Rachael Ray weekly menu planner- meal six

Tilapia with bell peppers and parsley spiked couscous

One 7.6 oz box couscous
1/2 cup plus 2 TB chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
3 TB oil
4 skinless tilapia fillets
2 lemons cut into wedges
2 bell peppers cut into thin strips
1 onion thinly sliced

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to boil, remove from heat, stir in the couscous, cover and let stand for 5 min. Using a fork, stir in 1/2 cup parsley, salt and pepper. Keep warm. In a large skillet heat oil. Season fish with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden brown and just cooked through. Transfer to a serving platter, squeeze a wedge of lemon over each fillet and tent with foil to keep warm. Using the same skillet, heat the remaining oil, add the bell peppers and onion and season with salt and pepper, cook until softened and golden brown. Spoon the veggies over the tilapia and sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with couscous and lemon wedges.

YUMMY!!!!!  A mild tasting fish with sauted peppers and onions is just fantastic!!  And very quick to make as well.  Five stars from both of us, and even the leftovers were good!

Rachael Ray weekly menu planner- meal five

Orzo risotto with spring greens

2 cups orzo pasta
1 TB oil
1/2 onion, chopped
salt and pepper
1 pint half and half
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 cup packed baby spinach
6 scallions, thinly sliced

In large pot  of boiling water cook orzo until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil and add the onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook until just golden. Stir in half and half and 3/4 cup parmesan and simmer until just thickened. Stir in the cooked orzo, reserved pasta water and the peas. Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until warmed through. Remove from heat and fold in the spinach and scallions. Serve sprinkled with the remaining 3/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Yet another very quick and easy meal to make! And super tasty as well!  We both gave it five stars. :)

Rachael Ray weekly menu planner- meal four

Stewed white beans with spinach and bacon

8 slices bacon
1 pound baby red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1/2 onion, chopped
two 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
2 TB fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
2 cups packed baby spinach
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook bacon in large skillet until just crisp. Drain on paper towel. Return skillet to heat and cook potatoes until golden brown. Stir in the onion and cook until softened. Stir in the beans, broth and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until almost all liquid is absorbed. Stir in the spinach and cook just until wilted. Crumble bacon on top and sprinkle with scallions and parmesan.

Everything is simmering together and I just added the spinach.

Topped with bacon, scallions and parmesan.  Ready to eat!!

This was yet another great meal!  We both loved it!  So tasty with the bacon and cheese on it.  Very hearty and filling with the beans and potatoes.  We both gave it 5 stars for sure!  We are not picky eaters at all.  We love food and eat just about everything.  Our two main exceptions are pork and shellfish, and that is for healthy reasons, not religious reasons.

Rachael Ray weekly menu planner- meal three

Beef and mushroom tacos with avocado salad

3 TB oil
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
salt and pepper
2 avocados cut into cubes
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1 1/2 limes)
8 oz sliced white mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8 small flour tortillas

Heat oil in skillet. Add the beef, half the onion and the jalapenos; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned and the onion is softened, 7 to 10 min. Transfer to bowl; reserve the skillet.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining onion; the avocados and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium heat, add the mushrooms and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until golden, 7 to 9 min. Stir into the beef mixture and cover with foil to keep warm. Wipe out the skillet and return to medium heat. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, lightly toast on both sides for about 1 min. Stuff the tortillas with the beef mixture and avocado salad.

We LOVE Mexican food!  We have it often in our house.  This was a bit of a different spin on our usual Mexican fare, but we LOVED it!  Both Ron and I gave it 5 stars for sure.  Super tasty, very easy to make, and we will add it to our meal menu. :)

Rachael Ray weekly menu planner- meal two

Chicken and orzo soup

1 cup orzo
1 TB olive oil
1 pound chicken cut into 1/2 inch pieces
salt and pepper
8 oz sliced white mushrooms
2 ribs celery chopped
15 oz can cannellini beans (rinsed)
7 cups chicken broth
3 TB fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley leaves

In large pot of boiling water, cook orzo until al dente, 8 to 10 min; drain.
Meanwhile, in a large pot heat oil and add chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until just cooked through. Add the mushrooms and celery and cook until the chicken is golden brown.
Stir in the cooked orzo, the beans, chicken broth and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Lower heat to medium and simmer until heated through. Stir in the parsley.

Cooking the chicken, mushrooms and celery.

