April 14-18

My box Friday contained:

• Strawberries
• Spinach
• Red Potatoes
• Peppers
• Leeks

As I put away my box of goodies, I had already come up with my lunch for the day.  I sauteed some diced leeks along with 2 small diced red peppers.  I added the kale from last week's box and white wine.  I then added drained and rinsed white beans.  After heating for about 10 minutes I added diced up lefgt over steak and just before serving added diced tomato from last weeks box.  This was an awesome lunch and used upsome of last weeks produce as well as begun using this week's delivery!

Monday, April 14-  With soccer practice and meetings this evening, I am keeping it simple and having fajitas using some of the peppers from my box.

Tuesday, April 15-  Another quick meal is needed tonight.  Most likely I will make some sort of pasta meal.

Wednesday, April 16-  With the fresh spinach from my box I will try out a tweaked recipe I discovered on allrecipes.com.  I will serve this with carrots I froze from earlier boxes and couscous.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts WW 9pts

• 1/2 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup cream of chicken soup
• 4 slices swiss cheese
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness (soaked in buttermilk)
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan.  Add pressed garlic and saute.  Add spinach and saute until wilted.
3. Mix soup and sour cream.
4. Remove spinach from heat and stir in 1/2 the cream mixture until combined.
5. Lay the chicken breasts out on a clean surface, lay a slice of swiss cheese onto breast and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one. Roll up chicken to enclose the spinach and secure with toothpicks.  Arrange in a shallow baking dish. 
6. Pour remaining cream mixture over chicken.
7. Bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes in the preheated oven. 

Thursday, April 17-  With the reurn of better weather I hope to grill steaks, camper potatoes served with green beans I forze from previous boxes.
 

Camper Red Potatoes

• sliced red potatoes, dabs of butter, sliced onion or onion powder- Make foil packets and grill until browned and crispy about 30-40 minutes on low heat

Friday, April 18-  Since we plan to brunch Easter Sunday and will likley have less of an appetite for a big dinner, we are doing our Easter ham tonight.  Ham served with orange carrots and sweet potato casserole will be dinner tonight.  The carrots are boiled when near done I drain the water add butter and OJ and simmer.  Sometimes I add some brown sugar as well.

Sweet Potato Casserole 7 WW Points  
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and halved
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg white
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in small bowl, stirring to form streusel. Set aside
3. Place potatoes in pot covered with water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 30 min or until tender. Drain. Mash in large bowl.
4. Stir in 1 cup of streusel topping, sugar, vanilla, egg white and milk.
5. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining streusel.
6. Bake for 45 min.

Serving: 3/4 cup

Calories: 376  Fat: 8.8g  Saturated fat: 1.4g  Monounsaturated fat: 4.1g  Polyunsaturated fat: 2.6g  Protein: 5.4g  Carbohydrate: 70.1g  Fiber: 3.8g  Cholesterol: 1mg  Iron: 1.9mg  Sodium: 115mg  Calcium: 97mg

April 4- April 11

Our box this week consisted of:

• Carrots plus a substitution of carrots for grapefruits
• Green Beans plus extra add on of green beans
• Kale
• Strawberries

Friday, April 4-  Due to the first golf lesson of the season, we opted to go out to dinner after lessons.

Saturday, April 5- I had intentions of cooking but with the husband working on an outdoor project all day, take out was easier.

Sunday, April 6- I picked up marinated steak tips which we grilled along with oven baked red potatoes and roasted asparagus.

Monday, April 7-  I put aside a few carrots to add to my risotto this evening from our box.  The other carrots were blanched and frozen for later use.  I will serve the risotto with shrimp and sliced bread.

I usually use the recipe on the side of the Harris Teeter box but I misplaced that recipe.  Tonight I am adapting a basic risotto recipe found online at Chow.com

Risotto

• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic minced
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more as needed
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• Juice of half a lemon

1. Place the broth in a medium saucepan over low heat and keep it at a very low simmer. 
2. In a large wide pot or Dutch oven, heat the measured oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until the kernels start to crackle, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and let simmer, stirring often, until all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 to 4 minutes. Pour a ladleful of the simmering broth over the rice. Let simmer, stirring constantly, until the rice absorbs the liquid. Continue adding broth, stirring and letting it absorb, until the rice is al dente, about 20 to 30 minutes (you may not use up all of the broth). Taste as you go for doneness, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
4. When the rice is done, remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan and parsley. Taste and season with more salt, pepper, and Parmesan as needed. Just before serving, loosen the risotto to the desired consistency with a little more broth or hot water and serve immediately. Drizzle each serving with olive oil.

Tuesday, April 8-  We have enjoyed the Kale with Orzo recipe many times and it allows any protein accompaniment.  Tonight I serve it with Italian sausage.  I may eliminate the beans in tonight's meal.

Orzo with Kale

• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 cups uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 cup Chicken Broth or White Wine
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 15oz can of white beans drained and rinsed
• 1 diced tomato or cherry/grape tomatoes halved
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil; sprinkle the turmeric over the boiling water and stir in the orzo; return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes; drain. Scrape into a mixing bowl and set aside.
2. While orzo is cooking, Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic and red pepper in the hot oil. Add red pepper flakes and broth or wine.  Stir the kale into the broth, cover the skillet with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the cover and  add the beans.  Continue cooking and stirring until the kale is tender, about 10 minutes more (add more liquid if necessary). Stir the kale mixture into the orzo along with the lemon juice, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 206  Total Fat: 4.2g  Cholesterol: 2mg  Sodium: 91mg  Total Carbs: 36.1g Dietary Fiber: 2.8g  Protein: 7.9g

Wednesday, April 9-  I reserved some of the blanched green beans for this evening's meal, Chicken Pot Pie.

 

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.

Thursday, April 10-  A simple pasta  meal will be tonight's meal considering we have another activity right after dinner.

Friday, April 11-  Tonight is golf lessons and I will need to stay the entire lesson, which means most likely take out tonight.