Meg's Meal Planning

kale salad

Kale Salad with Steak, Feta Cheese, and Peaches 

by Leave a Comment

I’m so happy I planted kale in my garden this spring. It is thriving and it’s pretty awesome having fresh kale for my shakes and salads.  This salad is so refreshing and super easy to throw together!  I used my go to homemade dressing (see recipe below). 


Kale Salad with Steak, Feta Cheese, and Peaches

Ingredients 

  • A bunch of kale, washed and divided between two plates
  • 3 peaches, cut in half, pit removed, then sliced
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese per plate
  • Steak slices (This was previously cooked from another meal) 
  • Salt to taste

Steps

  1. Sprinkle salt on top of kale and massage with hands
  2. Add dressing (see below)
  3. Top with steak, cheese, and peach slices
 

Homemade Salad Dressing

Ingredients 

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1-2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustand
  • Salt

Steps

  1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together
 

Summer Kale Salad

by 1 Comment

Homegrown kale from my garden and locally bought strawberries makes this the perfect summer salad. Add in avocado and edamame and you have a super healthy meal, allowing you not to feel guilty about having a second helping of ice cream! 


Summer Kale Salad

Ingredients 

  • A bunch of kale, washed and cut into bite size pieces
  • Handful of strawberries, washed and sliced
  • Half an avocado, cubed
  • 1/3 cup edamame, cooked according to the package
  • Handful of fresh cilantro 

For the dressing

  • 1 head of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoon red wine vinegar 
  • Lemon zest 
  • Salt to taste 

Steps

  • In a large bowl add the kale, strawberries, avocado, edamame, and cilantro
  • In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon zest, and salt. Pour over salad. Top with more lemon zest if desired
 

Week of Aug 30th

by Leave a Comment

I hope everyone enjoyed Grill Week! Brian did a great job and I know he enjoyed a week off from doing any dishes! Hopefully he’ll return again soon! 

  
Monday – Zucchini pasta with cherry tomatoes and cashews. I really need to use my spiralizer more; I’ve only used it a few times. More importantly, I need to show my husband this wasn’t a waste of money and we REALLY NEED IT!  

Zucchini Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Cashews

 Ingredients

  •  2 large zucchinis, spiralized
  •  2 tablespoon olive oil
  •  1/3 cup cashews
  •  3 garlic cloves, minced
  •  ¼ cup onion, minced
  •  1 container cherry tomatoes, rinsed
  •  Handful of basil, chopped

 Steps

1. Heat cashews in large skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring 

2. Add olive oil, garlic and onion to skillet, sauté about 5-7 minutes

3. Add cherry tomatoes and cook until they start to burst open

4. Add spiralized zucchini and stir together, turn off heat

5. Add basil, stir

 

Tuesday – Grilled chicken with grilled veggies and mac and cheese. I used left over squash and zucchini and grilled it to reheat it, along with the chicken. This recipe for mac and cheese is by far the creamiest one I’ve ever tried and it’s so simple to make! The mac and cheese was inspired by this recipe. The chicken was seasoned with ½ teaspoon ground cumin, paprika, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, chili powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and ground cinnamon.

Creamy Mac and Cheese

 Ingredients

  •  Two cups dried egg noodles
  •  2 ½ cups of milk
  •  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  •  1 tsp hot sauce

Steps

1. Pour milk and egg noodles in a large sauce pot. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat and cook for about 10 minutes or until the noodles are done.

2. Turn the heat off, add the cheese and hot sauce. Stir

Wednesday – Kale salad with quinoa, mango, sliced almonds, and feta cheese.  (I was inspired by this recipe, but used different fruit). Yum, yum, yum! What a healthy salad, and it’s great as a left over the next day! I made extra quinoa and stored it in the fridge for some easy lunches the following week.

Thursday– Grilled BBQ chicken with grilled sweet potato fries and a caprese salad. I was baking zucchini bread at the same time, so I couldn’t put the fries in the oven. We tried them on the grill, seasoned with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. They came out ok, but not the greatest – definitely prefer them baked.

Friday– Tacos! Enough said. 

 

Shopping List

  • 2 large zucchinis, 1 small zucchini
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Fresh basil
  • 1 small squash
  • Milk
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 bag of kale
  • 1 mango
  • Feta cheese
  • 2 large chicken breasts or 4 small pieces
  • 4 chicken drumsticks
  • 1 sweet potato
  • Two large tomatoes
  • Fresh mozzarella
  • Taco shells
  • Ground beef
  • Lettuce
  • Salsa
  • Sour cream

 Pantry

  • Olive oil
  • Cashews
  • Garlic
  • Onion
  • ½ bag egg noodles
  • Hot sauce
  • Red quinoa
  • Sliced almonds
  • Lime juice
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Honey
  • Dijon mustard
  • BBQ sauce