A Super Easy (and mostly healthy) Weekly Meal Plan
We’re rolling into April and that time of year that always feels the most frenetic to me. As I’ve said before, it’s like riding a bicycle downhill with no handlebars. We have a few April birthdays in our family, and weekends are filled with an Earth Day cooking demo at Hope Farms on April 21, dance recitals, golf tournaments and my first pop-up dinner hosted with the Farm Girls Supper Club team. The first weekend in May is my cooking retreat at The Vintage Roundtop (there are still spots available!) and my oldest’s confirmation ceremony. We have one weekend between now and Memorial Day that isn’t booked, and it happens to be Mother’s Day. I see a massage in my future, and I have a feeling you’re in the same boat!
SUNDAY
Easter dinner. We have brunch reservations after church, so we’re grilling and having a casual dinner. Lamb chops, chermoula, potato gratin, roasted veggies and salad sounds perfect for an Easter dinner at home. I have more ideas for you in last year’s menu for an Easy Easter Dinner.
MONDAY
I indulged in chocolate bunnies and mimosas at brunch, so I want (and need) a vegetable-heavy dinner that will also satisfy my troops. Vegetarian egg roll bowls and coconut cauliflower rice fit the bill. If you’d prefer meat in your bowls, add a 1/2 pound ground pork or turkey to your sauté.
TUESDAY
It’s Culture Fest at our school, and I’m bringing fried rice to serve 300. When your 11-year-old son calls you from the school phone excitedly asking if you can make fried rice for 300, the answer is yes. You can watch me make it on stories Tuesday afternoon. I’ll reheat it at our school in a wok set on top of my portable butane stove. I have a fried rice tutorial saved in my Instagram profile, and I plan to make a similar vegetarian version for the event. If you’re not in the mood for fried rice, how does chicken rollatini sound?
WEDNESDAY
I have some extra homemade tortillas and refried beans from a tutorial my sweet housekeeper did for me last week. The tortillas are solely masa harina and water, and the “refried” beans are stewed beans pureed with sautéed onions in a Vitamix and warmed in a pan. No lard or extra oil involved. I’m planning an enchilada casserole and a chopped salad. If you don’t have shredded chicken to use in this (although, you could always shred a rotisserie chicken to make it really easy on yourself), you can use a pound of sautéed ground beef. Make this easy recipe for homemade enchilada sauce or use Hatch brand mild red enchilada sauce.
THURSDAY
What’s your hardest night to get dinner on the table? Mine is Thursday. I’m usually worn out from a week of teaching cooking classes and cooking for my own family. This is the night I want the easiest dinner humanly possible. As I like to say, “stupid easy.” Which I worry sounds condescending, but believe me, I love nothing more than a stupid easy dinner. Let’s have slow cooker French dip sandwiches. Use homemade onion soup seasoning to make the meat super flavorful, and use gluten-free dinner rolls instead of hoagie rolls if your family is gluten-free. A big green salad on the side or raw carrot and celery sticks will suffice. If you don’t want yours on a bun, add some of the shredded meat to your salad.
FRIDAY
If it’s a nice night, we might take our kids out to dinner. Or we’ve also been talking about grilling our favorite turkey burgers. I can mix up the meat, and then hand the grilling over to dad. These would be delicious with the addition of my quick pickled red onions on the burgers.
Leave a Reply