Added the broth, orzo, beans, and lemon juice and now simmering.

Added the parsley.  SO GOOD!!!!

This was very quick, very simple, and VERY tasty!!!  Ron and I both gave it 5 stars!  I will be adding this  to our meal menu for sure!!

Homemade Valentine's Day chocolate

As you may have figured out by now, we do like to eat healthy.  So I am always on the lookout for fun, healthy, yummy snacks and treats for our family.  I learned about making some awesome healthy chocolate a couple years ago, so now it has become tradition for me to make some for Valentine's Day.

All it takes is 3 simple ingredients.  Cocoa, coconut oil, and honey (or your choice of healthy sweetener).

1 cup cocoa powder, 3/4 cup honey, 1/2 cup solid coconut oil, and 1/2 cup melted coconut oil.  Pulse until just blended, if you over mix it may separate.

Pour into a mold, or a wax paper lined pan and place in refrigerator until solid.

Be sure to taste it for quality control. :)

This chocolate needs to stay refrigerated due to the coconut oil.  But it is SO tasty!!!

My littlest Valentine. :)

Rachael Ray weekly menu planner- meal one

Baked buffalo chicken with blue cheese salad

8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
1 onion cut into 1/3 inch rings
1/3 cup buffalo sauce, plus more for serving
1 TB olive oil
salt and pepper
4 oz container blue cheese crumbles
6 TB sour cream
2 TB fresh lemon juice
2 cup chopped celery
5 oz bag mixed greens

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl combine chicken, onion, 1/3 cup buffalo sauce and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring the onion and turning the chicken halfway through, until the onion is softened and browned and the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, in a salad bowl, whisk together the blue cheese, sour cream and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Add the celery and mixed greens and toss. Top the salad with the baked chicken and onion. Serve with more buffalo sauce on the side.

This meal was very simple to prepare, and did not take much time or planning ahead to do.  Which is great for a quick dinner in a pinch, especially if you are craving some hot wings but want something a bit healthier.

Rather than bake it in the oven, I decided to cook mine in a skillet on the stove.  It took a little less time to cook that way.

Mixing the blue cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper and celery.

Voila!! The finished meal!!

It was very tasty, we both liked it.  The rating system we are going to use is 5 stars.  One star being the lowest rating, and five stars the highest.  Both Ron and I gave this meal 4 stars.  We would've given it 5 but we felt the blue cheese was a bit overpowering.  It was hard to really taste the other flavors too.  So I think if I use a bit less blue cheese next time, it will be a 5 star meal! :)

Following Rachael Ray's menu planner for a week

I am very excited to give this a try!  I've always wanted to do it, and now I am going to!  And I will take photos and blog about the whole experience.  I subscribe to Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.  I have made several of her recipes and they have all been great.  I just received the March issue last week and I really liked all the recipes that were listed in the weekly menu planner.  So I am going to tear out the shopping list and buy everything I need for it this weekend and start the first meal on Sunday.  Here is the list of meals I will make:

Sunday- baked buffalo chicken with blue cheese salad
Monday- chicken and orzo soup
Tuesday- beef and mushroom tacos with avocado salad
Wednesday- stewed white beans with spinach and bacon
Thursday- orzo risotto with spring greens
Friday- tilapia with bell peppers and parsley-spiked couscous
Saturday- peppers 'n' potatoes beef skillet supper


Yummy!!  I will blog about each meal I make with photos included, and of course the recipe and our reviews of it.

Just as a disclaimer: I am not receiving any compensation from Everyday with Racheal Ray for doing this, I just simply wanted to do it for myself and share it with you all. :)

Quinoa almond cookies

Okay, I know what you are thinking, quinoa in cookies???  YES!!  Not only is quinoa healthy, but it tastes great in these chocolate chip cookies!  And of course so does the almond flour.  The biggest plus is they have been taste tested and approved by my 3 1/2 year old! :)  Enjoy!

Quinoa Almond Cookies:

1 c. almond flour

1/2 c. quinoa flour (grind in coffee bean grinder or food processor)

2 tbls arrowroot powder

1 1/2 tbls baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 c. coconut oil

1/3 c. sugar

1 egg

1 cup choc. chips

Mix together, drop onto baking sheet (you may need to shape them a bit as the dough is crumbly) bake at 350 degrees until they just start to get golden brown.  Next time I think I may just press them onto a pan and cut into bars.