Posts filed under ‘Easy meal planning’
Recipe of the Week – Baked Tenderloin of Beef
(From the Beef Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Baked Tenderloin of Beef
We had a request for Beef Tenderloin from one of the kids for our family Christmas dinner. With all the high energy activities around opening gifts and catching up on the latest news, I wanted a meal that was great but also one that would not require constant attention. My mother-in-law has always told me that she just bakes the whole beef tenderloin, regardless of the weight for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. This will produce a moist and medium rare roast; perfect.
Who doesn’t love a recipe that requires very little work and produces the above results, not to mention tons of compliments. Remember to allow the roast to rest for 20 minutes after cooking and before carving. We did twice baked potatoes, another do ahead and forget trick and peas. Dessert was the Cranberry Cake from our website at emealsforyou.com.
Baked Tenderloin of Beef
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Beef Entrée |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 4 | lb | beef, tenderloin, whole |
| 3 | Tb | salt, kosher |
| 3 | Tb | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 5 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 3 | Tb | olive oil, divided |
Remove all fat and silver skin from the tenderloin. Have at room temperature. Sprinkle the salt and pepper generously over the entire tenderloin. Spread chopped garlic on top of tenderloin. Sprinkle 2 Tb of olive oil over tenderloin. Allow to marinate for 2 hours. Remove as much of the chopped garlic as possible, discard. Heat remaining olive oil in a large oven-proof pan. Brown tenderloin on all sides. Place in a pre-heated 400 degree oven. Cook for exactly 30 minutes ( for medium rare; 120 degrees ) remove from oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes prior to slicing. The tenderloin will continue to cook to 125 – 130 degrees while resting.
These recipes and more at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes
(From the Appetizer Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes
Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes has become a favorite around our house. We usually have shrimp in the freezer and cherry tomatoes in the frig so when we need a quick appetizer or even a quick dinner this is our go to recipe. When company drops by I can whip up a batch in less than 10 minutes. As versatile as they are good; I can serve the shrimp as small plates, put them on toast points or serve them over pasta as a complete meal.
Buy the shrimp on sale and freeze it until needed. We like the wild caught gulf shrimp but you can use any that you find in your grocery store.
Garlic Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | lb | shrimp, deveined, shelled |
| 5 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | cup | tomatoes, cherry |
| 2 | oz | wine, dry white |
| 1 | tsp | garlic chili sauce |
| 2 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 1 | Tb | cilantro, chopped |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof pan; add the shrimp, and chopped garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes, until the shrimp begins to color. Remove from heat, add the cherry tomatoes, white wine and garlic chili sauce and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and swirl in the butter until melted; add cilantro and salt and pepper.
Note: Serve on toast points, or over rice or pasta as an entrée.
More tasty recipes at emealsforyou.com.
On a Lighter Note – Meal Planning On the Lighter Side
From the Diet Friendly Collection at emealsforyou.com
Great Grilled Chicken
Watching your weight, taking better care of your body or just simply being careful of your diet; we have the great tasting recipes to help you succeed in reaching your goal. Good for you, balanced recipes for a healthier lifestyle. The secret to success is to maintain your nutritional balance throughout the day. Three meals and two snacks evenly spaced will accomplish this. Our affiliation with registered Dietitian Lisa M. Ronco, MS RD CDN, along with our Diet Friendly 4- week plan will help you get to your health goal. Would you like an entire weekly plan to control your weight and your life? Our Careful and Carefree weekly Meal Planner, complete with shopping list; scaled down but not out Meal Plans will help you get the desired results.
Here is a sample of one day’s plan for a new you at emealsforyou.com.
