Weekly Meal Planning: Dinner time
Today I'm sharing how I create a weekly meal plan for our family, and how I keep it simple. In this season of having little ones at home and a busy schedule, I don't have time to cook as much as I would like. On Friday afternoons, I sit down and write out our menu for the week ahead. I go the farmers market on Saturday mornings and then will go to the store sometime that weekend(Trader Joe's, Costco, or Whole Foods). This is what a typical week looks like for dinners in our house.
- Sunday, I cook a Sunday dinner and I make enough to last us for Monday night.
- Tuesday, I make something to last through Wednesday night.
- Troster and I usually go out for a weekly date night on Thursdays, so I make something easy for the kids.
- Friday night is pizza night, but for the winter I'm making a different soup each week, or I'll get takeout soup from my favorite, Souper Jenny.
- Saturday night we go out to one of our favorite restaurants with the kids.
Some weeks look much different than above. We try to eat together as a family most nights, but we also have nights out for us to get together with friends and other events etc.
I try to make a few new recipes every month, but I have my favorite tried and true recipes listed below:
- Butternut Red Lentil Soup served with Garlic Naan
- Baked Chicken Meatballs served with Focaccia and Roasted Broccoli
- Turkey Pumpkin Chili (I used frozen cubed butternut squash instead of pumpkin)
- Pasta and White Beans with Garlic + Rosemary Oil
- Slow Roasted Sweet Potatoes (I serve it with black beans on top + cheddar to make it an easy meal)
- Chicken with Olives/Tomatoes
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes (My kids devour these, they are so good with chicken/ and a salad)
I'd love to hear about your favorite recipes, post some links below!
Do you want to know what breakfast + lunch look like in our house? Lookout for another post on that soon. Happy planning!
