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 #40
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 😬🤪
| Country Chicken Stew | Slice carrots & cabbage. Slice bacon. Soak beans (night before.) |
| Tacos | – |
| Easy Orange Chicken Meatballs | Prep meatballs (day before.) Prepare sauce, store in fridge, warm when ready to eat. Cook meatballs. (Can store tossed in sauce.) |
| Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich | – |
| Chicken Alfredo Casserole with Broccoli and Breadcrumb Topping | Cook and shred chicken if not using leftovers. Trim and cut broccoli. Grate parmesan cheese. |
Recipe Links • Side Ideas • Helpful Tips
Country Chicken Stew
from Pinch of Yum
A rustic and hearty soup full of chicken, bacon, beans, and veggies in a soul-warming broth.
FYI:
- LONG COOK TIME: This soup takes time, but doesn’t need a lot of work or ingredients.
- Also, you need to account for pre-soaking your beans. However, you can get those into a bowl of water the night before and just drain the next morning. They do mention that you *could* technically use canned beans, and the result is adequate but fresh beans are better.
- IP COMPATIBLE: Instant Pot instructions included in recipe.
- DOUBLE DUTY: Cooking a whole chicken means you’ll have leftover shredded chicken you can use for either Tacos, the Alfredo Chicken & Pasta Bake, or whatever else you want.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Crusty bread. That’s it. Just a good, warm chunk of crusty bread.
Tacos
Basic Meal Idea
It’s been a while since we’ve had some tacos so it’s about time to bring them out again!
Make them however you normally would, but if you want to get adventurous and try something new, check out this recipe for Chicken Tinga Tacos from Chili Pepper Madness.
I WARN YOU, they are spicy as written. I do not recommend using the whole 7 oz can of chipotles in adobo unless you are insane or have a death wish. My husband would be fine with it, I think he has a tastebud deficiency for spicy food, but I personally like to actually enjoy my meals so I use 2 peppers.
FYI:
- USE IT UP: Use leftover shredded chicken (from the Country Stew) mixed with a can of salsa and your preferred seasonings for easy shredded chicken tacos.
SIDE IDEAS:
Easy Orange Chicken Meatballs
from Life Made Simple Bakes
Bright and zesty orange meatballs are simple to make and perfect for serving over rice, quinoa, or an edamame salad.
FYI:
- DOUBLE IT: I always like to double up meatball recipes and store the second batch in the freezer for a future meal.
- TIME SAVER: If you have a frozen batch of meatballs, feel free to use those – so long as they are not heavy on Italian seasonings, they’ll work just fine in this recipe!
- SUBSTITUTE: I often use orange juice instead of fresh squeezed juice and zest in my orange sauces and it tastes just as good.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Basmati, White or Brown Rice
- Quinoa
- Edamame Salad
- Japanese Cucumber Salad
Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich
from The Novice Chef
Crispy, juicy, cheesy eggplant parm sandwiches made conveniently in your air fryer! The addition of fresh basil makes these sandwiches even more bright and flavorful. (And sure, you can always make them in the oven if you rather.)
FYI:
- You’ll need to make these in batches depending on the size of your air fryer and the size of your eggplant (how many slices you end up with.) Take that time into account when prepping for dinner.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Caesar salad
- Garlic broccolini
Chicken Alfredo Casserole with Broccoli and Breadcrumb Topping
from Moments & Meals
A creamy chicken alfredo casserole with broccoli and a deliciously crispy, crunchy garlic parmesan breadcrumb topping. It’s super simple to make and comes together in no time. The perfect weeknight dinner! Make the recipe as written or use it as a guide to make your own customized version using up any leftover proteins and veggies you have in the fridge at the end of the week.
FYI:
- My original recipe makes a very full 9×13 casserole dish that’s perfect to have leftovers and not have to cook another night in the week.
- However, this is also a great recipe to make at the end of the week and use up any proteins or veggies you have left in the fridge. I’d recommend making half the pasta so you don’t end up with too much (unless, of course, you want leftovers for the weekend.)
- Check your fridge, freezer, and pantry to see what you can use up and add in. This casserole is super customizable!
- Chicken, turkey, shrimp, beef, bacon, or sausage.
- Peas
- Carrots
- Corn
- Mushrooms
- Onion / Shallot
- Bell peppers
- Roasted red peppers
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Green beans
- Asparagus
- Spinach
- Kale
- Zucchini
- Garlic
SIDE IDEAS:
- Simple side salad
- Garlic breadsticks
Chicken Alfredo Casserole with Broccoli and Breadcrumb Topping
Creamy chicken alfredo casserole with broccoli and a garlic parmesan breadcrumb topping is super simple to make, easily customized, and comes together in no time making it a perfect weeknight meal.
8
servings5
minutes30
minutes35
minutesKeep your screen from going dark while you cook
Ingredients
1 box bowtie pasta
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 cups broccoli florets (bite size)
1 jar alfredo sauce (I prefer garlic alfredo)
1/2 cup milk (more or less, see step #2)
- Breadcrumb Topping
3/4 cup bread crumbs
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
fresh cracked black pepper
Directions
- PREP. Cook pasta according to box directions. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add your broccoli to the pot. In the meantime, preheat oven to 400°F, spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, and prepare your breadcrumb topping by mixing all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
- COMBINE. Once pasta is done, drain, then pour into the prepared casserole dish. Add shredded chicken. Pour Alfredo sauce over top then add about a 1/2 cup of milk into the empty jar, close the cap, swish it around to get all the remaining sauce, then pour into the baking dish. Stir everything together. Top evenly with the breadcrumb mixture.
- BAKE. Put the chicken alfredo casserole into the oven and bake 15-20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden. Serve & enjoy!
Notes
- If you like this recipe, I’d appreciate a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating at the top of the recipe card! 💜
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.
