Weekly Meal Plan // Week of November 12

An Easy Weekly Meal Plan

SUNDAY

Make-your-own pizzas on Trader Joe’s pizza crust. We’ll put out all the fixings: Caramelized onions, peppers, pepperoni, grilled chicken, olives, mozzarella, goat cheese and Rao’s marinara. I’ll toss an arugula salad on the side with super simple salad dressing (try it with apple cider vinegar instead of champagne vinegar). I’ll post photos in Instagram stories if you want to follow along!

MONDAY

We have a Book Fair Family Dinner at our school, which means tacos and cupcakes for dessert. Since I’ll be at the book fair slinging cookbooks all day, I’m definitely feeding my people dinner at school. If you’re cooking at home, keep it simple with my new recipe for cacio et pepe spaghetti squash. Top it with Rao’s Marinara and serve some roasted broccoli and a green salad with homemade vinaigrette on the side.

TUESDAY

I have a holiday cooking demo tonight and will get home right during dinner hour. Luckily, I have a container of weeknight bolognese in my freezer that will be a sanity saver. I plan to thaw it in the refrigerator a couple days in advance. Boil some pasta and dinner is served. My weeknight bolognese recipe makes a large batch, so definitely freeze some for a second dinner down the road.

WEDNESDAY

It’s an Instant Pot night. When I get home with kids around 4pm, I’ll throw in the ingredients in the Instant Pot for Skinnytaste’s Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili and it will be ready to serve when we’re ready to eat! The recipe calls for 1 pound of ground chicken and 1 pound of ground beef, but I plan to make it with 2 pounds of ground chicken. Ask your butcher to grind it for you if you don’t see it in the meat case, or substitute 2 pounds ground dark meat turkey.  I’ll make a batch of steamed short grain rice — my kids love a scoop of rice added to any bowl of chili.

THURSDAY

My husband and I have an event tonight, so I’m leaving an easy dinner for my kiddos: Grilled cheese and tomato soup. The carrots and leeks in this Whole30 soup recipe make for a creamy base, and the coconut milk rounds out the flavor. If you prefer heavy cream in your soup, decrease the amount to 1/2 cup. We have a Breville panini maker, so I’ll set out a panini bar of sliced bread, cheddar, provolone, mozzarella, ham or turkey. Kids can assemble their own panini to dunk in the tomato soup.

FRIDAY

We’re off on a road trip through the south for the next 10 days. Watch my Instagram stories to see highlights of Nashville, Blackberry Farm, Chapel Hill and Charleston. And stay tuned this week for simple and delicious Thanksgiving recipes coming your way!