What I Cooked for Dinner Last Week: Sept 2-8

This week was a little lighter on cooking for me — we had a busy week, ordered pizza one night, and had leftovers one night. But we had a few really good recipes this week too!

The Best Chicken Tinga Tacos

These were quick and easy, and the flavor was delicious! However, I felt like it made a lot of sauce, and my family prefers less saucy meat in our tacos. So I would half the sauce recipe next time.

I served with chips and MY FAVORITE SALSA!

Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas

I’ve made this recipe for years, but I ALWAYS add steak. I make the recipe as directed, and then just grill up a ribeye steak, slice it up, and serve it on top of the bed of noodles and veggies. It’s SO much better with the meat, and you could do any kind of meat — shrimp, sausage, etc.

I served this with red grapes and a baked sourdough loaf I bought half baked at the grocery store.

Steak and Shrimp Kabobs

I bought a family pack of three ribeye steaks this week so I used 1 1/2 steaks for the linguine recipe, and then used the other 1 1/2 steaks for this recipe. It worked out perfectly. I used frozen shrimp that I just defrosted and marinated with the steak.

I planned to put the veggies on the kabobs, but when I went to put them together, I decided to just do the shrimp and steak and cook the veggies separately. My kids ate them much better this way, but do what’s best for your family.

Sausage stuffed shells

I’ve been making this recipe for our entire marriage, and it’s one of my favorites. My kids gobbled it up too, spinach and all!

The recipe isn’t online, so here it is!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. ground pork
15-20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
3 cups chopped spinach
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 TB heavy whipping cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
ground pepper
2 cups meatless spaghetti sauce

DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Do not drain.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook pork until no longer pink. Drain any excess grease. Then add chopped spinach and mix until wilted. Drain any excess liquid.

In the pan with the pork and spinach, add egg, Parmesan cheese, cream, and spices. Mix.

Spread 1 cup of spaghetti sauce in a 9×13 baking pan. Drain shells, and stuff each with pork mixture, then place in the baking dish on top of the sauce. Once all shells are filled, drizzle 1 remaining cup of spaghetti sauce over the top. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 15 mins. Uncover, and bake for 10-15 mins longer.

This is a fantastic meal to make ahead, bring to a friend as a freezer meal, or make a big batch and save for leftovers.

Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pot Roast

I made this for Sunday dinner, and this is a really good pot roast recipe.

I served it with a half baked Italian loaf I bought from the grocery store bakery.

See all of my weekly dinner menu’s RIGHT HERE!