Weekly Line Up - 9/9-9/15

Well, week one of the hubs weight loss challenge went well! No cheating so far and we have both started off great... He's trying to get used to eating a little healthier on the road - "what do you mean a cheeseburger is 9 points?" and I am trying to not snack on the kids food as I am making it! Here's to another successful week! :)

Saturday - *Grilled Pork Chop Teriyaki
Sunday - Tortellini Primavera
Monday - *Pretzel Crusted Chicken
Tuesday - *Red, White and Blue Pita Pockets
Wednesday - Taco Night
Thursday - *Indonesian Peanut Chicken
Friday - *Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta

Extras: - *Blueberry Breakfast Cake (maybe not so healthy, but part of my Secret Recipe Club assignment for the week!)
- *Wonton Sundaes

* New Recipes

Spiral Stomboli

Okay, I will start with being honest.... This tasted awesome, but I had a hard time putting it together!! Hopefully you are more coordinated with dough then I am! :) I had it all over the place, holes in the dough and stretched way too thin... It was a crazy mess, but it tasted great so I will try my luck again on another day! :)



Spiral Stromboli
(recipe found in Taste of Home)

1 tube (11 ounces) refrigerated crusty french loaf
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 pound thinly sliced hard salami
1/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1 jar (2 ounces) diced pimientos, drained (I left these out)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese

Unroll dough on a lightly floured surface. Pat into a 14x12" rectangle; sprinkle mozzarella and cheddar cheeses to within 1/2" of edges. Layer with hard salami, deli ham and pimientos. Roll up tightly, jelly roll style, starting from short side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with melted butter sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Cut with serrated knife. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.

Cooker Chops

Very boring title for a meal that was way easy to throw in the crockpot and run out the door. Pork chops are a favorite around our house and I especially love the boneless pork chops - way easier to get the kids' plates ready!! I threw them all in the bottom of the crockpot, mixed up the rest and was out the door in about 15 minutes!! This was a meal that I had thrown together when I was going to be gone for the night and Josh thought it was a little too saucy with all the soup but it tasted great to me when I got home...

Cooker Chops
(recipe found in Fix It and Forget It)

4 pork chops
1 (10 3/4 ounces) can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

Put chops in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over chops. Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 8-10 hours.

Bobby Flay Steak Marinade

I found a Bobby Flay cooking show the other day when I was flipping through channels and it was cracking me up!! You can totally tell that it was from when he was first starting out and he's all nervous and fumbly... I LOVE watching Bobby Flay and I was excited to try this marinade out that he was making on the show that I watched. It turned out fabulous! I didn't get a chance to do the orange mixture on top, but the marinade was pretty kick butt on it's own...



Bobby Flay Steak Marinade
(recipe found on Main Ingredient with Bobby Flay)

2 cups orange juice
1 tablespoon pepper
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 oranges
2 green onions
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large ziploc bag. Add steak and allow to marinate in fridge for 8 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, combine remaining ingredients and allow flavors to combine. (Don't let it sit too long or the oranges will start to fall apart...) Grill steak to preferred doneness, discarding marinade. Top with orange mixture and serve.

Ranch Style Noodles

Pizza is usually our go to meal for a Saturday lunch. Something that I can pop in the oven while I am doing my chores for the day and still get something accomplished. I decided that I needed to use up all those leftover boxeds of pasta that I had in my cupboard. You know the ones - when you need a cup of pasta here, a cup of pasta there, all for different recipes? Then you forget that you still have some shoved in the back of your cupboard and you end up buying a new box? Yeah, those are the ones! So, I busted out that boxes and cooked them up. Then I thought, we don't need to just have noodles and butter, let's mix it up a bit. So, I grabbed the packets of ranch dressing that were sitting on my cupboard and added those. It turned out fantastic!! I love buttered noodles and this definitely kicked it up a notch!



Ranch Style Noodles

1 (16 ounces) box of rotini noodles (or whatever you have on hand)
2 packets ranch dressing and dip mix
butter

Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and add ranch dressing and butter. Stir and serve.

Weekly Line Up - 9/2-9/8

Well, the time has come... The hubs decided that he needs to lose some weight. So in true man fashion - that involves a competition, biggest loser style! So, Tuesday is the day - time to stop eating the "wrong" way all the time and start trying to eat a little heathier... I think those words have come through my mouth before but this time it's a competition and this girl is all about winning! :)

So, I pored over my cookbooks last night and found a lot of scrumptious meals that will fit with my new way of thinking. Don't worry - I'll be passing them on to you! Hoping they are good enough to keep my husband on track, well maybe not soo on track... After all, I want to beat him! :)

Saturday - Date Day
Sunday - Steak/Potatoes
Monday - Burgers/Hot Dogs
Tuesday - *BLT Chopped Salad
Wednesday - Taco Night
Thursday - *Chicken Chow Mein
Friday - Mexican Beef and Pasta
Saturday - *Grilled Pork Chop Teriyaki

Extras - No extras this week - not because of the new menu plans but I have to start getting ready for my garage sale... It's been on the back burner WAY too long! :)

Honey Marinated Chicken

I love marinades! It makes it seem like you have slaved away forever to get something so fabulous tasting and in actuality you just threw some chicken in a bag of goodness for a few hours and then grilled it up! Yummy! So, I threw this together the other day and tried my hand at grilling again. I am getting to be not so bad at it, if you don't mind me saying so! :) The chicken tasted awesome and was so juicy and delicious! I was very excited - I usually end up with dry chicken and I HATE that!!

Honey Marinated Chicken
(recipe found at http://www.becomingbetty.blogspot.com/)

1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons dijon style mustard
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon pepper

Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend well. Pour over boneless, skinless chicken breasts and marinate overnight in a ziploc bag. Discard marinade and grill chicken 6-10 minutes, or until done. Baste during grilling with equal parts honey and soy sauce during last 5 minutes.