Pasta with Shrimp and Peppers

Sara here, As I prepared last night's meal I thought about how glad I was to have a plan, and how easy meal prep had been the last week. I also thought about the fact that my family had enjoyed nutritious, unprocessed food all week, and I felt pretty proud of myself.

I thought all my self-congratulations would backfire as my husband looked at the pasta on his plate and groaned. "I hate oily pasta, feel like I need a shower afterward," he moaned. "We have to try new things before we say if we like them or not," I replied as I nodded toward kids in an effort to get him to curb the negativity. So, we ate, and one of my most favorite things happened, he had to apologize. My husband loved the supper, as did my oldest and youngest.

I prepared the pasta according to the recipe except for the banana peppers which I did not have. I also put a little garlic in with the peppers. I was nervous about the salami but went ahead with it anyway - I was glad I did as it was my oldest's favorite part. He and my youngest avoided the shrimp, but loved the dish as a whole. My middle ate toast, no surprise there.

Certainly one of my favorites of the week and I will put in the frequent rotation!

Erika here, I had to run errands on my way home with my child in tow, so he needed some snacks to make sure he didn't lie down screaming like a G20 protestor in the middle of Dominion. That basically ruined any chance I had of tempting him to try this pasta. That being said, my husband and I both enjoyed it, and once I realized my kid wasn't going to try even a bite, I threw in the banana peppers. I had bottled ones we use for nachos and they did add a great spicy hit.

Overall I was pleased with the week's menu like Sara. I enjoyed all the meals. I was able to do dinner in a jiffy. They were healthy and Weight Watchers flexible and I felt the grocery bill was reasonable and I didn't waste a pile of food either. Many of the meals made enough that my work lunches were covered too, a bonus. As we move forward I think these things will be my priorities. Oh, I also learned a new technique - steaming the spinach with the rice!

Warm Spinach Salad with Fried Egg and Potato

Erika here, I loved this recipe and I didn't think I would. The idea of an over easy egg on top of my dinner just doesn't appeal to me that much. I was determined to stick to the menu plan though, so I followed the directions and was happily surprised. This dinner is really like a breakfast salad. The potatoes would make for excellent hash browns and I added bacon which is a traditional ingredient in my favourite spinach salads and I also made toast on the side with a baguette. I ended up forgetting the Parmesan altogether by mistake and I still loved it.

My kid ate a little bit of everything, even one leaf of the baby spinach, I think he would have eaten more had the snow shoveling before supper made him so hungry that I had to give him a pre-dinner snack to keep him happy while I made the meal. My husband really liked it too. It wasn't hard to make this and I could see this as a preferred version of 'breakfast for supper' because of the added value of the spinach. I am having an egg free version of the left-overs for my lunch today. This was also another pretty Weight Watcher friendly dinner as I think a poached egg could work well and the bacon and toast is optional.

Sara here, I was nervous about this recipe as I live with some "meat and potato" kindda guys. I was pleasantly surprised when I started cooking however, as it seemed like there were lots of elements to this meal that my family would like. Like Erika, I added bacon, and toasted some leftover sourdough bread on the side.

I enjoyed the salad and feel quite satisfied after supper (though I did indulge in some leftover Xmas chocolate.) I did find the dressing a little sharp, and as I left the grocery store sans shallot, I think its addition would have been helpful. My husband was a little taken aback by the egg gently resting on the top of his salad, however, he did eat it and enjoyed it for the most part. I scrambled the egg for the kids before putting on their plates. I knew their father's reaction would pale in comparison to the "yuks" I would get if I didn't make that adjustment. My oldest hated "the leaves" but tried them at least, and ate all of the other parts. My youngest ate the egg, bacon and toast, so basically breakfast. My middle ate toast, as normal, but also some bacon.

Overall, we all ate and there was something for everyone with this meal. That being said, don't know that it will go into my favorites list.

Review: Open-face mushroom burger

Erika here: this recipe was delicious, easy, and my husband and I loved it. My child ate some of his as well and because it is so flexible, I was able to adjust his version to his tastes without creating more work for myself, for example I used slider buns for his. I also like all my meals to have a veg on the side so I stir fried some red and green pepper strips to go with our burgers and made some 5 min frozen fries in the oven for my son.

I made some minor tweaks to the recipe itself; having learned from the previous night to trust my instincts on blandness, I added garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce to the burger as well as an egg to help keep it together. I also used cheddar instead of fontina becauseI didn't find fontina after going to three stores. This will go into heavy rotation at our house for its taste and speedy prep time. ~Erika


Sara here: I can categorically say that last night's supper was a success. Clean plates and no leftovers. Perhaps it is because of all of the testosterone in the house - but the meat was a hit.

I found this recipe very quick and easy. Broiling the burgers was so fast, and kept them so juicy. My husband wondered why everyone doesn't cook their burgers like this. I explained to him that not everyone lives with a domestic goddess like he does. I am getting quite cocky after day two:-)

My oldest loved the burger but wanted a top - no problem to accommodate that. He also left off the tomato and the mushrooms and onions, which was fine, but next time I might make some veg to go on the side for him. My youngest ate the meat and the bread separately, but as they say, it is all going to the same place, right? My husband polished off two, and I really enjoyed mine, especially mushrooms and onions with the red wine vinegar. Yum! As for middle guy, he had crackers and yogurt. No surprises there.

I will keep this recipe in the rotation for sure. I did cook some frozen fries for the kids to round it out but since they did not touch the veggie portion of this recipe, I might do sweet potato fries next time. I might also do some variations with cheese, and other toppings.

Tonight: salad. I am nervous about this one!~Sara

Review: Chicken with Olives, raisins and spinach

Erika here, I wanted to share with you my experience with the recipe from last night. Overall I thought it was a pretty good dish. Not so fantastic that I would put it in heavy rotation. I used basmati, because that is what I had in my cupboard. I also substituted apple juice and white wine vinegar for the white wine because I didn't want to open a whole bottle just for this recipe. My favourite thing about the recipe was the idea of steaming the spinach right in the pot with the rice. I will definitely use that technique again. I also liked the fact that this was a very Weight Watcher friendly recipe. It was quick and easy as well. My husband really enjoyed the meal. My kid took one bite of rice and asked for something else. Oh well. It usually takes him a few tries before he will accept a new dish, so I am not discouraged.

If I were to make it again I think I would want to find a way to bump up the flavours or make a richer sauce.

If you made this recipe, let us know what you thought.