Happy New Year!!

Let the New Year's Resolutions Begin!!

When I was little, my mom cooked a huge meal every single night and every Sunday dinner. My dad was more of a "meat and potatoes" guy. Very picky- still is! And any time my brothers or my dad would say "We're having that?!?" or I hate this meal! My mom would respond with "Fine. You can eat cereal." We NEVER lived by the "Ok, no problem, I'll make you a separate meal you do like" rule.

Now that I'm 27, I'm back in college studying dietetics, with a husband studying to be a doctor and a 2 year old child that tells me "I don't wike dat" to anything that's not bread or junk. All of this has made me think- instead of a New Year's Resolution to lose 528 pounds or something ridiculously unattainable- I'm making 2 "resolutions" this year- 1- just to be healthier. 2- to help every other woman in the world who has no time, no money, no menu, no patience, and no idea "what's for dinner" tonight. So here goes- The first week's menu for 2012! I hope this helps at least 1 person. Happy New Year!!

January 1-

Turkey (this will last you all week!)

Black Eyed Peas (for a Prosperous New Year)

Pistachio Salad

French Bread

Recipes:

Cook the turkey and the black eyed peas according to package directions. French Bread- Slice it, butter it and broil it. Watch closely or you'll be feeding the fire department too...and they're not all hot like the calendars show!

Pistachio Salad:

Mix together:

1 box of pistachio pudding

1 small tub of Cool Whip

1/2 bag of miniature marshmallows

1 drained can of pineapple chunks

January 2-

Turkey Pot Pie and Orange Salad

Recipe-

Turkey Pot Pie

Mix 1 12 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can of milk (just fill the empty can from the soup of milk and dump it in)

About 2 cups of the leftover turkey from yesterday

Cook this and 2 cans of Pillsbury biscuits at whatever the biscuits say but cook the vegetable mixture for about 10 minutes longer than the biscuits. Bake the biscuits and lay on top- otherwise the bottoms are still gooey.

Orange Salad

1 box of orange jello

1 large carton of cottage cheese

1 drained can of mandarin oranges

This meal is great because it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and hits every single food group!

The reason you use the pillsbury biscuits is that if you clip coupons, there are ALWAYS coupons for these and if the coupon says "Save 30 cents on 2"- the better deal is to use it on the smaller cans because a size isn't specified.

January 3-

The recipes with pictures and pictures themselves from January 3-January 5 are courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens Website http://www.bhg.com/

Grilled Chicken

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Spinach



Ingredients

6 ounces dried farfalle (bow-tie pasta)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup sliced portobello or other fresh mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups thinly sliced fresh spinach

1 teaspoon snipped fresh thyme

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Directions

1. Cook farfalle according to package directions. Drain well.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until mushrooms are nearly tender. Stir in spinach, thyme, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until heated through and spinach is slightly wilted. Stir in cooked pasta; toss gently to mix. Sprinkle with cheese. Makes 4 side-dish servings.

 

Nutrition Facts (Farfalle with Mushrooms and Spinach)

• Servings Per Recipe 4,
• Calories 219,
• Protein (gm) 9,
• Carbohydrate (gm) 35,
• Fat, total (gm) 5,
• Cholesterol (mg) 2,
• Saturated fat (gm) 1,
• Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 4,
• Vitamin A (IU) 1603,
• Vitamin C (mg) 6,
• Sodium (mg) 86,
• Calcium (DV %) 71,
• Iron (DV %) 4,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Chicken can be grilled or baked however you like it!

January 4-

Turkey with Orzo 

Salad

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dried whole wheat or plain orzo pasta (1-1/2 cups)
• 1 lemon
• 4 cups shredded packaged prewashed fresh spinach leaves
• Leftover Turkey from January 1

Directions

1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain well. Return orzo to hot saucepan.

