Coming up with dinner every.single.day. can be such a struggle. It can be hard coming up with dinner ideas for one night let alone a whole week.
These weekly dinner plans are created to help you get one thing off your to-do list. Shop once for the week and you’ll have the ingredients and meal choices ready to go for the week.
Visit the WEEKLY DINNER PLANNER archive for more meal planning ideas!
Table of Contents
👇🏻 SCROLL for Recipe Links, Tips & Additional Info 👇🏻
How To Use the Meal Plans
People are typically put off by commitment but if you give yourself a guideline with the flexibility and permission to make changes as needed, you’ll be more likely to stick to it. That’s why flexible meal plans work.
I give you 5 suggestions and you pick 3-5 meals for your week. Each week I scour through my collections of recipes from a variety of amazing food bloggers, recipe sites, cookbooks and personal recipes to thoughtfully create a weekly dinner plan that is easy and delicious. Pick 3-5 of them for your week based on what works for your schedule and include days for eating out, leftovers, etc.
Use the order of the meals as a guideline. You’ll notice dinners are not listed as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. and that’s on purpose. I don’t want you to feel restricted. That sense of “I HAVE to do this” is what makes people stop meal planning. Keep things flexible and be realistic with your expectations and schedule.
Make mindful adjustments as needed. Sometimes, you need to consider foods (i.e. meats) that need to be used by certain days. For example, if you planned on making steak fajitas on Tuesday, but now it’s Tuesday and you can’t or don’t want to, think about your ingredients for a minute. Check your steak, if the date is good til tomorrow then just make sure you make that meal tomorrow. Otherwise, throw it in the freezer and plan to make it on Friday instead (just take it out the day before to thaw.) This will become second nature as you continue meal planning.
Grocery shop for the week. Get all your groceries for the week so you have everything on hand. This will save you so much time and extra money spent on impulse purchases.
Dinner Plan #22
Meal Prep Tips
These are some basic prep ideas you can do before the week starts to get ahead of the game! Do some, do them all, whatever works for you! I just barely make it to the grocery shopping part, so actual meal prep is a stretch for me personally …. but I hear it’s super-efficient 😬🤪
| Beer Batter Fish & Chips | You could make the potato wedges ahead of time and then reheat in the air fryer when ready to eat. But fresh will taste a little better. |
| Summer Corn & Zucchini Chowder | Cook & dice bacon. Dice onion & celery. Slice zucchini & squash. |
| Pesto Shrimp & Parmesan Risotto | Grate parmesan if using block cheese. Chop tomatoes (1-2 days ahead of time.) |
| Caprese Stuffed Chicken | – |
| Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil | Slice sausage. Cut lemon wedges (up to 2 days ahead is best.) Shuck & cut your corn. (some say you should wait to shuck your corn, but if stored in a container or plastic bag, I’ve found that it does not dry out.) |
Recipe Links, Side Ideas & Helpful Tips
Beer Batter Fish & Chips
(Basic Meal Idea)
FYI:
- I tried this McCormick Beer Batter Seafood Batter Mix this past week and it was super simple and honestly so delicious! Cod is ideal for battered fish and really any type of beer you like will work, but you can also make it with water and it’s just as good. Just follow the directions on the box and you’ll have deliciously golden fried fish just like your fave restaurant in no time!
- For the “chips” you can bake your favorite french fries, but I went with potato wedges. A local restaurant makes the MOST delicious potato wedges for their fish and chips meal. They’re deep-fried with a nice thick crunchy outside and soft and creamy inside. Literal perfection. I went with air-fried for my at-home version so I only had to fry one thing and though they aren’t as swoon-worthy as those deep-fried wedges… they are pretty darn good!
- Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges
SIDE SUGGESTIONS:
- Cole slaw
- Fresh fruit
Print
EASY AIR FRYER POTATO WEDGES
- For the potato wedges, you can choose to keep the skin on or off. Russet potatoes work really well, yielding a firm but fluffy inside. Yukon gold potatoes have a creamier inside.
Lengthwise, cut the potatoes in half, then half again, then on an angle, to create 8 spears per potato. Soak in water for about 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry. - Toss in olive oil and your preferred seasonings (I like to keep it simple with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried parsley.)
- Air fry at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, tossing after 10 minutes and then every 5 minutes after that. Don’t crowd the pan too much otherwise, your wedges won’t cook evenly.
Summer Corn & Zucchini Chowder
from Life Made Simple
FYI:
- Creamy yet refreshing, this corn & zucchini chowder is the perfect way to start off summer! Full of veggies, this is a great meatless meal, though if you wanted you could certainly add in shredded chicken or grilled shrimp.
SIDE SUGGESTIONS:
- Warm crusty bread. That is all.
- Ok, a skewer of grilled shrimp would be good with this too.
Pesto Shrimp & Parmesan Risotto
from Pinch of Yum
FYI:
- Creamy dreamy parmesan risotto with pesto-glazed garlic shrimp. This is just a bowl of goodness right here! This recipe does take a bit longer because of the risotto so save it for a night you have some extra time. And then indulge in all that yumminess.
SIDE SUGGESTIONS:
- Side salad
- Green beans
- Zucchini & squash
Caprese Stuffed Chicken
from To Simply Inspire
FYI:
- Caprese-anything is generally a winner in my book. And besides corn and zucchini, what else says summer like tomatoes and basil?! The melty fresh mozzarella and sweet tangy balsamic sauce make this a dinner worth repeating all summer!
- This is a great recipe to make extras so you can take a slice of chicken with some salad for lunch during the week. You won’t regret it!
SIDE SUGGESTIONS:
- Pearled couscous with olive oil and garlic
- Rice Pilaf
- Roasted Brussels sprouts
- Arugula salad
Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil
from Damn Delicious
FYI:
- The perfect way to end our summer-inspired week! This recipe is simple and fuss-free. You’ll parboil the potatoes and corn for a few minutes and then just throw everything onto a sheet pan with a butter sauce and bake!
SIDE SUGGESTIONS:
- Cornbread
- Coleslaw
Hope this helps make dinner time less stressful for you this week! If you have questions or feedback let me know in the comments or email me, I’d love to hear from you 💜
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