Day 1 Breakfast – Spanish Omelet
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 1 |
| Category: | Diet Friendly |
| Meal: | Week 1 (Careful and Carefree MealPlans) |
| 1 | medium | egg |
| 2 | medium | egg, whites |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 0.5 | spritz | PAM |
| 2 | medium | mushrooms, sliced |
| 1 | Tb | onions, chopped |
| 1 | Tb | peppers, jalapenos |
| 1 | small | tomatoes, plum |
| 1 | oz | ham, shaved |
| 0.5 | whole | grapefruit |
Spray pan with Pam, sauté onion, peppers and mushrooms until tender, dice tomato and add to pan along with the ham. Cook for 2 minutes, remove all to a bowl. Beat eggs and egg whites, add salt and pepper. Heat pan, pour egg mixture into pan. Push the egg from the side of the pan until it begins to set. Add mushroom mixture into half the pan, cook until done. Slide onto a plate and finish by folding the other half over the mixture, Cut grapefruit in half and plate along with eggs.
Each serving has 145 calories, 5.2g fat, 11.5g carbs, 1.8g fiber, 21g protein.
Day 1 AM Snack – Apple
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 1 |
| Category: | Diet Friendly |
| Meal: | Week 1 (Careful and Carefree MealPlans) |
| 1 | medium | apple |
Each serving has 93 calories, .5g fat,21.6g carbs, 3.8g fiber and .3g protein
Day 1 Lunch – Chicken Caesar Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 1 |
| Category: | Diet Friendly |
| Meal: | Week 1 (Careful and Carefree MealPlans) |
| 0.25 | head | lettuce, Romaine |
| 0.5 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | Tb | lemon, juice of |
| 0.5 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 0.125 | cup | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 2 | oz | chicken, deli sliced |
| 0.5 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
In a large bowl place oil, lemon juice and garlic, press garlic into bowl with a wooden spoon to distribute. Whisk ingredients together. Tear (don’t cut) lettuce into small pieces, put in bowl on top of dressing, cut chicken into strips and place on lettuce. When you are ready to serve toss salad and add romano and toss again.
Each serving has 273 calories, 16.5g fat, 3.4g carbs, 1g fiber, 27.7g protein.
Day 1 PM Snack – Goldfish Crisps
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 1 |
| Category: | Diet Friendly |
| Meal: | Week 1 (Careful and Carefree MealPlans) |
| 25 | each | Goldfish Crisp |
Each serving has 110 calories, 7.2g fat, 16.5g carbs, .7g fiber, 2.9g protein.
Day 1 Dinner – Great Grilled Chicken
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 1 |
| Category: | Diet Friendly |
| Meal: | Week 1 (Careful and Carefree MealPlans) |
| 4 | oz | chicken breasts, boneless, skinless |
| 1 | oz | soy sauce, low sodium |
| 1 | oz | soda, lemon-lime sugar free |
| 1 | Tb | oil, canola |
| 0.125 | tsp | garlic, minced |
| 1 | small | potatoes, baked |
| 0.5 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 1 | medium | tomatoes, fresh |
| 0.5 | tsp | lemon, juice of |
| 0.5 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Mix oil, soy sauce, garlic, and soda in large Zip-lock plastic bag. Put chicken breasts in marinade and marinate for at least 3 hours. Remove from marinade and grill over medium heat for 10-15 minutes per side. Chicken is done when juices run clear.
Quarter tomato, drizzle lemon juice over top and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with baked potato with butter.
Each serving has 366 calories,11g fat, 27.1g carbs, 3g fiber, 39.6g protein.
See the full 4-Week Diet Friendly Collection at emealsforyou.com.
Neighborhood Dinner – Bolognese Sauce
From the Easy Recipes I Can Cook Category at emealsforyou.com.
- Bolognese Sauce
I was reading the NY Times this morning and saw an article on cooking magazines and how they are struggling to find a theme that works. Seems Rachael Rays’ magazine is outperforming Bon Appetit. I had to laugh to myself that it took some consultant to figure out that with today’s economy people are more interested in finding ideas they are comfortable cooking than snails from the south of France.
We here on this blog and for more than 5 years on our website, emealsforyou.com, attracted our customers and readers by providing good, wholesome, easy recipes and mealplans that don’t require three chefs, a specialty grocery and 14 hours of intense labor in the kitchen. We have always provided the type of meals that you can serve your mother-in-law, your husband’s boss or the neighbors from across the street. Comfortable, affordable recipes that could have come out of Bon Appetit, but come out of your kitchen. Have the neighbors in, catch up on what’s happening, and enjoy a good, old-fashioned dinner together.
