Meal Plan 7/30-8/6

~Homemade Pizza, Salad
~Chicken Lo Mein
~Roasted Veggie and Pesto Sandwiches, Fresh Fruit
~Cheesy Chicken Shells, Salad
~Black Bean and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Dressing
~Chicken Salads, Bread
~Quinoa Stuffed Peppers, Salad
~Lime Marinated Chicken and Tomatillo-corn Salsa, Rice Pilaf, Corn on the cob

No new recipes this week. Just tried and trues. Most of the recipes are over on the right.
Busy  week with lots of projects coming up.
Happy Times!

Roasted Corn Tostadas

This one will be a summertime staple for our family!

Roasted Corn Tostadas

adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe

Serves 4

8 WW points per serving

6 ears corn, shucked
1 Tablespoon olive oil
chili powder for sprinkling
salt and pepper
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 cup Fat Free half and half
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped, plus 1 Tablespoon sauce
 I never use a whole can of chipotle in adobo at once. So I put the contents of the can in a ziploc bag, get as much air out as possible, seal it up and then smash it flat as possible and freeze. Then I just break off chunks as I need them for recipes. I used about 1 square inch for this recipe which added perfect heat for us. Perhaps too much if you're a lightweight. *wink*
1 15oz. can fat free refried beans
8 4-6 inch corn or flour tortillas.
I used flour and calculated the points based on that. Corn tortillas would be fewer points.
4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
You could lower the points further by using reduced fat cheese. I used what I had.

Toppings:
chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce
I had some cabbage I needed to use up so I threw that in too. And I like the extra crunchy texture so I think I always will use it.
2 tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
pickled jalapeno slices
chopped cilantro

Prepare the toppings before you begin.
Preheat an outdoor grill to high.

On the stovetop, combine the FF half and half, the lime zest and the chipotle in adobo. Bring to boil over medium heat then lower heat and simmer till slightly reduced.

In another small saucepan, combine the refried beans with 1/4 cup water. Let heat slowly on low heat, stirring occasionally. 

Dress the corn with the olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, until tender and evenly charred. 12-15 minutes. Invert a small bowl inside a large bowl. Using tongs, remove the corn from the grill and stand upright on the inverted bowl. Using a knife, scrape the kernels from the cob. ( I used a clean dish cloth to hold onto the ears of corn as I scraped them. Felt more secure to me.) Dress corn with the juice from the lime, stir.

Place tortillas on grill in a single layer. Heat for a minute or two, turn them over and, working quickly, spread the beans evenly between the tortillas. Top with the cheese. Close the lid for a minute or two to allow the tortillas to char slightly and the cheese to melt.

Remove tostadas from grill.

Top each tostada with evenly divided portions of the roasted corn and the chipotle cream sauce.
Then add additional toppings as desired.
2 tostadas per serving.

What we thought~
EXCELLENT!!!
Roger and I love them so much we've had them twice in the past week. All those fresh crunchy veggies and the smoky sweet corn. YUM!!!
Kenzie was out the first night we had them but we saved her one and reheated it in the toaster oven. She loved it.
Emily says it's one of her favorite meals, even though she only puts tomato on the bean and cheese tostada.
Jaxon likes the bean and cheese tostada folded in half sort of like a quesadilla with the corn on the side.
Two tostadas is perfectly filling. Although they are so incredibly delicious that the temptation is there to have 3 or 4. *cough*Roger*cough*

Make this before the delicious summer corn is gone. You won't be sorry!

Breaded Fish Sandwiches with Cilantro Blue Cheese Slaw

I recently purchased the July 2010 issue of Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine. And I have LOVED it! I've made several recipes from it and they have all been big hits. One was the Cucumber Punch I mentioned in my last post. And there are several more waiting to be blogged about.
The fish sandwiches and slaw are two of them. I have adapted them slightly to be WW friendly (-er). The original  fish sandwich recipe is written for 4 servings and the slaw for 8. But the slaw is so delicious that doubling up is in order and pretty harmless since it's so low in points on it's own.
So let's get to it...

Breaded Fish Sandwiches and Cilantro Blue Cheese Slaw

Serves 4

9 PointsPlus per serving
(This may vary based on the buns you use)

For the fish sandwiches:
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
4-4oz tilapia fillets
4 whole wheat hamburger buns
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 Tablespoon grated onion

Sauce for the sandwiches:
1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon prepared horseradish
Combine all sauce ingredients in small bowl and set aside.

In a separate small bowl combine the shredded lettuce, carrots and onion. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
In small bowl, combine first five ingredients for fish sandwiches. Coat fillets with bread crumb mixture. Place on baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

While the fish bakes, assemble the Cilantro Blue Cheese Slaw
8 cups shredded cabbage
I used a bag of cole slaw mix once and shredded a head of cabbage the next. Both ways were yummy!
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup light mayo
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lime zest
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

In large bowl, combine the cabbage, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno.
In small bowl combine the remaining ingredients; pour over salad and toss to coat.

To assemble fish sandwiches place one cooked piece of fish on bun. Top with 1/4 of the sauce and 1/4 of the lettuce mixture.

One serving is one fish sandwich and 1 1/2 cups slaw.

