Fall Is Here! Weekly Meal Time!

Happy Fall Ya'll!


Finally cool enough to wear boots, a scarf, and my fuzzy vest!

It's time I jumped back into the swing of things and really get back to meal planning on here!  I have still planned meals for Neal and myself, but I haven't been sharing them as I haven't been as active on the blog, being more active with the Etsy shop!

This week on the menu we have

• Salad topped with chicken, bacon (mmmm) goat cheese, veggies and balsalmic (quick meal!)
• Tilapia and broccoli (easy peasy meal)
• Chicken Casserole
• Steak with asparagus and sweet potato (Neal's meal!)
• Pumpkin & Carrot Soup from Tone It Up

For my chicken this week, I'm getting a natural rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to make my dinners simple and allow us to have some extra chicken leftovers for our lunches! 

The tilapia will be ones from our freezer, and same with the steak.  I buy in bulk when meats go on sale at the Fresh Market and I freeze the meat.  Typically, I buy about 10 lbs of chicken, 6lbs steak, and then my tilapia I get in the frozen section at many grocery stores where they sell the big bags already frozen. The chicken and steak will last us about 2 months, pending on what our meal plans are each week (hence sometimes buying rotisserie chicken).  Also, it's so easy to pull out the fish in the morning (tilapia or salmon that's been frozen), put it in the fridge for the day, and cook it up at night!  I really like my dinners to be as easy and as whole food containing as possible! 


Salad + Chicken

I'll be combining fresh organic mixed greens, sweet peppers, chives, dried fruit (berry mix), bacon cooked from breakfast and crushed, goat cheese, 1/2 and avocado and rotisserie chicken.  For my dressing, I'm using a raspberry balsamic drizzled over the top with some fresh ground pepper and a little salt.  That's it!  Simple and easy!  To see more easy salads & dressings, check out this post.

Tilapia & broccoli
Tilapia:  I'm not marinating my tilapia this time and will just use Penzy spices Northwoods seasonings sprinkled on top as I cook it with a little oil in a pan on medium heat.

Broccoli:  To steam the broccoli, Neal and I use a small strainer filled to the brim with broccoli that's been salted and peppered slightly, then put into a bowl that has about 1/5 cup of water in it.  Then we put that in the microwave for 3 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.

Chicken Divan Casserole
This recipe came from Neal's mom!

• 20 oz frozen broccoli
• 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut
• 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs or crackers (using leftover bread butts to make ours)
• Cooking spray or 1T butter melted for the bottom of your pan (while oven is on, put the butter in the pan for 2 min and then pull pan out and swirl to move the butter)
• Sauce, combine the following in a bowl:
• 2 Cans cream of chicken soup (I'm doing mushroom for one can)
• 1 Cup Mayo (I'll probably knock it down to 1/3 C since mayo is a little much for me)
• 1t lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese (shred your own, it's SO much better!)

It's simple to make.  Layer the Broccoli and the chicken.  Pour your sauce over the mix.  Top it with bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Steak with asparagus and sweet potato
Steak:  on the grill with a little steak rub
Asparagus:  oven baked with this recipe using olive oil, lemon, salt pepper and garlic at 400 degrees for 10 min.
Sweet potato:  we will split one larger one oven baked at 400 degrees for about 35 min, or until tender.

Pumpkin and Carrot Soup
I can't wait to try this recipe from Tone It Up!  I love how easy this sounds and simple the ingredients are!