Bolognese Sauce
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Easy Recipes I Can Cook |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 3 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 4 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.75 | cup | carrots, diced |
| 0.75 | cup | celery, chopped |
| 1 | large | onions, chopped |
| 6 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 4 | slices | bacon |
| 1 | lb | beef, ground, extra lean |
| 1 | lb | pork sausage |
| 3 | Tb | tomato paste |
| 1.5 | cup | milk, whole |
| 1.5 | cup | wine, dry white |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 4 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery and onions and sauté until onion is translucent. Add garlic and bacon (chopped), add ground beef and sausage, with casing removed to the pot. Cook for 15 minutes, add tomato paste, cook for 10 more minutes. Add milk and wine and simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper taste, sprinkle grated Romano on top. Serve over pasta.
If the sauce is too thick add some pasta water to loosen it.
Look for more recipes and mealplans at emealsforyou.com.
Exciting News!!!
We are pleased to announce our new additions to our website: www.emealsforyou.com. We now have great recipes and meal plans designed for Sodium Reduced, Gluten Free and Diabetic Healthy needs. Our Sodium Reduced offers everything from easy entrées to recipes for making your own condiments. In the Gluten Free category we offer meal plans and recipes that the whole family will eat, even great homemade pasta. No more making one meal for you and an entire other meal for the rest of the family. Our newest category is Diabetic Healthy; meals that are good for you, portion controlled and low in sodium.
Not only do we provide great recipes but our powerful software makes it easy to create meal plans based on the number of people you are feeding. Simply pick the number and we do the math. Then let us create a shopping list so that you can whip right through your grocery; giving you more time to spend with your family.
With over 500 recipes and meal plans, www.emealsforyou.com provides you with the ideal tool to eat healthier, control your grocery costs and take the headache out of the “What’s for dinner?” conundrum.
Use Sponsoring Identifier EMEALS-53 and get $6 off the $36 full-year membership
Recipe of the Week – David Lee Shrimp
(From the Appetizer Collection at emealsforyou.com)
David Lee Shrimp
When we first started the website (emealsforyou.com) 5 years ago we would name some of our recipes for particular events or people that caused the dish to be created. A good friend would come over and when asked what he felt like eating; would always ask for these shrimp. Looking for a shortcut around having to say, “the ones with the garlic and breadcrumbs?; we decided to name them David Lee shrimp as a joke. Well the name stuck and most of my friends now call them by their “given name” David Lee Shrimp.
Give these a try either as an appetizer or over some pasta with a salad for a great Friday night dinner.
David Lee Shrimp
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Fish Entrée |
| Meal: | Small Plates Please (Picnic Meal Plans) |
| 3 | Tb | flour |
| 3 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | Tb | lemon zest, finely chopped |
| 1 | Tb | dill weed |
| 1 | lb | shrimp, deveined, shelled |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.25 | cup | Panko breadcrumbs |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 | Tb | lemon, juice of |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
Place flour, dill, lemon zest and garlic in processor, process until blended. Put flour mixture in plastic bag, add shrimp and shake to coat. Heat oil in a pan or wok; sauté shrimp 1 minute per side. Remove and drain on paper towel. Place shrimp in ovenproof dish, sprinkle Panko on top.
Place under broiler for 2 minutes or until brown. Drizzle with lemon juice and then remaining olive oil.
More shrimp and other great recipes at emealsforyou.com.
Keeping Up with Changing Times
Times are changing; people are eating healthier. Many more people are developing allergies to foods. People want better foods; better food for them and their families. They are finding cooking from scratch to be a healthy alternative to all the processed foods on the market. We here and on our sister site, www.emealsforyou.com, are teaming up with registered Dietitian Lisa M. Ronco, MS RD CDN, to provide you with great recipes and meal plans that are healthy and assist you in preparing meals for those family members with health problems.
