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Thursday, January 22, 2015

Monthly Meals Week 2

These are actually a bit out of order since I haven't posted in awhile, but these are the meals that I will make starting on Friday. 
Maybe you'll find some new favorites!  




Mon: Alfredo Pasta with Sausage
Wed: Salmon Burgers (from Costco)
Thurs: Beef Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese (from Costco)
Fri: Creamy seafood pasta or pesto pasta
Sun: leftovers


Sunday, January 11, 2015

Insanity Max 30-Day 2



I started this workout yesterday and maxed out at only 4 minutes in. . . and I thought I was in pretty good shape!
After doing a lot of Jillian Michaels' workouts in the past, I get the whole concept of HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), and I'm totally sold on it as the best way to get fit quickly. Knowing that won't get you through these workouts though!
I love the combinations of moves Shaun-T includes in the workout, and I absolutely love his demeanor as a trainer, he's much less annoying than Jillian!
There were a few things in the second workout that I had to modify, mostly the pushup sequences since I broke my elbow as a kid and have a hard time keeping proper form. I also got interrupted several times by the littles, which is also to be expected!

I'll let you guys know how everything goes as a continue, I'm loving it as the moment and hope that the newness doesn't wear off anytime too soon. 



       

Monday, January 5, 2015

Monthly Meals: Week 1

I've always prided myself on being able to cook and plan meals on the fly and use up the last of my ingredients in an economical way. As I'm getting closer to student teaching and eventually working, though I've realized that this way won't always work for us!

I thought it would be great to do one of those once-a-month cooking type ideas, but quickly realized that most of the meals aren't the sort of thing we actually like.

Our family isn't picky, but most crockpot meals that include vegetables turn out too soggy for us, and I wanted to be able to reuse side dishes for multiple meals. Cooking meals and freezing them also isn't appealing since they have to be frozen in bags, microwaved, and re-served.

We are also Eastern Orthodox, and so have a lot of fasting days through out the year, including every Wednesday and Friday. The traditional fast is vegan, but we have a blessing from our spiritual father to gradually ease into fasting more fully. That said, we probably include more vegetarian days that your typical American family, so I'm working on getting more new recipes in my repertoire.

Here's our first week of dinners, which started on Friday:


Mon: Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala with leftover Somali Rice
Tues: White Chicken Chili with chips and Salsa
Wed: Cheese Quesadillas and guacamole
Fri: Chicken Gyros with pita and tzatziki sauce
Sat: Tacos (at a friend's house)

I also keep a running shopping list in Google Docs so that I can access it when I'm on the run. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction toward feeding a family in a busy world!

Friday, January 2, 2015

Easiest Chicken Gyros Ever!

The Easiest Chicken Gyros Ever

Ingredients:
 Start with about a pound of frozen chicken breast.
 Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and slice into very thin strips (this is easiest to do if the chicken is still half frozen).
1 medium onion, julienned
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup of kalamata olives (optional)
1/4 cup of olive oil 1TB Penzey's Greek Seasoning
Allow ingredients to marinate for at least an hour (overnight is better) and saute until onions are translucent and  chicken is cooked through.

Serve with your preferred pita bread and tzatziki sauce (I buy mine at Costco).
Tabbouli and hummus both make a great side dish!