What's Cookin in the Kitchen

This is going to be a crazy week for me at the school. Monday I will be tutoring until 7:00 pm, Tuesday is lab all day (I don't usually feel like cooking after lab all day), Wednesday normal day, Thursday OMT Final Review until 7:30. Since I have 3 days where I won't want to be slaving over the stove cooking dinner this week, I'm going to try out some of the freezer--> crockpot meals. I will let you know how they go.

Sunday: Thai Beef, Broccoli, & Brown Rice

Monday: Chicken Curry & White Rice

Tuesday: Crockpot Minestroni Soup

Wednesday: Rosemary Chicken, Potatoes & Mushrooms (Pinterest)

Thursday: Goulash & Green Beans (Crockpot Freezer Meal)

Friday: My parents will be in town for the weekend!

Even though it's going to be a busy week, I am determined we will eat dinner at home every night. Going out to eat is expensive!

Six dinners in 3 hours? Yes Please!!!

"I am telling you it will change your life! Give it a try and tell me how it went!"

Is what I read from the blog, so I'm going to give it a try.

I found this blog on pinterest, and I'm so excited to give this a try. Click on the word "blog" above to go to the original blog. She used 3 hours one day to prepare a total of 6 crock pot meals. I'm so excited to give it a try. Below are all of the recipes along with instructions on how to work YOUR magic.

Make your grocery list based on the recipes listed below. Chop up all of your veggies.

Healthy Mama Barbecue Chicken
3 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 large green pepper, cut into strips
1 large red pepper, cut into strips
1 zucchini, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca
2 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard (I wasn't sure if this meant actual mustard or the spice so I did a little of both)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.

Stephanie's Goulash
3 cups chopped onions
2.5 cups coarsely chopped green sweet peppers
4 large beets, peeled and diced
2 cups of carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch cubes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
4 teaspoons Hungarian paprika or regular paprika (I used regular)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups hot cooked noodles
1/2 dairy sour cream

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. EXCEPT the sour cream, that is for garnish after the meal is cooked.

Chicken Curry
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons curry powder
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups chopped peeled sweet potatoes
2.5 cups baby carrots
2 cup coarsely chopped mango
1 cup chopped onion
1 zucchini chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
chicken bouillon
.5 cup raisins (for garnish)
.5 cup peanuts or cashews (for garnish)

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.



Just dump the veggies into the gallon ziploc bags, then added the meat, then added the spices.

To cook, take out of freezer and set on counter for about 30 minutes, then dump contents of bag into slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.

5 To Go

So this summer Eric and I decided to start eating healthy and working out. I would have to say this is the longest I have ever stuck to a diet or exercise plan. We were doing this more for the health benefits. My family has some serious heart disease, and I want to take all preventive measures. I wasn't miserable with the way I looked but I wasn't thrilled either.

I am happy to say that I am 15 pounds lighter since we started. I'm still not exactly where I want to be, but I just look at myself and can't imagine having another 15 lbs on me. I'm super pleased with my success. I have 5 more to go to get to college weight. Even though I'm 5 pounds from pre-med school weight, I know I have added more muscle. Running has really toned my legs up. I love it!

This is from Christmas 2010

May 2011 before diet & exercise.

Labor Day Weekend 2011 prior to diet and exercise.

A fun evening at the Plaza with some great friends. Sorry it's kind of blurry. This was probably about a month ago.

Me at work this September 2011.

Running Update

You may recall that I started running back in July. Well I guess I should update you on how that's going.

I am still running at least 3 times a week since running camp. I have my first official race this Saturday in Independence, MO. The Joshua Center, the non-profit I volunteer at, is having a fundraiser race. I'm so excited for this to be my first official race. What better way than to run for the kids.

Back in July at the running camp, my 5k time was 33:36. My original goal was to get that under 30 minutes for the run on October 1st. Well as I continued running, I soon realized that was too easy of a goal. I decided ok lets shoot for 25 minutes. Well I hadn't come close to that. Two weeks ago I ran it in 27:10 and felt a feeling of defeat. I thought there is no way I can get under 25 in just 2 weeks. I then changed my goal to be under 27 minutes. I thought that was still really good considering that's 6 minutes faster than what I started.

