Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Adventures in cooking.

In an effort to become healthier and more fit, Brad and I have tried to make better choices when we are eating. So, what does this mean for this little Southern wife???

Cooking more!

Yesterday, I decided I was going to plan out a few meals for the week, and I found the BEST website - seriously, it makes my heart smile. The thing I hate most about cooking is going to the grocery store - I cannot stand to fight through the crowds with my cart, not being able to find anything and then almost getting run over in the parking lot. And I hate trying to make a list of things I need - until now. Y'all seriously have to visit www.tastyplanner.com - you can find tons of recipes, drag them to your calendar, and then it makes a grocery list for you! How fabulous is that?

I pretty much have this whole week planned out, and I got all my groceries last night!

Last night, I made Creamy Spinach Ravioli - it was super easy and very tasty. The recipe is below:
Ingredients
-2 pkg refrigerated cheese ravioli
-1/2 cup Philadelphia Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese Spread (my grocery store did not have this, so I got regular cream cheese and added Mrs. Dash Herb & Garlic seasoning to it - tasted the same)
-1 cup milk
-1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. Parmesan Grated Cheese, divided
-4 cups baby spinach leaves
-2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
-grated peel from 1 lemon (Brad is not a fan of lemon, so I did not add much)
-6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Directions
-Cook pasta as directed on package
-Meanwhile, place cream cheese spread in large skillet. Add milk; cook on medium heat 1 to 2 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring requently. Add 1/4 cup of the Permesan cheese, the spinach, dill and lemon peel; mix well.
-Drain pasta. Add to cream cheese sauce; toss to coat. Serve topped with tomatoes and remaining 2 tbsp. of Parmesan cheese.

Here is a picture of our deliciousness!

We are having Chicken with Lime and Avocado Salsa on Thursday and Fettuccine with Fresh Vegetables on Friday!

If you have any recipes that you just LOVE, feel free to share them!

Blessings, y'all!

8 comments:

  1. Oh that looks so good!!! I will have to check out that web site!

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  2. yum yum and the chicken and lime things sounds amazing....i will go look at it!!!!!!

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  3. My best friend from High school (Marist in downtown) went to Arcado. He or Chad probably didn't know her: Shawn McCarthy.

    But I bet we know some of the same people in Parkview. All the kids I grew up with went there and their younger brothers/sisters.

    Sadly, Lilburn has a crazy Kevin-Bacon-6 degrees pull on people. My first week in college (2 hours away from Lilburn) a girl walked into my dorm and introduced herself as a girl I went to elem. with. She was at that time dating my old elem. boyfriend. Lilburn is crazy like that. Maybe it has something to do with the proximity of Stn. Mtn.

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  4. I will definitely check the site out!

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  5. Yum! That sounds so good! I want to try it. I posted this recipe for bruschetta chicken awhile back -

    http://preppynewlywed.blogspot.com/2008/03/bruschetta-chicken-skillet.html

    This recipe is delicious and very easy. I cut it down for my husband and I. I also posted this recipe for steak tacos with corn relish -

    http://preppynewlywed.blogspot.com/2008/03/steak-tacos-with-corn-relish.html

    The tacos are really good if you like corn salsa with lime. I also cut this recipe down to serve two. That is the only problem I usually have, making enough for 2 or 4 and not 6 or 8. Both of these are recipes I have put in my rotation.

    Have a nice day!

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  6. That is so neat. What I love so much about making meal plans is that I use all of something up, like my herbs, and nothing gets wasted. Plus, it's much cheaper to do that.
    I used to not care, but with one income and two little ones, it's helped alot. I spend less on groceries now than I did when J and I were just married.

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  7. What a neat site! I have to admit, one of my favorite things to do is planning meals, making the grocery list and grocery shopping. I just love it!

    Here's one of my favorite recipes:

    Asian Barbecue Chicken
    From Cooking Light

    1/4 cup packed brown sugar
    1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
    1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
    1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
    1/4 teaspoon curry powder
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    8 (6-ounce) chicken thighs, skinned
    Cooking spray
    Lime wedges (optional)
    Green onion tops (optional)

    Combine first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 4 hours, turning occasionally.

    Prepare grill.

    Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Place marinade in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute.

    Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 20 minutes or until done, turning and basting frequently with the marinade. Garnish with lime wedges and green onion tops, if desired.


    Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 thighs)

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  8. So, I have already planned next week...LOVE THIS SITE!

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