Planning out the week’s meals is something I do every Sunday for my family. I do this for a few different reasons – one it helps me get into the mindset of a new week ahead. Two it gives me the opportunity to look through the freezer, fridge and pantry to see what might need to be used up, what do I already have on hand, and what do I need to get from the store. I also try to think ahead of how can a double prep something one night to use another night, or say when a recipe calls for half an onion – I make sure to make something that needs the other half within a few days.
I also like to check in with the family to see if they have anything they have been specifically craving or wanting to try something new. Sometimes this is a fruitful ask and sometimes I get bupkitz. But I still try to ask because I also get the ‘don’t forget I’m going to dinner with a friend this night’ or ‘just please no more rice/pasta/whatever’. This is all valuable info for making a dinner menu plan for the week ahead. I also like to use a menu planner with a grocery list – like this one – to make things that much easier.
Tools You May Need
To have success with the recipes this week – here are few items that I think you may consider adding to your kitchen if you do not already have them.
A Good Sharp Chef’s Knife – this week’s menu has a few recipes that really need good knife cuts
An Extra Large Saute Pan – also called an “Everyday Pan”, these are perfect one pan meals.
A Grill Pan – I use this to give those beautiful grill lines to sandwiches, meats, and tortillas. It’s just that something extra.
Here is my plan for the week ahead. I have included the links to the original posts (you can find more info about substitutions, and processes in the full posts), as well as the full menu right here so that you don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to.
MONDAY
Chicken Fried Chicken Sandwiches – Crispy chicken sandwiches are always a great meal – for lunch or dinner. They are pretty simple to make and can have excellent results. For this particular chicken sandwich, I used my typical technique for making chicken fried steak and replaced the cube steak with a boneless skinless chicken thigh. The result is this fantastic Chicken Fried Chicken Sandwich, that your family is bound to request again and again.
Chicken Fried Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 6 Brioche Buns
- 1 cup Iceberg Lettuce shredded
- ½ cup Pickle Chips Dill or Bread & Butter
- 6 slices Thick Cut Bacon halved
- Cooking Oil
For the Dill Cream Sauce
- 12 oz Greek Yogurt
- 1 tsp Dried Dill
- 1 tsp Dried Chives
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tbsp Pickle Juice
For the Chicken
- 6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- 3 cups Flour divided
- 4 Large Eggs
- 2 tsp Salt divided
- 2 tsp Pepper divided
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder divided
- 1 tsp Dried Dill
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
TUESDAY
Chorizo & Egg Tacos – Whether you are looking for a weekend breakfast idea that will really wow folks or need a quick and delicious breakfast for dinner recipe – you came to the right place. These tacos are simple with just a few ingredients but it all comes together for a fantastic bite. Chorizo & Egg Tacos are a must for your next Taco Tuesday!
Chorizo & Egg Tacos
Ingredients
- 15 Flour Tortillas street taco sized
- 24 oz Pork Chorizo
- 12 Eggs
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 8 oz Sour Cream
- ½ cup Queso Fresco crumbled
- ¼ cup Cilantro rough chopped
Instructions
- In a large frying pan over medium high heat, add chorizo. Crumble and cook until it starts to get a little crispy.
- In a separate frying pan over medium high heat, add beaten eggs. Let sit 2 minutes then sprinkle with seasoning. Then gentle move the eggs around until cooked to a medium hard scramble.
- Put a grill pan over high heat, and grill each tortilla.
- Build a taco – smear half of tortilla with sour cream. top with portion of chorizo, then eggs. Sprinkle with cheese and add a bit of cilantro. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
WEDNESDAY
Poblano & Pepperoni Pizza – Pepperoni Pizza is a staple in our home. Even made from scratch – most of our family can prepare the dough to have time to rise before making from dinner. Because it really is that easy. But sometimes that simple – yet delightful – pepperoni pizza occasionally needs to be stepped up a notch. This recipe for Poblano & Pepperoni Pizza gives you that one extra pop that #pizzanight really needs.
Poblano & Pepperoni Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 Pizza Dough Recipes see below
- 6 oz Pepperoni Slices
- 1 Large Poblano Pepper sliced ¼inch thick
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese shredded
- 2 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
For the Sauce
- 1 15 oz Tomato Puree
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Dried Onion
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Instructions
- Prepare all of the ingredients.
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, add ingredients for the sauce. Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce to low and let simmer while dough cooks.
- Add cheeses to a bowl and toss to combine.
- Once the pizza dough is completed as listed in the recipe below, start building the pizzas.
- Remove pizza crusts from oven. For one pizza, spread half of sauce over top of crust. Evenly sprinkle with 2 cups of cheese mixture. Layer with a single layer of pepperoni then add half of the poblano slices. Sprinkle with ½ cup of cheese mixtures. Repeat on second pizza. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove and let cook for 5 minutes before cutting.
THURSDAY
Creamy Ranch Pasta & Sausage – When it comes to dinners on the week days, you often need to have some really simple but flavorful meals in your collection of recipes. This recipe for Creamy Ranch Pasta & Sausage falls right into that category. With the great flavors of ranch mixed with smoked sausage and pasta, your whole family is going to be happy campers.
