These are actually meals from the last 2 1/2 weeks, because even though they were all PLANNED for one week there were several nights I was sick/didn’t feel like cooking so we had take-out. And by take-out I mean fast food. But doesn’t “take-out” sound so much nicer? Like maybe it was stir fried veggies over brown rice instead of cheeseburgers and fries.

It’s always cheeseburgers and fries.

All my recipes this week came from Rachael Ray’s Express Lane Meals. Despite not being able to stand RR’s voice on TV for more than 20 seconds and her super annoying habit of calling things like PB&J “American nut spread with fresh fruit preserves on a sliced whole grain loaf”, her recipes really are both fast and easy and written for someone who isn’t very confident in the kitchen. I’ve had and liked this cookbook since college, but hadn’t made any of these before (besides the pizza, which I don’t even use the book for because I’ve made so many changes. Recipe coming on Friday!)

1. Steak, Fried Onions, and Potatoes Salad Bowl with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (I substituted some homemade rosemary potatoes for the potato sticks in the salad)
2. Inside-out Pizza-dilla Margerita (see what I mean about the fancy names?)
3. Taco Salad – Our easiest favorite meal. Make taco meat as directed on envelope of taco seasoning. Dump over Fritos. Add various taco toppings. Eat too much.

4. Teriyaki Chicken with Warm Ginger-Carrot Slaw
5. Spinach-Artichoke Cheesy Tortellini – That’s not QUITE the recipe from the book but it’s close. I also discovered I still hate tortellini from a Very Traumatic Childhood Experience and if I make this again it will be over ravioli instead.
6. Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage with a Ricotta Surprise
7. Thai Chicken Pizza – Linked to Rachael’s recipe, but mine is WAY better

After seeing the total lack of veggies in my Volume 3 set of recipes, I decided to make more of an effort this week. Since there is at least one veggie in every meal (as long as I can count tomatoes) and toddler ate both the carrot-ginger salad and the spinach from the tortellini I consider it a success. Plus I totally ate the broccoli, even though I HATE broccoli. Turns out broccoli cooked in sausage fat is much better than steamed broccoli. WHO KNEW?