I am posting my meal plan for this week. These are easy weeknight dinner ideas that I know I’ll have the energy and the time to put together, are balanced, and that everyone in the family will eat. It’s a pain to come up with new dinner ideas that check off all the boxes, so I wanted to share them in case you are looking for inspiration.
One quick note: I usually eyeball ingredients and rarely follow a recipe, keep it in mind and adapt the recipes per your tastes. Also linking my earlier posts on meal planning here and here.
Monday: Kielbasa with zucchini, bell peppers, onion, and ravioli.
Sauté chopped vegetables in a bit of cooking oil (I use canola) for 7-10 minutes, add sliced kielbasa and cook additional 5 minutes or so, to heat through kielbasa (it’s already cooked). Meanwhile cook a small box of ravioli per package directions, drain, and add to the skillet with the veggies and kielbasa. Add fresh basil or other herbs – use what you like and have.
Tuesday: Ham and sauerkraut sandwiches on pumpernickel.
I know if sounds unusual, and typically you’d use pastrami for this Reuben-style sandwich. But I have a piece of frozen ham that I need to use up. It should work fine. Spread the bread slices with dijon mustard, layer ham, squeezed out sauerkraut, and cheese (will probably use swiss), butter the outsides of the bread slices, and cook in a skillet for 3-5 minutes per side with a lid on to help the cheese melt evenly.
Wednesday: Greek shrimp with tomatoes and feta.
We love Greek style eggs with fresh tomatoes and feta. I am planning to make this using shrimp instead of the eggs. Here is the original recipe.
Thursday: Cheeseburger salad.
Brown ground beef with salt & pepper, onion and garlic powder. Let cool. To a bowl of shredded lettuce add the beef and any other toppings you like on your cheeseburger: onion, tomatoes, pickles, etc. Croutons are optional. For the dressing, we usually use Ranch, but olive oil works too.
Friday: Spaghetti squash lasagna with turkey sausage.
I made this before and it was very good. I do add meat to the tomato sauce. The squash needs to be squeezed very well, it makes a big difference and affects the texture. I also use a jar of spaghetti sauce to make this quicker. Original recipe is here.
And a couple of meals we cooked last week that were good:
Salmon with broccoli slaw, peanuts, and Thai peanut dressing
We cooked the salmon filets in a skillet for a couple of minutes per side. Then we mixed pre-made slaw with some store-bought dressing and peanuts, and added some cilantro, sesame seeds, and green onion. It was super quick and good, except we were not big fans of the dressing. Keeping this recipe on file but will make our own peanut dressing next time.
Oven roasted chicken thighs with brussels sprouts, potatoes, and okra.
Season the skin- on, bone-in thighs with salt & pepper, thyme, or Italian seasoning. I also spread a bit of Caesar dressing on them (Ranch works well), roast in a preheated 375 F oven for 40 minutes. Put brussels sprouts and potatoes on a baking pan, drizzle with a bit of canola oil, s&p. Make sure they are in one layer, otherwise they’ll steam and not crisp up. Roast side by side with the chicken. If there is room, you can put the okra (chop off the stem ends) right with the veggies, otherwise use another baking sheet (that’s what I did).
Spinach and goat cheese quiche. I posted how to make it here.
What are some of your go-to quick weeknight dinners?
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