Reflections and Predictions

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas of all kinds!  Today was a wonderful and relaxing Mother's Day.  Little A let me sleep until almost 7am...well after he fell out of my bed at 5am and gave himself a black eye, but I digress :)  He made me a beautiful necklace at daycare and a card and then grandma and grandpa helped him pick out 2 new cookie sheets for me which I desperately needed!  Then we went for a delicious brunch at Great Escape.  I highly recommend their brunch!  Lots of variety, no wait at all, not over crowded and only $20 per person ($10 for kids).  I know I sound like an advertisement, but it really was good haha!  We came home after and cleaned up the garden for planting next weekend, watched Ghostbusters and just hung out.  It was a wonderful day with my little man with almost no time outs and that is always a plus!

Now to get back to the grindstone tomorrow.  We have 1 more week of classes before final exams and I am predicting a rough few weeks.  The students have been a bit crazy the past few weeks already, tensions and stress running high.  My goal for the next two weeks is to plan ahead as much as I can at home and work, take things with a grain of salt knowing that people don't always mean things the way they sound, and make sure to cherish every moment at home with my little guy to keep me grounded.  Let's hope we all make it through!

 So part of the planning: make ahead breakfasts and dinners this week!

Breakfasts:

Low Fat Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

Crock Pot Peanut Butter Craisin Oatmeal  (edits: skim milk instead of almond, peanut butter extract instead of almond, craisins instead of cherries)

Dinners:

Monday: Fish Tacos: leftover tilapia fish sticks from last week smothered in peach salsa rolled in tortillas with lettuce and cheese,  Served with rice and black beans.

Tuesday: Double Delicious Mac and Cheese: I have been trying to make this recipe for 3 weeks and it keeps getting pushed off.  It is so delicious and since it can be made ahead and used for 2-3 meals it is DEFINITELY getting made this week!  Plus it is a guarantee that Little A will eat it and I have to work until 8 on Tuesday :) Served with spinach salad.

Wednesday: Salmon and Roasted Potatoes with green beans: marinated in lemon, dill and salt and pepper overnight (add olive oil to potatoes).  Salmon cooked at 425 for 30ish minutes.  Potatoes at 425 until crispy.

Thursday: Leftovers OR Back Up Dinner: eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit (this is my go to when I am too tired to cook!)

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: eat out

Sunday: Cranberry Crock Pot Ribs with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.  Made a few edits to this recipe.  No jelly, ketchup, bbq sauce or brown sugar.  Added 1c low sodium chicken broth, 1tsp red pepper flakes, 1/4c orange juice.

Dessert:

1 box Lemon cake mix (no pudding added)
2 bags frozen peaches
16oz diet Sprite

Spray 9x13 baking dish.  Dump in both bags of frozen peaches.  Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the peaches.  Pour diet Sprite over the top do not mix!

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes

Thank you to Living a Changed Life blog for the inspiration for this and so many of my recipes and for daily inspiration to keep going on this Weight Watcher journey!


This weeks goal: to figure out how to post a recipe to Pinterest and link it to my blog!  Anyone know how??


 

What's for Dinner...better late than never!

So this week's dinner post is a little bit late because...well....I just didn't get to it yesterday!  I was so busy actually cooking the food and shopping for it and doing laundry that I just forgot to write this post, so here it is!

Breakfast for the week: Crock Pot Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (edit: I used 2c water and 2c fat free half and half)

Monday: Baked Fish Sticks, Rice and Salad

Tuesday: Crock Pot Beef Stew with Quinoa (I wasn't sure about the spices on this one, so I substituted onion soup mix since that is what I use for my pot roast.  I'll post a pic after I make it!)

 

Wednesday:  Double Delicious Mac and Cheese with veggies (I usually make this with sweet potato puree, but don't have any so I will use carrot this week.)

Thursday: Leftovers!   I keep forgetting to schedule a leftovers day and we have SO MUCH food in the fridge by Friday, so this week I scheduled one this week :)

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Eat Out

Sunday: Crock Pot Cranberry Ribs (edit: no chili sauce or red wine vinegar, add chicken stock and red pepper flakes) with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob

**DISCLAIMER: all images are the result of a Google search I make no claim that these images are my own!**

Hope you all have a wonderful and yummy meal filled week :)