Favorite Recipes for the Week of December 20th

We did Thanksgiving dinner all over again for Christmas with all the usual combinations of leftovers, so there were just a couple of recipes we had for each meal earlier in the week.  Some were repeats of things we’ve had and featured before, so I’m only sharing new recipes with you here.

TOP FAVORITE BREAKFAST:

Egg ‘n’ Bacon Sandwich.  This is just like an Egg McMuffin, so it’s always a hit with my Crew.  It’s my go-to meal when I’m short on time but have the ingredients on hand.  I can whip it up in just a few minutes and be on my way.  I serve this with a cup of fresh cantaloupe on the side for a total of 266 calories.

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

TOP FAVORITE LUNCH:

Shredded Beef Barbecue.  This was so easy to make in the crockpot, and it made so many servings on fluffy Kaiser buns from the bakery!  This lasted us for several days of lunches.  I served it with a salad with light dressing, a pickle spear, and a medium apple for a total of 385 calories.

TOP FAVORITE DINNER:

Easy Swiss Steak. My husband really liked this simple meal.  Cubed steak is generally tough, so simmering this for so long on the stove made it really tender and enjoyable.  The flavor reminded me of chicken cacciatore, only with beef instead of chicken.  I served this over white rice with green beans on the side for a total of 358 calories.

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

I had a lovely Christmas with my husband and kids.  It continues to be an odd year of celebrations because of the ongoing pandemic, but I’m thankful that all of my kids are still at home this year so we can all be together.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Favorite Recipes for the Week of December 13th

We really had some great choices this week.  Our meals were all so good!  My husband got a new-to-us used car from Carvana last weekend, so we were busy getting that squared away and trying it out.  I hope you find some great new recipes to try from our menu for the week!

TOP FAVORITE BREAKFAST:

Italian Garden Frittata.  This was a really tasty egg dish, and we both felt the flavors were even better in the leftovers as each day passed.  I served this with a Peach Smoothie recipe we’ve had before and some fresh blueberries for a total of 324 calories. 

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

TOP FAVORITE LUNCH:

Lime Jalapeno Turkey Wrap.  Wow!  This was a total winner.  You might be thinking that a wrap is a wrap…they’re all pretty similar.  But this was loaded with flavors.  We did note that the recipe was void of any kind of condiment, so I added a drizzle of light ranch dressing to each wrap, and it was the perfect cooling complement to the heat of the jalapeno.  This was SO good!  Instead of shredded turkey, I bought a slab of cooked oven-roasted turkey breast from Aldi and cut it into cubes.  It was perfect.  We will definitely be having this again and again!  I served it with some white corn tortilla chips and salsa for dipping and 1/2 cup of baby carrots for a total of 409 calories.  Yum!

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

TOP FAVORITE DINNER:

Southwest Pasta Bake.  My husband really enjoyed this dish for its unique combination of flavors.  It’s like a cross between Italian and Mexican.  It’s very tasty in an unexpected way and is actually very good!  I served it with steamed broccoli for a total of 328 calories.  My husband enjoyed it so much that he actually took some of the leftovers for lunch one day!

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

The top favorite dinner was a difficult choice, so I have to give honorable mention to these delicious Two-Cheese Turkey Enchiladas.  My husband and I really enjoyed the creamy filling.  They were easy to make, and the leftovers lasted us several days.  I actually had enough filling to make more servings than were listed, so this is a great dish for feeding a crowd.  I served it with some shredded lettuce, tomato, and light sour cream on top and a salad with light dressing on the side for a total of 329 calories.

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

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TOP FAVORITE DESSERT:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I only made one dessert this week.  I had intended to make more, but I was super busy and never got around to it.  But I’m happy to share this delicious recipe with you.  These soft little dome-shaped cookies are almost cake-like, and the chocolate chips are quite plentiful.  They were a hit with my family.  I used a 1.5 Tbsp. cookie scoop leveled off to measure out my dough, and it made a few extras over and above the suggested serving count.  I think they came out to about 50 calories a piece, so we could indulge in a few of these without a lot of guilt.  It’s also a great way to use up over-ripe bananas instead of throwing them out!  The recipe came together in a flash.

