I’m happily perched in my desk chair watching one of the last 3 NFL games of the year. My team, long ago eliminated, might be at home, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing exciting going on! I’m rooting for the Giants to win it all. I love a scrappy team.

Time for some Meal Planning!

Step 1 – The Schedule

Perfectly normal week, nothing special going on!

Sunday – Football, gaming, lots of dinner prep and cook time, but something passive
Monday – Work, gaming, about 1 hour to cook and serve dinner
Tuesday – Work, gym, lots of time to cook
Wednesday – Work, free evening
Thursday – work, gym, gaming… 15 minutes for dinner
Friday – Out on the town, thinking maybe some mexican this week?
Saturday – Nothing planned

Step 2 – What must we use this week?

Cauliflower
Mango
Red onion
Fingerling potatoes, yams

Step 3 – The Plan

Sunday – Sausage and peppers are in the crock pot already!
Monday – Pork tenderloin medallions with cauliflower bake and a side salad
Tuesday – Pork chops with mango salsa, yet undetermined vegetable

Wednesday – Baked chicken nuggets with fingerling potaties
Thursday – Leftover sausage and peppers

Lunches –

Step 4 – What to buy/prep?

1) Get pork tenderloin out the freezer on Sunday
2) Get pork chops out of the freezer on Monday
3) Get chicken out of the freezer on Tuesday

Apparently I’m in the mood for pork this week!

Let’s review:

Sunday – Leftover soup (DONE!)

Monday – Hungarian pork chops, steams cauliflower with a bit of cheddar, served with egg noodles (use greek yogurt instead of sour cream!)
Greek yogurt does not work in this recipe. I had to remake the sauce last minute, and my pork chops got really dry in the process. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

Tuesday – Sausage and peppers over brown rice and steamed broccoli; make double brown rice
I had white rice for dinner, the husband went to bed as soon as we got home.

Wednesday – Swiss chard and spinach and mushroom quiche (use greek yogurt instead of sour cream again!)
Since the greek yogurt failed, I was nervous, so I went with the sour cream. The recipe is about 300 cal/slice and it is delicious.

Thursday – Leftovers or frozen indian (courtesy of Trader Joes) and brown rice
We ate all the soup and Indian for lunches, so I made some pasta. The husband wanted his with butter and cheese, still feeling icky, and I had mine with a little turkey kilebasa, broccoli, and sauce, with just about 1oz of pasta. It makes a nice, filling, and super healthy meal!

Lunches – Leftover indian, carrot and celery sticks, smoothies with greek yogurt and frozen berries
Indian gone, carrots and celery still around. I needed to cut them up to make them easier. The GIANT CONTAINER of greek yogurt is about half gone, and I’m discovering ways to make it more tasty.

Here’s a quick bonus recipe:

Adapted from A Life to Bragg About:

Chocolate Pudding Greek Yogurt

1 serving (8oz) plain greek yogurt, 0% fat
1 tbsp special dark cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 packets splenda
Chocolate Chips for garnish

Mix the first 4 ingredients, garnish with chocolate chips. You’ll love it! It’s full of protein, just a hint of sweetness, and fills a chocolate craving without much sugar.

The entire recipe was from my brain, though it’s not exactly an act of genius. It tastes great, though, and comes together quickly. If you’re looking for a 1-dish meal, cook the aromatics in your dutch oven, then cook the chicken a bit before adding the broth, etc. If you’re looking for something faster, get the chicken going in the broth to boil it while cooking the aromatic in another pan.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Ingredients:

1-2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 carrot sticks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups chicken broth (I recommend Better than Bullion Chicken Base)
1 package gnocchi, or homemade if you’re brave
Sea salt (I used pink Himalayan sea salt, it was delicious) to taste
Pepper to taste
Basil, about 1/2 tbsp, for some color mostly

Directions:

In a sautee pan, heat a bit of oil and sautee the aromatics (onion, celery, carrots) and the garlic for 5-8 minutes or until slightly softened. In a dutch oven or stock pot, place the chicken and the broth and bring to a boil to cook your chicken. Add the aromatics, salt, pepper, and basil. Once the chicken is cooked (10 min or less).

Throw the gnocchi in and cook for 2 min or until the gnocchi is done. Serve warm and enjoy!

Note: There’s a handful of rotini in there, about 3oz I had from a leftover bag of it. Just go with it, people!

Step 1 – Weekly Schedule

Fairly normal week this week!

Sunday – Football during the day, gaming with friends at 8pm
Monday – Work, home around 6pm, gaming at 7:30
Tuesday – Work, gym, home around 7:30. We’ll want something easy!
Wednesday – Work, the husband goes running, but plenty of time to cook a good meal
Thursday – Quickie dinner night! 15 minutes to serve dinner.
Friday – Out to eat
Saturday – I’m hanging out with some friends, so the husband is on his own

This friend! HI FRIEND!

