AnchorMommy

Let’s hear it for meal plans! Hip hip…hooray!

February 17, 2010 by Shannon

Finally! I’m implementing a meal plan this week! It’s not always easy, of course. Sometimes when I have a minute to run to the grocery store, I’m doing so without any sort of idea what we might eat the following week. But this time, I gave it a little thought. Yay.

So here’s what we’re doing for dinnertime this week. (Reminder: because of my temporary work arrangement, I am heading off to work around the same time most people are coming home to have dinner with their families. So my goal every night is to get dinner started for Michael and make enough so I can take leftovers to work the following night.) The key words here are SIMPLE and EASY.

Monday: Michael had the day off for President’s Day, so I let him fend for himself. He made Kellan a GardenBurger, mac and cheese (I hope it was the healthy Annie’s brand and not the yukky generic brand he bought — I’m not going to ask) and cauliflower, which Kellan reportedly ate a “ton” of.

Tuesday: Crustless Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Quiche

Wednesday: Baked Potatoes in the slow cooker

Thursday: Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potato Cubes and fresh bread (hopefully!)

Friday: Michael and Kellan will have to fend for themselves, and/or eat leftovers.

The quiche is an easy and delicious dinner option for us. I originally found the recipe online, but have adapted it to suit our family’s taste. And because there’s no crust involved, I almost always have what I need on hand to make it.

Crustless Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Quiche

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (I usually defrost it in the microwave, then squeeze out the moisture while it’s still in the package)
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 sun dried tomatoes (preferably the kind packed in oil)
• handful of feta cheese
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pie pan with cooking spray.
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, tomatoes, feta, salt and pepper. Add spinach/onion mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Now, the slow cooked baked potatoes. If you’re not doing yours this way, you’re doing it all wrong. Seriously — it is so easy and requires such little thought or maintenance! I love, love, love slow cooked baked potatoes. Here’s how to do it.

Slow Cooker Potatoes

Scrub potatoes and pierce with a fork. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in an empty slow cooker (no water is needed). Cook 8-10 hours on low, or 2 1/2 to 4 hours on high.

Seriously, that’s it! The only troubles I’ve run into with this recipe is when I crammed a very old slow cooker full of potatoes and went skiing for a day. Some of the potatoes did not cook all the way through. So if you’re really going to cram that thing full, make sure you’re letting the potatoes cook the maximum time, say, 10 hours on low or 4 hours on high. But for Michael, Kellan and I, three potatoes is all we need and we’ve never had an undercooked potato when we just make a few. Perfect every time.

As for the bean soup and bread, well, I have to find that soup recipe. I saw it it a magazine recently and I can’t remember which one. So when I track it down, I’ll try to post it as well. Oh, and the bread? My mom generously donated her bread machine to me when she switched to a gluten-free diet. So I’ll try to throw some Whole Wheat Honey Bread together Thursday afternoon as well.

Let’s hear it for a thought-out meal plan! Woo hoo! I feel so organized.