Week 23 Summary |
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Notes for this week |
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Day 1 |
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| Spinach & Ground Beef Stuffed Shells | Slow-Simmered Green Beans | |
Day 2 |
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| Steak Sandwiches with Cheese and Peppers | Mandarin Pineapple Salad | |
Day 3 |
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| Cheesy Spirals | Green Salad | |
Day 4 |
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| Chicken Fried Rice | Egg Drop Soup | |
Day 5 |
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| South of the Border Quiche | Cottage Cheese with Pineapple Tidbits | |
🗓️ Day 1
- Spinach & Ground Beef Stuffed Shells
- Slow-Simmered Green Beans
Spinach & Ground Beef Stuffed Shells
Stock your freezer with a pan of homemade stuffed shells with ground beef, spinach, onion, and garlic, and enjoy the other pan for dinner tonight.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 oz bag fresh spinach
- 1 cup water
- 2 lbs. ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Italian blend cheese, shredded
- 12 oz jumbo pasta shells, cooked according to package directions
- 56 oz pasta sauce
Instructions
- Brown the beef with the onion and garlic in a skillet.
- Cook the spinach in a pot with 1 cup water until soft and wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Drain spinach and squeeze out any excess water. Chop the spinach.
- Mix the beef, spinach, ricotta, and Italian cheese together. Fill each cooked shell with the mixture.
- Spread a bit of sauce from 1 jar of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x13 inch pan. Place half the stuffed shells in the baking dish. Cover with remaining sauce from the open jar.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
- Place the other half of the shells on a flat sheet and freeze. When frozen, place in a freezer container, label with “Stuffed Shells: Thaw, place in pan and cover with foil, and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes”, and return to freezer. Save unopened jar of sauce in the pantry for use with frozen shells.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 486 calCarbohydrates: 39 gProtein: 28 gFat: 25 gSodium: 986 mgFiber: 4 gSugar: 8 g
Spinach & Ground Beef Stuffed Shells Permalink
Slow Simmered Green Beans
Make the most of canned green beans by slow-simmering them in butter.
Ingredients
- 38 ounces Blue Lake green beans, canned
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Place undrained green beans into a pot and add the butter.
- Heat to a simmer, then reduce to low and cook for about 4 hours, adding water if necessary.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 123 calCarbohydrates: 13 gProtein: 3 gFat: 8 gSodium: 77 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 6 g
Slow Simmered Green Beans Permalink
🗓️ Day 2
- Steak Sandwiches with Cheese and Peppers
- Mandarin Pineapple Salad
Steak Sandwiches with Cheese and Peppers
These steak sandwiches are quick and easy to make and fun and delicious to eat.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless steaks
- Your preference of steak seasoning to taste, Montreal Steak Seasoning is recommended
- 1-2 Tbsp. oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 bell peppers, any color
- 6 sandwich rolls
- Butter as needed for toasting rolls
- 6 slices Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Season steaks to taste. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Cook steak on both sides until well browned and cooked to desired doneness. Set aside.
- Cook onion and peppers in the same skillet, using more oil if needed, until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Butter and toast sandwich rolls under the broiler until lightly toasted. Slice meat against the grain. Divide meat into serving size portions and place each portion in a pile in the skillet. Top with peppers and onions then cheese. Allow the cheese to melt and meat to get slightly reheated. Use a spatula to place meat and onion/peppers onto a toasted bun.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 465 calCarbohydrates: 35 gProtein: 29 gFat: 23 gSodium: 600 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 4 g
Steak Sandwiches with Cheese and Peppers Permalink
Mandarin Pineapple Salad
Mandarin Pineapple Salad is an easy and refreshing fruit salad is perfect when a light side is all that is needed.
Ingredients
- 11 oz Mandarin orange slices
- 20 oz pineapple tidbits
Instructions
- Store cans in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Drain both cans of fruit, combine, and serve.
Notes
Store the cans of fruit in the refrigerator until needed so you will not need to chill them after opening.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 84 calCarbohydrates: 22 gProtein: 1 gFat: 1 gSodium: 2 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 19 g
Mandarin Pineapple Salad Permalink
🗓️ Day 3
- Cheesy Spiral Pasta
- Green Salad
Cheesy Spiral Pasta
Cheesy, tomatoey, beefy... this easy casserole for the freezer is satisfying and delicious. It's quick to put together and makes two pans - one for dinner and one for the freezer.
