lunch Archives - Life's Tidbits

22Jul 2015

Meal Planning – Week 2

I’m happy to report meal planning is going pretty well! I enjoy sitting down with my list of recipes, thinking about the week ahead and writing out what to cook each night. The recipes chosen are then translated into a shopping list to which I add breakfast, lunch and snack items. Luckily lunch usually consists of leftover dinners, which makes it easier. The project manager in me loves the process of making a plan and executing sed plan.

Week two was a success though I still seem to slightly over buy somethings and under buy others. I’m starting to think meal planning for Jellybean needs to go beyond dinner, as many of the foods we don’t have enough of are for her. Raspberries/blackberries/blueberries, in particular, are consumed at a remarkable rate.

Here’s what we’ve been munching on lately …

Dinners for Week 2:

Grilled Lemon Dijon Chicken, Roasted Cauliflower and Baked Oven Fries … the oven fries are AMAZING. You must try them, Mkay?! I seriously want to eat them everyday all day long.
Brisket with carrots and potatoes … one of my favorite holiday recipes that I occasionally make on non-holiday weekends. One of these days I hope to share the recipe with you!
Saucy Chicken with Rice … super easy and perfect for a week night.
Homemade Pizza … I’ve been dying to make homemade pizza crust for a while now. The last time I tried to make it the yeast had expired – FAIL – this time I was properly equipped with non-expired yeast!
Lemon Almond Chicken Salad with Biscuits … I may or may not have been out of bread and way too lazy to venture to the store so I decided to just throw some frozen biscuits in the oven. They were delish and it was kind of like having a deconstructed sandwich :)
Out to Dinner x2 … While the goal is to only order in or go out once a week, however this particular week was special. My parents were in town over the weekend visiting & my girlfriends and I did a little girls night out. So my once a week only is more like a guideline, not a rule {wink, wink}.

I made two new recipes this week! I am glad they were both a hit so they can be added to the queue of dinner options. It is always disappointing when a recipe looks delicious and then is just so-so or worse not yummy at all.

Goals for next week: try another new recipe (or two!) and try to use more of what’s already in the house.

What have you been making for dinner lately {please add links in the comments!}? Any tips for meal planning?

27Jan 2015

Recipe: Hamburger Casserole

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

Do you have a dish that reminds you of your childhood? For me, it is totally hamburger casserole. I remember hating the peas and pushing them aside, but absolutely loving the hamburger/rice part of the meal. I am not sure where my mother got the recipe from. Regardless, it was a go to dinner growing up and makes almost weekly appearances in my house today. The only change I’ve made from my mother’s recipe is to substitute green beans for the peas.

Another bonus about this recipe … Jellybean LOVES it and it’s easy to whip up even after a long day!!

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 pkg Onion Gray
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/3 cup Rice
1 1/2 cups water
Frozen Green Beans (1 1/2 cups) or Peas (10 oz)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Season beef with salt and pepper and brown in a pan over medium heat. Drain the excess fat. Add onion gray mix, garlic powder, rice and water. Stir ingredients together and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is fully tender. Stir occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, defrost peas or green beans per the directions on the package. Add the peas or green beans to the mixture and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately.

The one tip I have about this recipe is to buy A LOT of the onion gravy when it goes on sale. It’s on the pricier side, however totally worth it … my and Jellybean’s humble opinion.

What dish reminds your of your childhood?

Happy Cooking!

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

12Aug 2014

{Recipe} Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Turkey

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

Growing up green beans were always called string beans in my house. Or at least that’s what I think they were called as each time I go to say green beans my brain desperately wants to say string bean. STRING BEANS, STRING BEANS, STRING BEANS! Okay I think I got it out of my system. =)

Oddly enough I have a few fond memories of cooking with string green beans. I’m standing in the kitchen next to my grandmother (or mother) snapping off the ends of the green beans and eating a few along the way! Green beans are one of those things I can eat cooked or raw.

But back to the recipe …

Do you ever have one of those days where you defrost meat and then none of your go-to recipes sound appealing? I’ve been having that happen to me frequently as of late. The other week I decided to defrost some ground turkey for dinner. Shepard’s pie, taco salad, turkey meatballs and a few of my other easy recipes felt just well ‘over-done’ … get it?! I’m so funny – well probably not, but I couldn’t help myself.

