Menu Monday: Nourishing Body and Soul

 

                I am so proud of myself for cooking anything at ALL this past week! When I look back over the week we had…all the meetings, all the working over, all the tending to Mom and Dad…this is a win! Here were the hits and misses of this week!

Monday: Zuppa Toscana Soup

What I Loved: This came together pretty quickly at the end of a long day, and it was tasty. I used cubed hash browns to save time on the potato part of the recipe. I also loved that it had everything in the bowl: protein, veggies…

What I Didn’t Love: I FORGOT THE BACON! I was multitasking several things, including updates to different people about my dad, and I totally forgot to air fry the bacon and add it to the top of the soup. FAIL.

Tuesday: Taco Bowls + Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Box Cake

What I Loved About the Taco Bowls: The taco bowls came together easily in one pan on the stove, and I love that. Fewer dirty dishes for the win! I made it, let it sit and soften while we went for a walk around the lake, and then we ate it. This recipe is similar, but free. It calls for chicken, but the original recipe calls for ground turkey.

What I Changed: I used my homemade taco seasoning, which I keep pre-made on hand, instead of the seasoning list described in the recipe. I also used a bag of cauliflower rice mixed with about ¾ cup of brown rice I had left from a meal a few days ago.

What I Loved About the Cake: I used a box of the 100 calorie pack chocolate chip cookies from Aldi, and they were perfect for this. I made it a day ahead of serving, and the cookies had softened nicely for cutting.

What I Changed: I put cookies on the bottom, then ALL the mousse filling, and then cookies on the top. My filling was thick enough that trying to layer proved frustrating.

Wednesday: Leftover Taco Bowls + Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Box Cake

What I Loved: We were on the go all day and night and didn’t get home until late. It was amazing to be able to whip this up for leftovers on the fly. So good.

Thursday: Leftover Zuppa Toscana Soup + Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Box Cake

What I Loved: Ease. Everything about the ease after such a long day/week. Enough said.

Friday: Italian Grinder Salad + Olympic Fruit: Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, Pineapple, Green Grapes on These Tarts

What I Loved About the Salad – Everything! I had protein and veggies in one bowl and it was perfect. Light, fresh, and quick/easy to assemble. My goal was to have an Italian themed meal (in honor of the Olympics being held in Italy) without doing heavy pastas or bread. This completed that mission! Here is a free, similar recipe.

What I Changed – I did not make the homemade dressing. I used the G Hughs Italian dressing we had in the refrigerator. It saved some time.

What I Loved About the Fruit Tarts – The fruit colors (inspired by the Olympics) were so fun, and even though we aren’t in season for these fruits, I thought they were sweet and tasty. The flavors in the tart crust were perfect.

What I didn’t Love/Changed – I don’t actually own tart pans, so I used muffin tins for the tart crusts. They did not remove in one piece. Maybe they aren’t supposed to stay solid, but you’re supposed to leave them in the tart pans so it doesn’t matter? They basically became granola. I also did not use the filling. We just did the granola crust with the fruit. It was perfect.

Saturday: Pizza King Pizza

What I Loved – I needed a cooking break. This was a break, and it was free, so it was even better. Three cheers for church friends who blessed us back at Christmas! We got the Royal Feast Pizza, which is basically like a supreme pizza. Did I pause from my hour-past-dinner-time hunger to photograph this pizza? I did not.

RippledCoffee Cake

What I Loved – I have not made this in YEARS. It was one of my early cooking finds that I shared on the blog years and years ago – back in 2011, actually. I pulled it back out to make for our hospitality team meeting on Sunday morning.

What I Changed – I remembered that when I made it all those many years ago, I though the brown sugar cinnamon mix in the middle was a bit much. So I cut the brown sugar in half. I did the same with the glaze on the top – halved the recipe. I also used Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream, as I do in general now. Everything else stayed the same. My group gobbled it right up!

Sunday: Clean Eating Chili Cheese Fries + High Protein Ranch Dip + Fresh Veggies

What I Loved About the Fries – This felt like a good football game meal, so it made me happy. I wanted to have something that was different and fun without being totally unhealthy.

What I Didn’t Love – Cutting sweet potatoes into fries is a pain. I didn’t mind doing it, but I wouldn’t want to do it every day. Also, the chili didn’t have exactly the normal chili taste. I think I’d do my own chili recipe next time.

What I Loved About the Dip – I’ve made this before, so I knew I’d like it. All the flavors of ranch with a cottage cheese base! Nice and thick.