Pages

Monday, April 8, 2013

Delicious: Weekly Meal Plan



I am continuing my new Menu Planning Method called Grouping that I began at the end of March. (You can read more about Grouping here!)

Due to a wedding this weekend (and our excursion to Baltimore for a few days), I only needed to plan five main meals this week!

Main Meals This Week:
Scallops with Broccoli Pasta
Buffalo-Breaded Pork Chops with Spinach Alfredo Pasta
Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Hoagies with Fresh Fruit
Veggie-Loaded Spaghetti Squash Pasta
Grilled Turkey/Ham Cheese Sandwiches with Fresh Fruit

I tried to plan some simple (and easy to clean up) meals so that we can focus on school and packing instead of keeping up with dishes and cooking.  Most of these meals can be prepped and ready to go in 15-20 minutes!!!  One thing I am doing to save time is roasting my spaghetti squash in advance.  By prepping it a day earlier, I can simply prepare my veggie-loaded sauce and add the squash!

Recipe for Veggie-Loaded Spaghetti Sauce:
1.  Roast and Prepare Spaghetti Squash.  I am roasting my squash whole, but there are method where you can halve and then roast the squash.  I am using these step-by-step instructions.  You can serve the "spaghetti" straight away or refrigerate for another day (preferably no longer than 3 days).

2.  Saute extra veggies for your sauce.  I melt butter in a medium or large pot, then add chopped mushrooms and onions.  Feel free to add peppers, garlic, tomatoes -- anything you want!  Cook until soft and browned.

3.  Add spaghetti sauce to the veggie mixture.  For this dish, I like using a chunky or loaded tomato sauce (extra veggies!).  For a creamy side, alfredo would work well.  If you want something light and fresh (which would go well with fish or shellfish), go scampi style with butter, lemon juice, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

4.  Mix and Serve!  Plate the squash and top with sauce.  If refrigerated, you can stir the squash into the sauce to warm through before serving.

** You can make this a heartier dish by adding some ground turkey or bacon, serving bread on the side, or adding some thin whole wheat pasta to the dish!

No comments:

Post a Comment