YOU ARE. YOU EAT. // Week 5

So this week I didn't do a whole lot of planning, and I was perfectly fine with that.  We ate lots of leftovers, ordered pizza, ate at my sister's (who made really delicious chili that maybe she would like to share?) and then we had the best perogie's ever (thank's helen)... so there wasn't a whole lotta cookin' going on.  We did however, do a little baking and tried out a few interest recipes I've been wanting to give a go.  So here it is... Week 5.

Meal Plan//
1. Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs
2. Homemade Zeppoli's (by kris)
3. Brussels & Sausage Pesto
4. Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Cake

Shopping List//

Produce:

  Broccoli

  1 lb Brussel sprouts  

  3 large carrots (or a handful of baby carrots)

  2 cup fresh blueberries 

  8 cloves garlic  

  2 Lemons

  Rosemary(optional)

  Sweet peppers

Pantry:
  2 quarts Canola oil  (for frying)
  Confectioner's sugar
  Flour
  Olive oil
  Salt
  Sugar
  Vanilla extract
  1/3 cup pesto*

  (16 oz.) orecchiette,  1 lb. (or any pasta)

  Baking powder

  Garlic powder

  Pepper

Dairy:
  ½ cup Buttermilk**
  3 Eggs
  Parmesan cheese
  1 cup Ricotta cheese
  ½ cup Unsalted butter

Frozen:
  Frozen peas

Meat:
  Bone-in chicken thighs (boneless works too)
  Chicken sausage links (I used spicy Italian)

* Pesto- I made my own pesto... I just put a bunch of fresh basil, pecorino romano cheese, a few roasted pine nuts and olive oil in the food processor.  So easy and so good.

** Buttermilk-  This pretty much blew my mind, you can make your own buttermilk.  I usually stay away from recipes that have buttermilk because I hate buying a whole carton just to use a little bit and the rest always goes bad.  It is so easy to make with things you probably always have on hand... just place 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice (I used lemon juice) in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk until it reaches 1 cup and let stand for 5 minutes.

YOU ARE. YOU EAT. // Week 4

This weeks menu//

1. Baked Potato Soup
2. Turkey Tacos* with Avocado Sauce

3. Pork Tenderloin/ Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

4. Burger Night* with Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries*

5. Cacio di Pepe/ Garlic Sautéed Spinach

*Scroll down for a few notes on the menu items above.

Shopping List//

Produce:

2 avocados

1 bunch cilantro

1 lime

1 carton of cherry tomatoes

1 red onion

1 mango

1 bag russet potatoes
3 sweet potatoes 1/2 cup finely diced celery 

1 head of broccoli

2 onions

7 cloves garlic

1 lemon

fresh dill

fresh parsley

Pantry:

worcestershire sauce
chili powder

chipolte chili powder

ground cumin

garlic powder

onion powder

crushed red pepper
dry mustard
olive oil
soy sauce
red wine vinegar
1 box linguine

1 can organic black beans

1 can organic corn

1 package organic corn or flour tortillas
4 sourdough rolls
3 cups of vegetable broth

Dairy:

Feta Cheese

Plain Greek Yogurt
Butter
Cheddar Cheese (or choice of cheese for burger)
Grated Pecorino Romano
Grated Cacio di Roma
Shredded Cheddar

Meat:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. pork tenderloin

Also, include what ever burger topping you like!

Turkey Tacos- To make the turkey tacos i just brown the meat and add my own seasoning.  (1/2 tsp. chili powder,

1/2 tsp. chipolte chili powder, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper)  Be sure to add a little water when simmering so the meat doesn't dry out, turkey is always a little bit dryer than beef.  I make a little corn and black bean salsa combining black beans, corn, red onion, mango, cherry tomatoes, lime, and cilantro.  Then everything gets topped with the avocado cream sauce and feta cheese.  So delicious!

