One would think that this being our spring break week, I would have had time to prep everything ahead of time and had a perfect week but it didn't happen like that. We actually kept the same work routine as usual to allow us to "get ahead" on work stuff so here's what we put together for this week.
Sunday-- "Almost all" Homemade BBQ pizza.
It's "almost" because we didn't make the crust ourselves nor the bbq sauce. We used Trader Joe's whole wheat dough and TJ BBQ sauce, which at least has no high fructose corn syrup or artificial food dyes BUT still contains "natural flavors" so who knows what's in that. We topped it with organic fresh spinach, red onions and peppers. We did half of it cheese-less so Ellie (our youngest who is allergic to dairy) could have some too. This is a family favorite in our house. My goal is to one day have it all homemade including the sauce.
Monday--Crockpot kale & quinoa minestrone soup.
I don't have a recipe for this. This is why I love soups so much, I just toss what I have with spices and voila, tasty meal. I used organic low-sodium vegetable broth (Trader Joe's brand) and organic diced tomatoes as a base then added kale, canned red kidney beans, carrots, celery, and quinoa with like 2 TBSP of minced garlic, oregano, 4 bay leaves (love them!), a little chili powder and salt/pepper. Crockpot on high for 8 hours.
Tuesday--Crockpot Smoky Corn Chowder
I used the recipe from the link but instead put it all in the crockpot. I didn't use canned corn, I used frozen instead and didn't puree it before hand. I waited until it all cooked and then used an immersion blender to blend 1/2 of it or so. My kids loved this soup and Liam has had it for 3 days straight.
Wednesday--Taco Night (I meant to have "Taco Tuesday" but I needed a crockpot meal given our hectic Tues afternoon schedule with extracurricular activities
We do vegetarian taco/burritos at our house. I use store-bought whole wheat tortillas (again from Trader Joe's- not the best but better than the ones at other supermarkets), quinoa, black beans, sauteed onions and peppers with salsa, avocado slices, and cheese or sour cream.
For the black beans, I sauteed onions, added black beans and homemade taco seasoning (LOTS) and I use a strange ingredient....I make 2 "flax eggs" (2 TBSP flax meal, 6 TBSP water) and add it to the beans so that the seasoning sticks to the beans and makes it "saucier" if that makes sense. The flax meal doesn't change the taste of the beans but it does add nutrition (Omega 3's).
Thursday--Diet Killer....Ate at Cracker Barrel
It was a hectic errands day and I didn't have time nor inspiration to put together a meal. Don't you hate when nothing at home sounds good? My last errand put me next to a Cracker Barrel and since our kids love cracker barrel, we just gave in. The boys had the shrimp plate, Liam with Mac n Cheese and Gavin with dumplins. Ellie ate off my veggie plate and she ate quite a bit of the fried okra (because she liked to dip it in the boys' cocktail sauce for the shrimp). Anyhow-- Nick and I were both quite disappointed though. It didn't "hit the spot" like it normally does. I walked out thinking that it was a waste of calories. :(
Friday--Salmon Patties and Veggies, Salad
I was able to do salmon patties for dinner because Nick and Gavin were at a school event for the evening so it was just Ellie, Liam and I for dinner. I only cook fish when Nick is out of the house since he doesn't care for the smell or taste. I used canned, wild-caught, boneless/skinless salmon for this recipe.
Here's the recipe to what I call the "poor man's salmon patty":
1 small onion
1 stalk celery (I actually used 2 b/c I love it)
2 TBSP fresh parsley
2 cans of salmon
1 flax egg (you can use real egg but I prefer flax eggs)
1.5 tsp dijon mustard
1 C whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 tsp pepper
I sauteed the onion and celery before I put it in the mix with all the other ingredients. Mix everything up and form the patties. I cooked mine on my cast iron skillet although I think the recipe called for putting them on the skillet and then cooking them in the oven until golden. The first time I did it that way and it was good, the second time I just did them in the skillet and it tasted comparable to me so now I don't bother to do the oven part.
The kids ate their patties with mixed veggies on the side. I placed my patties on top of a salad.
Saturday- Frittatas with Fruit (sort of like breakfast for dinner)
Sauteed veggies (onions, spinach, kale, tomatoes, peppers with garlic/salt/pepper) and placed the beaten eggs on top. Cooked on the cast iron skillet for about 5 minutes untouched and then placed in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes to cook through.
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