Weekly Meal Plan: April 29-May 3

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Still unsure if you want to create your own meal plan? It’s ok, here’s ours. You can steal it, use it to get ideas, or just be nosy and judge us for what we’re eating. Enjoy!

Monday:

Southwestern Chopped Salad (recipe coming soon)

Tuesday:

Lobster Rolls & Baked French Fries *Also see: How to Cut & Cook a Lobster Tail + Recipes

Wednesday: 

Chicken, Bacon, & Avocado Chopped Salad

Thursday:

Bits and pieces of Antipasto Salad mixed with parts of  Italian Stallion Salad

Friday:

Authentic Louisiana Red Beans & Rice

 

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The “Real Best” Chili

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Fall is in full swing and you know what that means: time to enjoy some warm, filling, comfort food! We decided to kick off the Fall recipe season the right way with something you can enjoy at home, at a tailgate, or smothered on top of some cheese fries and hot dogs- thats right, we’re talking about chili!

The contenders:

The nitty-gritty:

Each chili was scored on a scale of 1-10 (where 1= that’s food? and 10= the best chili that has ever entered my mouth) for overall score, the boyfriend/husband test, and the leftover test. We also provide other comments.

Jamie Deen’s Chili

Overall score: 9

The boyfriend/husband test: 9

The leftover test: 9

Comments:  This was pretty good and we are not very big chili eaters around here. I will definitely plan on making this recipe again with a few minor adjustments such as adding a full pound of both beef & sausage each (hubby is a carnivore!), removing the black beans (love them but they just didn’t seem to “go”), and replacing the whole peeled tomatoes with more diced tomatoes (hubby avoided them like the plague and I didn’t care for the huge tomato hunks either). This was a great base and I definitely recommend it to others and playing around with the ingredients to fit your tastes!

Taste of Home Spicy Chili

Overall score: 8.5

The boyfriend/husband test: 9

The leftover test: 8.5

Comments: This was really good.  We both liked it a lot better than my normal go-to recipe! I would definitely make this again!

Boilmaker Tailgate Chili Recipe

Overall score: 8.5

The boyfriend/husband test: 8

The leftover test: 8.5

Comments: This was very delicious! However, it does not beat our go-to chili recipe, so this will not replace it. The Fritos do not add much to this recipe, so I would recommend nixing them if you do not want the added expense. Also, this makes a LOT of chili– you’ve been warned.

The winner:

Jamie Deen’s Chili!

Special Diets:

While we can’t guarantee the results, here are some ideas you can use to customize the winning recipe to your dietary needs:

  • Gluten-free: Ensure that your ingredients are gluten-free
  • Vegetarian: Forgo the meat!
  • Vegan: Drop the meat and suggested dairy toppings
  • Lower fat: Use lean ground beef in place of fattier beef products. Consider using ground turkey.
  • Lower sugar/calories: You can cut the calories by using some of the suggestions above.

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Pinterest Tested: Cheesecake Factory “Buffalo Blasts” Copycat Recipe

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Who doesn’t love fried food? I mean- talk about classic Americana. I know, I know, its so bad for you but it’s sooo good that sometimes that I just can’t resist! One of my favorite places to eat is the Cheesecake Factory (Fun Fact- did you know their menus cost $12 each to make? Thats why they have ads.) I digress. Hubs hates it there… I don’t know why… its soooo yummy! The only thing he likes loves about Cheesecake Factory is their Buffalo Blasts. I have to admit, they are not my first choice on the 3 page appetizer menu but they are pretty good. When I found this copycat recipe from Tasty Kitchen on Pinterest I knew I had to give it a try. Hubby was so excited that I was making these along with my homemade blue cheese dip. How did they check out? Find out below!

