Meals for the Week:

Monterey Tortilla Casserole  

JJ & I loved this last time I made it but I didn't get to make it last week so I will be making it this week

Sesame Chicken Potstickers 
These were good but since I am not used to cooking things in vegetable oil, it stressed me out with all the popping and sizzling. 
The kids and JJ ate these up. It is definitely on my list to make again but not any time soon. 

BBQ Chicken Quesadilla Found in Cooking Light Magazine April 2014 (Healthy)
These are so delicious that I wonder why we don't have them every night of the week. 

Grilled Cheese and tomato soup

JJ's Porkchops with curry rice

Enchilada Casserole

This is once of JJ's favorite dinners so I need to make it more often.

Enchilada Casserole

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Photo: Johnny Autry and Randy Mayor; Styling: Cindy Ba

Make a hearty, healthy Mexican casserole the whole family will enjoy. Substitute ground turkey and chicken broth instead of beef, if desired.

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Yield: Serves 4 (serving size: 1 wedge)

Total: 30 Minutes

Recipe from

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Recipe Time

Total: 30 Minutes 

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 377
• Fat: 14.6g
• Saturated fat: 7g
• Monounsaturated fat: 5.3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.6g
• Protein: 30.2g
• Carbohydrate: 32.4g
• Fiber: 4.7g
• Cholesterol: 76mg
• Iron: 2.5mg
• Sodium: 650mg
• Calcium: 91mg

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Ingredients

• 
  1 pound ground sirloin $
• 1 cup chopped onion $
• 1 tablespoon butter $
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
• 1 tablespoon 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning mix (such as Old El Paso)
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 4 (8-inch) whole-wheat flour tortillas
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers $
• ---- I use more cheese than it calls for

1. Preparations
2. 1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and onion to pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring to crumble.
3. 2. Preheat oven to 400°.
4. 3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broth, taco seasoning, and tomato sauce to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato mixture to beef mixture; reserve 1/2 cup tomato mixture.
5. 4. Place 1 tortilla in a 9-inch pie plate. Top with 1 cup beef mixture. Repeat layers, ending with tortilla. Spread reserved tomato mixture over tortilla. Top with cheese. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Cool slightly. Cut into 4 wedges.

Beef with Brisket and Beer

Beef Brisket with Beer

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Randy Mayor

Beef brisket is at its best when you simmer it in a slow cooker and flavor it with beer and onions.

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Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces brisket and 1/3 cup sauce)

Recipe from

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Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 160
• Calories from fat: 28%
• Fat: 5g
• Saturated fat: 1.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.1g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.2g
• Protein: 20.5g
• Carbohydrate: 5.6g
• Fiber: 1.1g
• Cholesterol: 49mg
• Iron: 1.9mg
• Sodium: 232mg
• Calcium: 20mg

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• 
  
• Ingredients1 (3-pound) beef brisket, trimmed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large) $
• 1 1/2 cups chopped parsnip (about 2)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle light beer $

1. Preparations
2. Rub brisket with salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add brisket to pan; cook 10 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove brisket from the pan. Add 1/4 cup water to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Add onion and parsnip; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Place onion mixture, vinegar, bay leaf, and beer in a large electric slow cooker. Place brisket on top of onion mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Discard bay leaf. Cut brisket diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with sauce.

Monterey Tortilla Casserole

Monterey Tortilla Casseroles

In Mexico, this dish is served for breakfast; stateside, families enjoy it as a quick and tasty dinner, too. Follow the make-ahead directions and heat the frozen casserole in a microwave for a meal that's ready in minutes.

24 users rated this recipe an average rating of 3.5

Makes:

 

4 servings

Prep:

 

15 mins

Bake:

 

35 mins to 40 mins 350°F

• 
  

Ingredients

 

Nonstick spray coating

6

6 inches corn tortillas, each cut into 6 wedges

2

cups cubed cooked chicken

1

cup loose-pack frozen whole kernel corn

1

16 ounce jar salsa verde

3

tablespoons light dairy sour cream

3

tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro

1

tablespoon all-purpose flour

1

cup crumbled Mexican Chihuahua® cheese or crumbled farmer cheese (4 ounces)

 

Light dairy sour cream (optional)

 

Snipped fresh cilantro (optional)

 

Chopped tomato (optional)

 

Jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Spray four 10- to 12-ounce baking dishes with nonstick coating. Place 5 tortilla wedges in the bottom of each dish. Place remaining tortilla pieces on a baking sheet; bake in a 350 degree F oven about 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, combine chicken, corn, salsa, the 3 tablespoons sour cream, cilantro, and flour. Divide mixture among dishes.
2. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes. Arrange baked tortilla pieces atop casseroles. Top with cheese; bake for 5 to 10 minutes more or until heated through. If desired, garnish with additional sour cream, jalapeno slices, cilantro, and tomato. Makes 4 servings.

