I have a confession, I am a meal planner. Some weeks more than others, but I can not get through a week not knowing what we will eat on any given night during the school week. Because we are busy.
When I have events or commitments I ensure husband knows exactly what’s for dinner so it’s easy to pull it together. A little bit of pre-planning really goes a long way when you have evening commitments!
What does a planned meal look like?! Here’s a sample of one week in our house.
- Monday nights my son going from swimming lessons to Boy Scouts – sandwiches, fresh fruit and veggies.
- Tuesday nights my daughter has swim lessons so we eat after her lessons. This dinner will be a quick and easy like chili, something in the slow-cooker, stir fry or grilled sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions.
- Wednesday Night my daughter volunteers and then has Pathfinders. My son has swimming. This leaves us a 45 minute window to eat together. Leftover sausage, pepper and onion becomes Sausage and Pepper Pasta, another quick meal.
- Thursdays it’s volleyball games after school so a later dinner again and here we will use any leftovers up from the week or pick up a roast chicken from the store.
- Friday rolls around and sometimes there are plans, other times not, so we tend to order in or make pizza.
This kind of creative thinking helps ensure I get some good eats into the family while life is busy.
If you’ve checked out some of my other recipes you will see we are Spolumbo’s sausage fans. They are a local company making sausages that are preservative free, with no fillers, additives and are gluten-free. They have several varieties to choose from and are simply delicious – that’s why they go into almost everything I make!
- 1 box (340 - 500g) pasta
- 1 lb Italian Sausage, grilled and sliced
- 1 red onion, peeled and sliced into wedges
- 2 bell peppers, cored and sliced into wedges
- 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
- 1 cup fresh basil, torn into smaller pieces
- Spray cooking oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Preheat your grill to medium high. Spray a grill pan with cooking oil. Set aside.
- In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta al dente.
- Add onions and peppers to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Add vegetables to grill pan set over medium high heat on the BBQ and grill for about 5 minutes. Add sliced sausage to pan with veggies and grill another 2-3 minutes to warm through.
- Drain pasta and pour into serving dish, adding 1 cup of the cooking water and ¾ cup of parmesan cheese. Toss to combine.
- Pour sausage mixture on top of pasta, fresh basil and last of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
When life gets busy at your house, how do you get through the week and meal time?!
