Menu Monday #39

Another successful week for the diet!! This morning, I'm down almost 10 pounds now! Not bad for just 3 weeks, with no exercising yet. :)

On Friday night, we decided to head out to dinner. We visited one of our favorites, The Chophouse. While their sweet corn tamale cakes are not diet food by any means, they are amazing, so we didn't pass them up. ;) I tried to go lower calorie with the rest of my meal, choosing the crab cakes, so that helped a bit. It was a nice treat after working hard all week counting calories!

Coming to my rescue!

On Saturday morning, I made another one of our favorites, pumpkin waffles. With a belly full of goodness, I ventured out to get my hair done. It had started to snow, but wasn't supposed to accumulate much, so I went ahead with my plans. As I sat there in the chair getting my hair done, I watched the snow continue to fall. Lots of snow. It came time to leave and I had to scrape a bunch of snow off of the van. The roads were looking less than desirable, as it didn't appear that they had been treated at all yet by that point. Not good. I made my way to the highway and joined the rest of the vehicles driving a whopping 35 to 40 mph the entire way to our exit. It wasn't going bad and I thought I was in the clear. Then I got to our neighborhood. Normally, the roads in our neighborhood manage to get cleared before the main roads. I have no idea how that happens, but it does. Not the case, though, that day. As I tried to get the van up the first hill, I started sliding. Ugh. Then my wheels just started spinning. Seriously? I was stuck. I tried to back down the hill and get a better start. No luck. A nice guy stopped to try to help, by pushing me. That didn't work. Then another nice guy stopped to help, and he tried backing it down the hill and going back up. Didn't work for him either. By that time, Josh had the boys loaded up in the 4-Runner, and was on his way to rescue me. So, along came my hero, who hooked a tow strap up to me and towed me home. Even if I had made it up that hill, I probably would have gotten stuck on another one. Once he had me safely back home, he went back out to tow another car that was stuck, then helped shovel an elderly couple's driveway so that they could get their van up their driveway. He's such an awesome guy! :) After all of the excitement, we decided it'd be best to stay in for the night, so I made some cheese pizza for us to enjoy for dinner. I tried a new crust recipe this time in the bread machine, and it was equally as delicious as the whole wheat recipe I normally use.

On Sunday morning, Josh made our usual egg bagel sandwiches, and some cream of wheat. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to church because nothing had been done with the roads, and we didn't want to risk it in the van again. The snow was packed so solid that it made for some very slippery conditions. Luckily, the temps rose later in the day, and by noon, the snow was finally melting off the road so that we could drive again! Just in time for a much-needed grocery store run.

Sunday: Mixed greens salad with grilled chicken strips

We decided to opt for something lighter for dinner. I buy an organic spring mix, and topped mine with a yummy cilantro lime ranch dressing, the chicken, sunflower seeds, asiago cheese ciabatta croutons, and a little shredded mozzarella cheese. Yum!

Monday: Crispy shrimp pasta, oven roasted broccoli

This was so tasty a couple of weeks ago that we wanted it again! :) A friend made this and added some diced red bell pepper to hers. That looked like a yummy addition, so I may try that, too.

Tuesday: Roasted potatoes, chicken sausage and peppers

I saw this one come across my Facebook feed, and thought it looked nice and easy and delicious. We'll give it a try and I'll let you know what we think! Skinnytaste is always a great resource for good, healthier meals.

Wednesday: Brown butter chicken and crispy sage (see recipe below) over a savory quinoa

This meal was very well received a couple of weeks ago, too, so we'll have it again. The chicken is incredibly quick and easy and the flavor is amazing. So simple. I threw some things together for the quinoa I made last time and it worked well, so I'll try to recreate that again. :)

Thursday: Cream cheese chicken chili over rice

I've made this one a few times and I really love it. Served over rice it is extra delicious! It's a great, easy meal as you can just throw everything in the crock pot and let it cook all day! With Josh in class on Thursday evenings and home later than usual, it's nice to have something easy to make.

Friday: Out to eat

We'll go somewhere and order something that sounds as healthy as possible. :)

Saturday: Homemade pizza

We've really been liking the plain cheese pizza. With crushed tomatoes and dried basil from our garden last year, the flavors are simple, yet delicious.

What's on your menu this week?

This super easy dish from Kevin & Amanda's blog is a winner! If you need something quick, easy and delicious, I suggest you give this one a try! It's pretty low-cal, too, which is always good!

Brown Butter Chicken and Crispy Sage
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• 1/4 oz pkg fresh sage leaves
• 2 Tbsp butter, unsalted

Directions:
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, season them generously with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Melt the butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the butter turns brown and fragrant, add the chicken in a single layer and place the sage over the chicken. Set a timer for five minutes. Cook the chicken on one side without moving it, for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir and toss the chicken and sage, making sure to coat all of it in the brown butter, then flip the chicken to the other side to cook for a few minutes, or until cooked through. Serve atop a savory quinoa. I cook my quinoa in chicken broth instead of water, for extra flavor, and add sautéed onions and garlic.