Week 16 Summary |
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Notes for this week |
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Day 1 |
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| Taco Bar | Mexi-corn | |
Day 2 |
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| Pasta e Fagioli | Dinner Rolls | |
Day 3 |
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| 30 Minute Cheesy Taco Macaroni | Sautéed Greens of Your Choice | |
Day 4 |
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| Creamy Garlic Shrimp over Angel Hair Pasta | Green Beans | |
Day 5 |
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| Black Bean Soup | Bread of Your Choice | |
🗓️ Day 1
- Taco Bar
- Mexi-corn
Taco Bar
Tacos are a quick and easy meal that can be made traditional style with ground beef, or can be updated with chicken, shrimp, or even beans based on your preferences and what you have on hand. Cook and season the meat, then serve with all of the condiments taco bar style so that each person can make their own.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning mix
- 12 tortillas or taco shells
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese
- Lettuce, optional
- Tomatoes, optional
- Salsa, optional
- Sour cream, optional
Instructions
- Cook ground beef with taco seasoning mix as directed on package. Serve seasoned beef with remaining ingredients as a make your own taco bar.
Notes
Optional toppings not included in calorie calculation.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 130 calCarbohydrates: 8 gProtein: 10 gFat: 6 gSodium: 328 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 1 g
Taco Bar Permalink
🗓️ Day 2
- Pasta e Fagioli
- Quick Rolls
Pasta e Fagioli
Pasta e Fagioli is an easy 30 minute soup that is full of Italian flavor and accented with ditalini, orzo, or other small pasta cooked al dente.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt to taste
- 14.5 oz. vegetable or chicken broth
- 29 oz. fire-roasted tomatoes
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 cup ditalini, orzo, or other small pasta
- 15 oz. can cannellini beans, with liquid
- shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired
- fresh parsley, for garnish if desired
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté celery, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and salt until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer on low 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add pasta and cook 7-10 minutes until pasta is al dente. Add undrained beans. Mix thoroughly and continue cooking until heated through.
- Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese and fresh parsely on top if desired and serve.
Notes
Pasta e Fagioli can be made in the crockpot, but add additional broth and do not add the pasta until the last 20 minutes of cooking.
You can substitute other vegetables, legumes, or pasta if you wish, making this a good recipe to use what you have on hand.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 231 calCarbohydrates: 44 gProtein: 10 gFat: 3 gSodium: 841 mgFiber: 6 gSugar: 7 g
Pasta e Fagioli Permalink
Quick Rolls
These 3 ingredient quick rolls are easy and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups biscuit mix, divided
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine all ingredients except ¼ cup biscuit mix and mix well.
- Sprinkle reserved biscuit mix onto a flat surface such as a cutting board. Divide dough into 12 equal sections (this is easiest if you divide the dough into quarters, then divide each quarter into thirds). Out of each dough section, make 3 equal balls and roll them in the flour.
- Place the 3 balls together into a muffin cup. Repeat for each of the remaining sections of dough until you have filled 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until starting to brown.
Notes
If you don't have biscuit mix, you can use a homemade biscuit mix substitute.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 201 calCarbohydrates: 15 gProtein: 2 gFat: 15 gSodium: 370 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 3 g
🗓️ Day 3
- 30 Minute Cheesy Taco Macaroni
- Sautéed Greens of Your Choice
30 Minute Taco Macaroni
30 Minute Taco Macaroni is a quick and easy stovetop meal that is even easier if you keep taco-seasoned cooked ground beef in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow macaroni
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 tbsp. taco seasoning mix
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 10 oz Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, drained
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Brown ground beef in a skillet with onion and garlic.
- Add taco seasoning mix and ⅓ cup of water and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, water, milk, Rotel, salt, pepper, and cooked pasta. Stir in cheese and serve warm.
Notes
If you already have taco-seasoned ground beef in the freezer, this recipe can be done in about 15 minutes. If you don't have any stockpiled, go ahead and cook extra tonight and freeze it. Cooking 5 lbs. ground beef and seasoning it for the freezer takes less time than making 1 lb. ground beef 5 times and seasoning it for each recipe.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 437 calCarbohydrates: 48 gProtein: 22 gFat: 17 gSodium: 738 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 4 g
30 Minute Taco Macaroni Permalink
🗓️ Day 4
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp over Angel Hair Pasta
- Green Beans
Creamy Garlic Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta
Creamy Garlic Shrimp only takes a quick sauté in a skillet and a jar of your favorite prepared garlic Alfredo sauce to make a flavorful meal in under 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp, thawed
- ½ teaspoon dill weed
- 15 oz Garlic Alfredo Sauce
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 8 oz. pkg. angel hair pasta
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add shrimp and dill weed.
- Sauté, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes, or until shrimp turns pink.
- Add sauce and broth and continue cooking until sauce is heated through.
- Season, if desired, with salt and ground black pepper.
- Serve over cooked pasta and garnish, if desired, with grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
If you have more time, you can add a couple of cloves of minced and sautéed garlic to our homemade Alfredo sauce for a “from scratch” version of Creamy Garlic Shrimp.
Use half the amount of sauce to cut out a portion of the fat and calories. It isn’t as creamy, but the taste is still delicious.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 434 calCarbohydrates: 48 gProtein: 32 gFat: 6 gSodium: 1568 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 3 g
Creamy Garlic Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta Permalink
🗓️ Day 5
- Black Bean Soup
- Bread of Your Choice
Black Bean Soup
Black beans are one of my favorite beans – they go well with corn and tomatoes in cold salads as well as hot sides, but the king of all black bean recipes is black bean soup.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. prepared dried black beans, ⅔ cup liquid reserved
- 28 oz vegetable broth (or 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon no chicken soup base with 28 ounces of water)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 2 Tbsp. oil
- 10 oz tomatoes and green chilies, drained
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 tsp. lime juice
- Sour cream, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onion, and chopped jalapenos as desired for garnish
Instructions
- Sauté onion and bell pepper in oil in a skillet.
- While the vegetables sauté, combine ½ of the prepared beans with all of the reserved liquid and the broth in a large soup pot. Using an immersion blender, puree the beans.
- When onions and peppers are tender, add them to the pureed beans in the soup pot along with the remaining beans, garlic, tomatoes and green chilies, lime juice, and seasonings. Stir gently and simmer until soup is hot and flavors are blended, about 30-45 minutes.
- Serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onion, and chopped jalapenos as desired for garnish.
Notes
Prepared dried black beans are the base for the black bean soup, so if you need to make them make sure you soak them the night before. Dried beans are much cheaper than canned and easy to make, and you may wish to double the beans that you cook to freeze for later use.
Puréeing half of the beans and keeping the other half whole will give this soup a nice texture with a smooth base.
Don't try to substitute canned beans for the soup as they are not as tender as those cooked from dried, so the consistency will alter the texture of the soup.
Nutrition facts do not include garnishes.
If you like this soup, try a similar mixture without the broth to make a thick bean dip for corn chips.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 339 calCarbohydrates: 54 gProtein: 18 gFat: 6 gSodium: 814 mgFiber: 13 gSugar: 4 g
Black Bean Soup Permalink
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