Coming up with dinner every.single.day. can be such a struggle. My weekly dinner plans are created to help you get one thing off your to-do list and have less stress at dinner time!
Visit the WEEKLY DINNER PLANNER archive for more meal planning ideas!
Table of Contents
Dinner Plan #36
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 😬🤪
| Tuscan Bean Soup | Chop bacon, sausage, and onion |
| Glazed Pork Chops | Prepare seasoning mixture |
| Philly Cheesesteak Pasta | Slice & dice mushrooms, peppers, and onion Dice/shred provolone cheese Make meat and veggie mixture. Store in fridge until ready to make pasta and cheese sauce. Then reheat and finish as instructed in recipe. |
| Chicken Fajitas | Slice bell peppers and onion Prepare seasoning mix |
| Teriyaki Turkey and Rice Bowls | Dice & chop onion, green onion, and broccoli Peel & grate carrots |
Recipe Links • Side Ideas • Helpful Tips
Tuscan Bean Soup
from Jo Cooks
Loaded with savory bacon, sausage, and beans, this Tuscan Bean Soup totally hits the spot when you’re looking for a warm and comforting meal.
FYI:
- Ready in about 45 mins-1 hour, this might be too long for some weeknights, but you can always make the soup over the weekend and have it ready to warm up mid-week when you don’t feel like cooking.
- Great soup for freezing and reheating! Check out Souper Cubes which are souper handy (he he good one, I know)
SIDE IDEAS:
- Crusty bread. All you need is some good, preferably warm, crusty bread
Glazed Pork Chops
from Budget Bytes
These super simple pork chops in a sweet and spicy glaze are ready in under 30 minutes! Serve with an easy side dish for a perfect weeknight dinner.
FYI:
- You only need to preheat the oven and use an oven-safe pan if you have thick pork chops (over 1″) to be able to finish them off. Otherwise don’t worry about that part.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Mashed potatoes
- Rice
Collard Greens - Cinnamon apples
- Apple Dijon Kale Salad mentioned in the recipe would be fantastic
Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
from Dinner at the Zoo
Gooey, cheesy, salty, goodness in a bowl!! A truly fabulous twist on a traditional Philly Cheesesteak.
FYI:
- Leftover Lunch Idea: Make a few easy low-carb lunches. Cook extra beef and veggies, set aside. Once cooled, portion out into lunch containers and add shredded provolone cheese.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Keep it simple – skip the sides; we’ve got our protein veg and carb already!
Chicken Fajitas
Basic Meal Idea / Recipe from Downshiftology
Fajitas are always a fun and versatile weeknight dinner. Make them as you normally would, but if you’re looking for a new recipe, the one above is an easy one-pan version that includes a simple homemade spice mix.
FYI:
- Not feeling chicken fajitas? Switch it up and try beef, shrimp, or sausage fajitas.
- You can use red onions instead of yellow for a brighter flavor. You can also include tomato wedges to add a sweet tartness to your veggie mix.
- You can also make sheet-pan fajitas if you don’t feel like dirtying up your stove. I have this recipe included in Meal Plan 4 if you want to try it out.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Chips & guac
- Mexican corn salad
- Yellow rice and refried beans
Teriyaki Turkey and Rice Bowls
from Yellow Bliss Road
An easy 30-ish minute meal that’s full of flavor and much healthier than takeout!
FYI:
- Homemade teriyaki sauce is actually really easy to make but feel free to use the store-bought stuff if you want to!
- If you’ll be needing to buy ground ginger for this recipe, might I suggest getting ginger paste or frozen ginger cubes instead? It tastes much better and fresher than the powdered version.
- Shortcut: Short on time? Skip the chopping of the veggies and just buy a bag of pre-cut frozen Asian veggies.
- Leftover Lunch Idea: Another meal that’s perfect for doubling up to create low-carb lunches. Instead of rice, make lettuce wraps using bibb, Boston, butter, or red or green leaf lettuce.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Salted edamame
- Side salad with Ginger dressing
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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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. 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.
