The Journey Begins

I am one of those girls that LOVE to cross off to-do lists. I grab my pen and draw a big fat line through my task with pride and pat myself on the back as I see my list dwindling to nothing. So it is no surprise that I quickly became obsessed with the world of meal planning. I am a stay at home with two girls and I have several needs in my meal planning quest: 1. The food needs to be kid approved, or at least the majority of it 2. I don't diet, but I strongly believe in eating healthy so as my personal trainer has advised eat healthy 80% of the time and 20% the time you can splurge. So in that light four meals a week are healthier and three are whatever I feel like, healthy or not! 3. I LOVE to cook, but I don't have time to slave away in the kitchen every night of the day. My meal plans will be a mix of quick fixes, crock pot meals, and yes some days I will dive into my cooking craze and spend some quality time with my kitchen cooking. 4. I only meal plan dinners, but in case you are wondering what I eat for breakfast here are a few samples: a fruit smoothie with a handful of homemade granola, a bowl of cereal (not my favorite, but who has time to make a smoothie every morning!), a bowl of oatmeal, once a month or so I will have something more elaborate, but I usually don't have that much time. I like the fruit smoothies because I get my daily serving of fruit and I am not always so great with eating those even though I LOVE fruit! 5. For dinners I usually just put the main course and to save money I go to COSTCO and buy huge bags of frozen veggies and serve those with my meal so if there isn't a vegetable next to the meal then that's what I do! 6. Most meals will consist of chicken because it's leaner and cheaper so if your following my meal plans to the T then bulk up on your chicken breasts! 6. We love spaghetti, it's cheap, quick and easy so once a week it's a staple in my home. We have spaghetti with turkey meat balls and corn. If you don't like spaghetti choose a different weekly staple that's quick and easy your family will enjoy! 7. I create my meal plans for each month and make a grocery list for each week so the food stays fresh. I don't eat the foods for the week in order, it just lets me know what I have on hand to cook that week. Ex. I may look at my meal plan Monday and decide that Thursdays meal sounds better.

I think that's it for now, folks!

July 2012 Meal Plan

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
Week 1	Baked Potato Bar	Lemon-Basil Ricotta Stuffed Shells in a Champagne Cream Sauce	Spaghetti Night	Slow-Cooker Pot Roast	Salmon and Veggies	Lettuce Wraps	Enchiritos Veggies
Week 2	Hawaiian Haystacks	Taco Night	Spaghetti Night	Crockpot Ranch Chicken	Chicken Kabobs	Turkey Wrap with Cucumber Cream Cheese With side salad	Leftovers or going out
Week 3	Baked Potato Bar	French Dip Crescents	Spaghetti Night	Slowcooker Pork Chops	Chilli and corn bread	Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Sandwich	Sloppy Joes
Week 4	Hawaiian Haystacks	Macaroni and Cheese with hot dogs	Spaghetti Night	Fish Sticks and pasta roni	Chicken Kabobs	Ultimate Clean & Lean Lettuce Wrap	Leftovers or going out

and the grocery list!

July 2012 Grocery List

Dairy	Baking and spices	Canned/sauces	Dry/Boxed	Produce	Meat/Deli	Frozen	Miss.
Sour Cream Cheese Butter Pecorino Romano Heavy Cream Milk Cheese Yogurt Vanilla	Bacon bits Pink cupcakes Salt and pepper All purpose flour Lemon juice Basil Sesame oil Minced ginger Five spice powder	Spaghetti Sauce Worcestershire Water Chestnuts Chicken Broth Hoisin sauce Enchilada sauce	1 box Jumbo Shells Spaghetti Noodles	Baked Potatoes Lemon Zest Carrots Onions Garlic clove Red bell pepper Boston lettuce leaves Freshly chopped herbs (cilantro, basil, mint, chives)	Beef chuck roast Ground Turkey Salmon	Frozen Veggies package of El Monteray Burritoes	Champagne Cheese Cloth

and the recipes for the meals for the month:

Lemon-Basil Ricotta Stuffed Shells in a Champagne Cream Sauce

source: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2012/01/lemon-basil-ricotta-stuffed-shells-in-a-champagne-cream-sauce.html

