Dinner Recipes, Spring Meal Plan #2

What to cook for dinner this week:

1.) Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Rice and Beans, & Perfect Sautéed Vegetables 2.) Steak Tacos with Pico de Gallo  3.) Lip Smacking Vegetarian Chili with Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread 4.) Pasta with Sausage and Vegetables 5.) Cornbread Salad  6.) Cocktail: Pepper Blossom

If you’re not familiar with this blog, here’s the basic idea:

Using some of the same ingredients in multiple dishes throughout the week is the key to getting delicious, wholesome, good for you, home cooked meals on the table several nights of the week. The recipes in each 5-day meal plan include some prep-work for another meal later in the week.

For example, in this week’s plan, Grilled Flank Steak is topped with Chimichurri Sauce one day, then folded into tacos another. Slow Cooker Beans make a delicious side dish and form the basis for an easy Vegetarian Chili that even meat lovers will adore. Homemade Pico de Gallo adds a pop of flavor to both the tacos and the chili. Sautéed Vegetables are served alongside steak and folded into pasta. Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread is the perfect accompaniment to Vegetarian Chili and also creates a surprisingly good Cornbread Salad.

Like every other meal plan on this blog, this week’s recipes are designed to make healthy, delicious, home cooked meals every night of the week much easier with each meal building on the previous night’s efforts. A little = a lot.

Meal Prep, Day by Day

*This meal plan is based on a family of 4 with a couple of meals making more than 4 servings so that you have some leftovers for lunches, etc. At the start of the week, take a quick glance through each day’s “PLAN AHEAD” notes and plan accordingly.

(A shopping list for this week’s meal plan is at the bottom of this page)

Day #1

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce , Rice and Slow Cooker Beans , Sautéed Peppers and Onions

For me, “Day #1” is usually a Sunday, and it’s the day with the most heavy lifting when it comes to meal prep for the rest of the week. I am always so grateful to myself for taking a few of hours on Sunday to make getting dinner on the table that much easier the rest of the week.

Whatever day of the week you choose as your “Day #1”, here’s your meal prep task list:

• Get a batch of Slow Cooker Beans  going in the morning – they’ll take 4 hours on high and 6 hours on low. The beans will be mixed with rice and served as a side dish tonight and used in Vegetarian Chili on Day #3. (You can substitute canned beans if you prefer. You’ll want a total of 4 cans, any combination of black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans.)
• Make Chimichurri Sauce . This sauce will take about 10 minutes to make. Spoon it over Flank Steak tonight and reserve the leftover sauce in the refrigerator to top Vegetarian Chili on Day #3.
• Mix up a batch of Grilled Flank Steak Dry Rub , and use it to season tonight’s steak.
• Make rice and beans: Cook 1 & 1/2 cups of dry long-grain rice according to the package instructions. Add the rice and about 2 cups of beans to a saucepan set over low heat. Ladle in about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid from the beans. Cook just long enough to heat through, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust seasoning. Reserve leftovers to serve with Steak Tacos on Day #2. 
• Make Perfect Sautéed Vegetables . Serve half of the vegetables tonight. Combine the remaining bell peppers and onions in a container and reserve in the refrigerator for Steak Tacos on Day #2. Reserve the remaining asparagus for Pasta with Sausage and Vegetables on Day #4.
• Follow this recipe to grill 4-6 pounds of steak. How much you grill really depends on how much you think your family will eat. An average serving is 1/2 to 3/4 pound per person. Make enough for dinner tonight with 2 pounds left over for tacos on Day #2.

To Get a Jump on the Rest of the Week:

• Prepare Pico de Gallo . Reserve in a covered container in the refrigerator for Steak Tacos on Day #2 and Vegetarian Chili on Day #3.
• Follow the first step in the recipe for Vegetarian Chili  to roast, peel, and chop the poblano peppers. Store in a covered container and reserve in the refrigerator. This meal prep task can be done the night you make the chili, but doing it now will save you about 10 minutes.
• Follow the instructions in the Vegetarian Chili recipe  to cook tortilla strips. You might want to fry up a few extra because it’s impossible not to snack on these while you make them. 😊

Day #2

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Flank Steak Tacos  with Pico de Gallo  and Rice and Beans

• Thanks to the prep work you did on Day #1, tonight’s steak tacos will be on the table in about 15 minutes. Simply follow the recipe to warm the tortillas, reheat the steak, red peppers, onions, and rice & beans you cooked on Day#1, pull the Pico de Gallo from the refrigerator and dinner is served.
• If you haven’t made the Pico de Gallo yet, get it prepared before making the tacos. Reserve leftover pico for Vegetarian Chili on Day #3.

