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Menu plan & shopping list

Taco night: entertaining made easy for a Girls Night Out

Do you regularly get together with friends and have a Girls Night Out (GNO) at someone’s home. Back when I was in a local mom’s club, we had monthly bunco parties where everyone would bring a dish and a bottle of their favorite adult beverage. There was nothing better than getting together with other moms. It gave us a chance to decompress and to catch up on the latest goings, and there was nothing more restorative than a few hours on a Friday night with the girls!

Planning a perfect GNO (Girls Night Out)

Planning a great girls only get together shouldn’t be a major production put on by the hostess. Instead, the emphasis should be on fun, ease, comfort and indulging. Here are some tips to make a great GNO!

It has to be at someone’s home where dad can take the kids out for the evening or maybe over to grandma’s to spend the night.
Dress should be casual and comfortable. Think yoga clothes and….slippers! My friend Maria takes her shoes off at the door, slips on her funky colored slippers, and she’s ready to par-tay!
The hostess shouldn’t be worried about straightening up the house unless that makes her more comfortable. (I love a tidy house. It relaxes me.) And no judgments should be made by the guests if there is a pile of laundry in the living room or dirty dishes in the sink.
Makeup and doing your hair are optional. Heck, jump in the shower before you come over, put on some clean sweats, put your hair in a ponytail, and come on over!
Don’t forget your cameras or smart phones. Documenting the happenings on Facebook during and after the party is mandatory!
Plan to watch a movie, play a game, do crafts, or just sit and chat. Have it outdoors by the pool or indoors by the fireplace. Put on some music or warm up the Wii.
Best of all, at GNO all diets are off. Feel free to indulge, but make sure you have a designated driver (or a spouse that will pick you up) in case you have a little too much fun.

A GNO menu

Speaking of indulging, I like to have a culinary theme for a GNO get together. Taco nights are usually everyone’s favorite since it’s easy for the hostess to provide taco basics and everyone can bring a complimentary side dish. Also, it’s great for those with food sensitivities or allergies to customize their tacos. Or they can bring a special dish just for themselves.

Here’s the basic plan for the taco bar:

Corn and flour tortillas
Carne asada, either homemade (try this carne asada marinade with Coca-Cola) or from the store OR ground beef cooked up with taco seasoning OR shredded roasted chicken
Sliced avocados, chopped cilantro, and diced tomatoes
Shredded Mexican-style cheese and queso fresco
Sour cream and hot sauce

Side dishes could include:

For dessert:

Flan
Anything dulce de leche flavored (cake, ice cream, cupcakes, brownies, etc.)

GNO Mexican inspired drinks

Of course, your guest can bring Mexican beer or make margaritas. But how about something different, like micheladas? They’ve been very popular in northern Mexico for years and are sort of like a Bloody Mary made with beer instead of vodka. Here are a few recipes:

My friend Stacy just returned from Cancun and had a similar drink called a sangrita, which serves as a chaser to shots of high end tequila. You can find the recipe here about half way down the post.

What would you serve at a GNO party?

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Posted on September 4, 2012 in Boozing It Up!,Menu plan & shopping list and tagged as party food

Healthy comfort food weekly meal plan

Last year, I wrote up several healthy weekly menu plans for the FoodieView blog. They’ve discontinued the program, leaving me with one unpublished menu plan. Not wanting to let hard work go to waste, I thought I’d share it with you!

Below is the weekly menu of lunches and dinners. The shopping list is posted here.

If a healthy weekly menu plan and shopping list is something you’d like to more of at This Mama Cooks, let me know by leaving a comment below. The ones I did for FoodieView included lunch and started on Sundays with the thinking that you’d do your grocery shopping on Saturday. If you’d like to see just dinner plans or a menu starting on another day, please leave suggestions below, too!

Healthy comfort foods weekly menu plan

SUNDAY

Lunch

Grilled Portobello Benedict
From the November 2009 issue of Self Magazine

Serves 5

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil cooking spray
4 Portobello mushroom caps (about 4 oz each)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
4 slices Canadian bacon
4 large whole eggs
4 large egg whites
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 teaspoons prepared basil pesto
8 fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
4 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

Coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray. With a spoon, gently scrape out the dark inside of each mushroom cap, being careful not to break cap.
Brush both sides of caps with oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt.
Grill mushrooms over medium-high heat until juices begin to release, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer each mushroom to a plate, top side down.
On same grill or grill pan, cook bacon over medium-high heat until warm, about 30 seconds per side.
Place 1 slice bacon onto each mushroom cap.
Whisk eggs, egg whites and 2 tbsp water until well combined in a bowl.
Coat a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-low heat. Add eggs and scramble until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide eggs among mushroom caps. Drizzle 1 tsp pesto over each; top with basil and 1 tsp Parmesan.

Nutritional information per serving:

calories 240
fat 14 g (3.5 g saturated)
carbs 7 g
fiber 2 g
protein 20 g

Dinner

Chicken Potpie
From EatingWell: Fall 2004 issue

Serves 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Filling

3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 cup peeled baby carrots
10 ounces Cremini mushrooms, halved
2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken, or turkey
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Biscuit topping

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup nonfat buttermilk, (see Tip)
1 tablespoon canola oil

Instructions:

To prepare filling: Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots; cook, stirring, until golden brown and tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until browned and their liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Return the onions and carrots to the pan. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with the remaining 1/2 cup broth; add to the pan and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Stir in chicken (or turkey), peas, sour cream, salt and pepper. Transfer the filling to a 2-quart baking dish.
To prepare biscuit topping; bake potpie: Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and thyme in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or 2 knives, cut butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Add buttermilk and oil; stir until just combined. Drop the dough onto the filling in 6 even portions. Set the baking dish on a baking sheet.
Bake the potpie until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving:

403 Calories
12 g Fat
4 g Sat
4 g Mono
64 mg Cholesterol
46 g Carbohydrates
29 g Protein
4 g Fiber
667 mg Sodium
427 mg Potassium
2 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat

Tip: For buttermilk, you can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk” by mixing 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

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