From the Test Kitchen

*To Make Ahead

Assemble casseroles as directed above, except do not top with baked tortilla pieces; place baked pieces in a moisture- and vapor-proof plastic bag. Freeze casseroles and tortilla pieces up to 1 month.

To bake frozen casseroles:

Bake, covered, in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake about 20 minutes more or until heated through. Top with tortilla pieces and cheese; bake for 5 to 10 minutes more or until heated through. Garnish as above.

To micro-cook frozen casseroles:

Cover microwave-safe casseroles with waxed paper; micro-cook on 30% power, allowing 4 minutes for 1 casserole and 5 minutes for 2 casseroles. Continue cooking, covered, on 100% power until heated through, allowing 2 to 4 minutes for 1 casserole or 3 to 6 minutes for 2 casseroles, rotating the dishes once. Top with baked tortilla pieces and cheese; micro-cook, uncovered, about 30 seconds more or until cheese is melted. Garnish as above.

Nutrition Facts

 (Monterey Tortilla Casseroles)

Per serving: 
• 479 kcal cal., 
• 21 g fat
 
• (3 g sat. fat, 
• 98 mg chol., 
• 1247 mg sodium, 
• 45 g carb., 
• 7 g fiber, 
• 34 g pro.
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Dinner last week: Monterey Casserole, Enchilada Casserole & Beef Brisket with Mashed Pot

Monday: Monterey Tortilla Casserole  

JJ & I loved this but the kids were not so enthused. Can make ahead and reheat. Good leftover. 

Tuesday: Grilled Cheese & Tomato soup.

Easy and comforting when it has been so rainy

Wednesday: Enchilada Casserole

This was good and the kids even ate some of it. JJ said that it rocked his face off. 

Thursday: Brown Butter & Sage Ravioli

This is from the Food Network Magazine insert and was really good. Didn't make enough for all us so I would double it next time but was delicious with some mushroom ravioli and very easy to whip up

Friday: Beef Brisket with Beer and Mashed Potatoes. 

This was very good and excellent leftover. Very filling and the kids ate it up

Menu Planning

Menu for the week of April 14, 2014

This week has seemed crazy busy which is why I am only now posting our meals for the week (on Thursday)!

The next 2 weeks are going to be even busier what with JJ & my 5 year Anniversary tomorrow, Kristin & Ray come in town, Aunt Laurel & Mikes Wedding Celebration, Easter, spending the night at the beach with Kristin & Ray, Patti's Dedication at the Girl Scout Camp, my 31st birthday and the next day is Steve's birthday. Like I said, CRAZY busy!

But, here are the meals that we have eaten this week. 

Via

Cheeseburger Casserole (Healthy)
Finally made this this week. It was good and the kids liked it. I am the only one in the family that likes pickles so I just topped mine with it once it was out of the pane.  I think that it tastes much better with the pickles on top but if you aren't a fan of pickles, it still tastes good. JJ went back for seconds so I think it was a winner. 

Grilled Pimento Cheese sandwiches and sweet potato Fries
I don't have any pictures of this because it is a basic dinner recipe but it was delicious. The kids weren't all that into the Pimento Cheese but they ate it and JJ & I loved it. I really like Alexis sweet potato fries. They crisp up nicely and have great flavor. 

Via

Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
This was delicious and very easy! Made in under 25 minutes from start to finish! That is my kind of meal. Everyone ate it right up. It will probably become a staple!

Via

Chicken & Waffles

This one was just ok. It definitely would have been better if the chicken had been fried. It was edible and decent but not great. I probably won't make this again unless I have a real craving for it.

Menu Planning Monday... on a Tuesday

So this menu is a week late. Sorry. I just did not even think about putting it down last week. But now I am trying to get my act together so I want to make sure that we know what to make again. 

So, without further ado, here is what we ate last week (with our thoughts).

Meals for the week of March 31, 2014

Pork Chop Marsala with Cauliflower Mash (Healthy)

This is one of my favorite meals. The mushroom sauce really makes the pork chops delicious. If you know me but at all, you pretty much know that I will add mushrooms to any recipe if I can. 

I pair the pork chop with Cauliflower Mash Potatoes. I use half a head of cauliflower and boil with 1 baking potato. JJ does not like cauliflower so I can't do real cauliflower mash but A & I LOVE this and JJ tolerates it so I make it regularly whenever I feel like mashed pots would be a good side. 

