After my meal planning post (who knew how OCD I could be?!) last week, I had a request to share my weekly menu. Here’s this week’s menu, along with links (where applicable) to the recipes. Enjoy!
The numbers below each day are our forecasted high temperatures for that day, because I do not want to heat up my kitchen if it is hot outside!
- SundayTuna sub sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, fruit: Y’all, with a package of subway rolls from your grocery store’s bakery, canned tuna, mayonnaise and relish, you can recreate a Subway tuna sandwich. I top mine with lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese and it tastes just like it. The kids love it, too! Throw in a side of macaroni and cheese and some sliced watermelon and you have a dinner that doesn’t overheat your kitchen. (We replaced our veggies with hummus plan with watermelon when my husband picked one up at the grocery store, but veggies and hummus is a great side too!) #winning
- MondayPork sliders, fruit salad, edamame, and side: We use the King’s Hawaiian rolls with leftover pulled pork and barbecue sauce to make sliders, topped with cheese and popped in a 325 oven for 10 minutes. Sides are steam-able edamame bags from Costco and slices of watermelon instead of fruit salad. Our additional side was ultimately corn on the cob my husband had grabbed at Costco during our once-every-month quarantine Costco run.
- TuesdayChicken on salad: A one dish meal. You can grill the chicken or Instant Pot it or cook on the stovetop. I like to season it with lemon pepper, cook, and then dice it and throw it on a bed of chopped romaine with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, cheese and sunflower seeds. I loathe too much dicing in one meal, so I buy cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, and pre-shredded cheese and half the work is done for me. Voila.
- WednesdayBreakfast for dinner is always a hit. Scrambled eggs with ham, and we ended up making banana waffles to use up some overripe bananas. Everyone loved them! We used Just So Tasty’s recipe and loved it- you can find it here. We topped with Target’s Good & Gather brand Hazelnut Cocoa spread (aka Target’s Nutella) and strawberries. It was delish.
- ThursdayI love tacos. I know a lot of people say that, but they’re basically a weekly event in our house. We always have quest and guacamole on hand. Corn tortillas and flour tortillas, ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and shredded cheese make for a yummy meal (and only one eye on the stove gets turned on, so it also helps not overheat the kitchen). Tacos are the answer to life.
- FridayEvery Friday around here is said and pizza night. We make a similar salad as described on Tuesday, but omit the chicken. Then I pop a Costco brand frozen pizza in the oven and we’re good. It’s my night off, basically.
- SaturdaySome weeks, I just can’t plan this far ahead. So I left it blank. We’ll either use leftovers, figure something out on the fly, or support one of our local restaurants by ordering delivery or curbside.
Weekly Tip
My husband enjoys barbecuing and smoking foods. If he’s itching to make something, I usually request he makes a double batch. If it’s pulled pork, we’ll shred one and slice the other. Then I divide each in half, and freeze half the pulled pork and half the sliced pork. We’ll have a variety of pulled and sliced pork dishes, from enchiladas to BBQ sandwiches to nachos (Y’all know about my Tex-Mex obsession, yes?). Then as time passes and I need to throw in something new to my menu, I can grab one of the portions I froze and have a meal without loads of work. It’s a great tool I love. So if you find yourself with loads of extra, whether it’s just a protein like our pulled pork or a side or what have you, freeze it. I have taquitos in the freezer for when we need a lunch or dinner for one, plus taco chicken, sliced ham, diced ham, and the pulled pork I pulled out for sliders this week.
Shopping in your freezer is much nicer than the store, so remember to freeze your extras before they go south. Future you will thank you when she’s exhausted and not feeling creative.
Paw Prints in the Sink 