As a homemaker, I am always on the look out for fresh ideas for baking and cooking. If you are anything like me, you know that being responsible for 2 or 3 meals a day, besides having healthy snacks and drinks available for any time of day, can, if left unchecked, become rather mundane and drab. It takes a lot of planning and creativity to come up with ideas for meals!

Recently I've been challenging myself to try a new main dish at least once a week. Since I usually get groceries only once a month, I try to use what I have on hand instead of running to the store for something that I didn't plan for.

It's easy for me to get away from meal planning, especially since I've been doing it for about 5 years now! It's almost like second nature to me now to just come up with something quickly instead of planning ahead, but I find that the best meals are still the ones that I've planned ahead for and prepared for.

Meal planning doesn't have to be anything fancy, unless, of-course if you want it to be. For me, it's as simple as a lined notebook and a pen. Sometimes I will search Pinterest for food ideas but I also come up with my own based on what food we have available at home for the week.

My new main dish for this week was this Italian Spaghetti dish that takes the meaning of spaghetti to a new level. I was quite pleased that we had everything on hand that I needed to make this. Actually, I kind of made it up as I went along, with the help of some ideas from Pinterest. :)

To make a complete meal, make a nice salad with greens and vegetables and your favorite dressing. I served ours with homemade garlic toast and fresh , cooked beets with butter and salt. It was fabulous!

This is also an easy dish that the whole family will love. It would also be a great dish to make if you need an easy idea for guests or for potluck. Happy Cooking! :)