Meal Planning – Dinners for the Week – 2

As I mentioned last week, the weekends we are in NY, I try to prep everything for the week ahead. It is about two hours of my day on Sunday, but, if I have the time, it makes my week SO MUCH EASIER. I try to spend no more than 25-30 minutes getting dinner on the table during the week—otherwise, the night is too stressful trying to get bath, books, bedtime.

Sunday – Lasagna, Cheesy Garlic Bread and Caesar Salad

I prepped the lasagna when I did the other food prep for the week. This way, I just had to pop the lasagna in the oven when I was ready. 

INGREDIENTS

1 package of chicken Italian herb sausage

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup of green onions

 2 cloves garlic, diced

1 can (28 ounce) of San Marzano tomato puree

1 tomato, diced

1 (6.5 ounce) can canned tomato sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

 1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Chopped fresh parsley

16 ounces ricotta cheese

2 eggs

½ cup of Parmesan cheese

Lasagna noodles (no boil)

2 bags of mozzarella cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS

1.       In a skillet, sauté the onions, garlic, and green onions. Add the chicken sausage, cut into bite-size pieces. Cook until browned.

2.       Add the tomato puree, diced tomato and canned tomato sauce. You may want to add a tablespoon of white sugar. Add the basil, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper and half of the parsley.  Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.       In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

4.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

5.       To assemble, spread a thin layer of the meat sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange lasagna noodles over sauce.

6.       Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese.

7.       Repeat layers and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

8.      Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.

9.       Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

For the bread, I just sliced a loaf of French bread, added a thin layer of butter, sprinkled with garlic salt and added mozzarella cheese on top. I baked in a pre-heated oven (375 degrees) for five minutes. 

Monday – Chicken Chili with Cheddar Biscuits

This week, for the chili, to prep, I boiled and shredded chicken and diced all the veggies and added them to one bag.

Tomorrow, before I leave for work, I will throw everything in the crock pot on low. When I get home, the chili will be done and I will just have to bake the cheddar biscuits, which will take about 10 minutes. 

Tuesday – Leftovers

We definitely have enough lasagna for leftovers and should have enough chili as well.

Wednesday – Orzo with Asparagus

I love this meal. And, with everything pre-chopped and cooked, it will take me about 30 minutes from start to finish. Check out the recipe here.

For the prep, I cooked the turkey bacon and chopped all the veggies and herbs. 

Thursday – Dinner Out

I will take Alex out to dinner on Thursday this week—it is nice to go out to dinner at the end of the week, when I am starting to get tired.

Friday – Spaghetti with Meatballs

When I make meatballs, I make a ton and freeze the leftovers. I will defrost them on Thursday night and when I get home, I can just boil some pasta, use tomato sauce from a jar and add the homemade meatballs. Here is the recipe I use for my meatballs (although I always use turkey not beef).