A simple, delicious soup that gives you all the flavors of Spaghetti on a spoon! Give my Spaghetti Soup a try this Meatless Monday. It is a bowl full of homemade goodness that will warm everyone. It’s also all in one pot – so less dishes!!
Spaghetti Soup
I actually started making a version of this as a teenager. I would just bowl a single portion of pasta, pour in one of those small cans of tomato sauce, and then stir in a packet each of Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes that we always had leftover from pizza. To be honest – it hasn’t changed all that much in the last 20 years. Sometime you just don’t need to mess with something so simple yet delicious.
I usually serve this with some bread sticks and a quick Caesar salad. I have also mixed in some mini-meatballs or some chunks of sausage to make it a little more hearty. This is a great budget-friendly meal that is sure to please your kids. Soups are a great meal for the colder months and you really don’t need a lot of time to get a ton of flavor out of them.
Spaghetti Soup
I pulled the recipe straight out of my cookbook to share with you all. If you like it and want to see more family weeknight meal ideas – please check it out. It is called Homemade on a Weeknight: A Family Cookbook by Estelle Forrest and it is available in Paperback and eBook Versions.
A simple, delicious soup that gives you all the flavors of Spaghetti on a spoon!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword soup, soup recipes, spaghetti soup
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
1½lbMedium Shell Pasta
215 oz cansTomato Puree
19 oz canTomato Paste
1 cupParmesan CheeseGrated
1tspSea Salt
1tspCoarse Black Pepper
1tspOregano
1tspBasil
1tspParsley
1tspRed Pepper Flakes
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients
In a large pot, bring water to boil for the pasta. Add pasta and prepare as directed on the package. Drain all but 3 cups of pasta water and pasta from pot.
Stir in tomato pasta and puree, as well as the seasonings. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve.
A lot of families are headed back to school at this point – whether it’s in-person, virtual or some hybrid version. Which means more focus from the parents in these situations. Meal Planning can be such a stress reliever. Not having to think about what you will make for dinner each day can make things so much easier. Being able to make a grocery list and one trip to the store for the whole week – so much easier. This week’s meal planner is going to be a hit in your home!
Each week I will be sharing one Weekly Meal Planner each Sunday to help you get a jump start on your meal planning. I also want to provide you with the blank version of the Meal Planner so that you can make your own menu using other recipes (egads!) than those from my cookbook! Maybe even incorporate some of the free recipes I provide right here on this blog
Hopefully by now you have purchased your copy of the Homemade on a Weeknight Cookbook – if you haven’t you can get it as a Paperback or an eBook on Amazon! All of the full recipes for these meals are found in the cookbook. As mentioned in the cookbook, you can easily create weekly mean plans by simply selecting a recipe from each of the five categories in the book:
There are lots of different methods to Meal Planning. Some people like to plan out a whole month – some people want to repeat their meals over and over again. Some people take it a week at a time – some people just pick 7 dishes for a week and then eat them as they decide that’s what they want. None of these methods are wrong. The only way to go wrong with meal planning…is to not do it!
As the nights get cooler and we all settle in for Fall – soups always come to my mind. I love a creamy and simple soup that I can make on a weeknight. My recipe for Potato Leek Soup with Sausage fits the bill every time. You get a full flavored soup in less than an hour.
Potato Leek Soup with Sausage
I love to use Chicken Sausages – they are a healthier version of sausage, they cook quickly and they come in wide variety of flavors. Its also fairly easy to find organic versions to make sure you aren’t getting a whole bunch of fillers instead of chicken! I really love the Open Nature brand, but I think that might be regional.
Potato Leek Soup with Sausage
This soup recipe is one of the favorites from my cookbook – Homemade on a Weeknight: A Family Cookbook. If you don’t have a copy yet – maybe you need one? This recipe mentions the use of an immersion blender. I am in love with mine – it makes everything so creamy and it does it so fast. I have this one. If you don’t have one – no worries! You can use a regular blender – just make sure to leave the lid off and cover with a towel because hot liquids can pop the top!
