Costco Frozen Marinated Salmon & Roasted Asparagus & Christi's FRESH Homemade Bread & Pasta Wheels With Parmesan

Costco offers a fantastic marinated frozen wild salmon that is super easy to fix. A bit of olive oil in the fry pan and the flavor is out of this world! We are probably nearing the end of the asparagus, but while it's here, we'll keep eating! Love the roasted asparagus with olive oil, kosher salt and balsamic vinegar! This salad is just salad greens with spinach from Costco and ready made fat-free italian dressing. John's dinner (photo 2) is lean & green. He's lost FORTY pounds! Way to go honey! The rest of us enjoyed a slice of Christi's Fresh Homemade Bread-SUPER YUMMY, awesome flavor and texture! Also made some pasta wheels with parmesan cheese for the kids (and me)!

Turkey Cabbage Comfort

Another TSG recipe. More later. Served John the main dish and salad. We had brown rice with ours. The flavor wasn't what I was expecting. I would slice the cabbage in strips for smaller pieces next time since John doesn't care for cabbage all that much.

Salmon & Roasted Asparagus With Salad

This is another TSG recipe-can't remember so I need to look and write more. Kids and mom had baked potato and John ate pico de gallo that he bought for himself and it went well with the meal.

Asian Pot Roast

This TSG Asian Pot Roast is outstanding! Sarah loved it and ate it all, asking for seconds. She rated it a 7. John rated it much higher. I used the TSG Lemon Flavored Oil to fry the frozen stir-fry vegetables and tossed in some tomatoes and orange bell pepper I had in the frig. This would have been great with asparagus, too. John ate the roast, stir fry veggies and a salad with Drew's Sesame Orange dressing that was surprisingly tasty for being so healthy. I want to use it as a marinade for chicken someday soon.

I made Uncle Ben's rice (which I hate but it was fast) and molded it in a little bowl. It really helped me eat less rice! Later while putting the dishes in the dishwasher-(I run a load of dishes every night before I go to bed no matter how full or empty-this has helped me as I've been learning to cook)-I noticed a new bag of brown rice tucked under some other stuff by the toaster! Oh well!

12 Days of Snacks - Day #2

I think this snack is sad looking, but somewhat nutritious...Daniel doesn't eat much fresh fruit, so I'm always searching for PROTEIN. My kids love cheese and I have to make sure we don't each too much.

I am LOVING these plates! I bought 4, though I wash the 2 we use each day in the nightly dishes so we always have them clean. Now when I think "snack", I get out my plates. It is just another little family method/system I have in place. Yippee! Day #2 of "12 Days of Snacks".

Yesterday was Father's Day and John wanted to go to Red Robin. He had chicken & salad (good job honey!) And Saturday night we went to Gramma's to celebrate Sarah's birthday and she fixed the most delicious, velvety moist chicken and a gorgeous salad. I wish I had taken my camera!

New Napkins

You might think this is weird. I think it's a little strange myself. After having dinner at a friend's, I fell in love with her using thick, absorbant hand towels for napkins. So, we've ditched the paper napkins. Instead of going with fabric napkins, I bought three sets of really cheap (4 for $4!) WASHCLOTHS for the table. I love the color. And I am LOVING the convenience.

We put out 3 in the morning for me and the kids to use throughout the day. Then when we set the table for all 4 of us, we bring out John's. After dinner we clean off the table with the washcloth and toss them in the washing machine.

Cookbooks I'm Using Right Now

Who IS this person who can say she "uses cookbooks"!?!?

Oh, it's ME!

I have been so completely transformed in only 6 months! I'm actually (gasp) ENJOYING cooking now! Oh my word, just reading that is INCREDIBLE!

So, I wanted to post what cookbooks have helped me in a practical way as I've started my cooking journey.

Healthy recipes I remember from a previous diet: PRISM Cookbook
The cooking kit I purchased to make "lean and green" meals: Time Savor Gourmet by Stacey Hawkins
The book that jumped off the shelf at the library: Real Food for Healthy Kids by Tanya Wenman Steel & Tracey Seaman

Turkey Taco Salad

This is a TSG recipe and I was supposed to serve it over lettuce but we didn't have any. Not sure how that happened. So it is ground turkey and spices and John LOVED it! I simply served it over a huge portion of the Costco frozen green beans. I think I made macaroni and cheese that night for the kids. John asked for me to make this again he liked it so much. Super easy and healthy!

UPDATE: 10/07/11-We now call this "Turkey Fry Up" and have it quite often!

12 Days of Snacks

So snacks come and go around here. If we get up earlier than normal, we are needing snacks. Usually around 10:30am and 3pmish we're all ready to gnaw on something. I bought these plates on clearance for $1.78 for a set of two! So welcome the snack plates. Yogurt, cheerios and ham. I love the sections, it helps me mix things up. Follow the next 12 weekdays of snacks!

