March 24-March 27

On Friday I received my Produce Box which consisted of:

• variety of peppers
• carrots
• cucumbers
• tomatoes
• strawberries
• tangerines

The strawberries and tangerines have been great snacks and healthy sides to our meals.  I will blanch some of the carrots for later use and consume the remaining carrots with a meal.  The cucumbers and tomatoes will be added to fresh greens or a yummy salad.  

Friday and Saturday were pizza night and take out due to a Girl Scout sleepover.

Sunday I was still recovering from being up all night long, so we opted for fried chicken that evening.

Now the week has begun and I plan to be better at preparing meals!

Monday, March 24-  Soccer practice tonight.  So the girls will have tacos with peppers from our Box.  Hubby and I will have baked fish along with fresh carrots from our Box.

Tuesday, March 25- Scouts tonight!  I need simple and easy.  I am thinking of sausage and peppers, with peppers from our Box.

Wednesday, March 26- My parents are visitng and they always enjoy my chicken enchiladas.

 Chicken Enchiladas  approx. 7 WW Pts.
1 lb chicken
4oz can of chopped green chile peppers (I'll be using my hot green chiles from last week's Box)
1 small onion
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp chili powder
Small Can of Enchilada Sauce
1 package of large sized soft flour tortillas
1 package Mexican cheese (or cheddar)

1. Heat large skillet on med/high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat pan
3. Cook chicken through about 8-10 minutes.
4. While chicken is cooking chop onion
5. Remove chicken to cutting board, add chopped onion to skillet and chili powder
6. While onion is cooking, dice up chicken
7. In a small bowl combine the can of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup of sour cream & 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce. Mix and set aside.
8. Once onion is tender add chicken, green chilies, about 1/4 cup of sour cream mixture & enchilada sauce (add enough to add moisture to skillet about 1-3 tablespoons) Stir and Heat through.
9. In a 9 x 13 baking dish lightly cover bottom of pan with the sour cream mixture.
10. Add chicken mixture to tortillas and roll up, place seam side down in baking dish. (tortillas can be touching each other in dish)
11. Cover tortillas with remaining sour cream mixture and sprinkle with cheese
12. Bake in a 350 degree oven covered for 20-25 minutes then uncover and bake additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

**Meal can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. When ready to bake add 15 minutes to bake time or until heated through.

Thursday, March 27- We have tickets to pizza and a movie!  No cooking tonight!!

Carrots, Lettuce, Peppers Oh My! March 7-Mach 11th

Carrots, Lettuce, Peppers Oh My!

This week I only added a share of carrots to my box.  We enjoy eating fresh carrots throughout the year in our meals and dishes and what better way then to blanch and freeze for later use, farm fresh carrots!

My box consisted of:

• carrots
• green peppers
• bibb lettuce
• strawberries
• clementines
• yellow squash

I never defrosted during the week a freezer crock pot meal instead I made something else for dinner and treated the family to a church fish fry rather than making chicken pot pie.

The strawberries and clementines are quickly disappearing as sweet snacks and toppings for breakfast pancakes and yogurts. As mentioned above I will be blanching and freezing the carrots for later use.

Friday March 7-  Church fish fry was our dinner.

Saturday, March 8-  With the arrival of Spring weather I am grilling hamburgers and hotdogs served with fresh sliced tomatoes from last weeks box, clementines and garnished with bibb lettuce.  I also serve up either some beans or pasta salad.  And some garlic and olive oil grilled squash.

Sunday, March 9-  I NEED room in my freezer and I foresee another beautiful day "playing" outside.  So what better solution to not wanting to be trapped in the kitchen and making room in my freezer then with a crock pot meal?  Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes

Crock-Pot Chicken Sweet Potatoes

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup peach preserves OR apricot preserves
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ cup chicken broth or water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, curry powder, and ginger. Add peach preserves, vinegar, and soy sauce to gallon freezer bag. Add in sweet potatoes and onion, and top with chicken. Seal bag and place in freezer. When ready to use thaw in fridge overnight. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked and sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with fork.
2. Combine chicken broth and cornstarch and mix well. Add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 10-15 minutes until sauce is thickened.

Monday, March 10-  With the first soccer practice of the evening tonight, I need simple and quick.  I'll make fajitas using the green peppers from my box.

Tuesday, March 11-  I will make fish tacos using the bibb lettuce roughly cut in place of the slaw. 

Fish Tacos  WW Pts: 9

Marinade

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
• 1 pound cod, cut into chunks

Dressing

• 1 (8 ounce) container light sour cream
• 1/2 cup adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I might reduce to 1 tbspn)
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
• salt and pepper to taste

• Chopped Cilantro
• packaged cole slaw mix
• 1 (10 ounce) package tortillas
• 3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced

Directions

1. To make the marinade, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning, black pepper, and hot sauce in a bowl until blended. Place the fish in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over the fish. Cover, and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours.
2. To make the dressing, combine the sour cream and adobo sauce in a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning. Add salt, and pepper in desired amounts. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake fish in preheated oven until it easily flakes with a fork, 9 to 11 minutes. (Fish can also be grilled)
4. Assemble tacos by placing fish pieces in the center of tortillas with desired amounts of tomatoes, cilantro, and slaw; drizzle with dressing.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 416 * Total Fat: 19.2g * Cholesterol: 43mg * Sodium: 709mg * Total Carbs: 38.5g * Dietary Fiber: 6g * Protein: 22.6g

Produce Box is back and so the menus begin!

February 28-March 6

The Produce Box began actually last week but our family passed on ordering a box.  This week's box was filled with deliciuos foods as well as additional add on items I threw.  Since TPB is starting earlier then in previous seasons, they have decided to expand their farmer's radius for the first few boxes.  Currently some items are from other states.  Personally I didn't mind since that meant Florida clementines/oranges made an appearance in my box this week!

Other items included: starwberries, broccoli, carrots, bibb lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers and zucchini.

The oranges and strawberries have been healthy sweet snacks and the berries were polished off over the weekend served over homemade french toast.  I served fresh carrots with dinner Friday evening and blanched the rest to freeze for later meals.  The tomatoes have been great accompaniments to our sandwiches.

I plan on baking up some Zucchini Bread tomorrow.

 Zucchini Bread

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, baking powder.
3. Beat eggs. Add and mix well sugar, vanilla, and oil. Add zucchini to egg mixture. Add dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in nuts if desired. Pour into 2 ungreased loaf pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. 

Friday, March 28-  I had picked up premade refrigerated chicken cordon blue from BJ's earlier in the week.  I served these with the carrots from my box along with mashed potatoes.

Saturday, March 1-  I made up Asian Lettuce Wraps using the bibb lettuce from my box.

Asian Lettuce Wraps WW 9 pts (2 wraps with 2 small scoop beef)

• 16 lettuce leaves
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

Sauce

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 T soy
• 2 T rice vinegar
• 1 T chile paste

Mix ingredients and spoon desired amount over wrap before rolling.

Directions

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped peanuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Add desired amount of sauce. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 4 (2 wraps)
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 388 Total Fat: 22.3g Cholesterol: 69mg Sodium: 580mg Total Carbs: 24.3g Dietary Fiber: 4.7g Protein: 23.4g

Sunday, March 2-  Dinner was comprised of mac n cheese, roistierre chicken and leftover potatoes.

Monday, March 3-  Dinner will be leftover Lettuce Wraps, mac n cheese, ham steaks and chicken along with fresh sliced oranges.  

Tuesday, March 4-  With the green peppers from my box I'll be using them for fajitas tonight.

Wednesday, March 5-  I plan to use one of the previous frozen crock pot meals for dinner this evening.

Thursday, March 6-  Currently I am contemplating Chicken Pot pie for dinner tonight.  I'll use some of the frozen carrots I blanched and I might throw in some diced green pepper too.

Chicken Pot Pie

• 2 deep dish pie shells 
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup (per a friend's suggestion I am using cream of chicken with herbs)
• Combination of fresh & frozen veggie mix- about 2 cups
• 2-3 cups cooked chicken 
• 3/4 cup milk 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

1. Boil chicken in chicken broth.  After it is cool cut in to small pieces 
2. Reserve broth and boil fresh or frozen vegetables for 5 minutes and drain.
3. Pre heat oven 375 degrees 
4. Mix chicken, vegetables, soup and milk in a medium bowl 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste and thyme
6. Pour mixture in pie crust cover with 2nd pie crust 
7. Cook pie for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.