I usually serve this soup either with some nice fresh crusty bread that I warmed up in the oven or with a crispy quick green salad. You could also just make the soup and serve it along side a baked chicken breast, or a juicy pork tenderloin.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter and add garlic and leeks. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add chicken broth, potatoes, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium. Let cook for 20 minutes.
In a saute pan over medium high heat, add oil. Saute sausage until just browned and warmed through.
Remove soup from the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to a smooth consistency. Stir in heavy cream. Return to medium heat for 5 minutes.
In a shallow soup bowl, ladle soup into center. Place cooked sausage in center of bowl and garnish with parsley, if desired
If you are looking for more recipes for meals in a bowl – check out my Soups, Salads & Bowls Section of my cookbook!
Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!
Spaghetti and Meatballs just got a little extra! I always like to take classic recipes and add a little something extra to them. That’s what I did with this recipe for Stuffed Meatball Pasta. I mean who doesn’t love it when the surprise is CHEESE! And the homemade red sauce so packed with flavor and so simple to make – you can use it for other dishes too.
Stuffed Meatball Pasta
By just adding a little chunk of mozzarella cheese to the center of the meatballs, you add more flavor and more fun. The typical string cheese snacks you probably already get for your kids are the perfect size for these too. You just cut them down to just smaller than inch pieces and put one inside each meatball. If you wanted to go a little healthier with this dish, you could switch out the ground beef or Italian sausage or both with ground turkey. You would just need to add a tablespoon of avocado oil to help hold them together.
Stuffed Meatballs in Sauce
Pasta dishes are always at least one meal on rotation in my Menu Planning practice. They are simple and filling, not to mentions totally versatile. You can use pasta in so many different ways for different styles of food. You can also use lots of different types of pasta for your regular recipes. Try some cellentani instead of shells or some rigatoni instead of penne.
A little special surprise inside each meatball makes this dish so much fun to make and EAT!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword meatballs, Pasta, pasta dishes, red sauce
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
1½lbPastaany variety
For the Meatballs:
1lbGround Beef
1lbGround Italian Sausage
2Eggsbeaten
2Garlic Clovesminced
½cupBreadcrumbs
3sticksMozzarella String Cheesecut in ¾-in pieces
1tspSalt
1tspPepper
1tspFennel Seed
1tspOregano
1tspBasil
1tsp Red Pepper Flakes
For the Sauce:
228 oz cansCrushed Tomatoes
115 oz canTomato Sauce
½Oniondiced
3Garlic Clovesminced
2tbspAvocado Oil
1tspSalt
1tspPepper
1tspRed Pepper Flakes
1tspBasil
1tspOregano
1tspParsley
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400deg. Start water boiling for pasta
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for meatballs except the cheese chunks. Wrap meat mixture around a piece of cheese to make 1½-inch balls. Place on a greased baking sheet and into oven for 25 minutes.
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil, onions, and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes then add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sauce seasonings. Cook for 4 minutes then reduce heat to low and let simmer.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain in a colander and rinse with cool water to arrest cooking process
Remove meatballs from oven and add to sauce. Let cook for 5 minutes
Serve 4-6 meatballs with sauce over a portion of pasta. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Say that 10 times fast! Spicy Sweet Sheet Pan Shrimp might be a mouthful of a title…but it’s one you are going to enjoys chowing down on for sure! This beautiful dish is going to be a hit on the dinner table. It is simple to put together – just a little bit of veggie chopping, really. If you are like me and have been dreaming of a nice island getaway with all that is going on in the world – you need this dish in your life. And maybe a Lime Margarita or three!
Sweet Spicy Sheet Pan Shrimp
You could serve this dish up a few different ways. You could treat it like fajitas and serve it with some tortillas, sour cream and fresh made pico de gallo (tomatoes, white onion, jalepeno, cilantro and lime juice)! Or you could go for a “bowl” and serve it over rice. What I decided on was some rice noodles that I tossed in a little mixture of lime juice (1tbsp), cocoa aminos (1/4 cup) and fresh ginger (2 tsp).