Yield: serves 2-4 depending

Ingredients:

1 box Jumbo Shells, you won't use them all but some may break in the cooking process
1-1/2 cups Lemon Basil Ricotta
1 cup Pecorino Romano, grated on the largest holes of a box grater
3 tablespoons of Butter
3 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 clove of Garlic
3/4 cup Champagne
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

Butter a large {or two small} baking dish and bring a large pot of water to boil and season generously with kosher salt. Cook the jumbo shell pasta two to three minutes shy of al dente {or shy of the box directions}.
Mean while, season the ricotta with salt and black pepper. Mix in half of the grated pecorino and set aside.
Once the pasta is partially cooked, drain well and spread out onto a rimmed baking sheet or some parchment paper. With a spoon stuff enough shells until the ricotta is gone and place the stuffed shells into the prepared dishes. Discard or save any unused shells for another purpose.
In a small sauce pan melt three tablespoons of butter, once melted press {or finely minced} in one clove of garlic. Cook until fragrant and soft, but not browned. Whisk in the three tablespoons of flour and cook, while whisking, for a minute. Pour in champagne, still whisk while you pour in the heavy cream. Let bubble {still whisking} until slightly thick 1-2 minutes. Add some fresh ground black pepper, then remove and pour evenly over the stuffed shells.
Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbly. About 20-25 minutes.

Homemade Ricotta with Lemon and Basil

Recipe Description

Fresh ricotta made at home. Better than anything in the store.

Preparation Instructions

Yields 3-4 cups of ricotta.

• 1 gallon Whole Milk
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ⅔ cups Lemon Juice
• ⅓ cups Basil, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• ⅓ teaspoons Pepper

In a large Dutch oven or deep pot, heat milk and salt to 185ºF, stirring frequently to avoid scalding. Remove from heat and pour in lemon juice. Let sit for 25 minutes while curds separate and form. Do not disturb.
Line a large colander or strainer with a double layer of cheese cloth, placing them over a deep bowl. Slowly pour cheese mixture into the strainer lined with cheesecloth and allow to drain, about 10-15 minutes or until the liquid no longer strains freely.
Place in a large bowl. Fold in minced basil, lemon zest, and pepper if desired. Do not mix too much, just enough to incorporate.

Slow-Cooker Pot Roast

• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Total Time 6 1/4 hours
• Yield Serves 8
• Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/313619/slow-cooker-pot-roast

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 8 medium carrots, cut into thirds
• 2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 beef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. In slow cooker, stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Add carrots and onions; season with salt and pepper, and toss.
2. Sprinkle roast with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables, and drizzle with Worcestershire. Cover; cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 10 hours).
3. Transfer roast to a cutting board; thinly slice against the grain. Place vegetables in a serving dish; pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired. Serve roast with vegetables and pan juices.

Variations

Oven method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In step 1, use a 5-quart Dutch oven or ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid; add 2 cups water. Cover; bake until roast is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Proceed with step 3.

Five-Spice Turkey & Lettuce Wraps

Based on a popular Chinese dish, these fun wraps also make appealing appetizers for entertaining. Make it a meal: Serve with chile-garlic sauce and rice vinegar for extra zip; toss diced mango and strawberries with lime juice for a quick dessert.

4 servings, 1 1/4 cups filling for about 6 wraps each | Active Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes 

Source: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/five_spice_turkey_lettuce_wraps.html

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup instant brown rice
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, (see Note)
• 1 teaspoon five-spice powder, (see Note)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 heads Boston lettuce, leaves separated
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as cilantro, basil, mint and/or chives
• 1 large carrot, shredded

Preparation

1. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice; reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the turkey is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, bell pepper, water chestnuts, broth, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder and salt; cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
3. To serve, divide lettuce leaves among plates, spoon some of the turkey mixture into each leaf, top with herbs and carrot and roll into wraps.

Enchirritos:

Source: online somewhere....if you find please let me know so I can give credit!
10 count package of El Monteray Burritoes 

1 can enchillada sauce 

1/2 block cheddar shredded

 Bake in covered 9x13 pan for time directed on burrito package.