Day #3

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Lip Smacking Vegetarian Chili with all the fixings, and Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread

• If you didn’t roast the poblano peppers on Day #1, do that first because they’ll need time to cool. (Follow the first step in the recipe instructions .)
• Get the cornbread batter mixed up so that you can let it bake while you prepare the chili. (Or, enlist a helper so one of you can make the chili and the other can make the cornbread.) *The cornbread recipe will make 8 servings. Serve 4 tonight, and reserve the other 4 for Cornbread Salad on Day #5. If you need more than 4 servings of cornbread for dinner tonight, just double the recipe.
• If you haven’t already, while the chili simmers, grate 1-2 cups of cheese and follow the instructions in the recipe notes to fry some tortilla strips while the chili simmers on the stovetop.

Day #4

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Pasta with Sausage and Vegetables

Tonight’s meal comes with a bonus tutorial: Pasta Making with Judy (Pasta Making 101). My friend Judy is a pasta making queen, so using her tutelage to create this “how-to” post was a no-brainer.

Making homemade pasta is, of course completely optional. If you’ve never made fresh pasta, and have the inclination, the tutorial will walk you through the ins and outs of pasta making. Fresh pasta is nothing more than flour and eggs, and requires only the patience to knead dough and run it through a pasta machine. It’s superior in flavor and nutrition. But, it does take some time.

If you don’t have time, just use purchased dried egg fettuccini noodles.

• Remember the leftover sautéed asparagus you cooked on Day #1? Pull that out of your refrigerator, you’ll need it for this pasta dish.

Day #5

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Cornbread Salad with Sausage and Tomatoes

• This recipe will use up the leftover Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread you reserved from dinner on Day #3 and extra sausage you cooked on Day #4. It is a surprisingly unique way to use up leftover cornbread that might have you making cornbread just so you can make this salad.

This Week’s Featured Cocktail: The Pepper Blossom

Gin, St. Germain, grapefruit juice, sliced Jalapeño, and fresh basil come together for a deliciously balanced and refreshing blend of spicy, sweet, and sour.

Suggestions for the Baker:

• Mini Lime Pound Cakes
• Cherry Turnovers with Cream Cheese and Almonds
• Red Velvet Cake or Cupcakes
• Strawberry Cake with Pistachio Buttercream

Useful Equipment:

Several of this week’s recipes require a large skillet and a heavy bottom saucepan. If you don’t have these two items, here are the ones I suggest. If you’re planning to try your hand at homemade pasta, I highly suggest investing in a pasta machine. I’ve made homemade pasta without one and it’s a pain in the you-know-what.

There are probably a lot of good pasta machines out there, but the one below is what I use, and I recommend it highly. A food processor makes quick work of chimichurri sauce, amongst many other things. It’s another appliance in my kitchen that I don’t know what I’d do without.

• Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• Cuisinart Large Non-Stick Skillet
• Marcato Atlas Pasta Macine
• Cuisinart Food Processor

Shopping List, Weekly Spring Meal Plan #2

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*Does not include ingredients for suggested baked goods.

• 4-6 lbs flank steak
• 2 & 1/2 cups fresh parsley
• 4 cups fresh cilantro
• 1 bunch green onions
• 14 cloves of garlic
• 8 bell peppers
• 4 large yellow onions2 large red onions
• 1 large shallot, peeled and diced
• 2 pounds of asparagus
• 3 poblano peppers
• 12 ripe roma tomatoes
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes (about 32 oz)
• 2 medium sized zucchini
• 2 jalepenos
• 5 heaping cups spinach
• 2 limes
• 2-3 large lemons (enough for 1/4 cup lemon juice)
• 2 pounds ground Italian Sausage, hot or sweet
• 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cups olive oil
• 1/4 cup corn oil
• 4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 4 tbsp Ground Cumin
• 5 tbsp Chili Powder
• 2 tbsp Garlic Powder
• 3 tbsp Onion Powder
• 3 tbsp Oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (for the cornbread)
• 1 cup ground cornmeal (for the cornbread)
• Baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch (for the cornbread)
• 16 ounces (1 lb) dried beans, any variety or combination
• 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
• 3 tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• For slow cooker beans, you’ll need 8 cups of liquid. This can be water, chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 14-oz cans diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
• 1/2 cup pickled jalapeños (for the cornbread)
• 4 oz non pareil capers, drained
• 12 oz dried egg fettuccini noodles (if you’re not making it fresh)
• 1 & 1/2 – 3 cups of rice
• 1 large package corn tortillas – at least 24
• Salt and pepper
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter
• Optional toppings for pasta on Day #3: fresh basil or more chopped parsley, shaved parmesan, pine nuts
• 2 cups cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (to top vegetarian chili)
• 2 cups cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (for the cornbread)
• sour cream (to top vegetarian chili)
• 1 cup buttermilk (for the cornbread)
• 3 large eggs (for the cornbread)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (for the vegetarian chili)
• 3 tbsp honey (for the cornbread)

If making homemade pasta: 2 cups flour and 5 large eggs

For this week’s featured cocktail: gin, St. Germain, 1 jalapeño, 1 small bunch of fresh basil, fresh grapefruit juice, Club soda (optional)