Happy Monday!
I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. The weather was pretty much perfect and we did our best to take advantage of our beautiful southern California sunshine. We did a little work in our garden (I planted an herb garden…a little hesitantly, as I have always had a rather brown thumb, but I am remaining optimistic). 
We packed a lunch and had a little picnic at the beach (and I asked, out loud, more than once, why we don’t do this more often!?)
And of course, took the dogs for a few solid strolls around our neighborhood.
Once the sun went down, we continued our Dexter Marathon we have been on lately. I started the show last week when I was flat on my back recovering from my surgery, and have been a little obsessed ever since. We have to cut ourselves off at 2 episodes so that we aren’t up all hours of the night. Any other Dexter lovers out there? I haven’t binge-watched a show so hard since my mom and I got into One Tree Hill after I got my wisdom teeth pulled back in 09′ 😛
Anyway, aside from some lovely weekend activities, I also did my usual sit-down meal planning session on Sunday morning and then headed off to my beloved Trader Joe’s. I hadn’t been in 2 weeks and I missed my routine, the reasonable prices, and coveted items only found at TJ’s!
It’s been a while since I shared a weekly meal plan here, so I thought that since I am getting back in my normal routine, I would share ours today! I love sharing my meal plans because I really feel like more than half the battle of meal planning (and eating healthy in general) is just coming up with delicious recipes that are satisfying, easy to make, and full of variety so that you don’t get burned out. Anytime I feel underenthused or just out of ideas, I like to head to one of my favorite blogs and get inspiration from scrolling through recipes. Very often, I will be reminded of a recipe I have had in the past but totally forgot about, or something totally new will catch my eye and I’ll decide to add that to our menu!
This week is a good mixture of menu classics, a brand new recipe attempt, and some oldies but goodies.
Monday 
If you search “Artichoke Recipes” here on the blog, you juuuust might find that I have a pretty deep love for the globed vegetable.
Case in point:
Artichoke, Chicken and Pesto Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Mushroom and Artichoke Stuffed Chicken
Italian Sausage and Artichoke Frittata
Regardless, I am working on adding another one to the archives. This one is inspired by a very common dinner from my childhood: A box of Rice-a-Roni cooked as per package instructions before adding cooked chicken and artichoke hearts. Perfect weeknight dinner for a working mom! My hope is to “healthify” and lighten up the recipe by using cauliflower rice. Stay tuned! Hopefully, I’ll be posting the recipe later this week 😉
Tuesday 
Taco Tuesday, of course!
It is pretty rare that we skip Taco Tuesday in our house (or at least “Mexican Food Tuesday”…I guess it isn’t always in taco form.) But this week, I am sticking with the classic, well-seasoned ground beef, all the fix-ins type of Taco Tuesday. I stocked up on these Siete tortillas the last time I went into a Whole Foods, but when I don’t have any of those in the freezer, I will often make Stupid Easy Paleo Tortillas which are also delicious and hold up well.
I’ll cook up the ground beef with some bell pepper and onion, lots of paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a pinch of chili powder and cayenne for a little heat. We’ll top our tacos with salsa, avocado, onion, and a little cheese. We sometimes add beans (even though they aren’t Paleo) because I am ok with the occasional legume for some fiber and protein! And because they taste good in our tacos 🙂
Wednesday
This is one of those meals we used to eat all the time, and I have just kind of forgotten about how easy and delicious it can be!
On Wednesday, we’ll be dining on a spin on Chicken Parmesan, hold the Parmesan 😉 Basically, I will be using almond flour to bread the chicken before I brown the breasts in a pan, and then add a little marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella before placing everything in the oven to finish it off. I’ll be serving the Chicken over zucchini noodles with steamed artichokes on the side. Easy peasy and it’s gonna be sooo tasty!
I think this is a recipe I will need to add to the blog soon! You can use this recipe from Against All Grain to follow Danielle’s basic cooking instructions in the meantime 🙂
Thursday
Iowa Girl Eats Steak Salad with Crispy Shallots, Dried Cranberries, Pecans, and Goat Cheese
When I was planning for the week, I got to Thursday and realized that Travis won’t be home for dinner that night. I got a little excited (sorry, Trav) because that means I can have a giant entre salad and not hear any complaints! 😉 (Travis is always grateful for the food I make for him, but he just isn’t the biggest fan of entre salads…)
I started thinking about which big salad I would like the most and this one came right to mind! There is something about the warm toppings (the steak and shallots) mixed with the creamy goat cheese, crunchy pecans, and sweet cranberries that just makes the most perfect combination! The dressing is a honey/ginger/soy (I use coconut aminos) concoction which might sound strange, but I am telling you, it all just works so well!
It might seem like a lot of effort to put everything together for one person, but it is so worth it. #selflove? 😉
Friday
Dinner on Fridays around here is usually something super easy. I am hoping we’ll have some leftover taco meat to make nachos, but if not I always have chicken sausages around to either make into a Pasta Primavera dish, throw on the grill, or saute up with some potatoes and veggies. We like to eat at home as much as possible, but by Friday, I am usually ready to take it easy and throw something together with minimal effort.
Plus, we gotta get to the couch to watch Dexter!
That’s all for this week! Hopefully, you get some inspiration from my meal plan and have an excellent, healthy, and delicious week ahead. I always get so excited for the week after writing these posts! It’s gonna be a good one!
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