Overall rating: 9.5

Cost$$ (scale: $-$$$)

Difficulty level: Advanced (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

Thoughts: Umm… how to put this lightly… these were a pain in the butt! They literally took me a few hours from start to finish! I would definitely recommend just grabbing a rotisserie chicken from the store and shredding it up rather than buying raw chicken breasts and baking, then shredding them. You will not notice a difference and it will save so much time. In any case, my biggest peeve with this recipe was the wonton wrappers. They were so small it was hard to get as much chicken mixture into each little wrapper as possible without overflowing and then causing a big mess when trying  to seal the edges together. I had wing sauce all over me. Next time I will try to find larger wrappers for these so its less of a mess and also less tedious work. It took for-ev-er to get a bunch of these scooped, sealed, and dipped in the coating to fry. I’m not sure what type of wrapper the Cheesecake Factory uses because their Buffalo Blasts are larger than these but I highly suggest trying to find out. If I do, I will post an update to save you time too! In the end, I finally got these plated and we really liked them. Or should I say, hubby L-O-V-E-D them. I liked them a lot but after all the time I put into them I was a harsh critic. I probably would’ve loved them too if someone else made them for me. In any case, I will definitely be making these again if I can find the larger size wrappers. I’m not sure how these would go over at a party unless you made them on the spot because typically fried foods don’t travel well. However, take my recommendation and do give these a try with my minor adjustments, you will be glad you did!

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The “Real Best” Hot Dog

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Happy Labor Day! What do you plan on doing for dinner? More than likely, you’re BBQ-ing like the rest of America. So whats better than a delicious, juicy hot dog to kick off your family BBQ? Today we are trying 3 of the best hot dog recipes out there! Since these can be re-built the same way the next day, there is no leftover test, as they should be made right before eating every time!

The contenders:

The nitty-gritty:

Each hot dog was scored on a scale of 1-10 (where 1= that’s food? and 10= the best hot dog that has ever entered my mouth) for overall score and the boyfriend/husband test. We also provide other comments.

Cubs-Chicago Style Hot Dog

Overall score: 9

The boyfriend/husband test: 7.5

Comments: These were really good! I was unable to find a poppy seed bun but I think it actually tastes better on a plain one. This hot dog has a lot of veggies which I enjoyed because they complimented the taste of the hot dog but hubby said it was too much. All in all, it was a delicious hot dog and I will definitely make them again around here!

Detroit Style Classic Coney Island Hot Dog

Overall score: 8.5

The boyfriend/husband test: 8.5

Comments:  Yum! Thought this was very good. Very much liked the flavor of the chili. Easy to make and inexpensive meal. Fun for Labor day.

Philly Dog


Overall score: 8

The boyfriend/husband test: 6

Comments: I really liked these; they tasted just like a Philly cheesesteak! However, my boyfriend thought they were just ok. In the future, we’d get larger hot dogs, because with the hoagie bun, there is a lot of bread!


The winner:

Detroit Style Classic Coney Island Hot Dog

* Don’t forget to check out our real best burger and real best lemonade tests for your Labor Day BBQ’ing needs!

Special Diets:

While we can’t guarantee the results, here are some ideas you can use to customize the winning hot dog to your dietary needs:

  • Gluten-free: Use a gluten free bun.
  • Lower fat: Use turkey hot dogs :)
  • Lower sugar/calories: Use turkey hot dogs, cut some of the sugar, and use lean ground beef.
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Teriyaki Skewers #SundaySupper

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We are so excited to be linking up with Family Foodie for #SundaySupper! All of the recipes from this week’s #SundaySupper originate from Katie Workman’s cookbook The Mom 100. This was our first link-up with this awesome group of food bloggers and we felt so lucky to be included in this awesome initiative!

Our recipe this Sunday was…

 Teriyaki Skewers

Overall score: 10

The boyfriend/husband test: 10

The leftover test: 9

Comments: These are delicious! The marinade is fantastic! It has a bit of an asian flair to it and it tastes WONDERFUL! I added the bell peppers and onions to the recipe on my own. This is a perfect easy and delicious meal for the entire family! I will definitely be making this again and again!

Get the recipe on our Cookbook Recipe page HERE.

You can get all of the delicious recipes from The Mom 100 cookbook by visiting Katie Workman’s The Mom 100 website.

You can join the #SundaySupper link up by requesting to join the Sunday Supper Movement on Facebook and you can follow the #SundaySupper live chat via twitter this Sunday at 7 PM EST by searching #SundaySupper! There will also be a giveaway of The Mom 100 cookbook to 3 lucky winners during the live chat!

Don’t forget to check out what our #SundaySupper friends are making for their families this Sunday evening from The Mom 100 cookbook!

#SundaySupper Recipes:

Salads:

Main Dish:

Desserts:

Wine pairing Wine Everyday  @wineeveryday

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