Homeschool Lunches

Have I told you that we started homeschooling this year? My son is 11 and daughter is 8 next week. So when we started homeschooling, I realized we would need LUNCHES at home, too. Another meal to plan! I've tried planning lunches, but it seems to just work better to have several "staples" on hand and make whatever I feel like each afternoon. My thing is "soup and sandwiches" for lunch for the kids. That can take on many faces! I try to have a fruit and veggie and sandwich and soup. It rarely works that way! I often eat leftovers from dinner for my lunch.

I LOVE my dinnerware pattern from 1990. It is Dansk "Fransk" (nice that it rhymes!) in Blanc. I would choose it all over again 20+ years later. Of course, my pattern was discontinued years ago. A new cereal bowl at replacements.com is $59.99. Sigh. We've broken several dishes in the past few months so I was looking at prices online to replace those that have passed on. (I practically have a funeral when they break!! Sick.) It is getting to the point that by the time we're eating dinner, there aren't enough dishes because I've used them all up during a busy day at home.

In an effort to reduce the use on my dishes, I found these at Target yesterday. My new LUNCH DISHES! I love them-plastic and indestructable! I bought 2 floral and 2 stripe (they actually came with a lid). This will save on several plates used during the day. :)

So today's lunch was a SOUR nectarine (so disappointing!), sandwich (Sarah gets a CHOCOLATE Nutella sandwich on Fridays, but the other days she chooses between PB&J and meat-n-cheese). Daniel only eats PB&J. He likes noodle soup and she doesn't. We don't have chips very often but this week they get a serving with lunch.

I just want you to know that I sound organized only out of necessity!! The things I do everyday need some kind of systemization...for sanity. And every little thing that gets systemized isn't a problem anymore and then I systematize something else and now I have a home of systems! I love that!

SO-I have a question for you-what do YOU do with your broken dishes? I keep thinking someone out there might want the gorgeous materials for mosaics or something. I could toss it all in a flat rate box and mail it to someone. How do you recycle broken dishes? Please leave comments below, thanks!

Dijon Chicken & Broccoli

Presenting dinner: TSG's Dijon Chicken & Broccoli. Top pic is what me and the kids ate and the second photo is what John ate (no pasta). This was ok...about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Broiled Ginger Salmon with Lime Butter

I like this recipe but I didn't like it broiled. It was kinda dry. I think a pan fry or poaching would give better flavor. Besides, this is frozen salmon which isn't the same as fresh! Of course, we have fresh Copper River Salmon at Costco for $10/lb. I plan one fish and one turkey meal per week so maybe we'll indulge since it is in season.

John ate a green salad, green beans and salmon. I added pasta w/ parmesan and butter for the rest of us. I think it super weird that my plate is hanging off the edge of the table in the top photo...was I in a hurry or what!? I like the flavor from this recipe though I really need to get a zester.

Beef Burgundy and Green Salad

TSG's Beef Burgundy recipe was great (I added carrots)! John liked it enough to have it again but the kids didn't care for the flavors. I reserved the sauce from yesterday's asparagus for salad dressing plus cold roasted asparagus for the salad. I made baked potatoes for the rest of the family.

One of the challenges of making new meals is deciding how to actually serve them...what plates to put them on...we've gone through a lot dishes because of this issue!

Free Grocery Shopping Planner-Sheet 2

Since I'm now "starting over" with meal planning, I've made a new grocery shopping list for us. John shops now on Wednesday nights and Sundays. I work on getting my list done on Tuesdays. I plan for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (he shops for these things on Wednesday). I write in the meals in the boxes and under the boxes write what ingredients I need. Then on the lower half of the sheet I neatly write out his grocery list. Click here for PDF Grocery Planner Sheet.

This is a help because he'll often say, "purple, watermelon flavored diced tomatoes"?? What are those for? Now with the meals at the top written in the boxes, I can say, "oh, that's for Thursday night, the watermelon lasagna" (for a silly example).

Chicken Green Salad & Roasted Asparagus

Costco has ready to go salad greens-half baby spinach & half green lettuces. Tossed chicken in hot olive oil seasoned with Mrs. Dash, Montreal Steak Grill Spice with salt and pepper. Roasted asparagus as usual-click here for recipe. Used store bought salad dressings, mixed italian and caesar low-fat. Kids ate leftover macaroni & cheese. I can't believe we're eating food that is GREEN!

Salmon & Green Beans-Enter LEAN & GREEN

John has lost more than 20 pounds! He's doing Take Shape for Life and doing great!

So I've had a major change in the way I plan meals. Recently, I actually got my entire month planned! This was a huge milestone and I was very excited to not have to be planning all the time. But the reality is that the kids don't really eat my meals. Enter the BRAINWAVE-if they don't eat my meals anyway, why not cook for JOHN!? I can plan Lean & Green meals for his eating plan and they can not eat that!