Creamy Ranch Pasta & Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps Oil
- 2 lbs Smoked Sausage cut in ½ inch slices
- 2 lb Large Elbow Macaroni
For the Mozzarella Cheese Sauce
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 4 tbsp Flour
- 2 cups Milk
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 3 tbsp Ranch Seasoning see recipes below
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Start water boiling for pasta. (salt if desired)
- In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add oil. Once hot, add sliced sausage pieces. Fry them until slightly browned then remove from heat.
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain in colander and return to pot, away from heat.
- In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add butter, garlic powder, and onion powder. Once melted add flour and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in milk and let cook for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add paprika and ranch seasoning. Lastly add heavy cream and stir to combine. Let bubble another two minutes.
- Add cooked sausage and ranch sauce to pot with cooked pasta. Stir to fully coated.
Notes
FRIDAY
Sloppy Joe Sliders – Everything is infinitely better when served on a slider – especially these Sloppy Joe Sliders! You get all those classic comfort flavors of a sloppy joe, with the addition of some cheese and slapped on a slider roll. Your are going to get requests to make this super easy – done in 30 minutes – dinner over and over again. These sliders are a perfect weeknight meal or a great idea for #SliderSaturdays!
Sloppy Joe Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 lb Ground Pork
- ½ Small Yellow Onion minced
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 15oz can Tomato Puree
- ¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- ¼ cup Bourbon I use Jim Beam
- 6 slices Cheddar Cheese
- 12 Dinner Rolls
- 1 tbsp Everything Seasoning
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350degF.
- In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add ground beef, ground pork, onion and garlic. Cook and crumble until no longer pink. Reduce heat to medium.
- Add tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, maple syrup and bourbon. Stir to combine and cook another 5 minutes.
- Split dinner rolls to make a top and bottom. Place the bottom layer on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Spoon meat mixture evenly over top of roll bottoms. Cover with cheese slices.
- Place roll tops over cheese. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with everything seasoning. Place in oven and back for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting to separate individual sliders. Serve 2-3 per person.
SATURDAY
Roasted Tomato & White Bean Soup – The amazing depth of flavor you get just taking the extra step of roasting the tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs with olive oil. And not just the flavor but the texture is vastly improved as well. This recipe for Roasted Tomato & White Bean Soup is perfect for a blustery fall or winter day. The Italian sausage makes it hearty enough to be a whole meal – or what I like to call an #EntreeSoup.
Roasted Tomato & White Bean Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pints Cherry Tomatoes
- 2 White Onion cut into 8 even wedges
- 1 Whole Garlic Head top removed
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tbsp Dried Basil
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ½-1 cup Water depending on desired consistency
- 2 lb Italian Sausage
- 2 15oz can White Beans drained
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400degF
- On a parchment paper covered rimmed baking sheet, add tomatoes, onions, fresh basil and garlic. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, basil and oregano. Drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes (a small bit of charring is fine, but don't let it burn).
- Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Then remove to a mixing bowl and let rest another 10 minutes.
- In a large stock pot over medium high heat, add sausage. Cook and crumble until no longer pink. Reduce heat to medium.
- Add Worcestershire, honey and half cup of water to bowl and then blitz with immersion blender. Keep blitzing until smooth. Add water until sauce is at desired consistency. Add to pot with sausage.
- Add beans and parmesan cheese to pot and let come just to a bubble. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer another 10 minutes.
- Service with a drizzle of heavy cream over top.
SUNDAY
Ultimate Spaghetti & Meatballs – When it comes to the ultimate comfort food, spaghetti and meatballs comes to mind almost every time. While some say you have to have this cooking all day long, you really can get great flavor out of just over an hour’s worth of cook time. Which makes it ideal for a Sunday supper, but also still doable for a weeknight dinner. This recipe for the Ultimate Spaghetti & Meatballs is going to really impress the whole family.
Ultimate Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1½ lb Spaghetti Pasta
For the Sauce
- ½ White Onion minced
- 2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 2 28oz can Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 15oz can Tomato Puree
- 1 cup Beef Broth
- ¼ cup Honey
- ¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
For the Meatballs
- 2 lb Ground Beef
- 1 cup Bread Crumbs
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Dried Minced Onion
- 1 tbsp Tomato Bouillon
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add olive oil, onion, garlic, basil and oregano. Let saute for 4 minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients and thoroughly combine. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Preheat oven to 350degF.
- In a mixing bowl add meatball ingredients and thoroughly combine. Using a 1 ounce food scoop to portion out meat mixture. Use you hands to roll each into a ball and place on a cooking rack (spray with cooking oil) over a parchment paper covered sheet pan. Place in oven and cook for 25 minutes.
- Remove meatballs from oven and add to simmering red sauce. Let continue to simmer until pasta is cooked.
- Start water boiling for pasta (salt as desired). Once ready, add pasta and cook as directed on packaging. Drain in colander and return to pot away from heat.
- Remove meatballs from the sauce to a bowl. Pour remaining sauce over cooked pasta and toss to coat.
- Serve a portion of sauced pasta with 6-8 meatballs over the top.
Do you have any tips for making a dinner menu plan each week? Which one of these recipes do you plan to add to your dinner menu plan this week?
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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