Body:
Let's keep those ideas coming on your Best Meal of the Week. You can check out our archived posts with lots of great ideas.
Remember, "best" is highly subjective: healthy, super quick, inexpensive, fabulously delicious - or a combination of all that and more. Here are a few featured Best Meal ideas to get those creative juices flowing. Post your "best" in the comments below.
For a super quick and easy meal, I like baked quesadillas. Simply take whole wheat tortillas put shredded cheese of your choice on half of each tortilla, include small amounts of other ingredients like black beans, chicken, shrimp, caramelized onions, red peppers or jalapeños. You can use whatever you have as leftovers that sounds good. Just keep it to small amounts so you don't over power the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half and place on a cookie sheet. Place in oven at 350°F until cheese is melted and tortilla is slightly golden. Top with sour cream and salsa. Using low fat cheese makes this a very healthy dish.
I've found that fresh spinach is the perfect base to help use up leftovers. Simply fill a bowl with fresh baby spinach and top with warmed up beans, lentils or soups - anything with a liquid base. If you have some grains, like quinoa or rice, warm them up too. The heat gently wilts the spinach and it all works perfectly for a one dish lunch or quick dinner.
Initially, I came up with this when I had a large clamshell container of spinach that was about to go bad, and now I make sure to have spinach on hand all the time. I made this dish this weekend using red quinoa and my adapted version of Moroccan Pan-Roasted Seafood (from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook). The curry and turmeric seasoning is perfect in the seafood-flavored broth. My family will have this for dinner several times this week.
Moroccan Spiced Seafood
1 red bell pepper, large dice
1 onion, large dice
6 - 8 garlic cloves, minced
4 TB olive oil
1 TB curry powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Juice of 1 lemon
3 TB tamari
2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled
1 lb small scallops
Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine all ingredients in a large baking pan, except the shrimp and scallops. Roast for about 20 minutes. Add the seafood and roast for about 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the seafood is opaque and cooked through.
Serve over fresh spinach and red quinoa. Enjoy!
Shrimp Pasta
My husband and I LOVE this recipe! I love the freshness and aroma that the lemon adds to this dish! It is delicious and still healthy! It is also a pretty simple recipe since it only has 9 ingredients. It makes a great lunch or dinner! We both love a lot of garlic, so if you're not a big fan, feel free to reduce the amount you put in your recipe. :)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 large tomato, diced (I like to de-seed mine too)
2 tbsp low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
About 1/2 pound shrimp
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp basil leaves, chopped
4 ounces whole wheat pasta
Pepper to taste
Heat oil in pan and add garlic. Sauté for several minutes until lightly browned. Add chicken broth and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until tender. Cook pasta per package directions. Drain. Add shrimp to pan and cook for several more minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. Add lemon zest and juice, pepper, and basil. Toss shrimp mixture with cooked pasta. Enjoy!
From Cindy, a reader:
For a super quick and easy meal, I like baked quesadillas. Simply take whole wheat tortillas put shredded cheese of your choice on half of each tortilla, include small amounts of other ingredients like black beans, chicken, shrimp, caramelized onions, red peppers or jalapeños. You can use whatever you have as leftovers that sounds good. Just keep it to small amounts so you don't over power the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half and place on a cookie sheet. Place in oven at 350°F until cheese is melted and tortilla is slightly golden. Top with sour cream and salsa. Using low fat cheese makes this a very healthy dish.
From Paige, a team member:
I've found that fresh spinach is the perfect base to help use up leftovers. Simply fill a bowl with fresh baby spinach and top with warmed up beans, lentils or soups - anything with a liquid base. If you have some grains, like quinoa or rice, warm them up too. The heat gently wilts the spinach and it all works perfectly for a one dish lunch or quick dinner.
Initially, I came up with this when I had a large clamshell container of spinach that was about to go bad, and now I make sure to have spinach on hand all the time. I made this dish this weekend using red quinoa and my adapted version of Moroccan Pan-Roasted Seafood (from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook). The curry and turmeric seasoning is perfect in the seafood-flavored broth. My family will have this for dinner several times this week.
Moroccan Spiced Seafood
1 red bell pepper, large dice
1 onion, large dice
6 - 8 garlic cloves, minced
4 TB olive oil
1 TB curry powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Juice of 1 lemon
3 TB tamari
2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled
1 lb small scallops
Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine all ingredients in a large baking pan, except the shrimp and scallops. Roast for about 20 minutes. Add the seafood and roast for about 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the seafood is opaque and cooked through.
Serve over fresh spinach and red quinoa. Enjoy!
From Melissa, a reader:
Shrimp Pasta
My husband and I LOVE this recipe! I love the freshness and aroma that the lemon adds to this dish! It is delicious and still healthy! It is also a pretty simple recipe since it only has 9 ingredients. It makes a great lunch or dinner! We both love a lot of garlic, so if you're not a big fan, feel free to reduce the amount you put in your recipe. :)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 large tomato, diced (I like to de-seed mine too)
2 tbsp low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
About 1/2 pound shrimp
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp basil leaves, chopped
4 ounces whole wheat pasta
Pepper to taste
Heat oil in pan and add garlic. Sauté for several minutes until lightly browned. Add chicken broth and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until tender. Cook pasta per package directions. Drain. Add shrimp to pan and cook for several more minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. Add lemon zest and juice, pepper, and basil. Toss shrimp mixture with cooked pasta. Enjoy!