The menu plan for week 23 is based totally on successful meals. As the summer months are in high gear, I have lost interest in experimenting. There are so many meals that we enjoy and I don’t return to them often enough. I know that week 23 will be enjoyable eating.
Breakfast
My plan for breakfasts over the course of week 23 was developed from grocery specials. Blueberries, eggs and sausage, both Jimmy Dean and Johnsonville, as well as a great coupon for ricotta cheese made my planning easy. All of these breakfast offerings are favorites of the ‘Ole Buckeye which makes the decision making very easy.
Ricotta and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Giant Blueberry Pancake page 261 and BAM Cake page 298 Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook.
Bananas Foster French Toast (a successful repeat with a link below).
Lunch
The menu plan for lunches during week 23 are totally based on leftovers aside from the Zuppa Toscana. I have made several soups over these past weeks and we have totally enjoyed how easy lunches have been. Our favorite THM soup is Zuppa Toscana and the decision to make it was even easier with the sale on sausage!
Broccoli Gruyere Bacon Quiche I tweaked this recipe and replaced the Cheddar with Gruyere Cheese.
Dinner
The dinners planned for week 23 are grocery special driven as well. I didn’t serve pork roast last week since we had a family dinner at my son’s house. Lidl had pork roasts on sale and I had an additional coupon. I got a 3.5 pound boneless pork loin for $3.64! It reappears on the menu. We have decided to have burgers once a week since we all enjoy them so much…at least during grilling season. There is a weekend special on ahi tuna again, so we will buy it fresh and enjoy every bite. I have the sloppy joe mixture in the freezer, so making the sloppy joe casserole will be a breeze. Even though the entrees are straight forward, I will be spending some time and energy in making some new and creative sides and salads. I may try a new dessert as well.
Friday night begins a yearly event in East Beach…concert in the park. It is every Friday evening in August with different entertainment and food trucks. (I may have trouble finding things diet compliant!)
Friday August 2 kicks off our concerts in the park series . 6-9 in Pavillion Park. Bring chairs, BYOB, and money for food trucks and band tipping! Rain location is the BFC .
Artist is East Beach resident Marydawn Bovatsek
Trucks-
Cast Iron Pies
Pittsburgh’s Best
Bodacious Pizza Bus
Recap Breakfast
My version of this recipe has truly become a mainstay in my breakfast planning. Not only do we enjoy it, but it is also a perfect breakfast offering for guests. It reheats perfectly as well. I nix the crescent rolls and put the ingredients in the order listed into a 9×13 casserole dish. I use almond milk in place of milk. This is so easy and delicious.
Sausage and (Non-Crescent Roll) Casserole
May I just say not only was this a big winner, but it makes the whole house smell so good that it is worth baking just for the aroma! This E breakfast was a home run for the ‘Ole Buckeye. It is most possibly the best E breakfast I have made. I don’t always find sprouted bread at Aldi, but now that I have this recipe I will stock up on the bread. I will admit that since I do not have rum extract, I used a splash of dark rum instead. (Maybe that is why the ‘Ole Buckeye loved it!)
Bananas Foster French Toast Bake
Recap Lunch
I have been making soup even though it is summer. The recipe for this low carb lasagna soup caught my eye several weeks ago. I always have the ingredients on hand so it will most likely become a lunch staple. It was a hit with my granddaughter as well. The flavors would be enjoyable any time of the year. I garnished the soup with a hefty sprinkling of fresh basil.
Recap Dinner
I have made this Taco Salad several times. It is easy to forget what a great E meal it is. I also forget just how good this salad keeps for lunches later in the week.
Ranch Hand Taco Salad page 200 Trim Healthy Table
I wanted an E bread to serve with the Ranch Hand Taco Salad. I made this cornbread. Not the best, but it was nice to have a bread with the salad, however I will continue the search for E cornbread.
Cornbread (THM E)
Something New
I tried yet another new hack this week. I have lived a lot of years and some of the cooking hacks I am trying now have probably been around forever, but they are new to me. We are eating more bananas. The ‘Ole Buckeye frequently has oatmeal with bananas in the morning when he eats early. Did you know that if you wrap the stems of bananas with plastic wrap they do not ripen as fast?
“To keep a bunch of bananas fresh for longer, wrap the stems in some plastic wrap. Re-cover the bananas with the wrap after removing one. This method prevents ethylene gas, produced naturally in the ripening process, from reaching other parts of the fruit and prematurely ripening it.”
Guess what…it works.
So there you have it, Week 23 is underway. Here’s to another week of healthy eating following the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan. Bon Appetit!