Kicking BBQ Chicken Quesadilla Found in Cooking Light Magazine April 2014 (Healthy)
This was as good this week as it was last week. Last week I served it with a side of butternut squash but the kids didn't eat it. JJ had a genius idea this week. We mashed the butternut squash and put it in the quesadilla. The flavor went really well with the tangy barbecue sauce and the kids still gobbled it up. I always count it as a victory when H eats vegetables. 

Pear, Blue Cheese & Bacon Focaccia Pizza (Healthy)
This was just ok. It was kinda bland. I did not feel like my flavors melded well together. It didn't taste bad, just not fantastic like I know that it could. Neither JJ nor the kids would touch it so we ended up heating up from frozen pizzas that we have in case of times like these. 
I think that the pizza disappointed me so much because it takes about 2 hours (longer than I like to spend on dinner). 
Probably won't make this one again. 

Moms Spaghetti with Garlic Bread
This is always one of my favorites. It is easy to make and the kids love it. I make this early in the morning and by dinner time all the flavors have melded together perfectly. It really taste like childhood to me. Follow the link to my recipe. 
I served it with store bought garlc bread (Publix brand) which was perfect. 

I have to say that I consider if a pretty successful week when only 1 recipe isn't a hit. But now that I think about it, every recipe was a repeat but that one that no one liked.  Oh well. It was a good and healthy week. That is all I really care about when it comes to dinner. 

Menu Planning Monday... a day late

Per usual, this will be amended as the week goes on with my thoughts of what worked for the meals. 

Meals for the week of April 7, 2014

Via

Open Face italian Egg Sandwiches with sweet potato tater tots. (Healthy)

This was delicious. I made this on Monday (a day that is not a Fast day for JJ because I didn't know if he would like it or be filling enough for him). JJ & the kids got a sandwich without the lettuce and they loved it! It really was hit with JJ which surprised me the most of all. He ate it right up!

This was a nice, light meal so perfect for a summer evening. I will definitely make this again. 

Via

Via

Baked Mac n Cheese with roasted tomatoes (Healthy)
This was just ok. The Mac N Cheese didn't really have much flavor to me but everyone else ate it.
The roasted tomatoes were pretty good. I am definitely going to do this again. The kids didn't like it but JJ & I ate them up. 

Via

Cheeseburger Casserole (Healthy)
We didn't make this this week. I ended up having a girls night with Sarah & Mallory so we didn't eat it. Will make next week. 

Via

Baked Chicken Parm with a side of Green Beans
Always a winner and absolutely delicious.  Everyone gobbled it up and once again proclaimed it a staple in our menu planning! I really like how the chicken seems to be fried but isn't!

Meal Planning Monday

Let me preface all of this by saying that I plan on doing this every week so that I can look back and get menu ideas without having to look through the magazines and to remember what we liked and didn't like.  I also plan on updating this throughout the week, if it is a new recipe, to comment what we liked and/or added. 

This is a typical week for us. I plan 4 dinner meals and we wing it or JJ cooks on Friday-Sunday. I put JJ on the Fast Diet the middle of January and started cooking healthier for all us so most to the meals I cook are under 600 calories. JJ has done great on this diet and lost 12 pounds the first month. We both ate a little less healthy while he was in Germany so this is the week we are starting back on the healthy routine. 

Meals for the week of March 22, 2014

Kicking BBQ Chicken Quesadilla Found in Cooking Light Magazine April 2014 (Healthy)
We made this Monday night and it was DELICIOUS and only 383 calories for 1 quesadilla! I actually added smashed butternut squash to the quesadillas to get some vegetable in there. The flavor of the squash really complimented the barbecue sauce and cilantro.   Both kids ate the heck out of this and H asked for seconds and licked his plate clean. It was easy, delicious and all in one little package you could eat with your hands so we will be making this more often. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers - Moms recipe
We had this on Wednesday night and as usual is a big hit. I like it because everything is all in one little bell pepper. You have your mean, rice, cheese and the bell pepper is a vegetable and tastes delicious when eaten all together.

Pork Tenderloin & Cannelloni Bean found in Cooking Light Magazine April 2014 (Healthy)

I served this with a side of red potatoes and green beans for a little bit more vegetable and sustenance. This was good. The kids & JJ loved it. For some reason there was a bitter after-flavor to me but nothing that would keep me from making this again. 

Carne Guisada (Latin Beef Stew) Skinnytaste.com (Healthy)