Meal Plan: How to Bring Italy Into Your Kitchen

by Mom It Forward on July 16th, 2019 | 2 Comments »

Rome, Tuscany, and Venice have two things in common: they are Italian cities and they contain fabulous cuisine. All these cities that offer adventure while traveling back hundreds of years in time. And there is nothing that can transport a person to another place like that of a good meal. And what is Italy known best for? Pasta.

Pasta is a great contributing factor to this gal's carbohydrates love affair. Everyone knows the traditional pastas: linguine, fettuccine, spaghetti, penne, and angel hair. However, there are better methods of discovering a love of pasta than pulling out a box of Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese. This week, we feature pastas with ingredients that you may not have considered combining with pasta, so we've decided to think outside of the blue box. Bon appetite!

Theme: Italy In Your Kitchen

Weekly Meal Plan: Monday, July 30 - Sunday, August 5

Monday:

Dinner Recipe: Penne with Broccolini from Flavia's Flavors
Dinner Discussion Question: What is your favorite game?

Tuesday:

Dinner Recipe: Mushroom, Wax Beans, and Cheddar Pasta Bake from Sarah's Cucina Bella
Dinner Discussion Question: What was your favorite cartoon as a child?

Wednesday:

Dinner Recipe: Smoked Paprika Chipotle Chicken with Spirali Pasta and Kale Pesto from The Lovely Pantry
Dinner Discussion Question: If you could have lunch with any deceased woman, who would it be? Why?

Thursday:

Dinner Recipe: Ligurian Pasta Trenette from The Shiksa in the Kitchen
Dinner Discussion Question: When you were little, what did you want to grow up to be?

Friday:

Dinner Recipe: Leek and Bacon Carbonara from Sarah's Cucina Bella
Dinner Discussion Question: What is your favorite thing to shop for?

Saturday:

Dinner Recipe: Lobster Spaghetti with Endive from Bell'alimento
Dinner Discussion Question: What is your least favorite thing to shop for?

Sunday:

Dinner Recipe: Chicken Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo from (a)Musing Foodie
Dinner Discussion Question: Where are you going school shopping?

Dessert

Enough with the savory portion of the meal, bring on the dessert! We're featuring Crispy Ice Cream Bars for this week's dessert!

Meal Plan and Grocery Shopping List Free Printable

Is your mouth watering yet? We can’t wait to give these recipes a try this week! If you’re interested in trying some or all of these recipes, be sure to fill out the Mom It Forward Meal Plan and Grocery Shopping List Free Printable before you head to the store!

Discussion Questions

Be sure to stop by the comments section of this post or on our Facebook page and let us know how your family members answered the discussion questions. We would love to hear what your family shared at the dinner table!

Share Your Side Dish Recipes!

Sometimes thinking of main entrees is the easy party...but what do you pair with your main dishes? We would love for you to share your ideas for side dish recipes!

Disclaimer: This post is part of our Weekly Meal Plan series. Each week, we share recipes and photos from bloggers around the web. We have been given permission to use all links and photos in this series. A huge thanks goes out to all of the bloggers who helped us create this delicious menu! If you have recipes on your site that you would like for us to feature, please be sure to fill out this form.

Top photo and featured photo courtesy of Flickr.