Weekly Meal Plan 7/26/10

I told a friend that I would share my weekly meal plans with her. Since I'm writing them up for her, I thought I'd post them here, too.

I normally do 5 or 6 days of meals and plan to have leftovers one or two nights.

The meals:
1. Jenna's Penne with Veggies
2. Red Beans and Rice (I like to serve w/green salad)
3. Pork Chops w/apples and kraut (pick out some veggies of choice to serve with this)
4. BBQ Chicken w/quinoa (say keen-wa) and veggies
5. Crock Pot Chicken w/Pepper and Pineapple

The recipes:
Penne w/Veggies
1 lb box of Penne pasta cooked al dente (I like to use whole wheat pasta for better nutritional profile but any will work)
approx 1 lb Italian sausage, cooked and then sliced into rounds (I cook this up as I'm bringing my pasta water to boil)
1/2 med onion, sliced thin
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 med zucchini, sliced about 1/8" thick
2 med yellow squash, sliced the same
1-2 tomatoes, chopped (totally optional, sometimes I leave them out)
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) for sauteing and drizzling
S&P (salt & pepper) to taste
Parmesean or Romano cheese to taste

Saute the onion in a big skillet until translucent. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Add the two kinds of squash and saute until tender. Add the tomatoes if using and cook for just one min more then remove from heat. Add in your cooked and drained pasta and your cooked sausage. Drizzle w/EVOO, toss together, and season to taste w/S & P and cheese. This makes a lot so you can have your leftovers on a different night :)

Red Beans and Rice
2 stalks celery, with leaves, sliced
1 med red onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (or one cup dry beans, soaked overnight and cooked earlier in the day)
6 oz (approx) canadian bacon, cut into strips
1 cup chicken broth
about 5 Tbs parsley (here you go - a use for your parsley! I just eyeball it and never actually measure my parsley)
1 tsp worcestershire sauce (this is what my recipe calls for but I usually end up adding a lot more)
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 cup rice, cooked (I like brown rice, again for better nutritional content)
EVOO for sauteing

In large saucepan or skillet, saute celery, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in EVOO about 10 mins until veggies are tender. Stir in beans, canadian bacon, broth, most of the parsley, worcestershire, and hot pepper sauce. Stir occasionally until heated through. Discard bay leaf. Spoon over hot rice and sprinkle with remaining parsley. This is a pretty good meal as-is but I often like to add a green salad. (You might get leftovers with this one, too).

Pork Chops w/Apples and Kraut
I'm gong to give you the recipe as it's written, which is for oven cooking. I'm going to assemble this and put it in the crock pot instead.
4 1" thick pork chops
2 apples, cored and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
14 tsp nutmeg
32 oz sauerkraut, drained
veggies of choice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Brown chops in skillet about 5 mins on each side or until browned. Place chops in 9x13 baking dish (I don't see why you couldn't leave them in the skillet if it was oven safe). In bowl, combine remaining ingredients except veggies and mix well. Divide evenly and mound on chops. Cover and cook about 1 hr or until fork tender. Serve w/veggies of choice.

BBQ Chicken w/Quinoa and Veggies
This is simple. Just BBQ whatever kind of chicken pieces you like. We got a great tangy BBQ sauce at the local farmer's market that we'll use on this. Cook quinoa according to package directions (they have a big bag at Costco or I usually get mine in the bulk section at Sprouts). If you get the bulk kind, I think the ratio is one cup of quinoa to 2 cups water (like rice). I like to add butter and salt to the water when cooking. Steam until all the water is absorbed. You can also make in a rice cooker. Cook up whatever veggies you like and serve all together.

Crock Pot Chicken w/Peppers and Pineapple
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" pieces
4 med carrots, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs grated gingerroot (or 1 tsp ground but it tastes better w/fresh)
1 Tbs packed brown sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp red pepper sauce
8 oz pineapple chunks in juice, drained and juice reserved
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 med red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
hot cooked rice for serving

Mix everything except pineapple, cornstarch and bell pepper in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hrs. Mix reserved pineapple juice and cornstarch until smooth and gradually stir into chicken mixture in crock pot. Stir in pineapple and bell pepper. Cover and finish cooking on high about 15 mins until slightly thickened. Serve over rice. You can top w/sliced green onions (or chives - come on over and get some!), toasted coconut (unsweetened), and/or chopped peanuts or cashews.