An "Off" Week

I'm sorry readers for not posting last week's menu! I've been having an "off" week. Well, maybe and "off" few weeks. Between the cold weather, my S.A.D. (my winter blues) and wicked sinus headaches, I can't seem to get an organized posting out!!! I also haven't been cooking anything very exciting to share. Just easy foods, chili, roaster chickens, eggs and bacon. Boy, do I sound like a broken record! I need to try some new recipes!!! I will try harder next week...please bear with me!!! I know you understand! ;P

Clean out the Freezer Challenge - Week 3

Finally, after all of the cold, snowy weather here in Upstate NY, a February thaw! Thursday it was in the 50's!!! Love it!

Tuesday, I happened to look out in our back yard and catch a Pileated Woodpecker, hammering the heck out of our neighbor's oak tree! I couldn't get very close as I didn't want to scare it away. The picture above was taken from my window.

After three weeks of my "Clean out the Freezer Challenge", I finally feel that I'm at the point where I can actually buy some new freezer items on grocery day. Yippee! I am still trying to use up some "old" items that have been in there a while, but otherwise things look pretty good!

Sunday - Spaghetti and Meatballs. Green Salad.

Monday - Spiral Ham slices - leftover from Christmas. Yes, it was in the freezer. It was delicious...why do I always wait until Christmas to bake a ham???? Anyway...with the ham we had baked sweet potatoes, and whole green beans. Yum.

Tuesday - Chicken tenderloins marinated in Balsamic Vinegar, brown rice, green beans.

Wednesday - Price Chopper Rotisserie Chicken, roasted garlic red-skinned potatoes, green salad.

Thursday - Pizza night. Walmart cheese pizza for my husband and daughter...they were'nt impressed. Gluten-Free Kinnikinnick frozen pizza shell, brushed with olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning, topped with mozzarella and grape tomatoes. These pizza shells aren't the greatest, they are really flaky, more like foccacia and burn very easily so you really have to watch them...they come in a package of four shells...I now have one left.

Friday - Breakfast for Dinner. Scrambled eggs, bacon, blueberries. Toast for family. Little frozen GF bread loaf from our last trip to Outback Steakhouse. Yum.

Saturday - Valentine's Day. Outback Steakhouse. It was PACKED...but they didn't dissapoint!!! :)

Used from the freezer:

10 frozen meatballs (still have a lot left!)

1 bag frozen green beans

6 chicken tenderloins

1 package chicken nuggets

1/2 package french fries

1/2 bag frozen corn

1 container of Edy's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

1 Kinnikinnick pizza shell

Since my freezer is pretty well cleaned out...this will probably be the last week of my challenge! Have a great week!

Clean Out The Freezer Challenge - Week # 2

Phew! This seemed like an awfully long week! I think it must be the weather. Just seems like everything is dragging. It was 45 degrees today and that was nice! I'll take more of that please!!! The old freezer is looking much better this week. I think by shopping day on Thursday, I may actually need to buy a few things as I'm getting low on some "staple" items! Sunday - Superbowl. Kim's Buffalo Chicken Dip (see previous post). I halved the recipe for my husband and I. It was very good and there were no leftovers! Monday - Turkey Cutlets, mashed potatoes, baby sweet peas. I can remember ever trying to cook turkey cutlets before, but I just salt and peppered them and sauteed them in a little olive oil. Then, I poured a little chicken stock over them to make a little sauce. Not bad. There was one cutlet left over, so I cut it up and had it on green salad for lunch the next day. Tuesday - Leftover turkey chili, leftover frozen pizza, GF Eggplant Parmesan from KD's Fish Fry. I was busy all day, so I decided to just heat up a bunch of stuff that was already made. The GF Eggplant Parm was pretty good. The eggplant was sliced so thin that I couldn't believe it was actually eggplant. There was a good two servings in the container, so I only ate half. Wednesday - Just us Girls. Hubby was out of town, so my daughter had the last of the frozen Bell & Evans Chicken Nuggets along with a green salad. I had grilled salmon on a green salad with Caesar dressing. Thursday - Breakfast for Dinner. Second night without Hubby. Scrambled Eggs, bacon, cinnamon toast for my daughter, grits for me. Yes...I love grits. Friday - Late Dinner. My husband had a eye exam that went late, so we didn't get home until almost 7pm, which is late for dinner for us! So, I did what every good, health-conscious mom does....made hot dogs! ;) Oscar Meyer All Beef Hot Dogs, leftover mashed potatoes, leftover sweet peas, homemade GF pumpkin bread. The pumpkin bread is a recipe from Elizabeth Barbone's Easy Gluten-Free Baking. It is absolutely delicious! It makes two nice loaves, which I cut into slices, wrap the slices individually in plastic wrap and put in the freezer. A warmed-up slice makes a nice little snack with tea in the afternoon! I've made it several times and it always comes out amazing. Well, except for the time I tried to make it in those little baby loaf pans and it exploded and ran all over the oven... Saturday - Dinner at Chili's. Now, we've been to Chili's before and each time I come away with the same opinion. They have an online gluten-free menu., however, apparently none of the waitstaff is even remotely aware of what gluten-free means. For example, one time I ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad from the GF menu. It came with croutons and I had to send it back. I always order the Baked Potato Soup. It always comes with saltine crackers (they are wrapped and on the side, but still...) It just doesn't give me a good feeling about the rest of their "gluten-free" items. Last night I had the Baked Potato Soup, a 1/2 rack of Honey BBQ Ribs and steamed broccoli. They were delicious and I haven't had any belly issues yet, so I'm guessing everything was ok. I guess my other gripe about this restaurant is that the corn tortilla chips are not GF. They are fried in the same oil as everything else. So, while you can have the salsa and the guacamole, there's nothing to have them on! I have brought my own Tostitos with me, but why can't they offer some GF chips???? Outback Steakhouse and Uno's definitely have them beat. Gone from the freezer this week.... 1 bag frozen sweet peas 3 leftover pieces of pizza 5 chicken tenders 1 package turkey cutlets 1 container GF Eggplant Parm 1 package chicken nuggets 2 salmon fillets 1 container Edy's Fudge Tracks Ice Cream Several breakfast waffles Several bagels Have a great week!