{Menu Plan Monday} + Recipe Reviews!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

 We have a house guest this week and he is making this for us! 

Yay for a night off cooking!

Martha Stewart's Baked Mac and Cheese, Salad 

I haven't made this one in so long, mainly because I have been really trying to eat healthy! But we DO have a guest this week, so this one needs to be on the menu. It's been so cold and windy and comfort food like this is just what the doctor ordered ;)

Shrimp Linguine with Ricotta, Fennel

377 Calories, 10.6g fat, 23.9g protein, 43g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 650mg sodium

Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach, and Burrata 

* I will be using fresh mozzarella instead of burrata cheese since I couldn't find it anywhere ;)

415 Calories, 17.1g fat, 13.5g protein, 51.4g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 593mg sodium

Basic Beef Stew, crispy bread

Again -this is guest worthy and I can't wait to share it!

Serving size: 1 cup - 303 Calories, 9.8g fat, 26.8 Carbs , Fiber 2.3g, 494mg sodium

Recipe Reviews: 

Turkey Meatloaf - Tim 7/10, Julie 9/10 - healthy and tasty, can't beat that! Ease to make -8.5/10
SO easy! But the cooking time (in loaf form) is 1hr 15 min. I did not read that ahead of time, so I was crunched for time and just spread it into a 9x13 pan and it cooked in about 35 min ;) It's a GO!

Broccoli and Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes  Tim - 8.5/10, Julie 9/10, Ease to make 9/10 - While I used these as a side dish, you could easily add chicken, bacon or ham and make it a main dish! They were SO yummy and lower calorie because it mixed cauliflower into the filling and you couldn't even tell! It's a GO!

Irish Soda Bread - Tim 7/10, Julie 8/10, Ease to make 9.5/10 - SUCH an easy bread to make! It's kind of a mix between a biscuit and sourdough consistency. It tastes and looks so great for a quick bread! It's a GO!

Baked Chicken Parmesan - Tim 8.5/10, Julie 9/10, Ease to make 8.5/10 - I really loved her technique in making this. You brush a bit of melted butter onto the raw chicken breast and then dip it into bread crumbs and parmesan and then pop it in the oven to bake it. It was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside - not to mention - easy and healthy! It's a GO!

Croque Madame Sandwich - Tim -10/10, Julie 9.5/10, Ease to make 8.5/10. Oh my! This was amazing! You need to find the correct and nice cheese though to make it right! Tim and I were both surprised how filling and satisfying it was! We kept saying how fantastic it was after every bite.
It's a GO!

Penne with Asparagus and Balsamic Butter - Tim 8/10, Julie 9/10, Ease to Make 9/10. I added grilled chicken to make it more of a meal, but this was easy and so buttery and tasty! Lip smacking good in my humble opinion ;) It's a GO!

Orange and Soy Glazed Salmon - Tim 7/10, Julie 7.5/10, Ease to Make 8/10 - This was just meh to me. It had good flavors, but didn't really stand out to me as a keeper.  NO GO.

For more great menu plans go to orgjunkie