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

That’s it for now!  I will have fewer recipes to choose from next week since I’ll be doing a traditional Thanksgiving-type menu for Christmas, complete with all the leftovers for the weekend.  I hope you all enjoy your holiday, even if it’s without your extended family. 

Happy cooking, and stay safe!

Favorite Recipes for the Week of December 6th

I have some great recipes for you this week!  Choosing was *really* hard.  We had some real winners across the board, so narrowing down the top recipes was a real challenge.  I hope you enjoy the ones we chose!

TOP FAVORITE BREAKFAST:

Sausage Breakfast Wrap.  My husband and young son really, really enjoyed these, and they were very filling.  I served them with 1/2 cup fresh blueberries on the side for a total of 318 calories. Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

TOP FAVORITE LUNCH:

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wrap.  If you enjoy buffalo chicken wings and blue cheese, then you’ll enjoy all the same flavors in these convenient lunch wraps.  There was quite a bit of chicken in these, and I served them with celery sticks with ranch dressing on the side and 1/2 cup red seedless grapes for a total of 304 calories!  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

TOP FAVORITE DINNER:

Glazed Asian Pork Medallions and Stir-Fried Carrots.  I have to admit that I was skeptical of this recipe when I saw that it contained orange marmalade, but I selected the spreadable fruit-type of marmalade for less sugar, and I was amazed at the authentic Asian flavor of this pork!  It was perfect.  I kept thinking that in the future, I would use this same glaze recipe for Orange Chicken, because using the marmalade is a whole lot faster and easier than grating fresh orange peel to combine with fresh orange juice!  Anyway, I served this with the Stir-Fried Carrots and a buttered roll on the side for a total of 386 calories.  This meal came together quickly and was a real winner with my crew.

I just have to give honorable mention to this fabulous sandwich we had for lunches.  It’s called a Baked Deli Focaccia Sandwich.  Check out the picture of the whole thing when I took it out of the oven!  It got slices up into wedges, but this thing was as tasty as a sandwich gets.  I stopped by Panera Bread to get a fresh-baked Asiago Cheese Focaccia loaf on which to make this sandwich, so that was the basis of flavor in the bread itself.  It was incredible!  My husband said he found himself looking forward to this sandwich each day, and the bread held up well and didn’t get soggy as leftovers on subsequent days.  We reheated it in the air fryer.

There’s only one more shopping weekend left before Christmas, so get your meal plan organized with some of these great recipes and use your time wisely so you’ll have extra time to get out and finish up your Christmas shopping before the big crowd rush next weekend. 

Enjoy, and have a great week!

Favorite Recipes for the Week of November 29th

This was a week full of some really wonderful recipes!  I hope you’ll find something great you can’t wait to try!

TOP FAVORITE BREAKFAST:

Garden Frittata.  This was loaded with a variety of veggies, but with a combination of feta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, the cheesy flavor permeated the dish and helped to hide all of those nutritious veggies.  It was absolutely delicious, and I would definitely make it again!  I served it with a cup of fresh pineapple or cantaloupe for a total of 326 calories.  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

TOP FAVORITE LUNCH:

Tuna Artichoke Melt.  This was really, really tasty!  We were both pleasantly surprised at just how good this was.  I could eat this any day of the week, as it was very flavorful!  I prepped these in advance for a couple of days and found it was easier to toast the muffin in the morning and then just warm the tuna topping in the microwave, melting the cheese on top, and then plop it onto the English muffin.  So very good!  I served it with 1/3 cup of red grapes for a total of 378 calories.  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

TOP FAVORITE DINNER:

Balsamic Seasoned Steak and Colorful Roasted Veggies.  This steak was easy to make, and the balsamic sauce really added so much flavor to this tender meat.  I had never broiled a steak before, and I was surprised that I was able to get it well done without overcooking the outside, but it actually worked out great.  I served it with a lovely array of oven-roasted vegetables that were a great complement to the main dish.  I love any veggies roasted in olive oil, rosemary, and salt, so I knew this was going to be good!  I served these two dishes with a small baked potato for a total of 326 calories! 

