Meal Planning

Happy Sunday, foodie faithfuls! What a fun weekend it has been. Friday kicked off with a Gnocchi and Gnudi cooking class with long time best friend, and fellow foodie, Miss G. I look forward to sharing some insight from that class with you and pictures of the final product in another post. Saturday was the best day there is to be a Dallasite, the St. Patty's Day Parade on Greenville - it is our personal Mardi Gras for the Irish and those that just like miscellaneous tomfoolery. Another long time best friend, Paige, was in town from New Jersey with her brother Brian, who is home from Iraq. They've both been so much fun to see this weekend! I'm ridiculously exhausted today as I lay here not wanting to leave my bed - from the Parade shenanigans and the miles upon miles walked yesterday to the Barbie themed birthday for sweet friend Casey last night, blogging is about all I can do right now. I hurt.

Work has been really busy the last few weeks and I haven't been planning out my meals as well as I would have liked to, meaning I haven't been cooking as much so I'm not letting that happen this week. I've found some healthy new recipes that I'm looking forward to sharing with you. Now, here's the thing. I gave up pasta AND pizza for lent! I'm realizing that in my meal planning, I typically turn to a pasta dish to be one of my meatless recipes for the week, it's become a staple. Well, not again until April 25! I'm looking forward to this challenge and an excuse for more creative meal rotations, as well as an excuse to consume more spaghetti squash, if need be.

This week's line up includes -

Sunday: Ancho Adobo Flank Steak from Cuisine Lite and sides of Chipotle Cheddar Polenta and Sauteed veggies, both from our Texas Tastes Central Market cooking school last month. If you are lucky and I have more energy, there just may be a skillet apple crisp dessert that we fell in love with from that class as well. That may be a little too aggressive for my current state but it sure would compliment that meal.

Monday: My rendition of "Better Than Yo Mamma's Pot Roast" with veggies from Prevention magazine Best Weight Loss Recipes and potentially another crack at cauliflower mashed potatoes. I don't know about this, kids.... I plan to use a little buttermilk this time, and combine potatoes with the cauliflower, some chives, little garlic.

Tuesday/Wednesday: Schedule is up in the air but I'll be prepared for a spaghetti squash pasta substitute while I make Mr. Max a goat cheese and tomato manicotti recipe from last week that we didn't get around to.

Thursday: Introducing Throwback-Thursday where I will now debut an already blogged about meal, again. This Thursday we will have the tasty Asparagus and Gouda Stuffed Chicken with an herb risotto.