The Barking Seal

Yeah, that's me. Both John Dear and I have been sick all weekend; both taking the day off of work on Friday to lay around sneezing, sniffling, coughing and puking (that was just me - yes, I reserve the special jobs for myself).

No real menu plan for us this week until we start feeling better. For now, it's easy stuff like soup and sandwiches. For better menu plans than mine, see I'm An Organizing Junkie every Monday.

In the event that we do start feeling more up to snuff, I'll be following a free "body clutter" menu plan that I downloaded from the Dinner Diva at her site, Saving Dinner.

**Picture from Big Girl Feet**

Menu Plan Monday

I've been gone for awhile dear reader and promise to update you soon on the happenings in my life. For now, I tempt you with my menu plan for the week (both low-carb and with Weight Watchers Points calculated).

Monday: Meatloaf (salad w/ oil & vinegar; frozen broccoli & cauliflower) (7 pts.)

Tuesday: Honey-Soy Chicken with Mango Salsa (salad w/ oil & vinegar; whole-wheat couscous) (11 pts.)

Wednesday: Turkey Chili (carrot sticks w/ ranch dressing; Grapes) (6 pts.)

Thursday: Apricot Turkey Breast with Cinnamon Squash (sugar snap peas) (10 pts.)

Friday: Sesame Shrimp (salad w/ oil & vinegar; green beans) (6 pts.)

**The recipes below are from the Weight Watchers website. The Sesame Shrimp recipe is from Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way.**

Honey-Soy Chicken with Mango Salsa
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup onion(s) finely chopped
2 Tbsp cucumber(s) chopped
2 Tbsp ground coriander leaves
1 Tbsp unsweetened lime juice
1/2 medium mango(es) chopped
1 cup cooked couscous
2 cup mixed greens
1 cup tomato(es) sliced
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
6 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast

Marinate chicken in honey and soy sauce for 30 minutes. Combine mango, onion, cucumber, coriander and lime juice and set aside. Cook chicken breast in nonstick pan until tender and browned. Serve chicken topped with mango salsa on a bed of couscous. Complement with salad tossed with oil and vinegar.

Turkey Chili
1/4 cup onion(s) chopped
4 oz lean ground turkey
1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup carrot(s) with
2 Tbsp reduced-calorie salad dressing ranch

1 cup grapes

Sauté onions in a non-stick skillet until onions are soft. Add ground turkey, tomato sauce and chili powder. Cook until turkey is no longer pink. Serve with vegetable sticks and dressing. Save the grapes for dessert.

Apricot Turkey Breast with Cinnamon Squash
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp table salt
1 item acorn squash
1 tsp margarine
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar snap peas
8 oz boneless, skinless turkey breast(s)
1 Tbsp apricot jam

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread turkey with jam and sprinkle with ginger and season to taste. Bake until no longer pink. Microwave squash until almost cooked. Top with margarine and cinnamon. Serve turkey and squash with snap beans.

Sha Na Na

That is, JD has a new job! Hooray!! He will start at the end of the month. At this point, I'm happy that he's found a new job because I am looking forward to more traditional cooking. Don't get me wrong; I love and appreciate that JD tries to make dinner for me since he is home all day. The problem lies with the fact that my darling does not really know how to cook, refuses to follow a recipe and believes himself a gourmet.

Last night, we had what can only be described as Pickled Beef, Peppers and Onions. It was not good. JD's method of creating this dish was to completely drown all ingredients in a mixture of balsamic vinegar and spices. After he asked me to do so, I did explain to him that marinating is not the same thing as drowning. I attempted to explain that foods have their own natural flavors and spices can be used to bring those out, but I'm not sure if that message got passed along.

We did better with the food when I used the Dinner Diva's Mega Menu Mailer. Basically, she gives you a shopping list, recipes and instructions for shopping, prepping and freezing 20 different meals. We tried one of the Regular versions and the Low-Carb version as well. Both worked well for us in terms of making sure that we eat more at home and eat more nutritious meals. For us, it was worth the money and the time needed to prep all the food when you first get it.

Menu Plan Monday

Continuing the plan from last week, since we ate out a couple of times. The first three meals are recipes from Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way.

Monday: Skillet Salmon with Horseradish Cream (tomato salad)

Tuesday: Pub Beef Shortribs (coleslaw and Faux-tay-toes)

Wednesday: Crock Swiss Steak (Faux-tay-toes and broccoli)

Thursday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Veggie Soup

Friday: Get-away in Philly!

For more menu plans, see I'm An Organizing Junkie every Monday!

Quick Recipes

Here are two of my favorite very-quick recipes:

Tuna Mush - serves 2 (or 1 hungry person)
Better than it sounds; I'd fix this for a quick dinner before running off to class.

1 can tuna
1 box couscous
1 box frozen broccoli
1 Tbsp. mustard
1 Tbsp. mayo

Cook couscous and frozen broccoli according to directions. Meanwhile, empty 1 can of tuna in a bowl and mash up with a fork. Top with cooked couscous and broccoli. Mix in mustard and mayo to taste.


Fast Faux-tay-toes (adapted from the Dinner Diva) - serves 2-4

1 head cauliflower
1/2 brick of cream cheese
1 Tbsp. butter
Salt
Pepper

Steam cauliflower till tender. Mash with a potato masher (doesn't have to be perfect). Add rest of ingredients and blend until smooth-ish.

You could also saute some diced onion and put in before the cream cheese, but I have not tried that yet.

Menu Plan Monday

Last week, our Adventures in Menu Planning went pretty well up till the end of the week. That is, we followed the menu plan up till Thursday when chicken was not defrosted, no one felt like cooking and we went to Silver Diner.

Here is this week's attempt, a combination of chicken in the freezer and a menu from Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way. You can check out the Dinner Diva's site for lots of great info on meal planning and cooking.

• Monday: Baked chicken w/ steamed broccoli
• Tuesday: Tandoori-Style Chicken w/ squash-zucchini-onion stirfry
• Wednesday: Thai Beef Salad w/ celery sticks
• Thursday: Crock Swiss Steak w/ Faux-tay-toes (mashed cauliflower) & broccoli
• Friday: Skillet Salmon with Horseradish Cream w/ salad
• Saturday: Pub Beef Spareribs (if I can get ribs) w/ coleslaw & Faux-tay-toes
• Sunday: Dinner Out!!

For more interesting menus, go to Laura's blog, I'm an Organizing Junkie!