2020 Week 38 Menu Plan
The 2020 Week 38 Menu Plan is complete with a totally new look. After years of using the same format, I have decided to try something new. Not only does it have a cleaner, simpler look, but it displays the entire week of meals at a glance. On all but one day I have included an E meal and all of the snacks are Fuel Pulls so that they can be eaten at any time of the day or evening.
Breakfast
The breakfasts for 2020 week 38 feature favorites aside from the Hatch Chili Egg Casserole, which caught my eye. I really enjoy a hearty spicy egg dish and this one sounded quite good.
Repeats:
Upside Down Pineapple Oatmeal, Peach Cobbler Breakfast Bake, Bananas Foster French Toast
New to review:
Snacks
New to review:
Chocolate Hazelnut Shake, Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie
Lunch
The lunches planned for the week will utilize “eat again” soups, a family favorite quiche, and a quick fix and flavorful pizza. The only new lunch planned it a Greek Quinoa “E” Salad.
Repeats:
Creamy Verde Chicken Chili page 78 Trim Healthy Table, Italian Bean and Spinach Soup, Two Bean and Lentil Chili Link. Broccoli Cheddar Bacon Quiche, Portobello Mushroom Pizza
New to review:
Snacks
New to review:
Dinner
The dinner plan for the week is not terribly exciting. Our eat again meals made the planning quite easy. The only new recipe is a creamy broccoli ham casserole. I have left over ham in the freezer from Easter. It is time to utilize it in a new way that we might enjoy.
Repeats:
Greek Turkey Burgers, Pizza Chicken Casserole, Bacon Chicken Ceasar Casserole
New to review:
Creamy Broccoli and Ham Casserole
A Night Out:
We will be joining our family and mutual friends to celebrate the 3rd year in business at Deadline Brewing Project. Deadline is a neighborhood nano brewery frequented by my son and daughter in law. In fact it was the location of a private event for our son’s naval retirement party. During this tough time for business, we want to offer support. Luckily, since this is a “closed, private party”, I can take a bottle of wine. I will taste the brews, but drink my wine.
Interesting Sides
I have decided to include a few new recipes for sides that I might try over the next week with my planned meals. Both of these caught my eye (with some adjustments):
Roasted Grape Salad and Parmesan Brussels Sprouts.
Misses
This meatless THM E soup, although quite healthy and filling, left much to be desired as far as flavor. When I think of “chili” I think of full spicy flavor. This was quite bland and thus disappointing. It would definitely need revision with spices if I decide to make it in the future.
This Pizza Chicken Casserole was the other casserole that my daughter prepared. We had it on Saturday and all of us were disappointed. She used the original recipe, but added green pepper and sliced mushrooms. It proved to be watery and truly lacking in flavor. The problem…it made a huge casserole and we ate very little.
The rest of the story…Sunday our son and family made an unexpected visit for happy hour. As the day progressed toward dinner hour, I wanted to feed the 7 of us. The planned chicken was not going to handle a crowd. I pulled out the leftover casserole, warmed it and stirred everything together, adding oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. I topped it once again with mozzarella and popped it in the oven to heat through and then under the broiler until the cheese was brown and bubbly. Success! The entire family enjoyed the revision.
Hits
My daughter prepared this delicious casserole. It is packed with flavor and easily a cook once/eat again entree. It will be added to our repeat worthy list.
Bacon Chicken Ceasar Casserole
Food for Thought
I have shared in past weeks that I am learning a lot about shopping for healthy food and the low carb Keto diet from my new favorite blog FlavCity. This particular post really caught my attention especially since I use a lot of fresh garlic daily.
“Less than 10 years ago, all the garlic we bought was from the USA. Now, over 60% is from China, and that’s an issue because it’s bad for our farmers and our health. Chinese garlic is bleached, fumigated with neurotoxic chemicals, and grown in sewer water. It’s also bitter and nowhere as good as the garlic grown in California. You can easily spot garlic from China, the roots are completely removed and it’s bleached perfectly white. I would highly recommend buying locally sourced garlic, or the stuff grown in California.” FlavCity
I can’t believe how much I learn each and everyday about making healthy food choices.
Recap
Last week proved to be an easy week in the kitchen with lots of eat again meals. The week ahead includes only a few new recipes. I am trying to make meal plans with less fuss, but tons of flavor, while striving to be cognizant of the THM guidelines. I am looking forward to another week of healthy eating. Bon Appetit!