Sweet Spicy Sheet Pan Shrimp with Rice Noodles
I know that Shrimp and seafood is not everyone’s favorite, but it really is great to get different things on your family’s plates. Seafood and shellfish is also a grea source of protein. Getting them to be adventurous with food is a great way to help them get adventurous in the world. Food is a gateway to different cultures and can really encourage kids to want to know more about different parts of the world. This dish is inspired by Jamaican Cuisine. The marinade has similar flavors to a Jamaican Jerk seasoning blend.
Looking for an island getaway? Well you can pretend with this pineapple and jalapeno shrimp dish.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Marinade Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
2lbLarge Shrimppeeled
1Pineapplecut into ¼ rounds
½Red Onioncut in 1-in pieces
1Red Bell Peppercut in 1-in pieces
1Green Bell Peppercut in 1-in pieces
1Jalapenoseeded and sliced
½cupCilantrochopped
For Marinade
19oz canPineapple Juice
2tbspAvocado Oil
2tbspLime Juice
1tspNutmeg
1tspGarlic Powder
1tsp Salt
1tspBlack Pepper
1tspRed Pepper Flakes
1tspParsley
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients.
In a small bowl, combine all marinade ingredients.
In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and pour in marinade mixture. Toss until evenly coated. Cover an place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (not more than 3 hours).
Preheat oven to 400 deg. On a large baking sheet (you could use two smaller ones), evenly spread out shrimp and vegetable mixture. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Notes
You could serve this over rice or with tortillas (like a fajita)
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here: AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS.
I am super excited to take on a #MeatlessMonday Challenge from Stephanie over at Clean Food Mama. She makes so incredible food that is predominantly plant-based. I have been so impressed with the beautiful dishes she is creating for your family. Stephanie – like me – makes a huge effort to shape healthy eating habits for her kiddos (she has two teen boys!) and it is working! She tells me this is one of her kid’s favorite meals. You know we can’t pass up a burger in this house so here we go! Black Bean Burgers from Clean Food Mama!
Clean Eating Mama’s Black Bean Burgers
Now, if you have been following along with my blog – you know I live in a house of meat-eaters. They love their bacon and beef and chicken, for sure! But every now and then I like to switch things up and give them something with plenty of protein without the actual meats. My own personal diet (VSG) means high levels of protein are super important to my nutrition. As she points out – Black Beans are complex carbs and have high levels of protein and fiber. These are all things that make a balanced diet. Every once in a while I like to have my hubby and kids eat my diet and this burger is perfect for that!
Black Bean Burgers
I did opt to use my own secret sauce – although Stephanie’s looks so yum too! I used the one I made for my Cheeseburger Bowls. I did put it in a piece of green cabbage and topped it off with red onion, radishes slices, tomatoes and little sprinkle of finely shredded cheddar. O….M…..G…. these Black Bean Burgers are so darn good!
Black Bean Burgers
The combo of beans and veggies is spot on and produces such a pleasant mouthfeel. Stephanie gives such easy to follow directions that you really can’t mess this up. If you need a recipe for your own #MeatlessMonday Challenge – this is a great one!
I like to meal plan a week at a time – but every so often I get on a roll with recipes I want to try or the kids through out a lot requests and I go a few weeks into the future. Sometimes it is an amazing deal on proteins that drives my recipe selections. The important thing is to get it done – using a weekly meal planner is one of the best ways to take the stress out of cooking homemade meals every night of the week!
A Meal Planner is a part of my weekly routine – and I am determined to make it part of yours. It will save your time and money by planning ahead for the week’s dinners.
I also want to provide you with the blank version of the Meal Planner so that you can make your own menu using other recipes (egads!) than those from my cookbook! Maybe even incorporate some of the free recipes I provide right here on this blog.
