EXCEPT reserve the cheese. Cover dish with foil. Bake 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 5-10 minutes and then serve.

I always have black beans in my fridge.  It's one of the foods that I prep along with chicken.  I buy a can of No Salt Added whole black beans, not the refried ones.  Rinse them in a colander.  I take a medium size skillet add about 1/4 cup of water.  Heat over medium, and once the water is hot I add the beans.  Then I season them with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, hot sauce, and 25% less sodium seasoned salt.  Stir it all up and then mash them.  You can add more water if you want them to be bit more runny.  And all the seasonings are to taste.  Just depends on your taste buds.  I cook them for about 5-7 minutes on low.  This is actually one of the foods that I prep on Sundays.  And then after they have cooled down I keep them in the fridge for tostadas, burritos, or just as a side.

For the squash, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.

Wednesday:  Leftovers.  Chicken Tostadas and cracker chips. Oh yeah.  So you can have chicken tacos if you want but it's so much better in tostadas.  And your filling won't fall out the back when you are eating them.  For this dinner I also use my toaster oven.  Preheat it to 375.  Line the baking pan with foil, and spray it with Pam.  Warm up two corn tortillas in the microwave.  Place them flat on the baking sheet and then spray the tops with Pam.  Bake for about 10 minutes turning once until light brown and toasty.  Keep on eye on them because they will go from being perfect to burnt in a blink of an eye.  I know, it's happened to me.  Once they are done.  I split one wedge of Laughing Cow cheese between the two corn tostadas.  Then spread black beans, divide 6 ounces of diced warmed chicken and pile it on top, add salsa, sour cream, and devour.  You can add any kind of salsa and guacamole as well.

Thursday:  Herb Roasted Chicken and potatoes, and mixed veggies.  A delicious dinner and all you need to do is a side and dinner is yum and done!






(I forgot to take a picture before I plated, sorry next time)
Herb Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. rosemary (dried)
1/2 tsp. leaves thyme (dried)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 (1.5 lb) bag Melissa's Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes
1/2 tsp. Lawry's 25% less sodium seasoned salt

Place chicken in a glass bowl. In a small bowl combine lemon juice, oil, rosemary, thyme, and pepper. Reserve 1/3 cup of the mixture and pour remainder over chicken; toss to coat well. Cover and let stand at room temp. for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400. Cut potatoes into wedges; and toss with the reserved 1/3 cup marinade. Spray a 9x13 in. baking dish with Pam and place chicken in prepared dish. Arrange potatoes and then pour remaining marinade around the edge of the pan. Sprinkle everything with salt.  Place dish in oven and bake 40-45 minutes or until chicken and potatoes are done.


For the mixed veggies, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.

Friday:  Easy Stromboli, black beans, and mixed veggies.  A stromboli is just a roll up pizza.  You can substitute any thing for the filling.  I decided to keep it simple and just have ground beef.  Oh and my daughter LOVED it, she is pretty picky so I was very happy to find a recipe that she loved.




Easy Stromboli

1 lb 93/7 lean ground beef
2 (13.8 oz each) cans pizza crust dough
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 cups fat mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. italian seasoning

Heat oven to 400. Spray 2 cookie sheets with Pam. Brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain, set aside. Unroll each dough; place one on each sprayed cookie sheet. Starting at center, press out each dough with hands to form 12x8 rectangle. Spread half the sauce on each dough to within 2 inches of the long side and 1/2 inch of the short side. Place half the ground beef lengthwise down the center of each dough forming 3 inch wide strip to within 1/2 inch of short sides. Top each with half the cheese and half Italian seasoning.  Fold the long sides of each dough over filling, pressing edges to seal. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes ore until crusts is golden brown.

I always have black beans in my fridge.  It's one of the foods that I prep along with chicken.  I buy a can of No Salt Added whole black beans, not the refried ones.  Rinse them in a colander.  I take a medium size skillet add about 1/4 cup of water.  Heat over medium, and once the water is hot I add the beans.  Then I season them with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, hot sauce, and 25% less sodium seasoned salt.  Stir it all up and then mash them.  You can add more water if you want them to be bit more runny.  And all the seasonings are to taste.  Just depends on your taste buds.  I cook them for about 5-7 minutes on low.  This is actually one of the foods that I prep on Sundays.  And then after they have cooled down I keep them in the fridge for tostadas, burritos, or just as a side.

For the mixed veggies, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.