Choosing a favorite dinner was difficult, because this Chicken Marsala and Savory Asparagus was restaurant-quality delicious!  My youngest son, who is almost 13, absolutely raved about this meal and was happy to have leftovers the following night.  He even asked to have it for lunch!  I was impressed at how good it was, and it was definitely worth the effort of marinating it the night before.  I will happily add this to our rotation in the future!  Even the asparagus was so good, and he surprisingly ate that, too.  I was supposed to serve it with 1/2 cup of white rice, but I totally forgot the rice!  No biggie…it was great just the way it was.  The chicken and asparagus totaled 321 calories.  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

 

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did.  Have a great week!

Favorite Recipes for the Week of November 22nd

Happy Thanksgiving!  I trust you all had a wonderful time with the families in your own households this week!  It was odd not to have any guests or extended family to share the meal with this year, but I was very blessed to have a special meal with my husband and all of my own children.  My oldest son is 21, so every holiday we share could very well be the last one we’ll share with him while he lives under our own roof.  He doesn’t spend a lot of time at home any more now that he’s been steadily dating someone for over a year, but he made a point to have dinner with us and take a peaceful walk with his mom after the meal before taking off to see his girlfriend, so I was certainly thankful for that!  We all had a wonderful day together.

TOP FAVORITE BREAKFAST:

Egg ‘N’ Bacon Sandwiches.  The only change I made to this recipe was to use light English muffins so I could use a whole muffin per sandwich for just a few more calories rather than serving it as an open-faced sandwich.  It was delicious!  I could eat these any day of the week and never tire of them.  I served them with some sweet fresh cantaloupe for a total of 266 calories.  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.
 

TOP FAVORITE LUNCH:

Vegetable Beef Stew.  My husband enjoyed this lunch so much that he texted me to tell me how good it was.  My young son wasn’t so fond, but I also thought it was very good.  It hid a healthy amount of nutritious butternut squash, as well.  I served it with a small buttered roll and salad with light dressing for a total of 348 calories.  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

TOP FAVORITE DINNER:

Mushroom Turkey Tetrazzini.  This tasty dish is an old favorite.  It uses 4 cups of cubed cooked turkey, making it an excellent way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving dinner.  What’s more, it makes 8 servings, so there’s plenty to go around.  I serve this with green beans (or other leftover vegetables) and a salad with light dressing for a total of 362 calories.

That’s it for now!  I had a wonderfully relaxing weekend, completely free of Black Friday shopping for the first time in my married life!  One thing coronavirus has brought to us is a far less busy lifestyle with more quality time to just “be” together.  That’s probably the most positive thing to come out of this crazy, messed up year!  I can’t lie…I’ll be glad to bid farewell to 2020.  But in the interest of focusing on the positive, I’ll share my holiday photos.

Favorite Recipes for the Week of November 15th

I actually took a night off this week and picked up dinner after ordering online from our favorite Italian restaurant, La Bella Italy.  The portions are generous, so that led to also not having to make lunch the next day.  So although I didn’t make as many new recipes this week, I still have some favorites to share with you.

TOP FAVORITE BREAKFAST:

Ham ‘n’ Cheese Squares and Custard Berry Parfait.  This was a simple ham and swiss combination added to eggs, baked in a square dish, and cut into individual serving squares.  Everybody liked this.  However, I detest caraway seeds almost more than anything else on the planet, so I definitely omitted those.  I think a sprinkle of onion flakes would also add a nice flavor to this, which I’ll probably add next time around.  I also used nonfat Greek yogurt for a punch of extra protein.  I served each square with a Custard Berry Parfait and toast for a total of 305 calories.  The custard and blend of fresh berries (I used strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, which were all on sale this week) were a nice complement.  I didn’t get a picture of this one, so here are stock photos from Taste of Home.

 

TOP FAVORITE LUNCH:

Taco Salad Wrap.  This recipe made a lot of wraps at one time, which was great.  They were a hit with everyone.  I liked the addition of the crushed baked tortilla chips inside each wrap for a little bit of added texture and flavor.  I added some fat-free sour cream, as well.  The wraps were generously sized and very satisfying.  I served them with some baked tortilla chips and fresh salsa on the side for a total of 438 calories.