Well today when I set out for my run, I thought ok I'm going to run 3.1 and run it HARD. I just wanted to see what I could do. I had my phone set to tell me my progress every .5 miles, so that way I could tell how I was doing. At the first .5 mile, I was at 3:45. I thought there's no way I'm running faster than an 8 minute pace. Sure enough, I finished the first mile in 7:49. I was super excited! I slowed my 2nd mile down a little bit. I ended up running 5K in 25:27. Not too bad! I was very pleased. I'm not going to lie, the run kicked my butt. I'm super excited for the actual run on Saturday. I will for sure have Eric take a picture before, during, and after. I'll let you know how it goes.

What's Cookin in the Kitchen

Here is what's on the menu for us this week.

Sunday: Steak, Green beans, and mashed potatoes (Cauliflower)

Monday: Chicken Tacos and Baked Chile Rellenos

Tuesday: Stuffed Bell Peppers

Wednesday: Chicken Noodle Soup (first attempt at making homemade chicken noodle soup)

Thursday: Left Overs & Gospel Community Group

Friday: Turkey Burgers & Carrot Fries

Saturday: The Joshua Center 5k run in the morning WOOHOO!!!

Date Night

I have loved making muffins on Sunday for us to enjoy during the week. This week I will be making the Pear & Granola Muffins.

I'm also going to turn this Sweet Potato Cake into a healthy recipe. If it turns out tasting yummy I will post my altered recipe sometime this week.

What are some yummy fall recipes that you are willing to share?

What's Cookin in the Kitchen

Sunday: Peach Teriyaki Chicken, Rice & Broccoli

Monday: Buffalo Chili for Eric, I will be meeting a friend for dinner

Tuesday: Left Overs for Eric, I will be at a dinner meeting with the doctors from my school

Wednesday: Pineapple Glazed Salmon, Rice & Green beans

Thursday: Gospel Community Dinner

Friday: Pepper & Pear Pork Chops, roasted potatoes and salad

What's Cookin in the Kitchen

If you read my previous post, you saw that my meal planning this week is coming from Door to Door Organics. I have created a link to each menu item for you to check out. Even if this service isn't available in your area, all of my Texas friends, you can still get online and check out recipes.

Sunday: Maple Glazed Salmon with Pineapple and Fresh Green Beans

Monday: Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash

Tuesday: Broccoli & Chicken Stir Fry

Wednesday: Stuffed Bell Peppers

Thursday: Peach Teriyaki BBQ Chicken

Friday: In Laws in Town

Saturday: In Laws in Town

What's for dinner at your house this week?

Door to Door Organics

I'm so thankful for a great friend who introduced me to Door to Door Organics. It's this awesome service that delivers fresh organic produce to your door. They have various boxes of produce to choose from. Each week they have the set produce, but if there is something in the box that week that you don't like you can make up to 5 substitutions.

Here's what's in my box this week:

1 Acorn Squash

3 Kiwi

2 Red Bell Peppers

Romaine Lettuce

3 Lemons

Broccoli

Celery

3 Red Starkrimson Pears

4 Red Plums

1 Lb Black Autumn Royal Grapes

3 Peaches

Delivery is free for most areas, so I just have to pay for my produce. My box just costs $32.66. There is no subscription fee and no cancellation fee if I decide I no longer want to receive door to door organics. Also, if you know you're going to be on vacation for a week or don't need produce for a week you can schedule a "vacation." How cool is that?

Wait it gets better! They even have a kitchen tab where it will pull up recipes based on what's in your box that week. My meal planning for the week is coming straight from their website. I'm super excited to try new recipes. The meal plan will even create my grocery list.

Even better, it saved me money and time on my weekly grocery shopping. Usually I spend at least an hour in the grocery store. This is even with a list that is organized by the route I shop in the store. My list is also based on my weekly meal planning, so I don't purchase excess. Now I cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner nearly every day of the week. I typically spend $100-$115 a week on groceries. With door to door organics and my weekly grocery bill yesterday, I only spent $89. WOOHOO!!! Plus shopping only took me 30 minutes because I did not spend any time in the produce section bagging fruits and veggies.

Unfortunately, this is not available in all areas. It is available in Kansas City, Colorado, Chicago, Michigan and some states out East. If you are in one of these areas and would like to receive 50% off your first box just leave a comment below. I will email you a coupon. So fun!