For the Love of Leftovers

In early March my husband and I discovered that we’re expecting our first baby!  He or she will arrive mid-November.

When I was about nine weeks along, I was diagnosed with gallstones.  Fortunately, gallstone symptoms can be controlled by watching what you eat, so I have been able to avoid surgery.

Writing about cooking and food would have been a real challenge during the time my gall bladder was healing, since I had to really watch what I was eating.  I had to really limit my intake of fat for about a month.  It’s only been over the last couple of weeks that I’ve begun to experiment with eating things like eggs, cheese, peanut butter and red meat again.  So far, so good!

It’s my hope over the coming months to continue to document my diet and our meal plans as affected by my pregnancy and the gallstones.  I sure hope I can avoid another flare-up until after the baby gets here!

I’ll leave you with what has been one of my favourite things to eat for breakfast: whole wheat blueberry waffles with a bit of maple syrup and fresh strawberries.  My husband and I eat whole grain and whole wheat foods whenever the option is available and waffles are no exception.  These  are Kellogg’s Eggo Plus Wheat & Blueberry waffles, and they have a lot less fat than their regular waffles (only 2.5 g in 2 waffles!).

Monday:  Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Tuesday:  Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken (recipe courtesy of Canadian Living) with Mashed Potatoes and “some yet unforeseen vegetable”.  Maybe a green salad instead?

Wednesday:  Out for Dinner

Thursdsay:  Sweet Potato Soup with Crusty Bread (recipe also courtesy of Canadian Living)

Friday:  “Clean out the Fridge” Quiche with Hashbrowned Potatoes.

Last night I received my credit card statement for my recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee.  The statement reminded me that I had been meaning to post about eating dinner at Jack’s Bar-B-Que.

You know you’re eating dinner out with a bunch of bloggers when everyone at the table stops to photograph their meal before diving in.  I had already inhaled half of my dinner before I remembered to take a picture, it was that good.

I had pulled pork shoulder with macaroni & cheese and baked beans.  Oh, and of course corn bread.  Don’t forget the corn bread.  The food was so great, so affordable that we returned the next day to eat there again.  If I ever return to Nashville, I’ll be making a bee line to this place!

Lately one of my favourite things to eat for lunch is a very easy-to-make refried bean quesadilla.  It’s light enough for lunchtime but enough food to fill me up.  It’s packed with fibre, too.  To make this, all you need is:

• one flour tortilla
• refried beans
• your favourite cheese
• cooking spray

And here’s how to make it:

Spread one half of a flour tortilla with refried beans.  I use President’s Choice Low-Fat Refried Beans.

Shred some of your favourite cheese and spread evenly on top of the beans.  Any cheese will do, really.  Some pepper jack would be perfect, but here I’ve used a marble cheddar.

Fold the tortilla in half.  Spray a non-stick skillet with light cooking spray.  Turn heat setting to medium.  Place the folded-over tortilla in the pan, spraying the top of it with a little more spray.  This helps the quesadilla get nice and crispy brown.

This part is a lot like cooking a grilled cheese sandwich.  Check occasionally to see if the underside is crisping up.  Then flip that baby over.

See how nice and golden brown?

When the other side is also browned, take the quesadilla out of the pan and cut into wedges with a sharp knife.  The inside will be all nice and hot and gooey.  Serve with salsa, sour cream and, if desired, guacamole.

Tags: lunch, quesadilla

Monday:  Chicken Cannelloni with Caesar Salad.  I’m not making cannelloni from scratch…I bought some fresh stuff at the grocery store.

Tuesday:  Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken Breast.

Wednesday: It’s my birthday!  I hope we can go out for dinner that night.

Thursday:  French Onion Soup.  This is really easy to make.  I got the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes (1st ed.).  All you need to make this is a quart of beef broth, onions, butter or margarine, worcestershire sauce and pepper.  For the top of the soup you need some crusty bread and some swiss cheese.

Friday:  Fish & Chips with Celery and Carrot Sticks.  Graham and I are both working at the restaurant that night, so we’ll probably have this as a late lunch before work.

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura, at I’m an Organizing Junkie.