Currently in conjunction with our numerous recipe and meal plan categories ( to see all the Recipe and Meal Plan categories on emealsforyou.com click here ) we provide Foodie quality recipes and meal plans designed around:
Diabetic Healthy, healthy eating that your whole family will enjoy! Balanced Recipes and Meals; providing suggestions that are not only good for you but great tasting. These are meals you can make and your whole family will ask for over and over again. Simply put in the number you are feeding and we will do the math.
Every diabetic is unique and we suggest you follow a comprehensive program developed with your physician.
Diet Friendly, good for you, balanced recipes along with Careful and Carefree Meal Plans providing 4 full weeks of meal plans (3 per day) and snacks (2 per day) fully scalable to the number of people you are feeding. As an added bonus simply click a button and print a shopping list for your choices.
Gluten Free, gluten free doesn’t have to be tasteless.
Sodium Reduced, healthier recipes for sodium restricted diets.
Vegan, for those who choose a diet based on a respect for the natural world.
Vegetarian Entrée, great ways to get balanced meals.
WOW (Watching Our Weight), our great recipes scaled down but not out.
Our Weekly Meal Planner provides you with 5-day meal plans with no repeated entrees and 20 full weeks of meals. All of our recipes and meal plans are automatically scalable; design your menu around feeding 1,2,4,6,8,10 or 12 people. Simply drop the recipes and meal plans in your Favorites Box and you are two mouse clicks away from printing a complete shopping list.
In the coming weeks we will add recipes and meal plans for creating diabetic friendly menus. Additionally, Lisa M. Ronco, MS RD CDN will be creating a method to provide guidance for those who wish a more “hands on” approach to healthy eating.
Planning Breakfast – Company Breakfast Made Easy
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Mary N's Baked French Toast
With the holidays rapidly approaching we find ourselves thinking about company coming to town to enjoy a visit and immediately our brains turn to food. What to feed them? The dinner meals are usually pretty straight forward; large extravaganzas with turkeys, hams or roasts taking center stage. Fill in around these and you are all set.
It’s the other meals that drive us up a wall. Beyond juice and coffee what to serve for breakfast. You know that meal first thing in the morning that you usually skip save for a cup of coffee. Company changes all that. Bagels and doughnuts only go so far, and besides you what them to think you care about starting the day off right, right? The answer may lie in make ahead breakfast casseroles. Do all the work ahead when you have the time. Company morning get up, turn the coffee pot on and preheat the oven. Pop in your pre-made casserole and let the aroma drift through the house. Chances are everyone will show up with a smile on their face and exclaim, “boy, I can’t believe you got up early and made breakfast for us!”
This recipe comes to us via my wife’s aunt Mary. She brought some cream cheese brownies to a family function recently and this recipe was a bonus recipe from her. Both recipes are on the emealsforyou.com website. This recipe is somewhere between French Toast and OMG Sticky Buns. You can’t beat the French toast for the ease of preparing it and it is certain to become a new family favorite.
Mary N’s Baked French Toast Casserole
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 1 | large | bread, french |
| 1 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 8 | large | egg |
| 2 | cup | cream, half and half |
| 1 | cup | milk, whole |
| 2 | Tb | sugar, white |
| 1 | tsp | vanilla |
| 0.25 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 0.25 | tsp | nutmeg, ground |
| 1 | pinch | salt, table |
| 16 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 1 | cup | sugar, brown, light |
| 1 | cup | pecans, chopped |
| 2 | Tb | corn syrup, light |
| 0.5 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | nutmeg, ground |
Slice French bread into 1-inch slices. Butter a 9 X 13 baking dish. Place slices in 2 overlapping rows. Mix the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt ion a large bowl until just mixed. Pour over the bread, making sure to get mixture between and all over bread slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate over night.
For the Praline Topping: Combine butter, brown sugar, pecans, light corn syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl, mix and allow to sit covered on a countertop over night.
Baking instructions: Spread the praline topping evenly over the casserole. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; bake casserole for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Recent Comments