2. Meanwhile, cut lemon in half; finely shred peel from half of the lemon. Cut remaining lemon half into wedges.

3. Add spinach and lemon peel to orzo in saucepan; toss to mix. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Divide orzo mixture among four dinner plates. Arrange  heated turkey on top of orzo mixture. Serve with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Facts (Turkey with Orzo)

• Servings Per Recipe 4,
• Calories 477,
• Protein (gm) 49,
• Carbohydrate (gm) 43,
• Fat, total (gm) 12,
• Cholesterol (mg) 126,
• Saturated fat (gm) 3,
• Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 11,
• Vitamin A (IU) 2818,
• Vitamin C (mg) 29,
• Sodium (mg) 146,
• Calcium (DV %) 111,
• Iron (DV %) 5,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

As for the salad- you make it to your liking! :)

 January 5-
Mama's Amazing Ziti
French Bread
Parmesan Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pound 95%-lean ground beef
• 2 cups shredded carrot
• 2 10 3/4 ounce cans reduced-fat and reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 8 ounces dried cut ziti pasta (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)

Directions

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook ground beef and shredded carrot over medium heat until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir tomato soup, the water, uncooked ziti, dried basil (if using), onion powder, and garlic powder into meat mixture in Dutch oven.

2. Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook about 25 minutes or until ziti is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh basil (if using) and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle individual servings with Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Facts (Mama's Amazing Ziti)

• Servings Per Recipe 6,
• Calories 420,
• Protein (gm) 32,
• Carbohydrate (gm) 49,
• Fat, total (gm) 11,
• Cholesterol (mg) 73,
• Saturated fat (gm) 4,
• Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 2,
• Sodium (mg) 649,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Parmesan Green Beans

Ingredients:

Fresh green beans (I usually just fill a grocery produce bag about 2/3 full)

Parmesan cheese

1 TBSP butter

Steam your green beans. Melt the butter and pour over then sprinkle with freshly greated parmesan cheese from the ziti. SIMPLE!

January 6-

Today is Concoction day! And some of you are thinking "What The ....." but think about it. You probably have a lot of leftovers from the week. These need to be eaten or you are wasting money by throwing it out. Some of you are thinking "I don't do leftovers- honey- you've done leftover turkey for at least 3 meals this week. Get over it. And again- You are wasting money if you throw any of it out! If you don't have leftovers - Awesome! Do something simple or choose a favorite meal of the family to make. My husband LOVES sandwiches so this is the day that we do sandwiches and chips or brats or something else easy peasy!  OR you can do like I do sometimes and "Create" something awesome out of the groceries you have randomly in your cabinets! It helps if you talk like Paula Deen and say "ya'll" a lot during this process. It really gets the creative juices flowing!

January 7-

January 7, 2012 happens to fall on Sunday- I call this day- SOUP SUNDAY! A tradition that my brothers and I, since we all go to K-State, have started is having Sunday dinner together! I usually contribute the space and the soup, and the boys contribute bread or crackers and a veggie tray. It's an awesome time to get together, catch up, let my son spend some time with his uncles (this is often times a bit more "educational" than I'd like it to be) But still positive time well spent. So anyway- you can make whatever soup you want but a favorite in our house is Taco Soup.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1/2 cup frozen chopped onion

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (16 oz) can kidney beans

1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole kernel corn

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 envelope taco seasoning mix

salt and pepper

1 cup shredded cheese

Tortilla chips (optional)

Cook your hamburger and onion together until hamburger is done and crumbly. Drain well. Mix with all other ingredients except cheese and chips in a large sauce pan. (or you can put it in a crock pot for about 5 or 6 hours) Ladle into a bowl and top with cheese and chips.

Have an amazing week! I hope you enjoy some of these recipes. One thing I always do is ask my little family "Is this a make again meal or not?" and then I write it in the cookbook (or on the printed off papers) whether it was a hit or not. That way, you can always reference it later and know whether your child is going to eat it or say "I don't wike dat." And you can always respond with "Fine. You can eat cereal."