As some of you may recall, one of my personal goals I set for the month of August was to try a new recipe each week (you can find the list here). Part of my inspiration for setting this goal was wanting to find new some new recipes, apart from the ones I have made hundreds of times and also trying to utilize my cookbooks more often. While I never actually tried a recipe from any of my cookbooks during this experience, I did find several recipes that I’m confident will be added to circulation in our household!
Growing up, I noticed my mom had to go to the grocery store multiple times a week to get food for dinner each night. As I got older, it used to drive me crazy that we couldn’t just get all of the things we needed in one trip. Once I hit adulthood, I decided to set aside some time each week to meal plan so I know exactly what I’m eating which night and can do my best to only make one trip to the store each week. Typically, I spend each Sunday morning surrounded by cookbooks and on Pinterest to figure out what we are going to eat that week. Sometimes it creates more frustration than it is meant to, but usually, it helps me feel prepared to take on the week!
This process was no different while searching for recipes to try in August. I knew that I wanted to dishes to remain relatively healthy and to utilize fresh summer veggies since they in such supply this time of year. There were some dishes I already had my eye on to try but I also had to find dishes that I could make in under an hour since I don’t get home from work until 7:30pm. Overall, I would say this was pretty successful even though I did have to do two new foods in one week because there was one week where life just happened and trying new recipes just wasn’t going to happen.
The first recipe I found I had been dying to try for a while. Mexican is my absolute favorite type of food to eat during the summer so these Skinny Enchilada Zucchini Boats were the perfect meal to kick off this meal plan! Admittedly, it was a bit of a challenge to keep the meat (I used ground turkey) in the zucchini boats while cutting to eat, it was still tasty!
Is it obvious that I love zucchini?! We love chicken just as much so I was excited to find a recipe that incorporated both! This Herbed Chicken, Orzo Pasta, and Zucchini dish was super easy to make if multitasking in the kitchen is something you can handle. Even with my limited counter space, I still felt like this was simple for looking so involved! The best part was how light this meal is — perfect for hot August days!
I tried to follow Tone It Up’s workout plan prior to our wedding to get in shape, which is how I stumbled upon these TIU approved Blueberry Lemon Zest Muffins! I honestly was a little skeptical about these (how can something good for you actually taste good?) but tried them nonetheless. While it took me a few days to find Almond flour like the recipe calls for, I whipped these up real quick during a late night baking session. They weren’t as lemony as I expected but the blueberries were enough to make them the perfect mid-morning snack!
While zucchini may be my favorite summertime veggie, corn is my hubby’s! He also is a huge fan of soups and chilis so I found this with him in mind! This Summer Corn Chowder was more like a fresh summer soup, as this recipe is gluten and dairy free. We don’t necessarily fall into either of those categories, but I can’t eat a ton of dairy so any recipe with Coconut Milk (yum) instead of cream is a win in my book. This chowder was a little more time intensive with all of the chopping and watching it on the stove, but we are still eating its leftovers! And yes, those Red Lobster biscuits you see in the background were a delicious side.
I was definitely pleased with all of the recipes that I tried, and genuinely had fun trying something new! They were all delicious, but I would have to say my favorite was the Herb Chicken. So fresh, light and still full of flavor! I had a lot of fun doing this meal plan, so stay tuned — I may try this again later this fall!
I want to know — have you tried any new recipes lately or have a favorite process to find new recipes? Tell me in the comments below, I would love to hear more ideas!
blissful moments 
A few weeks ago I added several summer recipes to my recipe box. We tried Beef and Kale Stir Fry (made it twice so far); Grilled Chicken Balsalmic Wraps with strawberries and goat cheese (Very light); Chicken and Zucchini with lemon zest (okay–not a favorite); and Grilled Salmon with Balsalmic Bruchetta (a super-hit with my husband). It was fun to be in the kitchen trying new recipes which I don’t do very often anymore! I am sure I will try a few of these again, and maybe check out some new ones.
As far as one trip to the grocery store a week for all groceries–I did that the same week I made all of these yummy new dishes. I also purchased salad fixings. I spent several hours on Sunday preparing the greens, fruits, and veggies so that they would last a week. I washed and tore the kale, then threw it in the freezer in freezer bags. I pulled it out for the Beef and Kale recipe–GREAT TIME SAVER. I chopped some of the veggies for salads and stored them in my glass Pyrex Snap lid containers (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE). I place a paper towel on the bottom to absorb moisture and that works for many of the veggies. Now, my greens………………..I really enjoy big veggie-filled salads with chunks of mango, pineapple, or oranges with cashews, walnuts or pecans……………..but I CAN NOT keep romaine lettuce or spinach from browning, wilting and turning bitter after just a few days. So after this big shopping trip, I washed and chopped my romaine lettuce, let it dry, wrapped it in paper towels and put the paper towels in ziplock bags (pinterest idea). The plan is that you take it out and unroll what you need and should last for two weeks. It took me over an hour to prepare this new system. The lettuce stayed fresh for ……… 3 days. It worked with the spinach which was a win for me, but for lettuce, I either return to the store (which I end up doing for milk every few days) OR get aggravated with my lettuce and vow to never eat salads again and throw out all of the veggies that I chopped and prepared. I chose number 2!
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Those recipes sound yummy, especially the Chicken Basalmic Wraps! I may have to get that recipe from you. I agree, keeping produce fresh is half of the challenge. I’ll have to try the ziplock bag method and see if I have any luck. Then again, sometimes it is just easier to get your veggies on a pizza instead. 🙂
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