Meal Planning {Link-Up}

Mama Nell over at Whole Parenting Family has come up with a brilliant plan for all moms (and dads if you're the ones cooking) to help each other out. She's hosting a weekly link-up on Saturdays for each of us to post our meal plans for the week, complete with recipes if available. (Don't know that I'll make every week, but here's to good beginnings!)

Hopefully, this will help motivate everyone to make the effort, but it also serves as an opportunity to share recipes so that we are not all stuck in the same twenty-recipe-shuffle every week.

I love meal planning as it keeps me from overspending when I go grocery shopping (SO easy to do!) and it also appeals to my organizational heart. :)

I don't really plan breakfasts and lunches to a T like I do with dinners. We just have a few options available for each, and many lunches are simply leftovers from previous dinners. Breakfasts are usually cereal or granola with milk or yogurt. On the weekend, we typically have at least one elaborate breakfast with eggs, meat, and a baked good which I do from scratch. (Many recipes for those up here on the blog as breakfast goodies are my speciality.) If it's not leftovers, lunch will be a sandwich of some sort -- pb&j, lunch meat, or grilled cheese.

As you will see, we are currently making more of an effort to eat seasonally and incorporate more whole grains into our meals. Also, if a meal doesn't have a recipe attached, it is probably because I'm developing a recipe for it. Watch for it later on the blog!

Without further ado, here is what's up this week:

Wednesday - Pizza (with pre-made dough from Trader Joe's) with mozzarella, fresh basil, tomatoes, and chicken sausage

Thursday - Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach, and Chick Peas in a Maple Vinaigrette served alongside grilled pork sausages

Friday - Zuppa Contadina with pork sausage and a loaf of crusty Italian bread for dipping

Saturday - bbq with friends -- pork shoulder, sides and dessert {better get on this!}

Sunday - dinner at my parents' house for my brother's birthday

Monday - tacos: typically, ground beef using this recipe for homemade taco seasoning (will never go back to the high sodium pre-packaged stuff) in hard shell corn tortillas served with refried black beans, grated cheddar cheese, guac, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, salsa and hot sauce

Tuesday - Roasted Stuffed Acorn Squash {recipe in progress...}

Wednesday - Nutty Barley Salad served with chicken apple chardonnay sausages

Arugula Pomegranate Salad

Dark, leafy greens often get a bad rap. With such a variety to choose from, I've never quite understood this.

If spinach or kale is not your thing (or even if it is), this dark, leafy green is certainly a viable option. In fact, I'm strongly encouraging you to go out and grab yourself a bag.

Arugula (or rocket as it is sometimes called) is a peppery leaf, great in salads, on pizza, or in a sandwich. It has a punch of flavor, unlike an iceberg lettuce, and an arsenal of vitamins, such as Vitamin A, C, and K, folate, calcium, and magnesium, guaranteed to protect your ticker and help you live a healthy lifestyle.

This is one of my favorite salads to make with the greens. The tanginess of goat cheese, tartness of pomegranate seeds, and acidity of the Balsamic vinegar give it a great harmony of flavor sure to keep your taste buds hoppin'!

Arugula Pomegranate Salad



1/2 bag of pre-washed arugula

1/4 c. pomegranate seeds

2 T. walnuts, chopped

1/4 c. goat cheese, crumbled

2 T. olive oil

2 T. Balsamic vinegar

Mix together arugula, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts. Sprinkle goat cheese on top of salad.

Drizzle with olive oil and Balsamic.

Also good with pecans, dried cranberries or apricots, and sharp Irish cheddar.

Serves 2. Easily doubled or tripled.