Lots of easy throw-together meal ideas for this week.  Now on Tuesday's "L" has swimming lessons for the rest of the summer, so that means we won't get home until around 6 pm - making for a hungry, tired boy and a short evening. 

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti - I cut the recipe in half and it is still huge for the 3 of us!

Pulled Pork Tacos (I buy the Pulled Pork in refrigerated section of Costco), Homemade Pico de Gallo (recipe below)

Bacon, Avocado, and Tomato Sandwiches, Sun Chips - Yes I have an aversion to lettuce right now, so we use avocado instead!  YUM!

Penne Pasta with Pesto, Tomatoes, and Fresh Mozzarella - Pesto right now is from Costco, but hoping to have enough basil in a couple of weeks to make our own!  Quick, healthy and delicious!

Marinaded Pork Chops in Lawry's Hawaiian Marinade on the grill, Caprese Pasta Salad, and Corn

Homemade Pico de Gallo
Chop up a bunch of tomatoes, onions, and cilantro... add a jalapeno (to your taste), add in salt to your taste and let sit on the counter for about an hour to mix all the flavors together.  Eat on anything (even cardboard) and I swear it will taste delicious!

What are you having for dinner this week?

Here's what's for dinner this week at our house.  Since it will be around 95 degrees today we will be grilling outside tonight, and by we I mean my husband.  I will be sitting inside an A/C cooled house drinking a nice cool lemonade!

Grilled Chicken w/Trader Joes Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Roasted Asparagus - method/recipe below
Honey You Have a Way with Chicken, Rice
Spaghetti - jarred sauce, fancied up with veggies and frozen meatballs (Costco)
Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato Fries (from the freezer - thanks Ore-Ida), steamed peas
Chicken Baseballs and Pasta Salad

Roasted Asparagus.
Wash and trim the ends from the asparagus.  Dry well with a towel or paper towel.  Drizzle with around 1 Tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Roast in a 425 degree oven for around 10-15 minutes.  I've also been known to sprinkle with sesame seeds!

This is one of my most favorite veggies in the whole world, and I just planted some asparagus plants in my garden last week.  They don't produce until the second year, but I'm already excited!

Tell me, what are you having for dinner this week?

So we made it to Costco this weekend.  We spent an hour and a half there looking around, and finding things we "need".  We came back with this haul:
Yes you see little tomatoes and blackberries, boneless skinless chicken and 2 roasts.  Bread, a rotisserie chicken, some juice and fruit snacks for my son, a pineapple, cheddar and fresh mozzarella cheese, frozen mini pizzas, meatballs, jarred muffuletta mix (so tasty), 2 dressings/marinades.  But yes, you also see a giant bag of tortilla chips, some mini angel food cakes, and a JUG - no other way I can describe it - of chocolate- covered salted caramels... stupid food samples + being pregnant = coming home with the caramels.  I have to say, they are absolutely one of the most delicious specimens of caramel and chocolate I've ever had!  1 certainly makes a nice little portioned out treat... if you can stick with one.  You decide for yourself.

Overall I think we got a good haul, and I thank each of you for the suggestions you provided!  To my lovely sister who suggested wine... I have a sad, sad story.  The Minnesota government believes that wine should ONLY be sold in liquor stores, so our Costco sadly is wine free.  Big frowning face!  Oh yeah, and there's that pregnant thing that prevents me from drinking my beloved wine right now.  Note to self:  arrange for wine to be brought to hospital room upon delivery of baby #2.  Anyways... I guess I digress.

The presence of fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese, and this find:
led me to create the yummiest pasta salad recipe on Saturday afternoon.
And so... without further ado I present to you:
Caprese Pasta Salad


Enjoy!

I really hope you all enjoyed the first annual Healthy Living During the Holidays Week last week.  Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.  The winner of the cookbook as chosen by random.org is Lisa Buchanan with her comment (including recipe - Thanks Lisa):

I make a veggie casserole every Thanksgiving and have learned to lighten it without anyone in my family telling a difference. Here is the lightened version.



2 cans french style green beans (I get low sodium) - drained
2 cans whole kernel corn (I get no salt) - drained
2 cans Fat free cream of chicken or one of each chicken and mushroom soup
8 ounces fat free sour cream
8 ounces 2% sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
1/2 stick I cant believe it's not butter
1 sleeve of reduced fat and/or wheat Ritz crackers


Mix all ingredients but last 2 and pour into 9 x 13 Pyrex dish. Crumble crackers and place on top of mixture, poor melted butter on top. Bake 425 for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly. ENJOY!

Lisa - I'll be contacting you to get your address, and your cookbook will hopefully be on its way before Thanksgiving.  I hope you enjoy it!

Next - my weekly weigh in.  You'll remember how my scale progress has been pretty slow, and I was committing to making some changes.  Well, it did pay off because I lost 1.8 pounds at my weigh in on Thursday, and I'm down a total of 111.2 POUNDS!!!  I am ecstatic.  I have 10.2 pounds until I reach my ultimate personal goal.  I'll be posting my holiday goals this week, regarding what choice I have made this holiday season.

Finally, I intend on making giving thanks a theme of my posts this week.  I'm going to post something every day week regarding what I am thankful for as we approach Thanksgiving.  I encourage you to post something to your blog or leave a comment here telling something YOU are thankful for as well.  My intent is to focus more on the blessings in my life rather than the failures and the shortcomings.  So...

Today I am thankful for my legs.  They may be fat little legs, they may have extra flabby skin, and bumps and lumps, but they carry me every single day.  They are strong, and with them my body can run.  Because of my legs I've been able to successfully run two 5ks this year, and also raise almost $400 for prostate cancer!  My legs also fold up to make a nice lap where my little "L" can sit and snuggle me.  So, yes, I am thankful for my legs! 

What are you thankful for today?

Salsa Mashed Potatoes
6 servings @ 3 points each

1-1/2 lbs of small red potatoes (cut in half)
Roast in a 400 oven with a little olive oil and salt and pepper for 1 hour

Mash and add:

• 1 cup light sour cream (8 oz container)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 medium tomtato, chopped
• handful of chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste.

These were delicious!  Very filling, and made an excellent side dish with grilled chicken.