So, this weeks meals are over and done with. They were in general a success, some more so then others, but none were horrible. Here is a short and basic review of what I thought of them.

Tilapia with green beans (Food Network Magazine)
Grade: B
Good, but sort of bland. I think the blandness had to do with the fact that green beans are not in season at the moment and thus I was unable to get the most flavor from them. Plus, they needed to be cooked a bit longer. I like my veggies still crisp, but these were a bit too much so. I think I will make it again, but maybe wait till summer and the farmers markets so I can get fresher green beans.

Smothered Pork Chops (Foodnetwork.com) with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots
Grade: A
Very good meal. It was comfort food to the max, and very flavorful. I really enjoyed it and I don't normally like pork very much. I was also very happy with how they cooked, as I have had issues with pan frying (stuff browning WAY too fast and before it was cooked through).

Chicken Cacciatore (myrecipes.com) with rotini
Grade: A-
Wow... that is what I thought of this. I did add tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes as it was suggested in some of the reviews. I could see how it would be a bit bland without the additions, but with them it was great. The chicken was fall of the bone tender and so flavorful. One of the best slow cooker meals I have ever had.


Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce (Eatingwell.com) with rice
Grade: C
Eh... it wasn't bad but it wasn't memorable. It was just sort of there. Not sure if I did something wrong, but it just wasn't great.

Menu for week starting 2/21

Ahhh... what to have next week. Thinking tomorrow morning would be a great day to hit the grocery store. Of course, I decided to wait until now to try and figure out what to make. I either need only 2 meals or 3 meals with one being a crockpot meal because I have to go to campus on Thursday for a study group for Accounting. I already have a meal planned for tomorrow that will fall within the plans for next week...

So far I have:

Tilapia with green beans and cresent rolls (Food Network Magazine)
- I already have everything I need for this

Smothered Pork Chops (Foodnetwork.com) with stuffing and glazed carrots
- Chicken broth
- Buttermilk (maybe, need to check the use by date on what I have)
- Can of Carrots

Chicken Cacciatore (myrecipes.com) with rotini
- I am going to change this a bit and leave out the mushrooms due to my mothers allergy and make it with chicken thighs since that is what is in the freezer. This is a slow cooker recipe so mom can eat when she gets home from work and I can eat when I get home from classes.
- Onion
- Green Bell Pepper
- Yellow Bell Pepper
- Rotini

Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce (Eatingwell.com) with rice
- Thyme
- Shallot
- Chicken Broth
- Heavy Cream

Weekly Menu/Recipes

Sometimes I can be so unorganized...

Last week I was supposed to make a maple glazed salmon. Well, due to schedule conflicts and me getting sick, it never happened. I made the other meals I had planned and just moved this recipe into this weeks menu. Sounds easy enough right?

Well, that only works if you can remember where the recipe came from! I spent over 2 hours searching for where I found this recipe while freaking out because my mother was super excited over it. Now, I did finally find it thanks to my handy notebook of meals I want to try, but I realized I need some way to keep this all more organized.

And then I remembered I had a blog I keep forgetting about!

So don't be surprised to see my listing my weekly menu, including a shopping list and where the recipes are from. Not only will this help ME, but it may also give an ongoing point to this blog!