Menu Plan Monday

After months of fast food, delivery, BBQ and meeting leftovers, and microwave meals, I finally found my way into my kitchen to actually prepare food again. This started with a giant trip to the grocery store, because my freezer and pantry were looking pretty bare. I'm not sharing everything I made but if you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen these taco puffs. It was meant to be a snack on Saturday, but was heavy enough to count as a meal (especially with the sour cream "dip"). It only uses 5 ingredients and takes about 20 min start to finish- my kind of meal. Since Steph asked about it, I thought I'd share here as well. 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 (1-oz) package taco seasoning
1 (10-oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
2/3 cup water
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (17.3-oz) package puff pastry, thawed

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain. Add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes and green chiles and water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Unfold pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 9 squares.
4. Arrange taco meat down diagonal center of the pastry squares. Sprinkle with some of the shredded cheddar cheese. Fold two opposite corners of each square over the filling and press edges to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I used crescent rolls instead of "puff pastry," so I made 8 instead of 9. Also, if using crescent rolls, feel free to cut this recipe in half as that's about how much filling I had left over. Here's what's on deck for the rest of the week.

Monday: Beef and Cheese Pita Pizza- I'm actually using the leftover beef mixture with some cheddar cheese mixed in for this "pita pizza." (I love how just about anything on top of pita bread is suddenly referred to as a pizza now.) 

Tuesday: Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas and Parmesan*-  I'm trying to steer clear of overly heavy meals this week, and Blue hates tuna and cheese together (separate is fine), and is not a fan of hot tuna in general, so I'm making this when I know she won't be around. 

Wednesday: This week is Hudson Restaurant Week, so we're heading out for a Cuban pre fixe dinner at Coco Havana. I'm looking forward to my favorite, ropa vieja! 

Thursday: Bowtie Pasta with Broccoli,  Garlic, and Lemon- a light, fresh, simple yet tasty favorite. 

Friday: Date night with Blue- we're going to see John Mayer! 

What do you eat when it's super hot out? 

Sharing with Laura!