Since the marathon took over last weekend, the BOY and I didn’t make it to the grocery store (nor did I do any laundry or cleaning…ooops!). We ate dinner out almost every night, except for Wednesday when Chinese came to us.  The BOY loved a week like this!  The last few weeks, I’ve been really careful about what I’ve been eating to fuel my runs and keep my stomach in check.  The BOY has been craving pizza and grease and I’ve been eating non stop.  It was definitely a different week for us. 

 

After a week of eating out, I was more than ready to get back to my meal planning.  The BOY declared a household state of emergency because we are out of his special green relish that we can only get at Woodman’s.  Yes, he’s that dramatic about his relish.  We made a date to head to Woodman’s Saturday afternoon with my parents, who were also craving a trip to our favorite far away grocery store.

 

Saturday morning started out like this…it didn’t look like we would be leaving the house at all.

 

 

But by lunch, my stomach was growling and I was ready for breakfast food for lunch.  I took this opportunity to order the most decadent breakfast, Banana Bread French Toast at our favorite local pancake place.  I have been eyeing it for years and it was just as good as I could have hoped!

 

 

 

Our next stop was the farmer’s market, but on our way, the BOY thought we should stop at the pumpkin patch to pick up a fresh pie for dinner.  The place was packed with families, and we actually bumped into one of my BFF’s celebrating her daughter’s birthday.  It took us longer to park than to shop, but it was totally worth it when we dug into a taste of that spicy pie.

 

 

Then we grabbed some veggies at the farmer’s market. 

 

 

 

Then went home to watch some college football.  Around 4pm, my parents arrived and we made our way west to Woodman’s.  We had two full carts by the time we were finished.  Don’t worry…it included 4 container’s of the BOY’s special relish. 

 

 

 

We came back to our house where the BOY prepared a beautiful dinner of shrimp and veggie skewers on the grill while my Mom kept Cooper busy and out of our hair and I poured fall mosas.  My new favorite beverage!  For dessert, we had pumpkin pie with whipped cream.  After my parents left, the BOY, Cooper, and I had a quiet Saturday night in.

 

 

Cooper was so warn out after yesterday’s excitement that he slept until 8am!  I had some leftover French Toast and herbal tea for breakfast before leaving for the spa.  This morning, I had scheduled a 90 minute full body deep tissue massage followed by a 60 minute facial.  I emerged from the salon 3 hours later feeling like a new person!  I’ve had services with both of these people before, so I knew it would be amazing!  I switched off between catching up on life and totally zoning out.  It was really refreshing!

 

 

When I got home, the BOY filled me in on what was going on with the Bears.  Jay Cutler’s injury makes the Jay Cutler signs at the marathon last weekend, even funnier!  Not so funny, was watching the Bears struggle with injuries and bounce back and forth with Washington.  I listened to most of the game from the kitchen where I got started on tonight’s dinner (recipe to come) and whipped up a White Chicken Chili for lunch this week.

 

 

I adapted the original recipe a bit because I prefer my chicken shredded, and I left out the zucchini in hopes that the BOY might eat some this week as well.

 

 

We spent the late afternoon cleaning closets and switching over to fall clothes.  Since last week, the temperature has dropped significantly, and so it was time to dig out some warmer wear and donate two huge bags of clothes.

 

Meal Planning 10/20/13

Sunday Funday: Slow Cooker Pot Roast

 

Monday: Mexican Taco Casserole

 

Tuesday: Leftovers

 

Wednesday: Out for Dinner

 

Thursday: TBD

 

Lunch: White Chicken Chili (recipe below)

 

 

Do you plan your meals for the week ahead?

What’s up this week?

 

 

White Chicken Chili

Adapted from Wanna Bite

Not Surprisingly found on Pinterest*

 

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 medium onions, diced

1 lb of mushrooms, full or diced

4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves of garlic

¼ cup chili powder

1 tsp of coriander

2 (16 oz) can diced no salt added tomatoes, fire roasted

1 (4 oz) can green chilies

2 (16 oz) cans of your favorite beans, rinsed and drained (I used kidney and white)

Toppings: cheese, avocado, tortilla chips

 

Directions

Sauté the mushrooms and onions in 1 cup of chicken broth for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cover chicken with coriander, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat oil over medium low in separate pan and add chicken.  Cook until no longer pink in the middle.

When the veggies are soft and fragrant,  add in the chilies, tomatoes undrained, and the rest of the chicken broth. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce to medium heat.

When chicken is cooked, shred chicken with two forks and stir into soup pot.   Simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.

Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pot.

Cook for 30 minutes until beans are tender

Top chili with your favorite toppings!