Dinner Recipes, Winter Meal Plan #7

What to Cook for Dinner this Week:

1.) The {BEST} Classic Lasagna with Italian Sausage and Marinara, 2.) Asian Short Rib Nachos, 3.) Sausage, Marinara, and Provolone Sandwiches, 4.) Slow Cooker Short Rib Pasta with Mushrooms and Asparagus, 5.) Pasta Frittata with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe, 6.) Cocktail: Aperol Spritz

Let's begin the week with a big pot of Perfect Marinara Sauce - which only takes about 15 minutes of hands on time but fills your house with the smell of comfort. I mean.....

Start the week with Homemade Marinara and you're already winning. 🙌

I make this sauce a LOT because it's soooo good, freezes well, and becomes the foundation for all sorts of quick, delicious meals. In this week's meal plan, homemade marinara is used to make 10-minute Sausage, Marinara and Provolone sandwiches and the BEST classic Lasagna with Italian Sausage. What makes it the best? The sauce. Great lasagna is all about the sauce. 

Also - Short ribs! I am obsessed with Slow Cooker Short Ribs, having - and I'm not joking - made them no less than 6 times in the last two months. 🙄 I want to put them on everything. This week, they're gonna turn nachos into a brand new treat and combine with asparagus and portobello mushrooms to make one of the best pasta dishes I've ever eaten. 🥰

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

A little advance planning and meal prep work every day is the key to getting delicious, wholesome, good for you, home cooked meals on the table several nights of the week. A little = a lot.

On this page, you’ll find a meal plan for the week. Each meal is designed to build on the previous night’s efforts by using leftover ingredients. You’ll also find a preparation schedule and grocery list.

Meal Prep, Day by Day

If you’d rather cook two or three meals instead of five: Five home cooked meals in one week is not feasible or desirable for everyone. If two or three is more your style, Days #1, and #3 – OR Days #2, #4, and #5 work well together, with one meal building from the next. Please note that the grocery list below is for all 5 meals.

Day #1

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Classic Lasagna with Italian Sausage and Marinara

The key to a great lasagna is starting with a great marinara sauce. So, the first step to tonight's meal is a big pot of Perfect Homemade Marinara Sauce. The sauce only takes about 15 minutes of hands-on prep, but needs to simmer for about 2 hours. If possible, make the sauce the day before because it gets even better if you allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours or so. Plus, with the sauce already made, assembling the lasagna will only take about 20 minutes. If making the sauce in advance isn't practical for your week, get the sauce going earlier in the day, so it has some time to cook before you assemble your lasagna.

You'll only need about 5 ½ cups of marinara sauce for tonight's lasagna, even though the recipe makes about 11 cups. Reserve the leftover sauce for Sausage, Marinara, and Provolone Sandwiches on Day #3.

Cook a total of 2 & ½  pounds of Italian Sausage tonight. Use 1 pound in the lasagna, reserve 1 pound for Sausage, Marinara, and Provolone Sandwiches on Day #3, and ½ pound for Pasta Frittata on Day #5. (*Pasta Frittata is also delicious without the sausage, so if you'd rather leave it out, just cook 2 pounds of sausage tonight.)

Optional Prep for Tomorrow: Days #2 and #4 use Asian Short Ribs that are cooked in the slow cooker. Because short ribs are so rich, it's important to defat the cooking sauce before serving. The easiest way to do this is to let the sauce sit in the refrigerator for several hours to let the fat solidify at the top. Then, you can simply scrape the fat off the top of the sauce.

So, if possible, get the short ribs going in the slow cooker tonight. Just set the timer on your slow cooker to cook them on low for 8 hours and let them cook overnight. In the morning, separate the meat from the sauce and put both, in separate containers, in the refrigerator.

*The Asian Short Rib Nacho recipe is written to serve 12 people. You're probably not feeding 12 people for dinner this week. 🙂 However, cook the full amount of meat in the recipe - 4 pounds - so that you have plenty left over for Short Rib Pasta on Day #4.

Day #2

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Asian Short Rib Nachos

If you didn't cook the short ribs on Day #1, get them going early in the morning. They'll need to cook for about 5 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. Please don't be put off by the length of the recipe instructions. These are super easy to make, requiring only about 15 minutes of hands-on time. Also, they are crazy good.