Step 2 – What do we have on hand and what must we use this week

*2 center cut pork chops I got out for tonight but didn’t end up using
*Leftover chicken gnocchi soup (recipe post coming soon!) – 3-4 servings worth
*Leftover Indian food from Friday, though this is better for lunches
*Some carrots, swish card, celery, cauliflower
*Greek Yogurt

Step 3 – The Plan

Sunday – Leftover soup
Monday – Hungarian pork chops, steams cauliflower with a bit of cheddar, served with egg noodles (use greek yogurt instead of sour cream!)
Tuesday – Sausage and peppers over brown rice and steamed broccoli; make double brown rice
Wednesday – Swiss chard and spinach and mushroom quiche (use greek yogurt instead of sour cream again!)
Thursday – Leftovers or frozen indian (courtesy of Trader Joes) and brown rice

Lunches – Leftover indian, carrot and celery sticks, smoothies with greek yogurt and frozen berries

Step 4 – What to buy

*mushrooms (white button) – normally I’d get these from my delivery, but they only have portobellos this week, and I don’t think that sounds very good
*mozzarella cheese for the quiche

That’s it! Make it happen.

Sunday – Leftover chili I ended up having chili, the husband ate the leftover black bean soup.

Monday – Pulled pork sandwiches with vinegar cole slaw, green beans
That boneless pork loin and the vinegar cole slaw go hand-in-hand. Pulled pork sandwiches it is! I need buns, however. Could buy or make them, but would have to make those on Sunday. The pork loin is a bit drier than a pork shoulder, so keep that in mind. We ate this on english muffins to cut down on calories, and it aws delicious!

Tuesday – Whatever I want! Hahahaha! Probably a super falafel sandwich from the middle eastern place. Delicious. I had steamed dumplings and egg drop soup after an excellent full-body boot camp workout!

Wednesday – Baked panko chicken fingers, side salad with goat cheese, croutons, and dressing of our choice, and sweet potato fries The fun thing about a meal plan, if you forget what you were going to make, it’s right there! Dinner was delicious.

Thursday – Leftover pulled pork sandwiches I actually ate mine on corn tortillas. mmmm.

Friday – Out to dinner Not sure where we’re going tonight, but it’ll be great!

Saturday – Unplanned wackiness!

Were my meal planning tips helpful? Should I keep posting these?

Have a great weekend and happy football playoffs!

I have had some questions about how I do my meal planning, how I think through this, and how I pull it off. So, I am going to go through my thought process a little bit, and maybe it can help someone out there in the internet nether.

Step 1: What is our schedule this week?

Sunday – Dinner needs to be done by 8pm, but otherwise we’ve got all day

Monday – 90 minutes from arrival home to online gaming commitments

Tuesday – The husband has plans with a friend, so I’m on my own. I’ll work out after work, so dinner will be after 7pm. I’ll want something quick.

Wednesday – I work from home on Wednesdays, and the husband comes home from work to run. This means I have lots of time to make dinner, but it will be consumed later, close to 8pm.

Thursday – Assuming everything goes to plan, I have 15 minutes to pull of dinner. This calls for leftovers, crock pot meals, or emergency Indian from Trader Joes

Friday – We almost always go out on Fridays

Saturday – I don’t like pre-planning Saturdays

Summary – 1 quick meal, 1 longer prep meal, 2 free-form meals, 1 night of dinner-for-one

Step 2: What is in the fridge and must be used this week?

1) Leftover chili (could also be used for lunches)
2) Leftover black bean chili (could also be for lunches)
3) Freezer green beans – we’ve got 2 bags and a too-small freezer
4) Boneless pork loin roast
5) Salad mixture that is like cole slaw but I plan to make it with a vinegar-based dressing instead
6) More Goat Cheese

Step 3: The Plan

Sunday – Leftover chili

Monday – Pulled pork sandwiches with vinegar cole slaw, green beans
That boneless pork loin and the vinegar cole slaw go hand-in-hand. Pulled pork sandwiches it is! I need buns, however. Could buy or make them, but would have to make those on Sunday.

Tuesday – Whatever I want! Hahahaha! Probably a super falafel sandwich from the middle eastern place. Delicious.

Wednesday – Baked panko chicken fingers, side salad with goat cheese, croutons, and dressing of our choice, and sweet potato fries

Thursday – Leftover pulled pork sandwiches

Friday – Out to dinner

Saturday – Unplanned wackiness!

Step 4: What do we need to purchase?

Buns for the pulled pork sandwiches (could also make these today – Sunday – since dinner is leftovers tonight, but… FOOTBALL IS ON!)

Other things to keep in mind:

1) Be flexible, you never know what kind of thing life will throw at you. Always always have a plan for a dinner you can make in 15 minutes.
2) Planning to use your leftovers will make you more likely to use them

As a home chef, I have a veritable arsenal of places to shop. Each has their own purpose, and while there is some overlap, I still prefer to go to the best source for the best ingredients.

I was having a difficult time finding a good source for bulk foods, specifically organics. Now, we know I don’t buy everything organic. I am not made of money, people. Last year when discussing learning to use qunioa, a friend of mine sent me ‘one yummy pound’ of quinoa from nutsonline.com. I put it in my cupboard and used it a few times, and quite liked it. But I was more focused on this new ingredient rather than the source.

Probably 6 months later, I was looking for a bulk source for chia seeds, and I stumbled onto their website again. Believe me when I tell you I was both overwhelmed and excited by the selection. Spices, candy, snacks… you name it!

