Zucchini Lasagna Rolls

Oprah and I have absolutely nothing in common, except for one thing:

via GIPHY

That's literally it, but I think it would be enough for us to bond over. But see, for me, it's not just bread. It's carbs. Anything gluten, and I'm in.

Little known fact: when I was 14, I went on a revised version of the Atkins diet and lost over 30 lbs. in about 2 months. Don't worry, though. As soon as I had babies, I made sure to put it all back on.

Also, Tim recently had kidney stones that landed him in the hospital for a few days. It was absolute freaking chaos. I missed the first day of work, had to beg friends and family to drop everything to take care of our kids, cried in front of a doctor, and there was always the constant threat of surgery, so Tim had probably one full meal over the course of those few days. Oh, and he blamed it all on my unhealthy cooking, so there's that. God forbid we consider genetics.

Back to bread. In a last-ditched effort to pretend I'm organic/crunchy/relatively healthy, I swapped the lasagna noodles on my regular lasagna roll-ups for zucchini. And you know what? It was actually really good.

If you had common sense and skimmed those first few paragraphs, let me summarize: it's good. You should give it a try. What do you have to lose?


Ingredients:

• 4 zucchinis
• 15 oz. Ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• Large can pasta sauce of your choice
• 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• Garlic (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• Sharp knife (or, preferably, a vegetable peeler like this)

Directions:

Plan to grab an extra zucchini, because this ain't easy.

Cut off the ends.

Again, this next step is not easy. If you don't have a vegetable peeler, I highly recommend getting one like this one so that yours look better than mine. They aren't expensive, and it'll save you a lot of time (and zucchinis).

Cut as many thin slices of the zucchini as possible.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg.

Add the Ricotta cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper to the egg and mix well.

Spread 1/4 cup of the pasta sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 pan.

One at a time, lay out the zucchini slices.

Top with the Ricotta cheese mixture.

Sprinkle on some cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

Gently fold up the zucchini rolls.

Place in the pan on top of the sauce.

Top with the rest of the shredded cheeses.

Pour remaining pasta sauce over the cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Serve hot...and not with bread. Otherwise, what's the point of all this?


Love and Atkins,

Lasagna Roll-Ups

If there's one thing I've learned in my 16ish months of carrying babies in my belly, it's this: pregnant women don't like to touch raw meat. Scratch that. I have yet to meet any women who like to touch raw meat. It's the most troubling thing to hold this nasty, slimey, sometimes-bloody animal in your hand and then magically find it appetizing an hour later after cooking it. Maybe it's just me. But I don't think it is.

That being said, I'm riding the pasta train all the way through this pregnancy. I love no-meat meals because it's so much less work, and I don't have to deal with animal carcasses {bonus!}. But hey, if you're into that, these lasagna roll-ups can be customized to hold any kind of meat you'd like.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 15 oz. ricotta cheese
• 8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup spinach (optional)
• 1 box lasagna noodles
• 1 container pasta sauce
• Garlic (optional)
• Italian seasoning (optional)

Directions:

First we're going to mix the ricotta cheese, egg and spinach in a large bowl, along with about 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese. You can doctor this mixture by adding minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and you can also include any kind of meat if you want.

It probably goes without saying, but cook and drain the noodles. The oven-ready noodles aren't going to work for this meal.

Place 1-2 heaping spoonfuls of the mixture onto the lasagna noodles.

Roll 'em up!

Arrange in a 13x9 pan. 

{Full disclosure, this recipe made 2 pans for me!}

Pour on the pasta sauce and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top. 

Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

Guys, Judah wanted to say hello. "Hi, Judah!"

That's it! Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Love and lasagna,

Meal Plan #1

We've talked about meal planning before. It's a big job. Really, it is. Especially if you're tightening your purse strings.

I tend to save a lot of money when I stick to a detailed and rigid meal plan. Granted, I don't always do it, but I find time most weeks. Money is especially tight this month at our house because of endless medical bills. Seriously, doesn't Derek Shepherd have enough of my money? I kid. I love modern medicine. Without it, I would have this bundle of joy.

Wasn't that a perfect segway into a shameless proud mom moment?

There was also a question generated on my church's Facebook page about meal planning, and how to save money on groceries. Well, I'm ready to put my money where my mouth is {pun intended}.

I'm giving you my dinner plans for the entire week {plus one large dessert}, with your grocery list and recipes below. All meals and ingredients are for a family of four. Please note that this is dinner only.

You can either choose the individual list, which shows all the ingredients broken up by recipe. Or, if you really trust me and want to do the entire week's worth of meals, you can choose the consolidated list, where I added up all the ingredients so you don't have to see how many times the word "cheese" shows up on the individual list.


Here are the meals, linked to the recipes:

• Two Step Chicken Tacos/Chips and Salsa
• Potato Soup/Bread/Salad
• Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
• Taco Salad Casserole
• Omelettes/Fried Red Potatoes
• Burgers/Garlic and Herb Potato Wedges/Corn on the Cob
• Tortellini Soup/Bread
• Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

And click on which ingredient list you want:

• Individual
• Consolidated

I hope these are helpful to you! I'm going to try and post these more often, as I find they are one of the most important aspects of meal prep.

Love and lists,

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Truth time. I found this recipe on Pinterest. I hope you can move past this minor detail and we can move onto this beautiful, beautiful dish.

I'm going through a "fresh" stage. I'm tired of finishing my meals stuffed and feeling gross. Like I just pumped my body full of junk. I'm tired of eating so much processed food, and so often I crave fresh meats and produce. Granted, I did use one canned item in this recipe, but it is so...refreshing. It almost makes me feel like I'm back in Cancun in that little restaurant on the water.

I actually was at a place like that. I didn't just make that up.

This is a play on my two-step chicken tacos with a little bit of a kick. I added maybe 90 seconds to my prep time. Side note: This is also a great "fake fancy" dinner. You can pass this off as a labor of love. When really, it's just...love.

Ingredients:

• Frozen or thawed chicken breasts
• I normally estimate 1 1/2 chicken breast per person
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• Fresh cilantro
• The amount is up to you. I used about 1/4 cup.
• 1 lime
• 1 can Tex Mex Style Diced Tomatoes
• Desired toppings

Directions:

• Place all ingredients (except lime) in crock pot and place on low for 8-10 hours for frozen chicken breasts; 4-6 hours for thawed chicken breasts
• Cut lime in half and squeeze juice into mix. Try to save some juice for later.
• Once chicken is done cooking, serve immediately, spooning liquid from crock pot on top, along with more cilantro, lime juice, and desired toppings.
• I served this as a taco filling inside corn tortillas with sour cream and cheese, and it was de-lish. 

Enjoy!

Love and lime,