A meal, A Plan

I have to admit this.

I am not a throw-a-recipe-together kind of cook...

generally speaking, unless I am in a pinch...

I do better with directions...then, from that, I play around

with the ingredients ( more of something...or less of another)...

I also have to admit that I am a poor meal planner...

I have my go-to recipes...and I do like to try many new ones...

but I usually decide that...well, the day of haha..

My abuela ( my grandmother) sent me the Dec. issue of Rachel Ray Magazine...

(love her!)

...and inside was this little booklet of daily weeknight meals

...a planning guide for a weeks worth of dinners!

Strike me down...it was like gold to gold miner!

Inside the booklet included all the recipes, plus a shopping list for the entire week!

What did I have to do?

Drive to the grocery store and get said food.

Um, yes please.

Also, it cut my grocery bill in meh, half!!!

Yes, half.

I cried too, it's ok.

So here's the deal, go here to get your weekly Rachel Ray  meal guide ...

This lovely recipe pictured above? Well, that is the last recipe for this week... ( since I apparently shop in the middle of the week?) and it was magnificent...I would probably not use bell pepper when I make it next time...and maybe add mushrooms instead...but all around it was amazing...and I ate it for lunch too!

So go ahead... try it out ! Lemme know what you think!

Rachel Ray's

Fettuccine/ Toasted Almond Cream

Ingredients:

 2 cloves garlic ( grated)

12 oz. spinach fettuccine ( broken in half)

8 oz. frozen peas (thawed)

1 small red bell pepper ( I used green)

1/2 cup (2oz) slivered almonds

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salt & Pepper

1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella

1/2 lb. thick-sliced smoked turkey ( finely chopped)

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, add the garlic. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 11 minutes. Add the peas and bell pepper in the last 2 minutes of cooking.

2. Meanwhile, using a food processor ( I actually used a coffee grinder...don't judge...and it worked perfectly) grind the almonds to a fine powder. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and process until smooth and creamy.

3. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs. Stir in the almond cream, Parmesan, 1 tsp. salt and a generous pinch pepper.

4. Drain the pasta and vegetables, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water; return to the pot. Add the egg-parm mixture and stir to coat (the hot pasta will cook the eggs). Stir in the mozzarella, smoked turkey and enough of the reserved cooking water to loosen up the sauce.

Viola! Serve and Enjoy!

This recipe was taken straight out of the booklet from the mag...

pretty simple stuff...

Hope you all are having a great Wednesday!

What recipes have you tried lately? Lemme know if you do attempt this one!