Hopefully by now you have purchased your copy of the Homemade on a Weeknight Cookbook – if you haven’t you can get it as a Paperback or an eBook on Amazon! All of the full recipes for these meals are found in the cookbook. As mentioned in the cookbook, you can easily create weekly mean plans by simply selecting a recipe from each of the five categories in the book:
Does it get more homecookin’ then Chicken Fried Anything with Gravy? The crispy crunchy outer coating over steak is a classic comfort food. So why not give the other white meat a little country lovin’ and make Chicken Fried Pork Chops w/ gravy smothered all over it?
Chicken Fried Pork Chops w/ Gravy
Dredging station set-up is real important to the success of any kind of coating like this. You want to get everything totally set up and ready for use before you start dredging anything. You could get one of these fancy Dredging Station Tray sets or you could just use some dinner plates or small baking sheets. This particular set up only needs two trays/bowls/plates because the flour mixture gets used twice. It is important to get a layer of flour under the egg mixture to help it stick to the meat better.
Chicken Fried Pork Chops w/ Gravy
The Gravy is equally important! Some people don’t like to make the gravy in the same pan that they fried in – but I’m not those people. The tasty bits in the bottom of the pan are key to delicious gravy. They give it more depth of flavor and bring the whole dish together. You can use the gravy over the pork chops or some mashed potatoes. For this particular meal – I would use red potatoes with the skin on to make smashed potatoes (just add heavy cream, butter, salt and white pepper after boiled to tenderness). For more Side Dish Ideas check out my Side Dish Recipes.
Chicken Fried Pork Chops w/ Gravy is definitely going to be on our regular rotation from now on. It came out so tasty, the husband has already requested it again in the near future!
A new spin on a classic meal – taking the yumminess of chicken fried steak and putting it on a pork chop!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken fried pork chop, pork, pork chops
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
For Pork Chops
1½lbPork Chopsboneless, cut into 6-8 pieces
2cupsFlour
1tspBaking Soda
1tspSalt
1tspGarlic Powder
1tspBlack Pepper
2Eggsbeaten
1cupHeavy Cream
⅓cupSriacha
½cupFrying Oil
1stickButter (1/2 cup)
For Gravy
3tbspButter
3 tbspFlour
2 cupsChicken Broth
1 cupHeavy Cream
1 tspSalt
1tspPepper
½tspRed Pepper Flakes
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients.
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil and butter. Bring up to at least 400 deg. (Oil/butter to should be deep enough to cover half of pork chop, but not submerge them)
In a bowl combine, flour, salt, garlic powder, baking soda, and pepper. In another bowl combine eggs, heavy cream, and Sriacha.
Dredge the pork chops: first coat in flour mixture, then dunk into egg mixture, then back to flour mixture for a thick coating. Repeat with remaining pork chops.
Place pork chop in hot oil and fry on each side for 6 minutes. Remove to cooking rack over paper towel.
Once done frying pork chops, drain all but 1 tbsp of oil from pan and return to stove over medium heat. Add butter and let melt.
Whisk in flour and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in broth and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in gravy seasonings and heavy cream. Reduce to medium-low and continue to stir for 3-5 minutes as sauce thickens.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here: AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS.
Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!
Not all enchiladas are created equal! A lot of people have this idea that it has to be a red sauce poured over a tortilla stuffed with shredded meat… and that’s the end of it. Really, there are so many more possibilities with different types of tortillas, meat and sauces. And this recipes is no different! The Creamy Steak Enchiladas are covered in a Cilantro & Lime Sour Cream Sauce that will knock your socks off!
Creamy Steak Enchiladas
We love enchiladas in this house – mostly because they are like some of our other favorites burgers, nachos and salads – super versatile. You can really get wild with the combinations of sauces and meats. Of course you can go with the traditional Red sauce (there is a great recipe for homemade red enchilada sauce in my cookbook Homemade on a Weeknight.) You can also tweak it just a bit with my Creamy Red Enchilada recipe (get the full recipe here!). But it’s even more fun if you go all the way and try something totally different.
