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    Home / Meal Plans

    Meal Plan for Week 40 (Group 1)

    Meal Plan for Week 40 (Group 1): Baked Southwestern Spaghetti, Barbecue Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot, Beef Stew with Dumplings, Maple Dijon Chicken, Crockpot Pizza Pasta

    Meal Plan for Week 40 (Group 1): Baked Southwestern Spaghetti, Barbecue Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot, Beef Stew with Dumplings, Maple Dijon Chicken, Crockpot Pizza Pasta

    Week 40

    Notes for this week

    • This week we are using the crockpot twice to make dinnertime easier.
    • If you have cooked ground beef in the freezer, use it in Baked Southwestern Spaghetti on Day 1.
    • Maple Dijon Chicken on Day 4 is a freezer meal that is easy to prepare in bulk.

    Day 1

    Baked Southwestern SpaghettiCottage Cheese with Pineapple TidbitsSugar Snap Peas

    Day 2

    Barbecue Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot

    Day 3

    Beef Stew with DumplingsSautéed Summer Squash and Onions

    Day 4

    Maple Dijon ChickenSteamed BroccoliSweet Potato Fries

    Day 5

    Crockpot Pizza PastaGreen BeansSpinach Salad
    Jump to:
    • 🗓️ Day 1
    • 🗓️ Day 2
    • 🗓️ Day 3
    • 🗓️ Day 4
    • 🗓️ Day 5
    • 🧾 Create a shopping list


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    🗓️ Day 1

    • Baked Southwestern Spaghetti
    • Cottage Cheese with Pineapple Tidbits
    • Sugar Snap Peas
    Clear casserole dish with spaghetti noodles, ground beef, and melted cheese, topped with shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes.

    Baked Southwestern Spaghetti

    Change up your baked spaghetti by giving it a Tex-Mex flavor with green chilies, black olives, and more.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 45 mins
    Total Time 50 mins
    Course Main Dish
    Cuisine Tex-Mex
    Servings 10 servings
    Calories 490

    Ingredients
      

    • 16 ounces spaghetti
    • 1 ½ lbs. ground beef
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 26 ounces jar spaghetti sauce
    • 4 ounces can diced green chilies, chopped
    • 2.25 ounces can sliced black olives, drained
    • 10 ounces can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
    • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
    • Toppings as desired, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, hot peppers, etc.
    • Non-stick cooking spray
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    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350°F.
    • Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
    • While spaghetti is cooking, brown ground beef. When almost done, add onion and cook until onion is tender.
    • Drain beef and onion mixture and add remaining ingredients except cheese and toppings. Mix thoroughly and cook over medium heat until heated through.
    • When spaghetti is ready, drain and mix with meat mixture.
    • Pour into a 9"x13" pan prepared with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
    • Bake for 30 minutes.
    • Serve with toppings of your choice.

    Notes

    If you have cooked ground beef and cooked onion in the freezer, skip the steps for cooking those and just thaw and heat.
    Toppings not included in nutritional data.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 490 calCarbohydrates: 52 gProtein: 34 gFat: 16 gSodium: 893 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 8 g
    Baked Southwestern Spaghetti Permalink
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    Coral, white, and brown illustration of a tilted salt shaker sprinkling salt

    Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas

    A quick sauté in butter with a dash of sugar is all it takes to make perfect fresh sugar snap peas
    5 from 1 vote
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    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 10 mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine American, Gluten-free, Vegetarian
    Servings 3 servings
    Calories 61

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 oz sugar snap peas, raw
    • 2 teaspoon butter
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
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    Instructions

    • Melt butter in a small fry pan.
    • Add sugar snap peas and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently, until peas are covered with butter.
    • Sprinkle with sugar and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until peas are tendercrisp and bright green.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 61 calCarbohydrates: 7 gProtein: 2 gFat: 3 gSodium: 27 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 4 g
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    🗓️ Day 2

    • Barbecue Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot
    Photo is a clear glass bowl of diced potatoes sitting on an orange and white striped linen napkinn, a wooden cutting board with tongs and sliced chicken, and a plate with a small corn cob, diced potatoes, and sliced chicken. The plate is off-white with a yellow rim. There is a fork on the plate beside the potatoes.

    BBQ Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot

    This Barbecue Chicken dinner is not only a great slow cooker recipe, it can easily be used as a freezer meal to help make weekday meal planning easier. You could also make prep easier by using frozen hash browns instead of chopping up your own potatoes.
    4.50 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Add to Collection Go to Collections
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 8 hrs
    Total Time 8 hrs 30 mins
    Course Main Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 500

    Ingredients
      

    • 2-½ lbs. frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    • ½ cup barbecue sauce
    • 6 gold potatoes, chopped
    • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • 1 tsp. salt
    • 1 tsp. pepper
    • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
    • 6 frozen mini ears corn on the cob
    • Foil
    • Non-stick cooking spray
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    Instructions

    • Spray the bottom of the crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place the chicken in the crockpot and brush with some of the barbecue sauce until chicken is completely covered. Pour remaining barbecue sauce evenly over chicken.
    • Combine the potatoes, oil, onion, cheese, salt, and pepper together in a bowl and mix well.
    • Make a large packet out of foil and wrap the potatoes in it.
    • Wrap each ear of corn separately in foil.
    • Place the potato packet on top of the chicken and place the wrapped ears of corn on top of the potato packet.
    • Cook on low for 7-8 hours or until cooked through.

    Notes

    I adore my Vidalia Chop Wizard (affiliate link) and use it all the time! I use it for dicing potatoes, onions, peppers, celery, fruit, and more into consistent sized pieces so that my finished dishes look beautiful. The chopper has two inserts, one for medium-sized pieces (which I used here) which I usually use for potatoes, onions, and peppers, and one with a smaller grid, which I use to chop smaller pieces of celery, nuts, or other crunchy additions to salads and other dishes.
    Although I have not tried it, I think this dish would be perfect to do for freezer meal prep. You could prepare everything except the chicken and store the foil-wrapped corn and potato mixtures with a package of chicken breasts and the barbecue sauce in a large freezer container. When you want to make it, just prepare the chicken on the bottom then layer the foil wrapped corn and potatoes on top and cook as directed.
    If you want to skip chopping the potatoes, you might try using frozen diced hash browns instead.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 500 calCarbohydrates: 42 gProtein: 51 gFat: 15 gSodium: 924 mgFiber: 6 gSugar: 12 g
    BBQ Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot Permalink
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    🗓️ Day 3

    • Beef Stew with Dumplings
    • Sautéed Summer Squash and Onions
    White bowl of beef stew with two dumplings on top. Stew consists of brown broth, diced beef, chopped potatoes, and stewed tomatoes. There is a spoon in the bowl on the left side.

    Beef Stew with Dumplings

    Rich flavors and tender dumplings make this easy beef stew a fall favorite.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 40 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 55 mins
    Course Main Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6
    Calories 381

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into small pieces
    • 2 Tbsp. oil
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
    • 2 carrots, chopped
    • 3 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
    • 15 oz. can stewed tomatoes, undrained
    • 15 oz. can beef broth
    • Water as needed to cover ingredients

    Dumplings:

    • 1 ½ C flour
    • 3 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ C milk
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    Instructions

    • In a large pot cook onion and mushroom in oil on medium high for about 10 min. until softened.
    • Add beef, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, broth, and water (if needed to cover the ingredients) to the pot.
    • Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer about an hour and 15 min.
    • Prepare dumplings by combining the ingredients together and dropping by the spoonful on top of the stew.
    • Cover and let cook without lifting the lid for 10 minutes or until dumplings are raised and fluffy.

    Notes

    You can avoid peeling potatoes by choosing Yukon gold variety or by using about 1-½ cups frozen hash browns in place of potatoes.
    If you would like to make this in the crockpot, you can omit the sautéing and combine everything except the dumpling ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on low for about 6 hours, and follow the instructions for making the dumplings just before serving.
    If you make this in the Instant Pot and would like to let me know your method, I’ll add it for others to follow.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 381 calCarbohydrates: 47 gProtein: 26 gFat: 11 gSodium: 698 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 7 g
    Beef Stew with Dumplings Permalink
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    Coral, white, and brown illustration of a tilted salt shaker sprinkling salt

    Pan Sautéed Squash and Onions

    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 15 mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 53

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 yellow squash or zucchini, sliced
    • 1 onion, sliced
    • 1 tablespoon butter
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    Instructions

    • Melt butter in a large skillet
    • Sauté squash and onion in butter until tendercrisp.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 53 calCarbohydrates: 6 gProtein: 2 gFat: 3 gSodium: 34 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 4 g
    Pan Sautéed Squash and Onions Permalink
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    🗓️ Day 4

    • Maple Dijon Chicken (double and freeze one)
    • Steamed Broccoli
    • Sweet Potato Fries
    White plate with chicken breast topped with a Dijon sauce.

    Maple Dijon Chicken (Freezer Cooking)

    Maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar make a delicious sauce for this easy freezer chicken dish that can be prepared in advance and cooked in the crockpot.
    No ratings yet
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    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 4 hrs
    Total Time 4 hrs 5 mins
    Course Main Dish
    Cuisine American, Gluten-free
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 412

    Ingredients
      

    • 1-½ to 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    • 1 cup Dijon mustard
    • ½ cup maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
    • ½ tsp. salt
    • ½ tsp. pepper
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    Instructions

    • Combine Dijon, maple syrup, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
    • Place chicken in slow cooker and pour sauce on top.
    • Cook in slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

    To stock your freezer:

    • Place chicken in a freezer container and pour mixture over chicken. Seal, while removing the air, and label with the date and the following: “Maple Dijon Chicken: Thaw in refrigerator overnight and cook in slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.”

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 412 calCarbohydrates: 31 gProtein: 51 gFat: 8 gSodium: 1213 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 25 g
    Maple Dijon Chicken (Freezer Cooking) Permalink
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    🗓️ Day 5

    • Crockpot Pizza Pasta
    • Green Beans
    • Spinach Salad
    Ground beef, lasagna noodles, and melted mozarella cheese in a white bowl, with pepperoni on the right side and a fork on the left.

    Crockpot Pizza Pasta

    A combination of pizza and lasagna that is easy to prepare and cooks in the crockpot, this tasty meal is ready to serve after about 3 hours.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 3 hrs
    Total Time 3 hrs 10 mins
    Course Main Dish
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 8
    Calories 566

    Ingredients
      

    • Non-stick cooking spray
    • 1 lb. box lasagna noodles
    • 32 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
    • 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
    • 1 cup ricotta cheese
    • 1 lb browned ground beef, from freezer
    • 5 oz. pkg. turkey pepperoni slices
    • ½ cup water
    • 4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
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    Instructions

    • Spray bottom and sides of a crockpot.
    • Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of crockpot to avoid noodles sticking.
    • Break uncooked lasagna noodles into pieces; place ⅓ of the broken lasagna noodles in a layer on bottom of the pot.
    • Pour about ⅓ of the sauce evenly over the noodles.
    • Next, place ½ of the ricotta and ⅓ of the mozzarella over the sauce.
    • Place ½ of the browned ground beef on top of the cheese, followed by half of the pepperoni and mushrooms.
    • Place a few spoonfuls of sauce lightly over the meat.
    • Repeat the layers starting with the broken noodles, sauce, cheeses, meat, and a little more sauce.
    • Finally, layer the last ⅓ of the broken noodle pieces over the top.
    • Cover noodles completely with remaining sauce.
    • Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over the top.
    • Pour water around the edges; cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

    Notes

    Note about cooking time: Cooking times vary greatly depending on the size of your crockpot as well as its cooking temperature. You may find that it takes longer for the meal to cook in your crockpot, so be sure to allow for variance.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 566 calCarbohydrates: 51 gProtein: 34 gFat: 25 gSodium: 1170 mgFiber: 4 gSugar: 7 g
    Crockpot Pizza Pasta Permalink
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    🧾 Create a shopping list

    Note that any recipe scaling from the recipes above does not carry over to the starting point for the grocery list, so you will need to make those same serving adjustments below after you click the Shopping List button. To print the notes for each day, after clicking the Shopping List button, click Print Collection.

    Meal Plan for Week 40 (Group 1): Baked Southwestern Spaghetti, Barbecue Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot, Beef Stew with Dumplings, Maple Dijon Chicken, Crockpot Pizza Pasta
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    Posted by Mary Ann on September 14, 2021Filed Under: Meal Plans

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