So yeah, anyways, it was time for something new, easy and healthy! I was browsing Pinterest while contemplating dinner. After doing a quick search-a-roo on ground turkey I had a few contenders. The husband and I really enjoyed this new meal. One of the best parts … it’s a ONE pot meal so relatively easy cleanup.

Recipe inspired by The Lemon Bowl

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
4 garlic cloves – grated
2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tbs fresh grated ginger)
1 lb green beans – trimmed
½ cup chicken broth
1 tbs corn starch
3 tbs soy sauce – low sodium
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs chili sauce (more or less to taste)
½ tbs sesame oil

Instructions
Serving Size – 4

Pre-heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat and spray with non-stick spray. Add the ground turkey, garlic and ginger. Break up the turkey and cook until browned.

In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, corn starch, soy, rice vinegar and chili garlic paste.

Once the turkey is browned, add in green beans and broth/soy mixture. Cover and let simmer on low for 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally so the sauce doesn’t burn. Add in the sesame oil. Cook an additional minute or two then serve.

Serve with Israeli couscous or rice.

This recipe has definitely grabbed a spot in our dinner rotation! What’s an easy recipe you are digging lately?

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

21Aug 2013

{Recipe} Taco Salad

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

I was on the search for taco seasoning from scratch when I found the recipe below. I like the seasoning you can buy at the grocery store in the package, but I felt it had to be easy enough to make from spices we already had in the house. This recipe is SUPER easy to make and is perfect for dinner as well as lunches! All in all the recipe is very healthy. I ate A LOT of taco salads when I was doing the whole wedding / weight watches diet a couple years ago. Although I got a little taco salad’ed out in 2011 it is still a go to dinner in our house every couple of weeks.

Ingredients:
Salad
1 can Black Beans
1 pkg Ground Turkey

Taco Seasoning –
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

Directions:

This recipe makes about 5 servings. Here’s all you’ve got to do …

Make your salad. I use romaine lettuce, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion and cucumber.

Brown your ground turkey (you can also use ground beef if you want). Meanwhile combine your spices in a small bowl and put the black beans in a pan to cook/warm on the stove top. Once the meat is browned add the taco seasoning and about 1/4-1/2 cup of water. Mix the spices, water and turkey well. Allow it to simmer until most of the water has evaporated or been absorbed by the meat. Drain the beans once heated through and add them to the turkey.

I like to portion out the salad first and then scoop the turkey/bean mixer on top. Serve and enjoy! I always serve the salad with corn chips. The husband and I both like to crumble a few of the chips over the salad for a little extra crunch/salt/yumminess.

What are you having for dinner tonight??

Happy Cooking!

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

24Apr 2013

{Recipe} Super Cheesy Homemade Mac & Cheese

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

Last week I was totally craving homemade mac & cheese. I am not really sure what triggered the need for this dish given I haven’t had it in ages. In any event mac & cheese was going to happen in my belly! This super cheese homemade mac & cheese is a serious comfort food dish. According to the husband and a friend who joined us for dinner they said this mac & cheese recipe is a winner! Just looking at the picture makes me want to eat some. YUMMY!!

Recipe inspired from A Cup of Jo and The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients:

1 box pasta
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground/dry mustard
12 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350*

Cook pasta until al dente and drain. Remember to salt the water before adding the pasta!

In a sauce pan, melt butter and add in the flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly.

Slowly add the milk and continuing whisking. Add mustard and reduce the heat to low. Add in cheddar cheese a handful at a time and only add more once the cheese is completely melted. Add the grated parmesan last. Pour cheese/milk mixture over the pasta and stir to combine. Pour pasta into a baking pan.

In a separate bowl combine the bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons of parmesan and then pour over the pasta as evenly as possible. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and the top is golden.

Serve and most important enjoy! This dish is a great main meal, side dish and makes wonderful lunches.

Happy Cooking!

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

1 2 3 Next »

Tag Archives: Lunch

Meal Planning – Week 2

Recipe: Hamburger Casserole

{Recipe} Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Turkey

{Recipe} Taco Salad

{Recipe} Super Cheesy Homemade Mac & Cheese

Post Navigation