Variations on a Theme

So, I decided to nurture my lazy (and cheap!) inner self when it came to feeding myself and HH this week. Also, I knew it would be a crazy week, so I tried to plan ahead even more than usual when it came to feeding us this week. Here's what I did: on Saturday, I grilled up 5 chicken breasts that I'd been marinating in a Tuscan Italian dressing for a few hours. That fed us dinner Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Sunday was dinner out). Here's what I did:

• On Saturday, I chopped up 2 of the breasts with some whole wheat pasta, fresh tomato and basil chunks, shredded spinach and some lightly sauteed garlic and bell peppers. We also had gorgonzola/tomato/basil stuffed zucchini and some fresh artisan bread. (this pasta also provided us with 2 lunches this week)


• On Monday, I reheated the chicken, then chopped it up and served it with quinoa, which I'd cooked with some bell peppers, onions and italian seasoning. We also had steamed spinach and leftover stuffed zucchini. [and I froze Tues and Wed's chix :) ] (The quinoa also provided 2 lunches!)


• On Tuesday, I chopped the chicken into chunks and tossed it with a simple spinach salad consisting of bread cubes (more fresh artisan bread), fresh baby tomatoes and basil from my mom's garden, and olive oil and basalmic vinegar.


• On Wednesday, I pulled my last chicken breast out of the freezer (I had sliced it thinly before freezing), heated it in the microwave and then layered it on leftover artisan bread with pesto, mozarella cheese and red bell peppers. Then I slathered the outsides in butter and grilled the sandwiches. We had this with a small side spinach salad and some freshly cooked stuffed zucchini.
  


• FYI, we had something different on Thursday! (but I think -- and HH affirmed -- that those meals were all different enough that he didn't feel like he ate the same thing 4 out of 5 days). Dinner last night was bean and cheese burritos.

And, in case you're wondering about the stuffed zucchini, I highly recommend them! I got the recipe from our small group leader's wife -- it's a really decadent way to use up zucchini and, trust me, you'll use 'em up this way. Slice a zucchini lengthwise, so that both halves will rest nicely on a tray. Scoop out the seeds, and maybe a little bit more, so you have a consistent trough the whole length of the zucchini. Layer in a thin layer of gorgonzola cheese. Top this with layer of fresh basil (you can leave the leaves whole or slice them up). Top this with a layer of tomato slices. Finally, add a layer of cheese -- I've been using shredded mozarella, with a bit of shredded parmesan on top. Bake for around 20 minutes, until the zucchini is cooked and the cheese on top is melted and starting to brown. Because I don't want to heat up the house, I've been doing this on the grill -- I get it to about 350 degrees (which is med-low on mine) and just throw the zucchini half on there while I prep the rest of dinner.

* DISCLAIMER: The picture of Callie here has nothing to do with our meals, except to the extent that she *may* have licked some of our plates. No dogs were harmed (or consumed) in the making of these meals! I don't think she'd taste very good, she'd be awfully tough, and I'd miss her.