Asian Salad with Grilled Ahi Tuna

Tonight we made a really quick meal. We bought one of those Fresh Express Asian Salad kits at the grocery store. They were buy 1 get 1 free so it was a good deal. We just mixed all the ingredients together which included lettuce, carrotts, wontons, sesame dressing, dried cherries, and we added tomatoes. I'm not sure why they put the dried cherries in there. They don't add anything and they were kinda hard. Also they really aren't Asian. We added the tomatoes because the salad was a little boring without them. Altogether I think I could have made a much better Asian Salad on my own but it was definitely fast to prepare. For the Tuna we just grilled it with an Olive Oil and Herb Provence marinade as we've done before. Matt cooked it a little shorter this time (3 minutes each side) and it turned out better because it was a little more rare. The Asian Tuna salad is a really good idea, but I will definitely improve on it next time.

Italian Fish Parcels and Baked Potatoes with Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil

Italian Fish Parcels are one of our favorite meals. I use Tilapia for the fish because it is really inexpensive and it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook with it. If you are not a fish person Tilapia would be a safe bet. I got the Tilapia for $2.99 lb and I only get 2 filet's which is about 1/2 lb. what a deal! For the Fish Parcel you just set the filet in a foil sheet and you sprinkle all the ingredients over it. I use a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, greek olives, sliced onions, chopped garlic, capers, and paprika. Then you just fold up the foil like a little parcel and put it on the grill for 15 minutes. They are foolproof and so easy to clean up - just throw the foil away. For the potato dish I just quarter some red potatoes and mix in tomatoes, basil, garlic, onion, S&P, and a little olive oil. Then bake it for 30 minutes. I love the sweet flavor the tomatoes get when they are roasted this way, and they take on the smokiness of the garlic.

Pork Tostadas

Tonight we went to the gym and got home around 6:30. I kept some left over pork from our dinner last night so we could make Pork Tostadas. When we want a quick meal we make Tostadas a lot. They are really easy and they use a lot of ingredients you have on hand in the pantry and fridge. First you put a layer of Refried Black Beans on the Tostada shell. We use Black Beans because they are healthier and lower in fat than regular refried beans. Then we sprinkle some cheese on the beans. Tonight we used Mozzarella because we had some leftover. Now comes the leftover Pork. On top of that I put salsa and then tomatoes and lettuce. Finish it off with a dollop of Daisy. This meal only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and clean up is really easy.

Pork Tenderloin with Wine Sauce and Baked Tomatoes and Eggplant

I went to the butcher today to find some meat to prepare for dinner. They had a whole Pork Roast on sale for $1.99 lb. The only catch was I had to buy like 6 lbs of it! I talked to the butcher about it and he ended up giving me a smaller 2 lb pork tenderloin for free as a "sample"! So that is what we had for dinner.

My Nana gave me a recipe when Matt and I got married for Beef with Wine Sauce. I use it very often but I decided to change it up and make Pork Tenderloin with Wine Sauce. I just plop it in the crock pot and pour a packet of onion soup mix and 1 cup of red wine over it. Then set it and forget it for 3 hours on Low heat. It's perfect every time. The meat always comes out so moist and juicy, you don't even need a knife to cut it! On the side I just sliced up an eggplant and halved some plum tomatoes. I studded the tomatoes with some garlic and tossed some olives in there. Then I drizzled it with a little Olive Oil, salt and pepper and baked it for 30 minutes. It was perfect and so easy.

Greek Kabobs with Tzatziki and Warm Pitas

One of my favorite things to eat is Tzatziki and Warm Pita bread. It is really good! So I decided to make a meal out of it.

For the kabobs I buy a Top Sirloin steak. Then I cut it into cubes and put it on wood kabob skewers. I alternate pieces of steak on the skewers with whole mushrooms, bellpeppers, and onion. I use whole crimini mushrooms because when they cook they are still hearty and a nice size. If you half them or use white mushrooms they seem to wilt a lot more and don't taste as good. I love crimini's because they have a meaty flavor and they go well with steak. Once the kabobs are ready Matt takes them out and grills them 3 minutes on each side. Make sure to oil the grill or they will stick! I always prepare the Tzatziki several hours in advance. This is so all the flavors can meld together. It's a simple mixture of yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, dill, and lemon juice. Some people say to use Greek Yogurt but I don't think you need to. I just use Yoplait plain yogurt and it turns out really well. Once the kabobs are done you just take them off the skewers and put them in the pita and top with tzatziki. Opa!

Turkey Sausage Lasagna

Tonight is Tuesday night. I worked from home today so I was able to put a little more time into dinner. I bought Sweet Turkey Sausage links at the store for this meal. I took the meat out of the casings and cooked it in a pan. Then I added a jar of Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce to it. I'm going to layer this mixture with the lasagna noodles and a mixture of Ricotta and Mozzarella cheese with oregano and garlic powder. It cooks for 1 hour total, 30 minutes covered with foil and 30 minutes uncovered. We ate this with a small salad and some fresh French bread. Only thing I would change is using more turkey sausage meat. I only used 2 links and I will use 3 next time.

Grilled Ahi Tuna with steamed Rice and sauteed Veggies

Tonight is Monday which is a gym night. That means we don't get home until around 7 or 7:30. We are starving by the time we get home so dinner needs to be quick and easy.
This is a recipe I use quite a bit. I always marinate the Tuna as long as I can. This is because Tuna is a relatively dry fish. So it needs extra moisture when it cooks so it doesn't dry out. I marinate it in Olive Oil and Herb de Provence (my favorite herb mix ever!). The herb mix is made of Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Garlic Powder and Lavender. You can buy it in any store. Then Matt takes the Tuna out and grills it for 3 minutes on each side. It's still a little raw inside but that is the best way to eat it, just like they serve Ahi Tuna in restaurants. The rice is just a simple steamed white rice that takes 20 minutes to make. While that's cooking I saute a mixture of red bellpeppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Then I just mix it with the rice. It turned out pretty good but I wanted to have cous cous instead of rice but I forgot to buy it at the store.

My Purpose for creating this blog

I wanted to create this blog so I could write down dinner's that I make at home. I think I've got some pretty good ideas for fast and healthy meals. At the beginning of every week I sit down and make a dinner menu for Sunday to Thursday. I go to the grocery store once a week and buy everything I need for under 100 dollars. That 100 dollars buys dinner for 5 nights and lunches/breakfast for 5 days. It has been working really well so far and the hubby is happy, so I must be doing something right! I want to share my ideas with other people and also keep track of what worked and maybe suggestions for what I could do different next time. I hope you enjoy my ideas!