Veggie Fettuccine

So tonight the girls had dinner with the grandparents, while I went to yoga. When I was in shavasana (total relaxation pose), I was thinking of what I could make for dinner when I got home. I was totally relaxed and zen. My body was loose and stress free. Then my stomach growled and I knew feeding it pasta would be the only choice. This was yummy, and I will be taking the leftovers to lunch tomorrow.

Veggie Fettuccine- I cleaned out my fridge and cabinet for this one. Please use what you have and be inspired by this recipe!

3/4 box fettuccine

3 carrots, sliced

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 can black olives, sliced (the girls ate the rest)

1 can diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoons red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

olive oil- about 1/3 cup or so…use your judgement

1 teaspoon pepper

salt if needed—-olives are super salty, so don’t overdo it

Directions

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a med heat pan. Add your carrots and onions. Cook about 5 minutes. Add your garlic and tomato paste. Stir and cook 2 minutes. Add your black olives, red pepper flakes,  Italian seasoning,  and a bit more olive oil if needed. Cook about 5 minutes or more.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salted water just under done. Add to sauce and cook long enough to mix pasta in sauce and cook a few more minutes. Add a splash of that starchy cooking water. veggiepasta

Chicken and Mushroom Stoganoff with Sauteed Spinach

Hey guys! So last night I made a delicious meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas. When I remembered to take a picture, everything had been mixed and melded together and was not very photogenic for my blog. There were 8 pork chops and 6 people. Papa (my dad) ate with us, so we had a full table. There were NO leftovers!!! Well, there was 1/2 a pork chop, but I fed it to Brutus, our dog. He is such a good boy! =)

Anyways, on to tonight. I made an extra 2 pieces of chicken Sunday night when I made this…
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/01/06/coq-au-riesling/
I had some leftovers, so I just had to warm up the chicken and sauce. I cooked some whole wheat (healthy!) pasta, and I also sauteed some spinach with 3 sliced garlic cloves and a bit of olive oil (more healthy!) It comes together in less than 10 minutes. So simple! Another night of clean plates!

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Meal Plan 8/18

This week is going to be CRAZY!!!

Breakfast: Going to make biscuits, put some breakfast sandwiches together and freeze. Homemade breakfast sandwiches! Yogurt, fruit, and granola parfaits.

Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers from dinners, salads

Dinners:
Sat- Chicken, veggies, potato/macaroni salad
Sunday- Beef Stroganoff
Monday- Rib eye steak, veggies, baked potatoes
Tuesday- Baked Ziti (from freezer)
Wednesday- Leftovers and clean out the fridge night
Thursday- Another night of leftovers and clean out the fridge night

Meal Planning 8/4

This last week has been pretty crazy, and I am guessing this week will be pretty much of the same as last week. Back to work and school after a nice summer off is always a hard transition. I was going to make the fish on Friday, but we ended up having Five Guys with my parents. Then I was going to make it on Sat. but it still wasn’t defrosted! So we decided to go out to Chilis. I had shrimp tacos with a watermelon cooler drink. It was delicious.

So here is my meal plan for the week.

Sunday- Oven baked crunchy fish, salad, and waffle fries

Monday-Bacon Wrapped cheesy hot dogs, baked beans, broccoli

Tuesday- Chicken Teriyaki and rice

Wednesday- Leftover lasagna from the freezer

Thursday- Leftover Chicken Caccitore from the freezer https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/25/chicken-cacciatore/

Friday- Date Night!

Chicken Friand

I made this recipe a few weeks ago after my husband and I had recently both eaten at the French place, Le Madeline. I thought, well, I could try to make that. It doesn’t seem too hard. It is basically chicken and mushrooms in a puff pastry with cream sauce.

I looked up a recipe for a possible copycat, but it called for cream of mushroom condensed soup. I am a little snobby when it comes to canned soups. I just really don’t like them. They make the food taste a bit like the metal can they come in and are full of who-knows-what and TONS of sodium. Plus, it just looks gross…it kinda comes out in a glob. Well, who needs the soup when you can use real mushrooms and real cream?

Take out your puff pastry and let it thaw out while you are preparing the chicken and sauce.

Chicken: Boil 2 chicken breasts for about 20 minutes or so. Take them out of the pan and let them cool completely, then shred.

Sauce: Slice 1 onion and a couple of cloves of garlic. Put in a hot pan with a few tablespoons of butter and olive oil. I like the combo of these 2 together. Let them cook for about 10 minutes or so. Then add a pint of mushrooms. Only a pint, otherwise you will crowd the pan. Cook another 10. Add some salt and pepper to the mix. Then I add over half of a container of mascarpone or cream cheese and a couple of swishes of heavy cream. I don’t really have exact measurements; eyeball it until your liking. I also add some chicken stock and a little dry white wine to the pan. Let this reduce for a few minutes. The sauce should coat the back of your spoon. If you run your finger down the back of the spoon and you leave a mark, your sauce is ready!

Take your thawed puff pastry pieces and cut them in half. I used both sheets, so I ended up with 4 rectangles. Take your shredded chicken and mix it with about half of your sauce. Distribute the chicken mixture on one half of the pastry. Then fold them over, crimp the edges with a fork, and brush your pastry with egg wash. Cut a couple of slits in the top so it won’t explode in the over! Bake at 400 until pastry is puffy and brown…about 25 min or so. Add the rest of the sauce on top of your pastry.

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Since I made 4 of them, I froze 2. They freeze beautifully and you just have to pop them back in the oven until warmed through and crusty on top again! You can also freeze the sauce in a baggie or small container. Mushroom Gravy is not the most photogenic food =)973981_10151644260378334_713274013_n