If you need to take the heat down a little bit – this recipes calls for diced jalapenos – you can switch it out for diced green chilies. You will still get a great flavor with just a little less heat!
Creamy Steak Enchiladas
These enchiladas could be called Enchiladas a la Crema if you are looking for something similar on your local Mexican Restaurant’s menu. I think the real key to this dish is the made-from-scratch sauce. I say it over and over (because it’s true!) sauces made from scratch are ALWAYS better! And it is really not that hard. Once you get the basics of the roux (butter & flour mixture) down, you can create so many different sauces for so many different dishes.
What’s on the side?
You can serve up these enchiladas on their own, with a southwest styled salad (like I did) or with a more traditional rice & beans. You could also do a cilantro rice with black beans if you wanna get a little fancy.
In a bowl combine all ingredients for Steak. Cover and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat grill pan to medium-high and then place steak on grill pan. Cook for 6 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into 1/4-inch pieces.
Preheat oven to 400 deg.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add butter and garlic powder. Once melted whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Next add chicken broth and cook for 3 minutes. Add jalapenos, and lime juice. Then whisk in sour cream until creamy then cook another 2 minutes. Stir in cheese and cilantro and cook until totally melted.
Now it's time to build the enchiladas – start by putting a thin layer of sauces in the bottom of 2 13 x 9 glass dishes. Then place 4-5 slices of steak in the center of a tortilla, ladle roughly a 1/4 cup of sauce over steak then roll up. Place in glass dish, seam down. Repeat with remaining tortillas – should get 8 in each tray. Cover with shredded cheese and cilantro. Put into over for 20 minutes.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Today I want to share on of the recipes from the Home Cooking section of my cookbook – Homemade on a Weeknight. Today my cooking has been in print for 2 whole months and I just have to celebrate it! I picked this recipe because it is one of the easiest – not to mention tastiest – recipes from the book – Cheddar Bacon Pork Chops!
Cheddar Bacon Pork Chops
Cheddar – yes please! Bacon – heck yes please! AND Pork Chops – my mouth is watering just typing this post up! The simplicity of this dish is what makes it so easy. It’s a simple combination of ingredients that comes together like a glorious singing chorus of deliciousness.
If you need some side dish ideas for these yummy Cheddar Bacon Pork Chops – you could always just do some roasted potatoes (but put them in the oven before you start preparing the pork chops since the potatoes take about 40 minutes). But if you want to get a little more exciting try one of these: Citrus & Herb Whipped Cauliflower, Spicy Potato Corn Salad or Lemon Dill Orzo Salad. The cookbook also has a whole collection of Side Dishes – so if you have don’t have a copy yet, maybe you should?
Side Dish Suggestions
If you aren’t a big pork fan – I mean it is the Other White Meat still, right? You could totally make this recipe with some Chicken Breasts. You would just need to increase the pan cooking time to 8 minutes on each side and then increase the bake time to 20 minutes.
So much of Homemade on a Weeknight, is just adding something extra to a simple dish that you already know how to make. Like taking a regular baked pork chop and piling cheddar and bacon on top of it to make a for a delicious entrée.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword bacon, cheese, pork, pork chops
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
6Pork Chopsboneless
2cupsSharp Cheddar Cheeseshredded
1lbBaconcut in ½-in pieces
1tspSea Salt
1tspCoarse Black Pepper
1tspGarlic Powder
1tspParsley
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400 deg
In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add bacon. Fry until crispy and remove to a paper towel covered plate. Remove all but 1 tbsp of bacon grease from the pan.
After sprinkling the pork chops with the seasoning, add to the same saute pan and cook on each side for 5 minutes. Then place pork in 13×9 baking dish. Cover with shredded cheese, and bacon bits. Put in oven for 20 minutes.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
