My 2 hour cooking how to for this week- Black Bean Chicken Tortilla Soup

So it ended up that I wasn't able to have my cook day until Sunday.  No biggie was able to still knock it out it 2 hours.  Here's how and the weekly menu (including my swaps with items I found on sale) for this week.  Happy cooking!

Monday: Black Bean Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tuesday: Stuffed Shells

Wednesday: Broccoli Mac n Cheese 

Thursday: Meatball Subs

Friday: Rockin Moroccan Night

Breakfasts: cheesy,eggy bagel sandwiches

Snacks: chocolate pecan granola bars, hummus, homemade quest dip and chips

Lunches: homemade "uncrustables", frozen burritos, pecan pesto chicken salad.

 

Here's the Black bean chicken tortilla soup recipe: (more recipes to come all week)

Ingredients:

1 tbl olive oil

1 lb chicken breast or tenders cut into bite size chunks 

1 red bell pepper

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 cans black beans (drained)

1 small can green chilies

4 cups chicken stock

1 small can of corn

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro 

1tsp cumin, salt and pepper

1/2 cup of dark beer

1can puréed tomatoes

Tortilla chips, avocado, shredded cheese and non fat Greek yogurt (or sour cream) for toppers

 

Heat soup pot with olive oil. Add chicken tenders, and spices, cook over med heat util browned. 

Add veggies (onion, bell pepper , garlic and chilies) sauté until opaque. About 5 minutes

Next add all canned items including chicken stock and beer. 

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes to let all flavored combine.

When you're ready to serve add toppings to each bowl. 

This will last in the fridge for 3 days. So you will want to either eat it early in the week or freeze. 

Back with more tomorrow!

  

Making grains for the week

Weekly Menu, Getting Ready for my One Day of Cooking for the Week!

       So Wednesday is the day I generally make my menu for the upcoming week.  This includes all breakfasts,lunches dinners and snacks for that week.  I generally do a larger shopping trip once every 2 weeks,then just supplement what I need in a smaller shopping trip on the other week.  Like I said in my first post, this may take some time to get a feel for.  Being organized and finding a rhythm is key to being successful with once a week cooking. However, I was able to get my menu and grocery items listed in about 5 minutes this morning.  Once you're in the swing of making a weekly menu, it will become second nature, and you can whip it out within a matter of minutes. 
      My method is fairly simple.  I have recipes that I know my family likes, so I find ways that I can combine; let's say marinara sauce into 2 recipes for the week (such as this week.) So that way, I'm not spending my entire day in the kitchen getting items prepped for the week. 
     Just being thoughtful of how to stretch a menu item is my advice.  Some other tips that may help your weekly menu:  Be flexible.  If I see something on sale or I have a coupon for a certain item at the store that I can swap out for another ingredient, I'm doing it.  Also, make bigger batches of certain items that will freeze well, such as sauces or stock.  This will help you on "cook day."  Again, this week, I'm making marinara for 2 different dinners.  I'll make a larger batch, that takes me the same amount of time,and just freeze the remainder into separate containers.  Last bit of advice, save your menus and shopping list to revert back to.  Then you have everything all planned out if you want to make the same or similar menu again.
   Ok, so here's our family's menu for the upcoming work/school week, along with a grocery list of everything in the meals.  Some may be pantry items that I already have, but just for the sake of showing all the items that I will need this week, I'm listing everything. 
   "Cook Day" will be Saturday...will post on how long it takes, and tips along the way!

 

 

Weekly Menu



Breakfast:

• Pancakes (they freeze well too!)
• Sausage egg and cheese "muffins" (so do these!)
• Granola

Lunches:

• Pesto chicken salad
• Burritos (freeze well)
• Peanut noodle salad
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (also freeze well!)

Dinners:

• Stuffed shells with marinara and pesto
• Rockin Moroccan Night (chicken, naan or pita, hummus and roasted veggies)
• Meatball subs
• Chicken tortilla soup
• Mexican Mac n' Cheese

Snacks:

• Granola Bars
• Chips and queso
• Pitas and hummus

Grocery List

Fruits and Veg

(1) eggplant, (3) zucchini, (1)red bell pepper, garlic, basil, cilantro,Italian flat leaf parsley, onions, (2) avocados, (1) jalapeno, (2) limes, 1 bag baby spinach, (1) pint grape tomatoes

 

Meat

Chicken tenders and ground beef (or turkey) 2lbs. each, breakfast sausage

 

Dairy/refrigerated section

(2) 8oz. bags shredded Cheddar, 8oz. pepper jack cheese (optional), (2) cartons of eggs, butter ( I use coconut butter), 2 containers of Greek yogurt.

 

Canned Items

(2) cans garbanzo beans, (3) cans San Marzano tomatoes (because they are the best and only canned tomatoes in my opinion), (1) can black beans, (1) box chicken stock, (1) can green chilies, (1) can tomato paste  

 

Baking/Oils/Bread,Pasta, ext.

(2) packages pitas,naan or lavash, tahini,Pasta Shells, elbow macaroni, olive oil, tortilla chips, breadcrumbs, (1) package sub rolls, (1) loaf of bread, oats, walnuts,dried fruit,peanut butter,jelly



Granola Bar Day!!

  Our family goes through a lot of granola bars! Really, what's not to love? And they are good for you. But paying at least $2.50 for a box of six granola bars is something I'm not willing to do.  So I buy a lot of oats and different "mix ins" every 2 weeks. That covers our family of 4 with plenty of granola bars and homemade granola for at least 3 weeks, for a fraction of what you'd spend on boxes of bars and expensive pre-packaged granola.

    It's truly an easy snack to whip together.  Great pop in for lunches, snacks, taking to soccer practices, ext.  If you are home for a half and hour, you can do this.

  The possibilities are endless with combos and healthy "sneak ins" such as flax, sesame and chia seeds. (More on those on a later post) I have many recipes, below is one of our faves. It's less dense, more thin 'n crispy. They go fast around here! 

Pumpkin Spice White Chocolate Thin 'n Crispy Granola Bars

Preheat oven to 300 degrees 

Spray an 8x8 pan with no stick spray

Into a bowl goes:

1 1/2 cups whole or cut oats (I use a mixture of both. It's a texture thing, so whatever your preference)

2 egg whites

1/4 cup of butter, melted ( I use coconut butter)

1/4 cup dried fruit of your choice ( I used dried cranberries for this one)

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/4 cup honey

1/4 tsp. each of salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice 

Bake for 30 minutes and let cool completely before removing from the pan.  Cut into 12 bars and enjoy! 

 

  

The idea..

      So most American families eat out at least three nights a week.  I get it.  We're all busy with work,kids,extra curricular activities, social obligations, basically life.  But what are we feeding our families and ourselves when we go out to these chain and fast food restaurants?  We pump ourselves full of ingredients we can't pronounce, from unknown sources, filled with who knows what.  We know this, but again, life gets in the way. 
    We all want to do better, to feed our family and ourselves well.  But who has the time?  The idea is wonderful, but is it practical?  I think yes.  Will it take a shift in thinking?  Yes.  Will it be difficult at first?  Yes.  But the question we all need to ask is...Is it worth it?  Definitely yes! 
    I've always enjoyed cooking, and a few years ago, out of sheer necessity to help our family save more money, I started making  more and more things from scratch.  Using fresh, in season ingredients, utilizing my freezer, and cooking in bulk.  It's changed our family for the better.  We've started gardening ( a little bit, hopefully bigger this spring.) And now we're planning to create a compost pile for our upcoming garden.  Not that we are totally hippy,living off the grid, solar panelling our house type of people.  We are just a typical American military family,with small steps, to do better.  Be better.
  So the idea is, helping to give people practical solutions to eating great whole foods, that can be prepared in advance or quickly, that everyone in the family will (hopefully) enjoy.  There will be trial and error, but will it be worth it?  Definitely yes!