Nuts Online has become my go-to source for bulk foods. Just a small sampling of things I’ve gotten from here:

*Bread mixes
*Flours
*Rice
*Dried fruit
*Freeze dried fruit (for oatmeal!)
*Chia seeds
*Dark chocolate chips (the best I’ve had, hands down)
*Nuts, of course!

I think the only thing Nuts Online is missing is the ability to purchase 50% salted nuts, which are our favorite, so we still get cashews and pistachios primarily from Trader Joes. The nuts I have gotten from there are delicious, however!

Additionally, when you place an order by (I believe) 4pm, it will ship that day. My order this week shipped in 40 minutes. I kid you not.

Thank you, Nuts Online for being my source of good, quality bulk foods. You are a pleasure to work with.

And thanks for the Elephant!

*I am in no way affiliated with Nuts Online and they have not sponsored this post. The thoughts are my own.

I was talking to my brother on the way home from the gym (where I managed to only glare down one newbie, be proud) about what to make for dinner. He’d made my turkey chili – again – but having had no time to prep a crock pot meal, that was no help. Finally, as I pulled up to my house, he mentioned tacos. Perfect! I knew I had corn tortillas, ground beef, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and I always have cheese.

*buzzer noise*

Wrong, I have no cheese. Well, I shouldn’t say that. I have string cheese in jalapeno and regular flavors, babybel cheese, and a giant block of goat cheese. But no cheddar. Now, goat cheese is probably my favorite of all time, so it’s not like I actually recoiled at the idea of it going on traditional beef tacos, but I couldn’t help but think there was a better flavor profile out there.

And thus the pork tenderloin and goat cheese tacos were born, and with great success, I might add.

Quick note – I did pan fry these in olive oil, mostly because I had some extra calories left for the day, and I wanted them to be crispy. Plus a serving of healthy fat, courtesy of said olive oil, would not go amiss. To lean these up a bit, skip the breading or toast the bread crumbs on the stove top, bread, then bake at 425 for a few minutes. That will work.

Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin and Goat Cheese Tacos

Ingredients:

1 portion of pork tenderloin, you really only need about 3oz per person
1 egg
1 cup panko
Fresh spinach, shredded finely
3 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled (use a fork to do this)
EVOO
Corn tortillas, warmed before serving

Directions:

Cut the pork tenderloin into small bite-sized pieces. Scramble the egg and coat the pork in the egg, then in the panko. Let sit for a few minutes.

Heat the oil and cook the pork in batches until cooked. It won’t take long, don’t let it burn!

Drain the pieces on a paper towel.

Heat the tortillas for 30 seconds in the microwave covered in a damp paper towel. Arrange on the plate with a little bit of spinach and goat cheese. Put the pork on top and serve immediately.

I’ve got some new years resolutions for you. Along side the traditional “get healthier” goal set, I have some blog and cooking related resolutions I thought I’d share and have you all help me stick to. Here we go!

2012 Loki’s Kitchen Resolutions:

1) Blog once a week – This might not be a recipe, but might be a magazine review, organizational trickery, tips and tricks for the family on the go, or something I haven’t yet thought of. For the record, this entry does not count for this week.

2) Purchase no new kitchen appliances – Unless something I use regularly dies, I will buy no new kitchen appliances. Now, there’s a new toaster possibly in the works, but only if I can find the Perfect Toaster. My current one is almost exclusively used for english muffins, and I get burned daily while retrieving them. Other than that, I need nothing, and must resist the temptation to do so.

3) Learn to cook lamb – I’ve never tried! I feel like it’s something I should do.

Image from foodmuses.com

4) Use the crock pot once a week – again, just something I should do!

5) Learn to cook something Thai – just don’t expect it to contain fish sauce, OK?

6) Meal plan 2-3 weeks/month – doing this weekly is hard, but it is so helpful!

What are your new years resolutions? Any more ideas for me this year?

Google tells me the recipe originated from a blogger who does not love ice cream but liked the inclusions in Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream.

The recipe is pretty easy, it makes a ton, and the bars are good. Not great. I would tweak these a bit by using two thirds of the caramel, more and larger pretzel pieces, and a thin layer of sea salt on top of the caramel. I love some salt in my dessert.

My task to you all is to make these with my tweaks and let me know how it works out. I recommend these for a gathering or foisting upon coworkers.

Chubby Hubby Bars

Ingredients
1 cup butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coursely chopped pretzels
1 bag (8oz) mini Reese’s pb cups (you can usually find these in the candy aisle)
14 oz caramels
1 tbsp water
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

In your mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, mix well. Add the salt, baking soda, and flour to form a cookie dough.

Spread the dough in the baking pan and bake 20 minutes or until light brown and set.

Once baked allow to cool completely. This might take a few hours.

When the cookie is cooled, melt the caramels with the water, stirring once every minute. Spread onto the cookie and then place in the fridge to set, about 15 minutes.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave, spread on top of the caramel and return to the fridge to allow to set.

Once completely cooled and set, remove from the fridge and allow to warm to room temp before trying to cut these, trust me.