Meal Plan Monday + My Meal Monday

Mondays have been designated as Meal Plan post days. Nolan and I are heading to Wisconsin in a few days, though, so our weekly menu is abbreviated. Alex can fend for himself come Thursday. :)

When trying to put together a few meals, I thought about what we had in the house, as well as what would result in some leftovers. I don't really want to leave Alex foodless.

Weekly Menu - Meals Not Assigned to Specific Days

• Spaghetti with Homemade Meat Sauce (freeze extra sauce so Alex has an easy meal), garlic toast, broccoli
• Fish (kind dependent on price and availability at grocery store) with Brussels Sprouts (I'm hooked)
• Moroccan Peanut Chicken in the Crock Pot, couscous, green beans (Alex is still working crazy hours)
• Enchilada Soup in the Crock Pot
• Leftovers (in case I don't feel like making one of the meals above)

Because I'm late with this post, we've actually already eaten both the spaghetti and fish. I was pretty happy with how our fish dinner turned out tonight, so I wanted to share a few pictures, along with recipes. These recipes are my own, made up, so there are no precise measurements involved. Sorry.

Panko Crusted Perch

Ingredients 

perch fillets (fresh or thawed)

panko crumbs

1 or 2 eggs, beaten (depending on number of fillets)

flour

Italian spices (basil, oregano, etc.)

salt (to taste)

Parmesan cheese

cooking spray

lemon wedges or slices

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees, place jelly pan in oven to heat.
2. In a shallow dish, mix together crumbs, spices, and Parmesan cheese (use your judgement on amounts). Place flour in separate dish and beaten eggs in a bowl, wide enough for dipping the fish.
3. Dredge fish fillets in flour, dip in egg, then coat in bread crumb mixture. Set fillets aside on clean plate.
4. Remove jelly pan from oven. Spray breaded fillets lightly with cooking spray, place on jelly pan.
5. Bake fish for 10 minutes, until it flakes easily with a fork.
6. Serve with lemon wedges or slices.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

Brussels Sprouts

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

water

olive oil

chicken or vegetable bouillon (cube or granules)

Directions

1. Clean brussels sprouts, remove outer leaves, cut in half vertically.
2. Heat enough oil to cover bottom of a large, flat bottom fry pan. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan, cut side down, in a single layer. Scatter the chopped onion and garlic over the sprouts.
3. Allow sprouts to caramelize (you will smell it and notice the cut side turning brown). Turn sprouts over and cook for about 5 more minutes.
4. Add enough water to cover the base of the pan. Sprinkle with crumbled bouillon, stir, cover, and allow to steam fry until liquid has cooked off.

Meal Plan Monday

Below you'll find my meal plan for this week. I'll be shopping primarily for produce when I visit the grocery store today, as the fridge and freezer are still well stocked. I'm also gearing up for a little freebie stock piling at Harris Teeter during Super Doubles, which begins on Wednesday. I will post deal match ups before the sale begins.

My Weekly Menu

Chicken Fajitas and Black Beans (Sunday's meal)
I bought a rotisserie chicken at Harris Teeter on Saturday. They are regularly $6.99 at that store, but certain varieties had a $2.00 off sticker attached, which means I bought the chicken for $4.99. Actually, the chicken was FREE. I shopped with a $20 Harris Teeter credit, earned through filling a prescription.

We ate some of the bird for dinner on Saturday and used the leftovers for this meal. I already had the other ingredients in the house, including tortillas, peppers, onions, and avocado (all from Aldi). Don't forget, peppers are on sale at Aldi for a few more days - $1.89 for three!

Tofu Stir Fry with Brown Rice
Tofu is $2.19 at Harris Teeter. Using this $0.75/1 printable coupon, which will double to $1.50, you will pay just $0.79 for a package. OR...wait until Wednesday for HT Super Doubles, and you can use this $1.00 printable to buy a package for just $0.19!

Valentines Dinner - Mussels Mariniere with French Bread, Pasta, and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts 
Alex was really in the mood for mussels on Saturday. I've never made them before and thought I'd give it a go. The idea just came a little too late in the day. I visited the fish market at Harris Teeter, and it was mussel-less. I have plans to visit Capital Seafood Market in Durham and hope I'll find what I'm looking for. I'm also planning to swing by Dulce, a cafe/bakery in our neighborhood, to pick up a special dessert. :)

Falafel Wraps or Pitas
This recipe is rolling over from last week because I simply didn't get around to making it. As I've mentioned before, I found it on an i pad recipe app. No link. Sorry. Everything is already in stock for this meal, except for the pitas.

Asian Chicken Breasts, Veggies
I love this recipe from For the Love of Cooking because the marinade is soooo tasty and simple, and it can be easily adapted using whichever ingredients I happen to have on hand.

Panko Pork Chops topped with Bruschetta , Whole Grain Pasta

I found the pork chop part of this recipe on For the Love of Cooking. There isn't much to it - panko coated pork chops, baked in the oven. A picture on that site shows the chops paired with a side of tomatoes. This might have been simply for the sake of a prettier picture, not sure. Whatever the reason, it gave me the idea of trying out bruschetta, which I already have the ingredients for, as a topping. I don't have pork chops in the house, so they'll need to be added to my shopping list. I'll have to do some sale ad price comparing.

Other Fill-in Meal Ideas (in case I change my mind) :)  
Pasta with sauce from the freezer, leftovers, tilapia with quinoa

Reader Response: What's for dinner at your house this week?