august cooking challenge- menu week 2

note: i'm really proud of myself for week 1... even with twins and although, i sometimes ate at 9p.m.! lol.  i made a point to cook/plan every night... and, minus the night with leftovers, i did just that. :)  i love that i added new dishes to my recipe box.
also, since i did meal planning for two weeks, i had planned to use a lot of leftovers, so this week, i've only had to shop for fruit for groceries!  yay!!! :)

for my august cooking challenge, here's what i planned for week 2:

M, 8/8- Salad- "Shredded Chicken Salad" courtesy of MrsJanuary
(rating: A; review: from the previous night, i used the leftover chicken that my lovely husband deboned for me.  :)  that gave me one less thing to cook/to do, so i immediately started sauteing the full chopped with two peppers-red and green, garlic and oil.  from there, i added the chicken broth that i had used a bouillon cube to create, a full can of tomato sauce, and the spices.  instead of using iceberg lettuce, we chose to use romaine lettuce of which i shredded one of the organic three packs of lettuce from Trader Joe's.  atop, we put the "chicken sauce," as well as parmesan cheese.  usually, i shred my own cheese, but i was limited on time with a hungry hubby's belly. :)  it was DELISH.  i mean, absolutely delish.  when i finally set down to cook it, it had a bit too much lettuce, i'd say, and i decided to grab my previously used, but not entirely used, yellow corn tortillas from thursday night's dinner.  i then ate the mixture in the tortilla like a taco.  yum!!!  next time, i'll just serve as tacos and use less lettuce- yum x2!  and, i'll probably serve it with brown rice and homemade black beans.)

T, 8/9- Chicken- "Baked Honey Mustard Chicken" courtesy of AllRecipes served with brown rice, veggies, and black beans
(rating: B+; review: i quickly made the marinade, but didn't have enough mustard.  so, i used a bit more honey and mixed in some dry mustard.  the "sauce" was very good to put on the chicken.  we glazed the chicken, cooked it, and alongside, i had already cooked homemade black beans, and some frozen quinoa frozen mixture from TJ's- so what, i cheated!  the chicken tasted quite sweet, but not too much, however, my hubby LOVED the quinoa... i told him that he would since it's a "superfood."  as for the chicken, it tasted yummy, HOWEVER, whenever i make something, i always try to think of a way to make it better.  if i had marinated the chicken longer than just cooking it, then it would have tasted more moist.  so, next time, i'll marinate it for at least a couple of hours to allow the juices to really penetrate the meat.  otherwise, great meal!)

W, 8/10- Pasta- "Tomato and Garlic Pasta" courtesy of AllRecipes served with spaghetti noodles and homemade garlic bread
(rating: A-; review: i am so impressed with this dish.  yes, i was able to use up all of my tomatoes, and i substituted 2-3 T tomato sauce for 1 T of tomato paste.  that wasn't what impressed me.  hours later, and the dish's taste is still in my mouth.  i added garlic powder to the sauce, as well as put a bit more basil, himalayan ground salt, and pepper to it.  boiling the tomatoes like this instead of chopping them before and then boiling them was quite brilliant.  got the skin off fast, but also they tasted quite yummy.  this dish tasted as one you'd buy at Olive Garden.  served with homemade garlic bread with butter and garlic powder, i am still impressed that this dish still leaves such a taste in my mouth.  i asked my hubby if i should add chopped onion to it next time, and he said no.  the basil is what really makes this dish.  fresh basil might make it taste better, but i used dry basil.)

R, 8/11- Beef/Turkey- "Turkey and Parmesan Pasta" courtesy of Moneywise Moms
(rating: B-; review: i thought that dish was okay.  i didn't finish making/eating it until late--almost 11p.m.--but, i served it on leftover noodles.  i thought that it was okay... very liquidy with the diced tomatoes.  not quite flavorful...)

F, 8/12- Vegetarian- "Vegetarian Fajitas" courtesy of Moneywise Moms
(rating: B; review: i didn't have mushrooms nor black beans--not sure where they went--so, i just used one red onion, a red and a green pepper, made my own sauce, and served it on a Trader Joe's homemade wheat flour tortilla with some sour cream.  i thought it was yummy, but my hubby didn't like it.  :(  he rarely likes "only" vegetarian meals...)

Sa, 8/13- Leftovers- "Egg Salad Sandwich" courtesy of AllRecipes
today was a really difficult day, so i didn't make my egg salad.  i did eat leftovers instead.  as for the egg salad sandwich, i have made it before, and it's quite excellent.  very tasty!

Su, 8/14- Slow Cooker/Casserole- "Weeknight Ravioli Bake" courtesy of KraftCanada