Dinner Menu Plan Week of June 16 - June 22, 2013

Dinners this week:

• Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce and steamed broccoli

• Grilled chicken legs that I found on sale for about $3.50 for a pack of 12 legs. I will probably make some yummy cole slaw to go with this.

• Curried Ground Beef Stir Fry ...again, because the hubby took all the leftovers to work and the kids and I want more. 

• Lemon Garlic Tuna Burgers -- I will use a paleo mayo instead of sour cream and almond flour/meal instead of bread crumbs. 

• Taco Salad with lots of salad veggies

• My 16 year old twin girls are turning 16 this week. So we are having whatever they want for dinner. This year, one is asking for ribs and the other is asking for hamburgers. They are both asking for a very yummy potato salad that I found about a month ago... before my challenge. I will find something other than potato salad for the hubby and I. 

And I will have a very easy night of "fend for yourself."

Coconut Milk Ice Cream and 30 Day Challenge -- Day 7

I haven't always liked all the things I eat. It has taken a lot of time and patience to develop a taste for some things. For instance, I use to gag whenever I ate spinach... it was the texture of the stems. Bleu cheese used to be so bad, I wouldn't even put it in my mouth. Now, I crave bleu cheese. Beets taste like dirt. Seriously, dirt. But, recently, we found a way to cook them that makes them palatable to me. I have heard you should try foods you don't like every couple of years because your tastes will change. I am a huge proponent of this because I have seen it work with myself.

Day 7
Breakfast: Caramelized Onion Frittata and cantaloupe. I have to admit to you my family does not like this egg dish as much as I do. They think it's good, but much better with salsa or ketchup. Sigh.

1.6 mile walk with the family.

Lunch: Leftover fajita meat and peppers on a bed of spinach with some bleu cheese.

Bacon, Grape, and Broccoli Salad

Dinner: Steaks and Bacon, Grape, and Broccoli Salad. This is my hubby's favorite and the perfect Father's Day meal on a hot day.

Dessert: ...because it is Father's Day! I made my hubby some coconut milk ice cream. We were at a garage sale the other day and they were giving away very ripe baby peaches. I took a bag and decided to puree them for this ice cream. I am so glad I did. This ice cream came out very tropical tasting.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream
16 ounces pureed peaches
3 very ripe bananas
2 tsp vanilla
5 medjool dates, pit removed
2 cans full-fat coconut milk

Blend all ingredients together in blender until everything is evenly incorporated. Make ice cream according to your ice cream maker instructions.

I used the ice cream maker attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Italian Egg Casserole

Italian Egg Casserole

16 eggs

2 cans diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 large onion (or 1 small), diced

2 green bell peppers, diced

1/2 lb bacon, minced or diced or crumbled (I put raw bacon in the food processor and pulse it until mush. Then I cook it like ground beef.)

2 tsp. dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon, drain, and set aside to cool. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside. Crack eggs into large mixing bowl and whisk. Add everything to the eggs and mix well. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan and bake at 375 degree F oven for 45 to 55 minutes until egg is completely cooked through. 

30 Day Challenge -- Day 6

Day 6 was busy, busy, busy. We didn't even go on our walk! So, you are getting a quick break down of how I did.

Day 6

Breakfast: Skipped. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat.

Lunch: I needed to make something super quick so I took some sliced turkey meat, spread my favorite easy store bought guacamole on it, rolled it up, and enjoyed it so much I made it again later as a snack.

Spread guacamole on the turkey meat.

Roll it up.

I enjoyed it with some watermelon and grape tomatoes. 

Guac roll ups, grape tomatoes, watermelon.

Snack: We had a carnival to go to late in the afternoon that was serving hot dogs, chips, cotton candy, popcorn, etc. All the foods I can't eat right now. So before we left I knew I better eat something so I would not be tempted. I had a couple more of the turkey roll ups with some olives and half a banana. 

Dinner: Chicken Fajitas served on a bed of spinach. I did have some bleu cheese with my spinach. 

Curried Ground Beef Stir Fry

I love when I follow my gut and whatever dish I am cooking turns out fabulous. It doesn't always happen, but tonight it did. I had some ground beef in the freezer and I really wanted something with an Asian influence. This is the dish I came up with:

Ground Beef Curry Stir Fry

It started with a HUGE bag of frozen stir fry vegetables I got from Costco (aka my favorite store ever). I put some coconut oil in a very large pan over high heat. After the pan and oil were sufficiently hot, I added the frozen veggies and let them cook until soft.

After the veggies were done, I put them in a big bowl and set them aside. I then cooked the ground beef until completely browned.

When the ground beef is done, drain it. Put it back in the pan and add the diced onion and let cook a couple minutes. Then add the most wonderful curry powder ever. Whichever kind you prefer. My favorite is this one I found at a local grocery store (I found you can buy it online here):

My favorite curry powder.

and then I quit taking much needed pictures. 

