Monday
Cauliflower Pasta Puttanesca

I enjoyed this pasta so much I just had to make it again. Paul tends to eat around the olives and capers, but he likes the dish as well. Although I’ve never purposefully adhered to Meatless Monday while dinner planning, this would be a perfect vegetarian dinner to add to that list. Seriously, this stuff is good.

Tuesday
Chana Masala

When I heard Paul was scheduled to meet up with his friends and record another Maybe Next Year podcast, I decided to make a double batch of Chana Masala. I wanted enough to cover several dinners and lunches — it’s easy to double-up the ingredients and have two pans going on the stove at once.

Wednesday
CrockPot Salsa Chicken & Black Bean Soup

This is my third time making this soup. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s a tasty and reliable weeknight CrockPot dinner with simple ingredients.

I used minimal broth in the picture below so you could see more of the soup’s texture (as opposed to the last photo I took).

Changes and Notes: 1) Used canned black beans instead of dry; 2) Add Greek yogurt at the end of cooking time instead of sour cream; 3) Served over brown rice.

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday
Baked Chicken Taquitos

I didn’t have anything planned for Friday until I started thinking about it that afternoon. I thought about making something simple, like baked fish and a side, but I decided I had a craving for taquitos that couldn’t be denied. I already had shredded chicken in the freezer, but I had to make a quick run to the grocery store after work to pick up corn tortillas, cream cheese, and salsa verde. The extra effort was worth it!

Saturday and Sunday
Paul and I left for Boston on Saturday afternoon and won’t return until Wednesday. He’ll be working a few events at a conference and I took a few vacation days in order to tag along. I’ve never been to Boston so I’m looking forward to checking out the city!