YUM. pinterest dinner week.

Alrighty well I'm already behind with a couple posts from the past 2 weeks but I just HAD to post this one immediately!!!!! We have been cooking up a storm and have been dying to find some new recipes...and of course I headed to Pinterest to see what I could find! :)  Every single dish we made this week has definitely been added to our list of mmmm mmmm repeats.  3 out of 5 involved the Crock pot but since I get up at 5:55 AM for work (and I despise waking up) I only got up early for Friday's ribs in the Crock...but boy was it worth it! :) 

We try and plan out meals for the week on Sundays, go shopping for everything, and then have it on our menu (mainly so I can remember what we said we were going to cook all week!) It also helps with the "Uh-oh...it's 6:00, I'm hungry, and we didn't talk about what we wanted to eat tonight" kind of moments. 

Printed this little ditty a while back, framed it,
and use dry erase marker :)  LOVE it. 

So we'll start with Monday.  At that time, I had NO idea that our week of meals would be blog-worthy so I didn't take any meal pictures until Wednesday...so sorry.  Monday's meal was Minestrone soup and grilled cheese. We did this on the stove and it was super yummy and easy...just throw it all in. 

Here's the recipe I followed:

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15oz can cannellini beans
• 3 cups fat free vegetable broth
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp bay leaves
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups chopped fresh or defrosted spinach
• 2 cups cooked small pasta (we used shells)
• extra Parmesan cheese to top

Rinse and drain beans. Combine all ingredients in a large pot over medium heat. Cover and cook for an hour or so. Make a cheesy grilled cheese sandwich for a side. Mmmm...we used extra sharp cheddar and sandwich flats.  ENJOY!

On to Tuesday: Skinny Chicken Parmesan. I wasn't quite sure what made this "skinny" but it's a keeper.

This picture is off the website where I got the recipe from.

Here's what we did:

• 4 chicken breasts, sliced in half
• 3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasonings
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
• cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  

Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings in a shallow bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Lightly spray chicken with a little more cooking spray (adds crispiness) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted and chicken is done. Serve over whole wheat spaghetti or with a salad. 

Makes 8 servings. 225 calories per serving.

Here goes Wednesday. Black bean, corn, and spinach enchiladas with Spanish style multi-grain rice (thanks to Uncle Ben's 90 second pack!) These were deeeeeelicious!!!! You could definitely add any sort of meat if you'd like but we just went meatless. This was another recipe that said to use the Crock pot but we just put them in a large baking dish in the oven. 

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 tbsp light-brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 cup sherry
• 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable broth

Sauce directions:

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until the onion is soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, brown sugar, cumin, and oregano and cook 1 minute more. Add the sherry, tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Bring to a slow boil then simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened to stew consistency. (Recipe says to puree with an immersion blender...I just used it as-is.) 

For the enchiladas:

• 1 batch of homemade enchilada sauce (above)
• cooking spray
• 10-12 tortillas
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 10 oz package frozen spinach, heated, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 12 oz package frozen corn kernels, heated
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded double cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the black beans, spinach, corn, cumin, salt and black pepper. Mix to combine well.

Spray bottom of a large baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon filling into each tortilla and top with Monterey Jack cheese, roll up, and place in dish, seam-side down. Continue until filling is gone. Ladle enchilada sauce on top of them and sprinkle with double cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with a side of rice, refried beans, or chips & salsa. 

Thursday = pizza...packed with veggies & cheese. This recipe was super simple and really good. Asparagus, spinach, & garlic were the main ingredients. 

We've discovered this crust recently and it's really good!

Finished product :) 

Here's what I did:

• Pillsbury artisan whole wheat pizza dough
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (or more)
• 9-10 asparagus spears, woody ends removed and chopped
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• 8-10 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Roll out pizza dough on pizza stone and bake for 7 minutes before adding your toppings. While dough is pre-baking, heat a few twirls of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add asparagus and cook for about 5 minutes. Add fresh spinach and garlic cloves and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Take out pre-baked dough and brush on olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Add a layer of mozzarella, then spinach/asparagus/garlic mixture, and then some more mozzarella. Bake for 6-7 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned. Serve with a side salad if you wish.

                         

TGIF...and so ready for Crock pot ribs! This was my first attempt at ribs and after using the slow cooker, I have NO idea why you would want to grill them.  It was the easiest recipe of the week and totally worth getting up a few minutes early. The recipe I followed/tweaked called for you to season and brown 4 pounds of pork baby back ribs first in the oven, so I did that the night before to save a lot of time the next morning. I also made the sauce ahead of time. 

seasoned and ready to brown

I seasoned them with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder and baked for 20 minutes on each side.

 

post-browning

 The Girl Who Ate Everything said "browning allows the fat to render in the oven, rather than in your sauce and it brings out a ton of flavor." Well...she was right on point. 

                       

For the sauce, mix up the following:

• 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 cup Streeter Sauce (Clay's version) *contact me for his info...his sauce is AH-MAY-ZING*

Place ribs in slow cooker and cover with the sauce. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Make another batch of sauce (half the recipe) when they are ready to eat. Serve with any side - we chose a broccoli and cheese steamer.

After 8 hours on low...the house smelled so good!

falling apart...mmmmm!

I hope you enjoyed our week of Pinterest dinners! Give some a try...you will not be disappointed!