Menu Plan of Dinners for the Week of January 3

It was tough to get out of bed at 5:45 this morning!  By 7:30 am everyone was back to their regularly scheduled lives (after, of course, we confirmed that the next 3 day weekend was a mere 14 days away…  I’m glad to be back on a regular cooking and easting schedule and planned this week’s meals to have something for everyone.

Sausage Stuffed Shells are super easy to do, even in advance.   If I’m to lazy to get out my giant pot to cook the shells, I use two, because if they don’t have enough water they stick together and then tear, which is annoying.  The kids will enjoy garlic bread, and the adults will love the garlic crumb stuffed squash that I’m testing.

My oldest son is not a fan of meatballs, but I’m going to try to win him over with a recipe for Meatballs in Teriyaki Sauce (also a test) which will go over rice and next to a salad with ginger salad dressing (we’ve tried the bottled kind but no one liked it).  I add spinach to our salads to boos the nutritional value and have worked up to almost half romaine and half spinach.

The fish lovers here will enjoy Pistachio Tilapia accompanied by Basmati Pilaf (minus the cardamom which I don’t use often enough to justify its purchase), and Garlicky Lemon Zucchini (can anyone tell my the “k” is added to garlic?). 

Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce is something we haven’t tried…I’m serving it with Parmesan Orzo (nothing but orzo cooked until it absorbs all the liquid and then parmesan added makes it creamy and delicious) and Ginger Ale Glazed Carrots.

Sunday dinner will be Tuscan Roast Chicken, roasted asparagus (if it’s not too expensive - broccoli if it is) and  baked potatoes.  With the careful use of a timer everything will come out of the oven at once.  I cook the potatoes right on the rack – no pan or foil.

I’m leaving room for leftovers, and a night out – but if that falls through I have leftovers in the freezer!

Have a great week!

p.s.  Can you tell what my nutritional goal is for the family this year?