Except for this beautiful finished product:

Curried Ground Beef Stir Fry

This fed 6 of us with seconds and leftovers. Cut in half you need less. I should warn you, my 7 year old thought this was a little spicy. The rest of us loved it!

58 oz bag frozen stir fry vegetables (I got mine at Costco. It came with sauce that I threw away.)

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 very large onion or 1 small onion, diced

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Cup soy sauce

2 tsp. fish sauce

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp curry powder (I like A LOT of curry)

3-14 oz cans of some kind of broth

1-7 oz package Asian Bean Vermicelli (ingredients are peas, green beans, and water--I found mine at Costco)

3 Tbsp coconut oil (or oil of your choice)

Add coconut oil to large pan over high heat. Add veggies and stir every 2 minutes or so until cooked through, set aside. In same large pan, cook ground beef, drain when done, and add back to pan. Add diced onion to ground beef and, stirring occasionally, let cook together for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir thoroughly. Add curry powder, fish sauce, soy sauce, and broth. Stir really well. Let simmer for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add vermicelli noodles (dry) and they will soak up the sauce beautifully. Make sure you stir and get the noodles mixed around. Add veggies and mix well. Take off heat and let sit for about 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

30 Day Challenge -- Day 5

I truly believe in eating whole foods in their most natural state (except for chips). For instance, I saw this article: "Splenda goes from 'safe' to 'caution' after leukemia found in mice."  For years I have heard, read, or been told how safe Splenda is. I am glad I listened to my gut and chose not to use this product, except very rarely. Luckily, my poison of choice is black coffee (I am sure many of you can tell me what is wrong with coffee and caffeine) and I am very fortunate to not have a sweet tooth, usually. So, for me, it is easy to stay away from artificially sweetened foods.

Eating Paleo and eating whole foods can be very expensive. I get super tired of the Paleo crowd touting the same speech of "yeah, but if you buy the right foods now (organic, grass fed), you will save thousands later in medical bills." I personally can not afford organic and/or grass fed. If I don't have the cash, then guess what? I don't have the cash. And before anyone tells me we don't need things like cable tv... we don't have things like cable tv.

So, how do I do Paleo? I buy regular food. I buy vegetables on sale (which tend to be what's in season) and meat that has been marked way down or is on a major sale. I use canned tuna that I get for 65 cents a can during a case lot sale. Some day, probably when my 5 children move out, I will be able to buy all organic, grass fed everything. For now, I am looking to feed us the best way possible with the resources we have. (This might also mean we have to add rice and beans back into our diet in the future).

Day 5
This morning we started our day much earlier. Our 1.6 mile walk was much more enjoyable in the cooler weather and we were able to talk my hubby into going with us. It was very nice.

Breakfast: Leftover breakfast from yesterday. That casserole made quite a bit.

Lunch: Leftover (again) Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw with diced chicken breast (also leftover from dinner the other night).

I went to the gym today and did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike at a level 4. I was going to do the Couch 2 5k, but a friend was there and I would much rather work out while chatting with a friend.

Snack: (I have been really hungry today). Small handful of macadamia nuts, two slices roast beef, and a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Ground Beef and Curry Stir Fry

Dinner: I came up with a very yummy stir fry dish. I used some asian vermicelli noodles I got from Costco (aka my favorite store ever) that have an ingredients list of: Peas, Green Beans, Water. We shall see what it does to the hubby's blood sugar (which is how I judge a lot of foods). Luckily, I wrote down all the ingredients and how much of everything I put in. The recipe will be posted very soon. I absolutely LOVE creating a recipe and watching my family enjoy it completely!

30 Day Challenge -- Day 4

Peeps, you should know I am a big, fat failure. Today was really hard.

Cheat #1: Chips. I love chips. The crunch. The salt. Mmmm. BUT, I did get the chips that were made of sweet potatoes and beets because I felt way too guilty buying regular potato chips. Still healthy, right? Ha. Unfortunately, these had a very strong oil taste. I don't remember that being there before.

Cheat #2:  Wine. I completely caved. I was so stressed out over a whole bunch of stuff I crumbled. *hangs head in shame*

Cheat #3: Bleu Cheese dressing. I dipped my chicken in it and it was fantastic! But, dairy is a no-no for the next 30 26 days.

Tomorrow will be better! I am going to make it through this challenge.

Day 4
Two of my kids and I walked 1.8 miles today. It was really hot. I think we need to start leaving earlier in the morning.

Italian Egg Casserole

Breakfast/lunch was delicious. Without meaning to, we skipped breakfast yesterday and had breakfast for lunch. I came up with a recipe that I will post soon. For now I will call it Italian Egg Casserole (and let's face it, that name is probably going to not change).

Dinner was grilled chicken quarters (dipped in bleu cheese) and leftover Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw.