Meal Plan W/E 1/28

We had a small casualty of food waste this week . A bit of buttermilk (half a cup maybe) that just didn't make it's way into a pancake, a smoothie or a waffle.  Sorry buttermilk, I feel bad that you made your way down the drain instead of into a breakfast of mine.  But I would say three weeks into the new year - that's way better than what I've run into in the past.

This is another week of no weekday hockey games, I know February will be similar but March will be something else.  So it's great that I'm making all these bigger items on Sundays so we can freeze portions of them for later - like March when the Bruins have 5 weeknight home games!  A weeknight home game prevents me from cooking a dinner and having leftovers for lunches, so stocking the freezer now will pay off in March.

Anyway  - this week the hubs has a night out with a friend to pony up the cash for his Sox tickets and I am getting my hair did one night.  Also I have a lovely day of shopping, lunch & a movie on Saturday with one of my gal pals. We also have the Caps, the Pats & the Bruins playing on Sunday so we are planning an early trip to the grocery store and getting some food prepped and parking our butts on the couch for some hockey and the AFC Championship game.  Also Tuesday night is the first Caps vs Bruins match up of the season - they are away so it's separate ends of the couch for a couple hours and we'll need a quick meal suitable for the coffee table.



Printable Meal Plan & Ingredient List

Sunday:
Breakfast: Turkey Bacon & Eggs
Lunch: Chicken Spring Rolls & Ginger Rice
Dinner: Cider Braised Pork Shoulder, Yukon Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Monday:
Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee
Lunch: Cider Braised Pork Shoulder, Yukon Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans
Dinner: Butternut Squash Lasagna

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Raspberry Lime Rickey Smoothie
Lunch: Butternut Squash Lasagna
Dinner: Chicken Burritos (the last of my Shredded Chicken Filling from the freezer)

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee
Lunch: Spinach Turkey Meatballs over Egg Noodles
Dinner: Turkey Burgers & Fries (on my own)

Thursday:
Breakfast: Pom Breakfast Smoothie
Lunch: Butternut Squash Lasagna
Dinner: Turkey Burgers and Fries (Hubs on his own)

Friday:
Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee
Lunch: Cider Braised Pork Shoulder, Yukon Mashed & Green Beans
Dinner: Steamed Pork Rolls & Cold Sesame Noodles

Saturday:
Breakfast: Turkey Bacon & Eggs
Lunch: Cold Sesame Noodles (Hubs on his own)
Dinner: Chicken Sausage Pizza & Salad

Spicy Sausage Ragu with Red Peppers

In this week's episode of Crock-Pot Sunday...we go with a sauce instead of a large piece of meat.  I still need to share the recipe for the Sunday Italian Meat Gravy, and I hope this weekend's snow will keep me in home so I can share some more recipes.  But that recipe is so delightful that when the multiple meat items for it are on sale I stock up and freeze them in the portions for this sauce.  This is why I had 2 pounds of Hot Italian Sausage in my freezer.  So this meal choice was great because I had most of the items on hand (sausage and a variety of canned tomato products)  I always stock up on these items when various grocery stores have sales or I buy them at BJ's as well.  Of course this recipe is from my Crock-Pot bible Slow Cooker Revolution

All items on hand with the exception of the fresh peppers

Spicy Sausage Ragu with Red Peppers


Printable Recipe

Makes 12 cups

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds hot Italian sausage, removed from its casing
• 2 onions, minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 2 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/2 pieces
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsely
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown well, breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker

Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes to fat in skillet and cook over medium-high heat until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up brown bits and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes

Stir crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce into the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the sauce is deeply flavored. 9 to 11 hours on low; 5 to 7 hours on high.

Let sauce settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using a large spoon. Microwave bell peppers with remaining tablespoon of oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir softened bell peppers into sauce and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Before serving, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

We had this for dinner one night and then packed up 4 portions for 2 lunches later in the week and the rest has been frozen 4 portions at a time - my guess is you'll see this in a meal plan in the near future since it was a huge hit with Hubs.