Eating Lately and Two Weekly Meal Plans
Rule #217: “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”
I was working on a “Life Lately” post and realized I could easily write an entire post dedicated to what we’ve been EATING lately. Shocking, I know, that I could dedicate an entire post to what’s been keepin’ our tummies happy lately. I’m also sharing a couple weeks worth of Meal Plans to help get your menu planning juices flowing.
I recently found a cookbook that spoke to my soul: The Corleone Family Cookbook. It’s all about recipes based on The Godfather movies. And holy smokes, it does NOT disappoint. It’s full of simple, old school recipes that really highlight the flavors of the Sicilian culture. When my girlfriends were in town last week, I decided to bust out the new cookbook and give it a go. We had Pasta alla Vodka, and it was INSANELY good. I definitely recommend this cookbook if you’re an fan of Italian. They’ve got pasta, meats, desserts, salads, and appetizers to die for (but not in the “offer you can’t refuse” kinda way).
A while back, we had a mini Friendsgiving with some of our buddies. Jon Boy asked for all of the traditional goodness: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls (there’s a story for the rolls, but I’ll save that for my next post since we’re talking about food here), and green bean casserole. For our turkey, I use a dry brine made with citrus and peppercorns. A dry brine basically means you make a rub, put it all over the outside of the turkey, and let it sit overnight in the fridge just like this little lady here:
When you’re ready to start cooking, you rinse off the dry brine and stuff the bird with herbs, onion, and garlic. Then you rub a lot of butter all over and under the skin. Pour some chicken stock all around, cover, and roast your little friend for about 3 hours (depending on how big the bird is).
We had a ton of turkey leftovers (which was by design indeed), so I got to make Turkey Gumbo and these yummy Turkey and Red Chile Enchiladas. We call them Komer Enchiladas because my aunt and uncle always make them the day after Thanksgiving, so they’ve become a bit of a family tradition for us.
The key is to get the best dad gum red enchilada sauce you can find. Our favorite is the Hatch brand by far!
And maybe just a fair bit of cheese.
On Christmas Day, we decided we wanted to go for the B-E-E-F! I made this super easy (I promise, it really is) Horseradish Crusted Rib Roast. We got this honker at the butcher counter, and boy was he sure handsome.
The night before you want to cook your rib roast, you make the butter that will coat the roast while it cooks in all its delicious glory. Then, you rub it all over the roast, put it in a roasting pan, and let the oven do the work. You can get the full recipe here:
Now for the not-so-gourmet situation: our homemade gingerbread cookies. I think we should definitely start a family baking business. What do you think? Pretty darn Food Network Baking Challenge worthy, am I right? I used this recipe from Gimme Some Oven for the gingerbread.
I had a very handy helper, too!
This was a big hit with y’all on my Insta Stories last week, so I wanted to share it again. Cauliflower Parmesan! It’s the vegetarian version of Chicken Parmesan, and I have to say that even meat loving ole Jon Boy didn’t miss the meat in this one. He had seconds for dinner and ate it for lunch the next day! Winner, winner, veggie dinner!
I have a notepad I use to meal plan every week, and I have to say it’s made a world of difference! It’s nice to have a separate planner for meals so I can keep things organized and separated from my day planner. I like ones that are the notepad type so it’s easy to write, use, and then peel off and start over for the next week. This one from Amazon is my current favorite!
We are on the New Year’s Resolution Diet Plan once again this year after a very fun and indulgent holiday season. We’re aiming for high protein, low carb, and low-ish fat meals. I’m working on a post all about healthy lunch options because it’s always hard to find yummy things that are quick, easy, and still healthy. I’ve given all the details for our Weekly Meal Plan for two weeks here. You’ll see a little pattern: we use A LOT of leftovers from the freezer. I tend to make huge batches of things and freeze the leftovers for an easy weeknight meal. I have tried to freeze all kinds of things, and I promise these are all freezer-friendly options if I labeled them as previously frozen.
Weekly Meal Plans
Monday: Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, Slow Cooker Pinto Beans (thawed from frozen), rice, and salad
Tuesday: Cauliflower Parmesan, roasted butternut squash, and frozen veggies
Wednesday: Halloween Chili (thawed from frozen) and a simple salad
Thursday: Swedish Meatballs, Cauliflower Mash (thawed from frozen), and Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Friday: Red Beans & Rice (for me) and Gumbo (for Jon Boy), both thawed from frozen
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Slow Cooker Red Wine Pot Roast (thawed from frozen) and a frozen veggie
Monday: Egg Roll in a Bowl
Tuesday: Pioneer Woman’s Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce, roasted sweet potato, and frozen peas
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Taco Stuffed Peppers and Roasted, Shaved Brussels Sprouts
Friday: Kitchen’s Closed! Order in or head out!
I talk about the Lose It! app all the time on Instagram, and I can’t honestly say enough about how much I love it. I’ve used it for over 10 years whenever I’m trying to lose some weight or maintain. It’s great because all of the recipes I make can be entered in and changed at any time. It really keeps me accountable!
Cheers to a happy tummy in 2020, y’all!
Best pasta ever!!!!