So far this summer has been quite busy for us, so I apologize for not posting for such a long time. I would say that this won't happen again, but that would be a total lie. Our summer months are super busy and we have plans pretty much every weekend. So for the summer, don't expect more than one post a month from me. So, without further adieu, here are our meals from May 5th on!
Sunday we broke out the grill since it was such a nice day and grilled pork chops that we marinated in barbeque sauce. Ryan the grill master cooked them perfectly. Just look at that grill pattern.
Tuesday we had buttermilk chicken and homemade sweet potato fries. I tried to make the chicken into nuggets like chick-fil-a, but you just can't duplicate the original. Plus this was a cooking light recipe, and I really don't think CFA is super concerned with healthy meals.
It's a pancake batter dispenser that he's had his eye on for some time, and since we had a gift card left over from our wedding, he bought it. He made some pretty mean pancakes, and it was a little easier to dispense than using a measuring cup in a big bowl.
Thursday we made Ryan's favorite, goulash. Basically just a mixture of ground beef, sloppy joe sauce, and pasta. I have no idea why he loves it so much.
Friday my parents took us to dinner, so skip to Saturday, when we made chicken divan. This could have been so good, but just wasn't. First of all, I can NEVER seem to stuff a chicken breast without poking through the other side or tearing it. This furthers my belief that I would be a terrible surgeon or doctor. Second, the chicken was not cooked all the way through, even though I followed the directions exactly. Actually, mine was cooked through, but Ryan's was not fully cooked where the broccoli was. If memory serves be correctly, he had a few good bites and then scarfed down the goulash when I wasn't looking.
And the final reason why I did not like this recipe really needs no words. Check out this epic picture.
Sunday we had Ryan's parents over for Mother's day. We were going to grill but the weather was terrible, so we just had hot dogs and italian sausage inside. As some of you may know, I enjoy cooking, but baking is really where I come into my own. I made a carrot cake for dinner, but I also found this idea on pinterest, the time waster of women nationwide. It's all fruit, but it's made to look like a cake. I thought it would be really difficult to make since I had no real instructions and was just going off a picture. It ended up being easier than I thought. I had to pretty much "carve" the watermelon, cutting off the rind as close as possible to the fruit, and then shape it into what resembled a cake. Then I used cookie cutters that a doctor from work generously lent me to make the flowers and leaves and used toothpicks to stick them into the melon. The top oranges and bottom apples and strawberries were just carefully arranged on the plate. I was shocked it turned out so good.
Here comes the week of shitty meals. Sorry to disappoint so early. The week started off Monday with carrot pancakes, since I had leftover shreeded carrots from the carrot cake. They were ok, but were super dense (made with cream cheese) and heavy. I like my pancakes light and fluffy, so if you like pancakes really heavy you may enjoy them, but Ryan and I were not fans.
Tuesday was fine, just a repeat of a usual monthly meal, the croque monsieur sandwich, Henesey style. We made some more sweet potato fries but proceeded to burn the crap out of them.
Wednesday I did not eat at all dinner was so awful. It was tuna noodle casserole, which I was warned might be bad, but I was confident that if I picked it out to make, it would be good. Not true. I took one bite and it was terrible. Yes it was creamy, but the tuna (the recipe called for simple canned tuna) was terrible; dry and tasteless. I tried to take another bite but I honestly could not do it. And since I told myself at the beginning of this project that I would eat all my creations or go to bed hungry, I chose the latter option. It was that bad. Ryan managed to force down his entire serving, and even said he liked it and would take some for lunch the ext day, but the leftovers sat in the refrigerator all week. Luckily, this was very inexpensive to make, so I did not feel bad throwing the rest of it away.
Thursday we had another semi-failure. Pear and Prosciutto pizza. It was supposed to be topped with arugula but Wegmans did not have any, so we just used field mix. The prosciutto was good, but the pears, once baked in the oven, just got soggy, especially when the oil and vinegar went on it. I did eat this entire dinner, but it certainly won't become a favorite for us.
Friday Ryan was out of town, so I was lazy and just made tomato soup and noodles. Saturday Ryan was still away, and I could not stand to not make dinner again. This is called Ravioli toss. Tomatoes, beans, and cheese over ravioli, in essence. It was simply ok, and again I don't think it will become a favorite.
Sunday we went to my parents for dinner for a belated Mother's day and to celebrate my Grandmother's 97th(!!) Birthday. I hope I get her genes. Then on Monday we had leftover chicken casserole from the night before. Tuesday we had chicken cutlets with herb butter. Insanely easy to make and so tasty.
Wednesday we had breaded fish sandwiches, a recipe from the newest Cooking Light magazine. They were just okay, not great. But maybe I was expecting a filet-o-fish and just got my hopes up. Thursday I was not feeling well so I just had cereal for dinner. Ryan cooked himself some barbeque chicken and had it over a salad.
Friday we had Mahogany glazed pork. If I remember correctly, this was made in a crock pot. The snow peas were awful though, super undercooked, but the pork itself was pretty tasty.
Saturday we had turkey tenderlion sandwiches, a recipe from the Taste of Home healthy eating section. These were super good, and will definitely be making a repeat appearance.
Sunday we made strip steaks. Ryans exact words were "MMMM! That steak was good!" He reprised his role as grill master for these bad boys. We had our first corn on the cob of summer too.
Here's a slight update on our healthy lifestyle too! We have been training for a 33 mile bike ride. Recently, we have been riding to do small errands at the drugstore or grocery store. We also have ridden to the gym once or twice, and have also ridden to the zoo. Our longest ride was almost 20 miles, down the entire lake. We are starting to really enjoy it, especially since map my ride tells us we burn about 600 calories per hour. I have to raise 150$ for this ride, or else I can't do it, and I have been working too hard to not participate. If you can, please please donate. All donations benefit cancer research. Click here to donate. Thank you!
I am also approaching 10 lbs lost since March. I keep losing a little every week, and although I get dejected when my numbers are small, I know that it could be worse. I could be gaining!
I will leave you with a picture of one of the two monsters that it always under my feet while I am cooking. This is Oliver, our six year old terrier. We call him the monkey. He tries to attack the UPS truck and school buses, but is super scared of thunder, the oven, and smoke detectors. He frequently samples some of our dinners. This may explain why he is so fat.
Good bye from all the two and four legged Henesey's!
