Monday, January 17, 2011

Menu Plan Monday


Monday: Spanish hamburgers

Tuesday: Ribs, mashed potatoes and green beans

Wednesday: Easy chicken curry and jasmine rice

Thursday: Chicken parmesan

Friday: Eating out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Monday, January 10, 2011

Menu Plan Monday


Monday: Pork chops, mashed potatoes and creamed spinach

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner - sausages, bacon, eggs, fried mushrooms and tomatoes.

Wednesday: Spag bol and salad

Thursday: Chicken tikka, jasmine rice and naan bread.

Friday: Probably eating out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Beef and Vegetable Baked Spaghetti Squash

Another squash recipe, this time for spaghetti squash. I can't believe I have never made a baked spaghetti squash casserole before, we all loved this, and no one missed actual pasta in the bake. This will definitely be a regular meal in our house.



1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
1 pound ground beef
1 diced green bell pepper
1 diced red onion
1 diced zucchini
8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon worcester sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese
1.Preheat oven to 375.
2.Place squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and bake 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, cool, and shred pulp with a fork.
3.Reduce oven temperature to 350 and lightly grease a casserole dish.
4.In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until brown. Drain, and mix in the green pepper, red onion, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms and tomato paste. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.
5.Mix the shredded squash and tomatoes into the skillet, and season with oregano, basil, worcester sauce, salt, and pepper. Remove skillet from heat, and mix in 1 cup of cheddar and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish.
6.Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and continue baking 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

See other recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Vegetable Chili Stuffed Butternut Squash

My mum loves butternut squash, so when I saw this recipe in a Rachael Ray cookbook the hubby got me for christmas, I knew I had to make it before she went back to England. The roasted squash with the cheesy chili is so good, and as I have plenty of chili leftover, we will be making this again next week.


2 cups vegetable stock
2 small dried ancho chili peppers, stems and seeds removed
2 small butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, quartered
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 small zucchini, diced 1/2 inch
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 10-ounce box frozen corn
1 14-ounce can black beans, drained
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beer
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425ºF

Place butternut squash cut side up on a baking sheet and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons oil and some salt and pepper. Roast squash in oven until tender, about 45minutes.

While the squash is in the oven, warm the vegetable stock in a small saucepan along with the dried chilis, and leave to soften. Place a pan over medium-high heat with 3tablespoons olive oil. Add the mushrooms and brown 5 minutes, then add onion, garlic, peppers and zucchini to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until the veggies are tender, about 8-10 minutes more. Puree the softened ancho chili peppers in blender with the vegetable stock.

Add the spices, corn, black beans and tomato paste to the pan and cook until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Add the beer to the pan, stir then add ancho stock then simmer over low heat until ready to serve.

Scoop the finished chili over the butternut squash halves and sprinkle with the cheese. Place the squash under the broiler to melt the cheee.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Menu Plan Monday


Monday: Vegetable chili stuffed butternut squash

Tuesday: Pepsi pot roast

Wednesday: Beef and vegetable baked spaghetti squash

Thursday: Meatballs with peppers and pineapple and jasmine rice

Friday: Taking mum to Perry's as it's her last weekend before she goes back to England

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie