Dinner Menu for August 8 to August 14

Get yourself a food scale.  When I first started this journey it was something I bought as soon as possible.  I use this little baby for EVERYTHING.  I purchased it at Walmart and paid about 20 bucks for it.  It weighs food up to 11 pounds.  It also weighs in grams and ounces.  The best feature is that it uses 2 AAA batteries, instead of those pesky button batteries.  Living in this small town of Fort Stockton, sometimes it's kinda hard to find those button batteries.  But regardless of what kind of scale you get.  Get one.  A digital one is best.  It will help you keep track of what you are eating and how much you are eating.  You may not like the idea of keeping track of your food intake, but I promise you whether you do it or not, your body is very much paying attention to what you put in your mouth.  So you might as well too.

Saturday:  Dined out.  Green chili cheeseburger and fries.  Today is my mom's birthday!  Happy Birthday to the best mom ever!  My sister and I decided to take her out for dinner.  We went to one of our favorite Mexican food places and I had the Capitan Burger.  It's a cheeseburger with roasted long green chili.  It is so good!  I love it.  And of course french fries.  Although instead of ketchup I like to dip the fries in salsa.

Sunday:  Chicken Spaghetti, black beans, and mixed veggies. This chicken spaghetti recipe is one of my husband's favorite dinners.  I don't make it very often and I'm hoping that one day he will let me switch the whole wheat spaghetti noodles for spaghetti squash.  I'm afraid though, that if I do his head will explode.

Chicken Spaghetti

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast

8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed

1 13.25 oz box whole wheat spaghetti

32 oz bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed

26 oz can cream of chicken soup

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 tsp dried basil leaves

1/4 tsp oregano leaves

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

1 tbsp canola oil

Boil spaghetti according to directions.  Meanwhile, cut chicken into 1" bite size pieces.  In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat cook chicken until no longer pink.  Add soup, broccoli, chicken broth, spices, and Velveeta. Lower heat to simmer and heat through. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, then add 1/4 cup water.  Once the pasta is done, pour chicken mixture over and stir to combine. 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:  Skillet Tacos, black beans, and mixed veggies.  Just like it says, tacos in a skillet! And it so quick and simple too!

Skillet Tacos

1 lb. 93/7 lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1 (15.25 oz) can corn (no salt added), drained
10 corn tortilla, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (8 oz.) bottle taco sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Add corn, tortillas, taco sauce and cheese. Heat through before serving.

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.  They are not the kind you steam 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:  Cheddar Burger Mashed Potato Bake, black beans, and green beans.  The cheddar burger mashed potato bake is pretty much a rift on Shepard's Pie.  A cheesy rift.  And this one doesn't have any vegetables added.  Also you don't have to make your own mashed potatoes, you can use the powdered stuff, but nothing beats homemade.

Cheddar Burger Mashed Potato Bake

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cups mashed potatoes

2 tsp dry mustard

16 oz double cheddar sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 425. In a skillet, brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.  Stir in cheese sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and if desired salt and pepper to taste. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes or until heated through.  Pour meat mixture into a 2-quart casserole and evenly top with mashed potatoes.  Bake 25 minutes or until potatoes are lightly golden.

If you want to make your own mashed potatoes here is my recipe:

Garlic Ranch Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs white potatoes

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp Mrs Dash

1 tsp ranch dry dips mix

1/2 tsp salt

1 light Laughing Cow Swiss cheese wedge

Cut peeled potatoes into large chunks. Add potatoes and garlic to a large pot filled with water. Boil 18-20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place the potatoes and garlic back into the empty pot. Add milk, butter, cheese, salt, pepper, dry ranch mix and seasoning to the pot. Mash until desired consistency. Serve.  Note: if you want your potatoes to be creamier then add a few more tablespoons of milk until desired creaminess is achieved.

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 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.

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:  Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta, black beans, mixed veggies.  All the delicious flavors of cheeseburger in a one skillet meal.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

8 oz. penne pasta, uncooked
1 lb. 93/7 lean ground beef
3 strips Oscar Mayer fully cooked bacon
1 (10.75 oz) can tomato soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a large skillet cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Cook the fully cooked bacon according to the package direction and when done, dice the slices.  Drain pasta and add to the ground beef skillet. Stir in soup, Worcestershire, cheese and water; heat through.  Sprinkle with bacon. 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.

Friday:  Chicken Caesar Burgers and cracker chips.  A quick dinner recipe for nights when you are in a rush. And usually by Fridays I'm pretty beat so a quick dinner is exactly what I need.

Chicken Caesar Burgers

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp. lemon juice

3 tsp. dried parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lb. ground chicken

In a small bowl, combine onion, cheese, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Mrs. Dash, and pepper.  Crumble chicken over mixture and mix well. Shape into 4 patties.  Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer reads 165 and juices run clear.  Let rest 5 minutes.

To assemble I used a Foldit Flatbread.  I spread hot spicy mustard on the top of the flatbread, added the patty, spinach, spread a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese, and then added a side of Special K Sea Salt Cracker Chips.  All done in less than 20 minutes.