Ingredients
- 16 oz. pasta spirals
- 2 lbs cooked ground beef
- 28 oz. spaghetti sauce
- 10.5 oz condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta spirals according to package instructions, slightly undercooking. Drain and rinse; return to pan.
- Add cooked ground beef, spaghetti sauce, cheddar cheese soup, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until well mixed. Remove from heat and stir in shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Spray 1- 9"x12" pan and 1- 8"x8" pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour mixture into pans. Bake the larger pan at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly.
- Wrap the smaller pan for the freezer and label as "Cheese Spirals: Thaw. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until heated through."
Notes
If you have a smaller family and prefer to cook in smaller batches, you can probably get 3- 8"x8" pans out of this recipe instead of 1- 9"x12" pan and 1- 8"x8" pan.
For the freezer: Label as "Cheesy Spiral Pasta: Thaw. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until heated through."
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 410 calCarbohydrates: 35 gProtein: 29 gFat: 17 gSodium: 656 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 4 g
Cheesy Spiral Pasta Permalink
🗓️ Day 4
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Egg Drop Soup
Chicken Fried Rice
This Chicken Fried Rice is an authentic recipe that I learned to make when we lived in Japan. It can be made with most any meat, or you can make it vegetarian.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cold leftover cooked rice (preferably Calrose), broken apart
- 1 egg
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
- 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
- 1-2 Tbsp. soy sauce to taste
- 3-4 Tbsp. oil for frying, divided
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in wok or on a large flat griddle surface and quickly scramble 1 egg in it.
- Remove egg and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat.
- Add onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add thawed peas and carrots and cooked chopped chicken and mix gently.
- When the onions are tender, add the rice and stir. Add soy sauce to taste and continue to stir and mix rice so all grains are exposed to the heated pan surface.
- Add the cooked egg, chopping to break it up, near the end of cooking time and stir well.
- When the rice is heated through and a bit crispy, it is ready to serve.
Notes
- You can use just about any meat in this recipe or add more vegetables and make it vegetarian.
- If you want to add flavor (and calories), add a splash of Yum Yum sauce about halfway through cooking.
- The secret to good fried rice is to rinse your rice before cooking it, and to separate or crumble the clumps of day old/leftover rice before putting it into the hot pan with oil.
- Make it vegetarian:
Simply omit the chicken and substitute more vegetables. - Make it gluten-free:
Omit the soy sauce or use a certified gluten-free soy sauce.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 542 calCarbohydrates: 81 gProtein: 19 gFat: 15 gSodium: 282 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 1 g
Chicken Fried Rice Permalink
Egg Drop Soup
I learned this quick and easy egg drop soup recipe when I was living in Japan. It's good for a light appetizer or a comfort food when you have a cold.
Ingredients
- 3 C. chicken broth
- 1 green onion with top, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- dash of pepper
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
Instructions
- Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs and add onions to beaten eggs.
- Pour eggs into boiling broth slowly, stirring with fork so that egg forms into ribbons. Soup is ready when egg is cooked.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 55 calCarbohydrates: 2 gProtein: 5 gFat: 3 gSodium: 1683 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 1 g
Egg Drop Soup Permalink
🗓️ Day 5
- South of the Border Quiche
- Cottage Cheese with Pineapple Tidbits
South of the Border Quiche
This recipe makes two quiches, so one can go in the freezer for a night when you have less time for meal prep.
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts, unbaked
- 1-½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1-½ cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ounces can diced green chilies, chopped
- ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro
- 1 cup black olives, sliced and drained
- salt and pepper, to taste
Optional Garnishes
- salsa
- sour cream
Instructions
- Place pie crusts in two pie pans. Line crusts with aluminum foil. Bake both pie crusts at 400°F for 5 minutes; remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, and cheeses to bottom of baked crusts.
- Mix together eggs, milk, chilies, onions, olives, and cilantro in a large mixing bowl. Pour half in each pie crust.
- Place one pie on baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Add foil to edge of crust as crust starts to brown. Continue to bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to set up for about 5 -10 minutes before serving.
- Cover and freeze second quiche for future use. (Label quiche for freezer “South of the Border Quiche. Remove quiche from freezer 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 400°F for 40 minutes. Line edges of crust with foil as crust starts to brown. Continue baking about 30 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.”)
Notes
Optional ingredients not included in nutritional data.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 424 calCarbohydrates: 20 gProtein: 17 gFat: 29 gSodium: 750 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 3 g
South of the Border Quiche Permalink
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