Burgers- To make your own burger patties, mix ground beef, 2 tbs. melted butter, 3 tbs. worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Form into patties and grill.  Top with cheese and serve topped with your favorite fixings.  Here's what we like to use; avocado, cheese, lettuce, sprouts, and our special sauce with olive oil mayo and ketchup and some secret ingredients!  To make sweet potato fries I cut up sweet potatoes in 1/2 inch sticks, coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little rosemary (optional) and bake in the oven at 400 degrees until browned and crispy.  I finish it on broil for about a minute to really crisp it up, but be sure to watch closely because they can burn very quickly.

Pork Tenderloin- I completely followed this recipe.  Then for the potatoes I did the same thing as sweet potato fries above but cut into 1/2" cubes.

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YOU ARE. YOU EAT. // Week 3

So clearly I am not having the easiest time with the meal planning... well actually the meal planning is going well... the remembering to photograph and write the recipes while I'm cooking is the hard part.  So I decided I will just post what my meal plan for the week and post recipes as I get a chance.  I usually rotate a lot of the same things so the majority of my recipes should be up here in no time.  Also, I will just link to a recipe if it is one that I get from somewhere else.  Anyway here is our plan from this week:

This weeks menu//

1. Chicken Soup

2. Butter Roasted Salmon* and Kale Salad

3. Chicken Stir-Fry

4. Vegetable Lasagna

*So in all honesty I didn't try the salmon... Im a little bit funny about fish and unless I feel like it is really fresh good fish I want nothing to do with it.  However I am trying to add more salmon into my diet because it is so good for you so I found this recipe and thought it sounded good and gave it a try... I mean I love butter so whats not to love here, right?  Well i pretty much got turned off by the whole meal from the start.  I used frozen wild salmon filets and the whole defrosting fishiness really grossed me out.  Now that I made that sound really appetizing... go on try it! (Let me know if anyone does give it a shot and if I should try it again)

Shopping List//

Produce:

1 Bag Organic Baby Carrots (save some for soup and stir-fry)

1 Bunch of Organic Celery

3 Onions

1 Head of Garlic

1 Piece of Ginger

1 bunch- fresh thyme

1 bunch- fresh dill

1 bunch- fresh rosemary

1 head of broccoli

1 pineapple

1 apple

1 bunch of kale

2 lemons

4 scallions

1 eggplant

1 zucchini 

1 spaghetti squash

Dairy:

butter

pecorino romano cheese

ricotta cheese

shredded mozzerella

block of part skim mozzarella

Meats/Fish:

1 whole chicken or 1 rotisserie chicken 

salmon filets

4 chicken breasts

Pantry:

1-2 cartons organic chicken stock

1 box of soup pasta

1 box lasagna

1 large jar tomato sauce (Rao's is our sauce of choice)
canola oil
whole wheat bread crumbs

brown rice

rice vinegar

soy sauce

honey
brown sugar

olive oil

red pepper flakes 

sesame seeds

YOU ARE. YOU EAT. // Week 1

This weeks menu is a little on the weak side.  Just keep in mind this was a clean out the fridge, try to get by all week without food shopping because we are going away kind of meal plan.  But I promised to share my experience, and while I hoped to have a way more glamourous, gourmet experience to share (at least for the first week), here it is:

This weeks menu//
1. Creamy Avocado Pasta
2. Veggie Pizza
3. Tilapia Sticks w/ Sautéed Spinach
4. Scrambled Eggs w/ Spinach and Feta

Shopping List//
Produce:
2 avocados
1 bunch- fresh cilantro
1 package- grape tomatoes
1 head- garlic
4 lemons
1 zucchini
1 bunch- broccolini
1 bunch- green onions (can substitute white or yellow onion)
1 package- spinach

Dairy: 

1 dz. - eggs (organic/ cage free/ omega 3)

parmesan cheese locatelli romano

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

cojita cheese can substitute feta

pizza dough

Pantry:
12 oz. - Bowtie Pasta (or pasta of choice)
1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Fish Market:
3- Fresh Tilapia filets