Menu Monday with a Twist!

I've decided to go ahead and jump right on board the "Menu Monday" bandwagon.  I'm big into the meal planning around these parts and I personally enjoy scouring blogs for recipes...so I thought I would create a segment of my own!  Not sure who came up with this whole "Menu Monday" idea...since it's on quite a few blogs that I read, so if it was you, let me know and I'll give you some cred.

But for a twist, I think I will include the WW points for each meal and update you on our meals from the past week.  That way I can include pictures.  I'll start that next week.

And just so you know upfront, I get a crazy amount of WW points.  Reasons include:  1.  I'm huge.  2.  I'm a nursing mom.  I currently have 49 points for the day so sometimes my points for dinner are seemingly high.  But right now, I need to eat more calories for my little girl so I'm obliging :)  Feel free to scale down for yourselves as necessary as the portions I eat now are larger than I have eaten in the past.  I'm also using higher point ingredients so I am able to hit my point value for the day.  This, unfortunately, will not last.

Here are some highlights from last week:

Monday:  Pulled BBQ Chicken

I found this recipe from I Love You More Than Carrots a while back.  Honestly, it's my new favorite meal.  It is ridiculously easy, super yummy, and I would make it every week if Matt let me.  Plus, you do it in the crock pot so my house smells delicious all day long.  We serve it on hamburger buns, but I was recently thinking it would be awesome with tortillas and cheese.  Yum!

Notes:
33.5 oz. chicken breast used
6 servings
11 points/serving
3 point wheat hamburger buns makes this meal 17 points for two sandwiches

Tuesday:  Leftovers

Wednesday:  Pizza Calzones

This is a go to recipe for us around here.  It's very simple and comes together quickly for a yummy meal during the week.

Notes:
This recipe makes 4 calzones.  Matt and I each eat two, but I could definitely just have one and call it a meal.  I don't, but I could.
9 points/calzone

Thursday:  Beef Casserole

This is a new recipe for us this week.  I really enjoy Southern Living recipes, as does Matt, so it's a site I frequent to search for yummy new meals to try.  It ended up being a super yummy dish!  I will say, the recipe instructed me to roll out some crescent roll dough, cut it into strips, and form a lattice on top of my casserole.  Um, that did not happen.  I did roll it out, cut it into strips, and then proceeded to just lay them all over the top.  I found there to be too many strips and I sure as heck was not going to throw away pieces of crescent roll dough.  No way!

Notes:
Lean ground beef used
Points do not include toppings which I chose not to use
6 servings
15 points/serving

Friday:  Leftovers

As a side note, the leftover beef casserole was just so so in my book.  Crescent rolls reheated are just never the same.

Saturday:  Chicken Skewers w/ Brown Rice

We ended up having a little bit of a change of plans Saturday.  We met our friends at a festival in town and they invited us over for dinner.  We did bring these skewers over for appetizers, but we also had steak for the boys, turkey dogs for us dieting girls.  And no rice.  Matt marinated the chicken in soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, and a few spices and it was really good on the grill.  Doesn't grilling something just make it taste so much better?

Notes:
3/4 lb. chicken tenders used
2 servings
8 points/serving (this includes using all of the sauce...which we intended to boil and use over rice)

Sunday:  Pepper Seared Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream Sauce; Crab Legs

I went a little fancy today to celebrate Father's Day.  I let Matt chose the meal.  He also got Peach Cobbler for dessert.  I cannot vouch for how that turned out as cooked fruit is something I am not super fond of...so this dessert was special for Daddy.

The steak was so good!  But my favorite part of the meal was the sauce.  I will say that it made way more sauce than necessary so I bet the points were considerably less as I didn't even come close to using it all.  But hey.  Better under points for the day than over, am I right?

Notes:
I halved the recipe but used 1 lb. of meat.  The more meat the better in our house.
2 servings
19 points/serving
3 oz. of crab meat= 2 points + 3 points for the necessary tablespoon of butter used for dipping

Hope you enjoyed the first installment of Menu Monday a la Jenny!