Monday Meal Planning 2.3

Noodle-y Edition

When I was a little girl, I was an incredibly picky eater. Like, I only ate macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, and cereal from ages 1 to 3. I'm thinking that I totally deserve a picky child after all of that, but I'm hoping she takes after her dad instead. Lately my once diverse tastes have narrowed again, and I am a little annoyed with myself for how picky I've gotten. Noodles are once again my mainstay (I know, not the best choice of foods, but at least I can stomach them), and this week's menu reflects that.

Monday: Healthier Meat Lasagna, salad, and garlic bread.

My mom and I made this when she was in town early last week. It was quite tasty fresh, but Aaron said he didn't really care for the leftovers (and ate them anyway). I didn't make any changes to the recipe, and it was good as-is. If Aaron didn't object, I'd definitely make it again. I really like the fact that there's not too much meat and there are vegetables in there. My mom liked that it didn't have an overwhelming amount of sauce. Aaron liked that someone other than him made dinner for a change (pregnancy has made me fairly lazy, I will freely admit).

Tuesday: Chicken and Crispy Noodle Salad

Can I just say YUM to this salad? Because YUM! I would eat this any time, anywhere. We just cut chicken breasts into cubes, salted and peppered them, and sauteed them with a small amount of canola oil, and then served the chicken on top of the salad. For the salad, I (who am once again fired from grocery shopping because I forgot to get any food from the frozen food section except for ice cream) used green beans instead of sugar snap peas, used a little less oil (because a cup sounded excessive to me), and used only 1/2 a red pepper (because peppers are not my favorite food). Aaron and I both loved this dish.

Wednesday: Burritos with Mexican Rice

A stand-by in our household, and a concession to Aaron who begged for, "anything that's not pasta, please!"

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Macaroni and Cheese with salad

Here's my easy, creamy, delicious recipe for quick macaroni and cheese:

1 lb. macaroni
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk (any fat percentage will work; we use 1%)
2 cups shredded cheese (your choice; I use sharp cheddar, but am thinking that some gouda would also be tasty)
Franks Red Hot or Tobasco
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook macaroni according to box directions. Drain and reserve.

In a medium-sized sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. When butter is melted, sprinkle in the flour and stir with a whisk until a paste forms and then cook a little more to burn off the floury taste. Slowly add in the milk, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a bubble and thickens. Add the cheese and whisk to combine. Add hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in macaroni noodles to coat and serve!

Some variations we like: Aaron likes to add in some sriracha sauce, for some added flavor and spice. Stirring in some chopped, steamed broccoli is also tasty. Aaron would love for me to add in some pancetta, but I'm still eating meat only to appease him and get in some protein for the baby.

Saturday and Sunday: We ate out all weekend because we were out and about whenever I got hungry. Don't ask what I ate out, though. It's slightly embarrassing.