Meal Plan Sept 23 - 27

Monday - Chicken Nachos....a favourite!

Meatless Tuesday - Vegetable Lo Mein and egg rolls from China Wok

Wednesday - Chicken Spiedini

Thursday - I need to use up my leftover Tortellini, so I am making Cheesy Sausage Tortellini

Friday - I am on vacation with my girls!!!!

Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Now for my favourite recipe of the week by far. Actually, probably one of my favourite recipes in  a long time. My mother in law made this for lunch a few weeks ago and I fell in love with it. I got the recipe and I could not wait to try it out. I literally shoveled it into my mouth. I really couldn't get it in my pie hole fast enough. It is VERY YUMMY and even better....very healthy!!! Everyone loved it but my kids...I think they has texture issues with the cheese tortellini, but my son said he would have loved just having the vegetables by themselves. I also shared it with a friend at lunch and she loved it as well. It is her turn to make me soup next time ;)

I made the broth the night before to help reduce time when I got home from work the next day. I am SO glad I did that and I would highly recommend it. I think I will make the broth without the Tortellini and spinach and freeze it for a quick meal. I also think I may change the type of pasta I use so my kids can enjoy it as well.

You really should make this recipe this week! Maybe you should make it tomorrow and then share it with me.

Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 cups of chopped onion
4 Garlic cloves, minced
12 cups/3 L of Chicken Stock (I used Organic)
14 oz can of Diced Tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cup of grated carrot
1 1/2 cup chopped Zucchini with peel
1 cup of chopped peppers (I used red, yellow and orange)
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp of Dried Rosemary
1/4 tsp Salt
350 g (1 package) of Tortellini (I used Cheese to make it Meatless)
3 cups of fresh Spinach leaves

Instructions:

1. Heat cooking oil in Dutch Oven or large pot on medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 5- 10 minutes, stirring often, until onion is softened.

2. Add next 8 ingredients, Stir and bring to a boil. (This is where I stopped when I made the broth the night before)

3. Add Tortellini, stir and reduce heat to medium. Boil gently, uncovered for 8 minutes. Cook until Tortellini is tender, but firm.

4. Add Spinach, stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Discard Bay leaves.

Yes, it was that easy!!! Enjoy!!! Make it this week!!

Lemon Angel Hair with Chicken

This week was a good week for recipes. This was another hit...though it took longer then I had liked and it dirtied A LOT of dishes. I think this dish could go quicker the more I make it and if I leave out the bacon next time. Bacon was not part of the original recipe, but I thought...hey...bacon goes great with everything. Actually, in this dish, it got lost in the lemon flavour of the dish and it was almost a waste of bacon....GASP!

I would definitely make this again and I think I even liked it more the next day. The chicken was to die for and I will definitely be making the chicken again to add to any casserole or salad. My man ate his plate clean, but it was too spicy for my toddler and my son was sick, so he ate toast that night instead.

I sadly didn't have time to take a picture because I was starving by the time the dish finished, haha!

Lemon Angel Hair with Chicken (click for original recipe)

Make the Chicken first, you can make the rest of the dish while it bakes in the oven.

Perfect Chicken

2-4 boneless chicken breasts with or without rib meat

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. paprika

2-3 T. olive oil

Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in a small bowl. Coat the chicken breasts in the seasoning, rubbing in to coat. 

Pour olive oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven, and heat to med-high. When nice and hot, add chicken to the pan (in batches if necessary). Cook 2-3 min per side. 

Place uncovered Dutch oven in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until juices run clear. Let sit on a plate 5-10 minutes before cutting, shredding, or eating.

Lemon Angel Hair with Chicken and Spinach

1/2 lb angel hair pasta (I used fresh)
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 t. crushed red pepper (use less if you want less spicy)
Perfect Chicken, cut into chunks
2 lemons, zested and juiced
3/4 c. half-and-half (I used half 2% milk and half heavy whipping cream)
1 c. Parmesan, grated (or shredded)
1 c. baby spinach, stems removed
3 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 - 1 cup of pasta water
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt the water well, and add pasta. Drain pasta - DO NOT RINSE.

Heat a large skillet over low heat. Add oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook until the oil sizzles.

Add lemon juice, half-and-half, and a ladle of the pasta water to the garlic oil mixture. Raise the heat to med-low to med heat until the sauce begins to bubble. 

Add the pasta, zest, and 1/2 c. Parmesan to the cream sauce. Toss for a minute or two. Add chicken and spinach, and toss until well distributed. Top with remaining cheese. 

Homemade Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I can't even count on my fingers how many have asked me for this recipe. Well you are all in luck! Because it is easy, quick and delicious!

I individually wrapped each bar so it could be brought for lunches at school and work. They hold up very well and even my 19 month old approved.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola bars (click for original recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of quick cooking oats
1 cup of crispy rice cereal (I used Organic)
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of honey (I used local organic honey from the Kingston Peninsula)
4 tbsp butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan. 

Add the brown sugar, honey, and butter to a small saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a simmer then reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Mix the oats and rice cereal together in a bowl until well combined. Pour the melted butter mixture over the oats & rice then stir with a rubber spatula until well combined. All of the dry ingredients should be moistened. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Spread in an even layer and press hard to make sure the mixture is compact so the bars don't turn out crumbly. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture and lightly press down on them with the spatula so they stick to the granola mixture.

Allow to set for at least 2 hours or place into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to speed things up. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Meal Plan and Honey Dijon Chicken

I have been a very bad bad blogger. I had to take a break from meal planning and blogging. The last month has been crazy at work and at home. We are selling our house ourselves and we were trying to get all the little things done to launch our listing. This is the first time I am selling a house and I am doing it privately...what am I thinking?! Actually, I am thinking I like to hold on to my $, rather then fork it over to a real estate agent... we will see how this roller coaster goes.

So, since I stopped meal planning, I have been blowing our food budget and not eating as healthy as I would like. It is time to get us back on track!

Here is the meal plan this week and a bonus recipe that I made last week and it was a hit!

Meatless Monday - Vegetable Tortellini Soup (my Mother in law made this and it is sooooo good. I can't wait to share it with you!)

Tuesday - Buttermilk Waffles (my man is making this)

Wednesday - Lemon Angel hair with chicken and spinach

Thursday - English muffin pizza

Friday - Leaving it open for now since it will just be me and my littles

Now for the reciepe!! It has bacon and ooey gooey Mozza!

This recipe is so easy and most importantly, yummy! It has few ingredients and steps, so it comes together quickly.

HONEY DIJON CHICKEN

4 boneless chicken breast
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
lemon pepper to taste
4 Tbsp bacon, cooked and chopped (I used Oscar Meyer bacon bits in the yellow bag)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

Season chicken breasts with lemon pepper.  Place in 9x13 baking dish. 

Combine honey, mustard, lemon juice and paprika.  Pour over chicken.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Top each chicken breast with 1 Tablespoon of bacon and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.  Continue to bake until cheese is starting to brown (about 10 minutes).