I know most of us are cooking more than usual these days during this unprecedented time in our country. Although I have been a menu planner for a long, long time I still am constantly on the outlook for inspiration when it comes to getting dinner on the table.  Some of my favorite blog posts include daily menus so I thought I would share with you what is on our menu for the last half of March in case you are looking for inspiration of your own.

Last week when I realized we would be staying in for a while I did an inventory of our freezer and pantry.  I usually keep both fairly well stocked so these menus were based mostly on what I had available.  I did make a run to the store, like everyone else in America, but mostly bought fruit and dairy supplies.

Since I just cook for Dave and I these days, many of these meals provide leftovers for lunch.

Sunday     Slow Cooker Taco Soup – there are many variations of this soup but the one I made you can find here.  It is simple, thick and so very good. The leftovers were my lunch for several days.

Monday    Breakfast Casserole/Sausage Links– I love breakfast for dinner.  The recipe linked here was the inspiration but I added 1/3 cup each of sauteed green pepper, onion and mushroom, used regular milk instead of evaporated and left out the ham.  Leftovers provided a couple of breakfast also.

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Tuesday         Honey Garlic Chicken Thigh Sheet Pan Dinner – this EatingWell recipe came across my facebook feed.  The recipe can be found here.

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Wednesday   Salmon/Long Grain and Wild Rice/Cut-up veggies – Dave is in charge of making salmon (or any fish) in this house.  He found this recipe and uses it all the time.

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Thursday       Homemade Pizza

Friday            Tacos 

Saturday        Taco Salad – using the leftovers from friday night’s dinner.

Sunday           Grilled Cheese/Tomato Soup – We ordered carry-out from our local BBQ restaurant for lunch so went lighter for dinner.

Monday          Breaded Shrimp/ Sauteed Rice/Caprese Salad – going to try the shrimp in the air fryer.  The rice recipe can be found here.  The Caprese Salad is my own version, sliced up grapes tomatoes with grated mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, tossed with Zesty Italian dressing or Olive Oil.  An even better version of this salad can be found here but I do not have any avocados right now.

Tuesday          Pork Tenderloin/Roasted Garlic Parmesan Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli –  Dave will eat the pork leftovers for his lunch this week.

Wednesday   Spaghetti with Meat Sauce/Salad – this pasta sauce I froze a few weeks ago when I made sugu (Italian marinara sauce recipe from a family member).  I always double the recipe when I make this and freeze half for a later date.

Thursday        Hamburgers on the Grill/French Fries – I am going to try the frozen Red Robin fries I found at Wal-mart in the air fryer.

Friday              Beef Lo Mein – I have never tried this before, but it was on sale last time I went to the store so I thought I would give it a try.

Saturday          Chicken Marsala/Mashed Potatoes/Green Beans- Here is a link to the recipe. I have not tried this before but it looks really good.  I will probably substitute the fresh mushrooms with canned and use evaporated milk unless I get to the store before I make it.

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Sunday     Black Bean Soup/Cornbread – this Black Bean soup is so easy and so good.  I usually make it in the crockpot but it could just as easily be made on the stovetop.  Here is the recipe I shared a while back.

Monday     Garlic Steak Bites- this is an EatWell recipe that I have made several times, here are the instructions.  The first time I made it I also made the Lemon Zucchini Noodles and they were good also.  I do not have any zucchini on hand right now so will have to find a different veggie to go with it.

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Tuesday     Chicken Thighs on the Grill/Pasta Salad

I hope this provides you with some ideas for your dinners each night.  Let me know what you are cooking!  Please stay home and stay safe!!!

Theresa

Hello friends, I have been absent around here for a long time because, well…….. life!  However, yesterday I made a recipe that I just had to share with you all.

I found the SkinnyTaste blog several years ago when I was attending Weight Watchers.  All of the recipes on Gina Homolka’s site include Weight Watchers points and nutrition information.  She has an incredible number of recipes and one that I love and have made several times is the individual meatloaves with skinny mashed potatoes.  A while back she published a cookbook, Skinnytaste Fast and Slow that my cookbook club just happens to be cooking from this year.

When I saw this no-boil bagel recipe from Skinnytaste pop up on my Instagram feed, I knew I would have to try it.   These bagels are about half the size of a Panera bagel and have about half the calories (300 for a Panera everything bagel and 152 for these bagels).  However, the real news is that even though half the size they still have the same 10g of protein due to the greek yogurt in the recipe.  I promise this recipe is EASY, EASY, EASY!

Easy Bagels

The original recipe makes only four bagels but I doubled the recipe to make eight which is what I reflect below:

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups non-fat greek yogurt

2 egg whites

Everything Seasoning (see note below)

Steps

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

2. Stir the yogurt into the flour mixture until combined.

3. Move the dough to a lightly floured countertop and knead about 15 times.  The dough will be slightly sticky.

4. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into a rope about 9 inches long, then shape into a bagel.

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5. Place the bagels on a baking sheet covered with a silpat or with parchment sprayed with oil.  I highly recommend a silpat which I use for almost all my baking.

6. Use the egg white to wash the bagels….I gave each at least two coats.

7. Then sprinkle each bagel with Everything Seasoning.  I also use this seasoning on baked chicken breasts.   To make the seasoning I used:

1 T black sesame seeds

1 T white sesame seeds

2 T poppy seeds

2 T dried garlic flakes

2 T dried onion flakes

8. Bake the bagels for 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Cool ten minutes before slicing if you can stand it.  I will guarantee you will be starving by the time these are done, they smell soooooo good!

I am already thinking about my next batch, Asiago cheese, cinnamon….the possibilities are endless.  Let me know if you try them!