What we thought~
Roger, Kenzie and I LOVED this meal. Within the first two bites we all realized that the slaw should have been made to put ON the sandwich. And that is what we did the next time we had this meal. From now on I'll skip the lettuce/carrot/onion mixture all together. 
Roger liked the sauce on the fish sandwich. I thought it wasn't really necessary if you're putting the slaw on the sandwich. I may quit making the sauce too.
Despite the looks of it, these two recipes come together very fast. Once you gather the ingredients, dinner is only 20 minutes away.
I'll make the slaw as a side dish for other meals in the future too. The flavors are so tangy and interesting. It's not the gloopy, gloppy, mayo laden cole slaw you get at the grocery store, that's for sure! And the leftover slaw held up really well in the fridge for a couple of days.
Emily had her fish on a bun. No sauce and no slaw. She says she doesn't even like the name of cole slaw and won't try it.
Jaxon wasn't very interested in this meal. Or any meal at all lately for that matter.

Linking this up to a "Salad Party" over at

to share the cole slaw love.

This and That

The past 10 days or so have been busy ones.
Some of it was NOT fun. Like taking care of the old house. And fixing the broken down van. But some of it was a lot of fun.
We had Jaxon's birthday party. We went all out totally, shamefully, commercial in the Toy Story 3 theme.
From the cake to the paper products to the toys.

If Jaxon had had any problem opening his presents, his nieces were RIGHT THERE to lend a hand. LOL

And they were as excited as he was when it was time to blow out the candles.

The water toys were a big hit!

And welcome relief from the heat.

I made the most delicious punch for the party!

It IS the taste of summer.

And only 5 calories for a 3/4 cup serving.

I found the recipe in the Taste Of Home Cooking Light magazine.

Cucumber Punch

(I know! It sounds a little weird but it is so light and refreshing for summer.)

12 oz can of frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

3 cups water.

2 cucumbers, scraped along the length with a fork and then thinly sliced

Combine these ingredients in a large bowl and let sit in the fridge overnight.

When ready to serve, stir in

2 ltr of diet grapefruit soda

2 ltr of diet ginger alea

(I had trouble finding these in 2 liter bottles so I used 6 - 12 oz cans of each instead)

Add ice and drink up!

SOOOO delicious!

And the cucumbers are yummy to snack on when the punch is all gone.

Last week I also finished up the fourth and final (for now!) raggy quilt for my friend.

As with the others, she chose the fabrics and I did the sewing.

She chooses the cutest fabric combinations!

I love it.

And I finally got the shelves painted and assembled for my craft room.

Now I can get the last of the boxes unpacked and start hanging things on the walls.

Just for fun...

This is Jaxon showing me that he has robot eyes. 

LOL I'm not sure that this is proof, but I'll take his word for it.

C'mon upstairs! I'll show you around.

For the far away family who have been asking, sorry it took so long to get upstairs. It was a busy week last week.
*Still no real decorating has been done. And some of the pictures are pretty lousy in quality. But here's you tour! :)
A nice wide stairway which has become a major source of exercise for us throughout the day. I'm quickly learning not to go up or down the stairs with empty hands so as not to waste the trip.

At the top of the stairs is a nice wide hallway...

The movers loved bringing our stuff up those stairs and through this hall. The Tetris-like maneuvering required to get it all out of the old house? Not so much.

Here's the main/kids bathroom. Same granite counters as in the kitchen. L~O~V~E!!

Jaxon's room

I should have taken a pic with the closet doors open. All the bedroom closets have built in shelves and organizers. And I love that Jaxon and Emily still have window seats in their rooms. Even better than the ones in the old house because there is storage built in.

When Jaxon first saw his room he immediately started telling us where all his toys would go.

Next is Emily's room...

We worked on her room a little last week. 

She reserved some of her birthday money in April to use for decorating her new room. So we got started on that. I'll have some pictures soon.

Next is Kenzie's room...

Kenzie is the only one who actually downsized a little. Her old room was a little bigger.

But I like that she's upstairs with us now. I always hated that the teenagers would move to the basement and we'd never see them again in the old house. This arrangement makes the Mom happier.

At the other end of the hall is the laundry room.

Not much to look at now. But someday I'll have a sexy set of RED front loader machines in there. Oh yeah!

I do love that the laundry is upstairs with the bedrooms. Makes keeping up with the laundry much easier.

Next is the master bedroom...

That's the door to the laundry room across the hall there.

Did I mention how much I love these doors, by the way? I do. LOVE them!

Into the master bathroom...

Can you guess why there is a garden statue in the shower?

I'll give you a hint.

I'm NOT this guy...

On one end of the master bathroom is the "water closet" and there is a linen closet inside of there.

At the other end is the walk in closet.

Which is bigger than at least two of the bedrooms in the old house. And yet somehow we have managed to begin filling it up already. LOL

So, there you have it. 

The upstairs tour is now complete.

There is an unfinished basement as well. It will one day be a family room, bedroom with walk in closet, utility room and cold storage/wine cellar.

But for now it's my spray painting, sanding, refinishing, building stuff studio.  Yikes!

So, I'll spare you the pictures.

Always with the clocks...

I woke slowly this morning.
Realized there was not the foot of a 4 year old lodged in my kidney for a change.
Rolled over and opened one eye to peek at the clock.

7:11

I chuckled.

She's always playing with the clocks to let us know she's here.

Like the day she passed away and she stopped the only battery operated clock in our house at the exact moment that we got word she was passing.

And seven month later when she stopped the clock on the hospital wall at the exact moment that Lily was born.

And a hand full of other times.

Could be a coincidence I suppose.
But I think it's just her way to remind us that since the moment she left on 7-11-07 she has kept a watchful eye on us. Happy for our victories, disappointed in our stumbles, but never ceasing to love us.
That's just who she was.