Thursday, September 15, 2016

Week of Dinners #3

Another week's worth of dinners! Let me know what you think of our recent meals. And please share with me what you cooked! I'd really love some new ideas.

Sunday: Foil Packets made with sausage, potatoes, green beans, salad
I used this recipe for the foil packets. They were so easy and delicious! The recipe called for andouille sausage but I just couldn't bring myself to buy them when I read their sodium levels. I bought jalapeno chicken sausage instead and it was plenty flavorful. In the foil I also included baby red potatoes, onions, green beans, butter, and Cajun seasoning. Threw them on the BBQ for about 20 minutes and dinner was ready!
I also made a delicious salad of mixed greens, strawberries, and feta cheese.
 Monday: BBQ Cheddar Bacon Chicken, Corn, Cauliflower
Adam first made this chicken recipe for me many years ago for Mother's Day. At first glance it seemed like more of a Father's Day recipe....BBQ sauce, bacon, lots of cheese. But let me tell you it is amazing! It was just as yummy this time. On the side we had grilled corn and steamed cauliflower.


 Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup, Roasted Brussels Sprouts
This is one of my favorite soups. It's kind of like a chicken noodle soup, except it's a bit creamy, the noodles are swapped out for cheese tortellini, and kale is added at the end. It's so yummy!  I also roasted some brussels sprouts and topped with parmesan.

 Wednesday: Lentil Tacos, Spanish Rice
I have been wanting to make these lentil tacos all summer long, but I kept putting it off. Tacos are one of Adam and Ryan's favorite foods and I didn't want to anger them with lentils. Haha. To me, lentils are a normal food I grew up eating, but Adam says he had never even heard of them until he met me. So anyways, I finally made them and they were great! They tasted like a combination of taco meat mixed with refried beans. I played it safe and cooked a pound of ground beef to have as "backup". When I made Ryan's taco I used half lentils and half meat, topped with cheese. He took a couple bites and then asked if he was eating beans. I told him the truth and he refused to eat any more. He then proceeded to eat 5 meat tacos. If your family isn't as picky as mine I would definitely try this recipe! Lentils are packed full of fiber, protein, folate, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, vitamin K......they are a superfood!

The Spanish rice was my first time making homemade Spanish rice. It was easy and delicious! I used this recipe.

Thursday: Mahi Mahi, Sweet Potato, Green Beans
This was a box of pre-marinated Mahi that I picked up at Costco, and it was pretty good!
On the side I baked a garnet yam for myself (regular potatoes for Adam), and topped mine with butter salt and pepper. I also cooked some green beans in boiling water and then sautéed in a little butter and garlic. I thought they turned out great!
Adam showed off in the kitchen after dinner and made some "Christmas Crack" as a special treat. It's just a layer of saltines, topped with a mixture of melted butter and brown sugar, and then topped off with melted chocolate. He added mint chips to one side. Yum!

Friday: Baked Spaghetti
Ugh you guys!! Okay, spaghetti is one of my favorite foods, and always has been. I kept hearing about "baked spaghetti" and I was intrigued. I wondered if it was simply spaghetti that was then baked in the oven? After doing some scientific research on Pinterest, I decided there are many variations of baked spaghetti. Many recipes called for cream cheese, which Adam won't eat. I finally ended up making a big pan of spaghetti, and then mixing in some parmesan and mozzarella before baking. The result? Ehhh just okay. I'm not sure if it's a pregnancy aversion or the specific type of sauce I used, but I just wasn't in love with this. Have you ever made baked spaghetti?

1 comment:

  1. I grew up loving baked spaghetti! The crunchy top and corners were the best. It was one of my mom's go-to recipes. The funny thing is, her version didn't use a lot of extra cheese inside the casserole itself. It was the normal meat sauce and spaghetti noodles mixed together and plunked into a baking dish, and topped with mozzarella cheese or just a good bit of Parmesan (if she didn't happen to have mozzarella around). Maybe I love it because it tastes like childhood to me. But yes, I love me some baked spaghetti!

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