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Home › Monday Menu
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Monday Menu #131- Italian Stuffed Eggplant & Classic Steak Fingers

Stacey Pirtle

by Stacey Published: Mar 13, 2023

This post may contain affiliate links.

Forget about getting in a rut or worrying about what side dishes go with what. This week’s Monday Menu serves up recipes for delicious complete meals, like Italian Stuffed Eggplant with Sausage & Rice partnered with a quick salad or a Chicken Fried Steak Finger dinner with an easy surprise! And don’t forget breakfast, snack and dessert. Monday Menu has it all!

collage featuring recipes to make great family meals, including stuffed eggplant and chicken fried steak fingers.

This Week’s Secret To Success

As usual, we are balancing easy dishes with ones that take a bit more effort to create stress-free meals for your family. Dishes like Roasted Eggplant Stuffed with sausage, brown rice and loads of Italian flavors are no biggie to prepare when they are partnered with a quick, crisp Apple, Cheese, Celery Salad!

To make your week even easier, prep your sausage stuffing in advance. Refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to make your eggplant boats!

For meal #2, we’re frying up Classic Chicken Fried Steak Fingers. This recipe is one of my all-time favorites for flavor, crunch and dip-ability! It takes a little time to prepare, but it is easy to follow and never fails!

Instead of potatoes, serve these Steak Fingers with a big pot of Creamy Cauliflower Soup. This soup is the perfect veggie dupe for potatoes, is totally unexpected (anybody up for dunking those steak fingers?) and any leftovers can be served with the quiche recipe for an alternate 3rd dinner idea!

Lastly, save a few bucks by purchasing the larger container of blueberries. Use those berries to make a light blueberry spinach salad to go with your steak fingers (or quiche) AND to make this week’s Blueberry Muddy Buddy Snack Mix. It’s one snack mix that you’re family is sure to get hooked on, and you’re not going to believe the bold blueberry flavor it has!

Menu 1- Italian Stuffed Eggplant with Sausage & Rice

Intensely flavorful, this savory Italian Stuffed Eggplant recipe is made from roasted eggplant filled with a comforting, hearty mixture of spicy sausage, brown rice, diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese, all topped with a crispy Panko topping. It's so satisfying, all it needs is a simple salad to round out the meal!

Italian Stuffed Eggplant with Sausage & Rice

Apple, Cheese, Celery Salad

Menu 2- Classic Steak Fingers

Chicken Fried Steak Fingers are a long-time classic! Tender well-seasoned cube steak, coated in a crisp buttermilk breading, It’s real deal, down home comfort food that everyone loves- even your most picky eaters. Instead of the expected potatoes, pair them with a Creamy Parmesan Cauliflower Soup. It's clever veggie-loaded soup that's quick, easy and you'll swear tastes just like the potatoes your family craves!

Classic Chicken Fried Steak Fingers

Creamy Short Cut Parmesan Cauliflower Soup

Blueberry Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Dessert This Week

Love chocolate covered strawberries?  Then these Strawberry Jam Brownies are definitely calling your name!  This rich, berry-licious homemade brownie recipe is over-the-top loaded with strawberry jam, cheesecake, chocolate chips & chocolate cookies.  Pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you may have found your dessert heaven!

A pan of strawberry jam brownies

Here’s What We’re Snacking On

Get ready for a delicious blueberry twist on a classic homemade snack favorite!  Blueberry Muddy Buddies Snack Mix isn’t your ordinary quick cereal treat. Made with creamy white chocolate & blueberry Muddy Buddies, salted almonds, crisp Rice Chex cereal and scrumptiously tart berries, this incredibly addictive snack is salty Chex mix and swoon worthy blueberry goodness all wrapped in one! This recipe is perfect for this week since we are already using blueberries in our salad for Menu #2. No wasted berries left in the fridge!

A close up of blueberry muddy buddy snack mix in a white bowl

Making Breakfast Easy

Perfect for using leftover ham or for doubling as a quick dinner, this Ham & Swiss Quiche has a secret ingredient that makes for a creamy, silky quiche every time! This is going to be your new go-to quiche recipe. It also makes a great 3rd dinner option. Serve it with leftover Cauliflower Soup and/or either of this week’s salads!

Ham & swiss quiche fresh from the oven

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Monday Menu inspiration
Forget about getting in a rut or worrying about what side dishes go with what. This week's Monday Menu serves up recipes for delicious complete meals, like Italian Stuffed Eggplant with Sausage & Rice partnered a quick salad or a Chicken Fried Steak Finger dinner with an easy surprise! And don't forget breakfast, snack and dessert.  Monday Menu has it all!

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Filed Under: Monday Menu Tagged With: easy meals, family meals, meal planning

Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

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Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

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