*The Asian Short Rib Nacho recipe is written to serve 12 people. You're probably not feeding 12 people for dinner this week. 🙂 However, cook the full amount of meat in the recipe - 4 pounds - so that you have plenty left over for Short Rib Pasta on Day #4. Cut the rest of the nacho ingredients in the recipe in half.

Reserve all leftover short rib meat and sauce for Short Rib Pasta on Day #4.

One of the reasons these nachos are great for a crowd is the same reason they are great for a family: Everyone can build their own. Have someone in your family who doesn't like jalapeños and another who won't eat bell peppers? No problem. They just don't have to add them to their plate.

Day #3

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Sausage, Marinara, and Provolone Sandwiches

These sandwiches are one of my favorite things to make with leftover marinara sauce. Since you've already cooked both the sauce and the Italian sausage, the sandwiches will take less than 10 minutes to make. Serve them with a tossed salad if you like.

Day #4

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Slow Cooker Short Rib Pasta with Mushrooms and Asparagus

Pull out that leftover short rib meat and sauce you reserved on Day #2 and tonights dinner will come together in a flash. Skip the whole first section of the recipe, starting where it says "Cook the Vegetables and Pasta". The recipe calls for Gluten Free Quinoa pasta, which is surprisingly delicious and a bit healthier than your standard box of spaghetti noodles. But, use whatever kind of pasta you like.

Make some extra pasta. Day #5's Pasta Frittata calls for 6-8 ounces of cooked pasta, which you might as well go ahead and cook tonight at the same time you're cooking the pasta for tonight's meal.

Day #5

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Pasta Frittata with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Pasta Frittata is a delicious way to use up extra pasta. In fact, nearly every time I make pasta, I purposely make a bit extra just for pasta frittata later in the week. For this week, you should have some leftover past in the refrigerator from

If you cooked some extra sausage on Day #1, add it to a warm skillet at the same time you add the garlic and vegetables, cooking the mixture for just a couple of minutes to heat the sausage and soften the vegetables.

This Week’s Featured Cocktail: The Aperol Spritz

This classic Italian aperitif cocktail is the color of a sunset and capable of brightening even the most cold and dreary afternoon with it’s light and refreshing mix of sweet, crisp, and bitter.

Useful Equipment:

• Cast Iron Skillet
• Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• Crock Pot Slow Cooker

Suggested Recipes For the Baker:

• Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Streusel 
• Dulce de Leche Granola Shortbread Cookie Bars
• Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Mascarpone Cream
• Bananas Foster Butter Cake

Shopping List, Winter Meal Plan #7

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*Does not include ingredients for suggested sweet treats.

• 16 oz asparagus
• 16 oz portobello or shiitake mushrooms
• 2 large yellow onions
• 14 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¾ cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 or 4 bunches of cilantro
• 3 or 4 red bell peppers
• 4 or 5 bunches of green onions (scallions)
• 4 tablespoon fresh ginger
• One 14-oz package Wonton Wrappers
• 1 loaf hearty bread, preferably not pre-sliced
• 4 lbs short ribs, bone-in
• 2 lbs ground Italian sausage, spicy or mild or a combination of both
• 1 ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
• 5 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 – 2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces Quinoa spaghetti noodles (or regular spaghetti noodles)
• Four 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes (I like to use fire roasted tomatoes)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 & ⅓ cup soy sauce
• 4 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 6 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• Pickled jalapeños (to top the Asian Short Rib Nachos)
• 9 large eggs
• 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 cups grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 24 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated (sharp yellow cheddar works too)
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• ¾ cup ricotta cheese
• 8 oz Swiss or gruyere cheese
• ½ lb frozen broccoli rabe
• ½ lb frozen bell peppers
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 2 & ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt - table and kosher or course sea salt
• ground black pepper and ground white pepper
• 1 cup dry red wine (for the marinara sauce)

For this week’s cocktail, the Aperol Spritz (1 drink):

• 4 oz prosecco
• 2 oz Aperol
• Sparkling water
• 1 orange