So my new focus is to create a new meal plan for one month and just use it again and again. I'm guessing it will improve as we replace what we really like with the less desirable meals. John got the meat and beans and the kids ate a half of a baked potato and some leftover couscous. They didn't eat much, but DANIEL LIKED THE SALMON! Whooohooo!

These salmon patties were pretty good. Wild salmon patties from Trader Joes. I marinated in teriyaki sauce and pan fried them in some olive oil over medium heat for less than 10 minutes (about 4 minutes per side). Frozen green beans from Costco. Really easy meal!

I used the marinade from the PRISM cookbook (bottom of page). In 2004 I lost 40 pounds doing PRISM. I didn't cook in 2004 but I did try two recipes and they are really, really tasty!

Time Savor Gourmet Cooking Kit

Since John is doing Take Shape for Life , I need to fix him "lean and green" meals. The meals I've been preparing are NOT lean and NOT green! Enter a new tool to help me.

I ordered this "lean and green" kit from Time Savor Gourmet.

It includes recipes and some of her signature seasoning spices and oils. I'm planning on using these recipes as a tool to help me THINK GREEN. No, not THAT green...like lettuce is GREEN, you know, v-e-g-e-t-a-b-l-e-s...I think I've heard of them.

I'll let you know what recipes are from Time Savor Gourmet with TSG.

My Meal Planning Organization Philosophy

After I started my self-education in January I started getting curious about recipes-online. When I saw a pretty picture of food I thought I might like, I printed it out on a full sheet of blank paper.

This helped me start a notebook of possible recipes to fill in those days with no ideas.

There are so many different SIZES of paper and index cards. I just pulled the plug on the insanity and decided to organize everything on 8 1/2"x11" blank paper-hurrah! What to do:

1-purchase a ream of blank computer paper
2-purchase a box of 100 semi-heavy clear page protectors (don't bother with the flimsy cheap ones, they rip!)
3-purchase 2 at least 1" 3-ring binders

This will allow you to have a RECIPE BOOK for your favorites (tape those index cards from your recipe box on a blank sheet and put in a page protector-or better yet, copy the card onto a document and print it out-then toss the card in the recycle bin!) Your 2nd binder is your "home" for your planning sheets...I keep my main monthly plan in a page protector where I can add to it and reference it for grocery lists, blank plans and blank grocery sheets in this binder. I also put recipes for the month into this binder. So now you have a RECIPE BINDER and a MEAL PLANNING BINDER. All nice and tidy and in one place...my cookbooks (all 3!) are on the same shelf with the binders.

I have friend who have shelves and shelves of cookbooks. Might  I suggest SELLING them on eBay?! There's so many, many recipes to be found online, why waste your shelf spacing STORING cookbooks? Put your favorite recipes into your binder and get rid of the rest of the cookbooks! (Unless a book has many favorite recipes, then I suppose it would be worth keeping).

Favorite Flank Steak & Roasted Asparagus

This terrific flank steak marinade is my mother-in-law's recipe. So easy!
3T olive oil
3T soy sauce
1T ketchup
1/4t oregano
garlic of your choice
Marinate for 12-24 hours.

We've discovered fresh asparagus-not steamed-but cooked in a super yummy way. Roasted on a foil-lined cookie sheet for about 15 minutes at 350ish. Sprinkle olive oil and kosher salt and a splash of balsamic vinegar before cooking. YUM!

Wrap a poked potato in plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes. Viola! I made another dinner!

Chicken, Couscous & Way Too Much Spinach!

Ooops, this was a made-up dinner. A little chicken, a box of couscous and frozen broccoli and a few carrots. I thought I'd be "healthy" and add some green since John can only have "lean and green" for dinner...I used a box of frozen spinach. This was the SPINACH dinner...too much! I could have just used a half of a box and that would have been OK.

Finally-A Month Of Meals!

John started a new job recently. At John's old job, he stayed late at work Mondays and Thursday nights, so I did hot dogs and macaroni & cheese for a quick dinner for the kids since he wasn't home. When I started planning meals, I only did Tuesday and Wednesday because we had our Tuesday group and on Wednesdays we went to church. So though time was tight, we had family dinners two nights per week. I soon added Saturday and Sunday to my plan because, well, we need to eat dinner on those days, too!

So I just recently finished my MONTH! WOW, all these meals are real meals that I would eat!

Now that John is working a new job (very close to home!) he is home every night for family dinner! This has been a life dream of mine...family dinners! I'm pinching myself! Not only is John HOME at dinnertime but I have dinner ready! Mind-boggling the transformation I've gone through! Thanks to Lifestyle of Learning!

A practical note: I've been using blank paper and a 3-ring binder for my planning. It is SO much easier to keep things simple...from my planning sheet to my grocery shopping list to printing out recipes from the web...FORGET 4"x6" recipe cards! I have found if I keep everything the SAME SIZE, my life is just BETTER!