Meals for Week of January 10, 2011

Happy New Year!  (over a week late)
My new year is off to a running start.  Which is why I've been working on this post, but had no time to actually get it posted until now.  I was starting to write some food related resolutions for the new year, but I'm not done.  So for now, I want to just be sure I can provide some new recipes for you to try this week.  I have tried to keep in mind healthy eating, something I always try to do, and I figured after the holidays, it's especially important to be budget friendly.  I've been doing some research on using coupons and experimenting with using them myself.  I'm trying to determine if the work that goes into clipping coupons is better than my usual Costco and discount grocery store shopping.  I'll write more about that soon and might find a coupon "expert" who would be willing to write something for the blog.

Meals for the Week of January 10, 2011

Layered Vegetable Enchiladas- I like the ease of not rolling this like traditional enchiladas and how this makes it quicker for a weeknight meal.

Linguine with Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts- This is similar to another recipe from The Pioneer Woman that I have shared several times, I think of this one as a lighter version with no cream and no butter.  But still tasty and quick to fix. 

Cheesy Lasagna Rolls with Spinach and Ricotta- This is actually faster than a traditional lasagna casserole, you could make it on a weeknight.  I have also made it with a meat sauce if you don’t want to keep it meatless.  

Seared Chicken Salad with Green Beans, Almonds and Dried Cherries- If you need/want to eat lighter and healthier, this main dish salad is a good choice.  You can make the chicken in advance and prep the other parts of the salad.

Baked Tilapia with Fresh Herbs- Even though fresh herbs are great, this works fine with a dried dill seasoning.

White Bean and Kale Soup with Chicken Sausage- I have made this twice in the last 2 weeks and to be honest, I didn’t follow the recipe; I just used it as a reference.  I sautéed a mire poi (chopped onion, celery and carrot) first, then added slices of chicken and apple sausage, then chicken broth, 2 cans of cannellini beans and then cleaned and chopped kale.  I seasoned with salt, pepper and my favorite seasoning mix (Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute)

Fast Chicken Fajitas- Super easy using the broiler to make a simple chicken fajita meal.

Apricot Chicken- This slow cooker meal is sweet and a little spicy and as usual with crock pot cooking, super easy.  Great with rice and steamed broccoli.

Shrimp Tacos with Fresh Pineapple Salsa- I realize this is a warm weather dish, but maybe you are feeling glum with the cold weather and need a little summer-time food to lift your mood.  You can easily use canned or fresh frozen pineapple (Trader Joe’s has tasty frozen pineapple!) if you can’t get a fresh pineapple.  Plus, this is a very low calorie, but flavorful dish. 

Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes- This is a lower fat version and it’s perfect to pair with a salad for a quick meal. 

Celery Citrus Salad with Balsamic and Feta- I’ve probably complained before that I don’t make salad at home that much unless we have company.  But I do like to fix special salads like this.  I don’t know why, it’s just more exciting to me than putting together a basic green salad.  This is a great winter-season salad. 


Homemade Granola- Give this a try!  It’s cheaper than purchasing granola in the store and you can also be more in control of the fat content and mix in what you like.

Yogurt-Almond Ice Cream- Simple frozen yogurt dessert using yogurt and soy milk.