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Our Food for a Month series wraps up with one last week of delicious, home-cooked meals. (Click here for recipes for week one, week two and week three.)
By now, you know the drill: Click on the first slide for your shopping list for the week, then do the prep work below, which will make the rest of your week's cooking fly by.
The Menu
Day 1: Sausage-Fried Quinoa
Day 2: Asian-Style Soba Noodles
Day 3: Italian-Influenced Mélange
Day 4: Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Day 5: Dinner Frittata With Escarole
Snack: Tomato and White Bean Salsa
The Plan:
Prep the Vegetables
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1 teaspoons salt (divided)
1 pound eggplant, cubed
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
8 ounces potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (skin on)
Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt onto eggplant. Let sweat for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, spread potatoes on 1/3 of a rimmed cookie and toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss butternut squash with 1/2 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt; lay in the middle of the cookie sheet. Blot eggplant well with a paper towel and toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Spread out on remaining 1/3 of cookie sheet. Roast at 375 F, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until the three vegetables are fork tender.
Make the Quinoa
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup quinoa, turn heat as low as possible and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Turn heat off and let quinoa rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Cook Off Sausage
Heat 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Turn heat to high. Take 7 links (about 3 ounces each) of sausage from their casings. For the first batch of sausage, add either chunks of sausage or pieces formed into flattened mini meatballs (my preference) into a frying pan to cover but not overcrowd pan. Brown meat for 3 minutes. Flip and turn heat to medium. Fry for 3 minutes. Move to a plate with slotted spoon. Cover plate with foil. Add next batch of meat and continue until all meat is cooked. Let cool and portion into Ziploc bags for the rest of the weeks' use. (Eyeball portions, doling out in a ratio of 2:2:2:1.) Store bags on bottom shelf near the rear of the fridge.
Clean Escarole, Bok Choy and Basil
And store in Ziploc bags or plastic containers topped with a damp paper towel to keep them fresh.
Print out all the recipes for the week here.
