Meal Planning

Happy Friday, my little foodies! Typically this is a Sunday afternoon post, but I did my meal planning a little earlier this time because I'm heading to the beach this morning and won't be back until late Sunday afternoon. It's another bachelorette party weekend, a slew of girl friends got a beach house in the gulf and we are heading down to celebrate! Therefore, I knew I would want to be prepared by Sunday because after spending three days in the sun for some fun, the brain power just won't be there. Battery, dead.

What excites me is that it looks like spring, it feels like spring..... it is spring time in Texas! That opens a door to new seasonal tastes for cooking. In the meal planning for this week, I created a quasi spring-like menu. Let's kick it off....

Sunday: Salmon with Pineapple/Mango Relish taken from America's Test Kitchen Light and Healthy 2011 (the cover shot!). I'll serve this with some fresh haricot verts and a little pineapple quinoa concoction. In my head, I'm thinking it will be like the butternut squash risotto except with pineapple chunks, delicious and nutritious quinoa and a little tamari.

Monday: I found a Hot and Sweet Pork Tenderloin with a Sweet Potato Hash. I love the spicy/sweet combination and this pork will bring that to the table - but intrigued with this sweet potato dish using some sweet corn, little poblano pepper, onion, chive, a little cheese.... It needs some green so I may throw some asparagus spears in, we'll see.

Tuesday: Event night, not cooking

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner! Cuisine Light has a tasty looking rendition of what they call "Healthy Scrambled Eggs" so I'm going to try them, with a little shallot, fresh basil and feta. Then in the not-so-healthy realm of things, I will attempt to make Honey Wheat Toast in Buzzbrew's fashion, our favorite breakfast spot. This toast is to die for, honey/syrup just leaks from the pores of the bread when you take a bite, it's fantastic.

Throwback Thursday: This week I'm going to revive another dish that is picture-less, the Chicken Florentine from America's Test Kitchen's Light and Healthy 2010. The first time I made this was my first time to really work with spinach, I had also combined this recipe with another Mediterranean chicken dish. I found a sauteed spinach recipe in the Light and Healthy 2011 which I plan to incorporate in the spinach preparation to change it up, yet again. The first time taste was a little bland, so this time, let there be flavor.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, I look forward to sharing these with you next week!