TOP FAVORITE DINNER:

Braised Pork Chops and Spanish Rice.  These pork loin chops were so thick, and after browning them on all sides in a skillet, they slow-simmered in water on the stove for about an hour.  They were so moist and tender!  Then the juices were used to make a quick gravy at the end to serve on top.  Delicious!  I served them with the easy Spanish Rice and a salad on the side for a total of 336 calories.  My rice was done before my pork chops were ready, and since my son needed to leave before it was all done, I threw some jalapeno smoked sausage slices in with some of the Spanish rice for him to eat before he left with a sprinkle of cheese on top, and he said that was really good, too.  For the rest of us, it was worth waiting for the chops.  Yum!  My husband was a huge fan. 

Well, it’s Thanksgiving week, and I hope you all enjoy spending time with your families (from your own households, please…you know…pandemic and all).  It will be odd for us to not have guests this year, but 2020 has been a highly unusual year.  I’ll have at least one great recipe next week to share that will help you use up your turkey leftovers, so be on the lookout for that. 

Take care!

Favorite Recipes for the Week of November 8th

It was unseasonably warm this week in North Texas, so I did less cooking and relied more on leftovers.  Also, our volunteer neighborhood association put together a drive-by catered dinner that was enough for a dinner and lunch for each of us, so I got a nice break from the kitchen this week.  Despite that, I still have some weekly favorites to share with you.

TOP FAVORITE BREAKFAST:

Overnight Yeast Waffles and Homemade Breakfast Patties.  The waffles were just okay…nothing special in terms of flavor.  But I found this thin batter worked best in my waffle stick maker than in my Belgian Waffle Maker.  The batter wasn’t thick enough for that.  I don’t have a standard waffle maker, but the waffle stick maker worked just fine.  It made a lot, which made for quick breakfasts for a few days!  I reheated them in the air fryer each morning, which made them crisp and fresh as if they had just been made.  The sausage patties, however, were out of this world!  My husband raved about them.  The cayenne pepper gave them just enough kick to be noteworthy, and the rich flavor will catch you off guard, considering these are straight ground turkey with no pork whatsoever.  They are very low-calorie, and your family will never know the difference!  I will definitely be making these again and again!  Here are stock photos from Taste of Home.

 

TOP FAVORITE LUNCH:

Ham ‘n’ Northern Bean Soup.  This was originally Ham ‘n’ Chickpea Soup, but considering my husband made me promise I would never serve him chickpeas when we got married, I made a quick substitution with Great Northern Beans instead.  It was wonderful, and he really like this hearty soup!  I used some flavorful smoked spiral ham ends and pieces that I cut up in into little chunks in place of the bland cubed ham you can buy pre-packaged.  It was really good!  I served it with a pepper jack cheese stick and 1/3 cup red grapes for a total of 435 calories.  Yum!  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

 

TOP FAVORITE DINNER:

German-Style Short Ribs.  This recipe was a huge surprise to me!  I wasn’t sure what kind of sauce it was going to make, because it had an interesting array of ingredients, including mango chutney (which I had to go to the Indian grocery store to find) and apple cider vinegar.  I thought it was going to be some kind of sweet barbecue sauce, but it was nothing like that.  These cooked all day in the crockpot, and when I removed the lid, poured the grease off the top, and stirred it, the meat literally fell from the bones, making them easy to remove from the pot.  I ended up with a large bowl full of round bones for my dogs to enjoy (making this their favorite recipe, too!), and enough meat for 8 servings since I had a bit more than the recipe had called for.  That only lasted for 2 meals, though, since all my kids were home the first night, and all of them loved this dish!  The slightly sweet sauce lent so much flavor to the meat.  It was delightful!  Even my very picky teenage daughter, who rarely eats anything I made, actually ate this whole meal.  I served it with some buttered egg noodles and a small salad for a total of 449 calories.  I found a giant package of beef short ribs at Sam’s Club for about $5.49/lb. that was the perfect size for this recipe.  Here’s a photo from Taste of Home.

That’s a wrap!  I hope you have a wonderful week and find some time to start your Thanksgiving shopping.