Meal Plan Week 4

Menu for the week
Monday - baked fish, grilled zucchini and squash in olive oil and fresh herbs from my friend Carrie, green salad and leftover shrimp salad from last week
Tuesday - bread with basil pesto (bad, bad bread, I know, but we are having company!) Chicken Scarpariello with sauteed mushrooms over whole wheat pasta, english peas, and spinach salad
Wednesday - Asian Beef with Snow Peas, brown rice, cabbage crunch salad, steamed carrots, black eye peas
Thursday - Leaving meatloaf with my parents to warm for the kids, salad, instant mashed potatoes, any leftover veggies.

Mark and I will be taking a break from our restricted eating plan. We will try to be good, but no promises, and apart from the challenge leadership course, we will probably not be getting much exercise. I wonder how many calories bull riding burns? I wonder how many calories getting up the nerve for bull riding burns?

Baked Fish:
Mark preheats oven as I drive up. I put aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, grab first bottle of mixed seasoning I see (Adobo) sprinkle over fish, and drizzle with olive oil. Shove in preheated oven. As fish bakes, I raid fridge for leftovers. Warm said leftovers in microwave, rub hungry hubby's back as he miserably lays on couch sick. Pull fish out in 20 minutes bake time.

Meal ready in less than 30 minutes -and I stopped at the grocery store after a last minute trip to surprise visit one of our gyms. Drove 5 hours to work 6 hours. Found recipes for the week on Allrecipes.com sitting in the grocery store parking lot. Shopped in less than 30 minutes. Still made it on time to pick up boys at boy scouts, pull into the driveway as hungry hubby leaves to get Raeley from dance. Much better (and cheaper) than Chinese take out or greasy pizza! And the kids did a great job getting the house clean for their grandparents!

Asian Beef with Snow Peas
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound beef round steak, cut into thin strips
8 ounces snow peas

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Stir-fry ginger and garlic for 30 seconds. Add the steak and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until evenly browned. Add the snow peas and stir-fry for an additional 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce is thick and smooth. Serve immediately.

Chicken Scarpariello
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
1/2 cup white wine
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper

Cut chicken breasts into 1 x 3 inch strips, and dredge in flour.
In 10 inch skillet, heat oil and butter. Add chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides* (3 to 4 minutes). Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet. Set aside and keep warm.
To same skillet, add shallots and garlic. Saute until softened (1 minute). Add water, wine, broth mix, and seasonings. Mix well. Cook, stirring frequently, until liquid is reduced by 1/2 (3 to 4 minutes). Return chicken to skillet, and cook until sauce is thick and chicken is heated through (2 to 3 minutes).
* To save time, I will brown chicken on all sides and put in oven to bake through, finish the sauce in the skillet, then spoon over chicken. I will also use mushroom broth and add sauteed mushrooms to the sauce.