Hope you enjoy!
| Day of the Week | Breakfast | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Avocado Toast (Recipe Below) | Taco Soup |
| Tuesday | English Muffins (Recipe Below) | Turkey Patties & Rice (Recipe Below) |
| Wednesday | Smoothie Bowls | Chicken Dijon |
| Thursday | Yogurt + Granola Parfait | Spaghetti |
| Friday | Banana Muffins | Cheeseburger Sliders |
(Date night when my kids cook + leftover night are the other two).
Remember: I only provide 5 meals a week because that’s how many I cook here (date night when my kids cook + leftover night are the other two).
DAY 1: The avocado toast I’m describing below is so simple but SOOOOOOO good. My best friend made it for me recently, and after one bite, I KNEW it was going on our regular rotation (and that I would share it with y’all).
AVO TOAST:
- Toasted bread
- Butter
- Ripe avocado
- Chopped cherry tomatoes (optional)
- Everything Bagel seasoning
- Feta cheese
- Lemon juice drizzle
Assemble the toast in the order I listed above, and prepare for your taste buds to sing.
*Chef’s kiss And for dinner, we’re sticking with simple with a taco soup that I can literally pop in my Instant Pot and have done in 30 minutes flat (if my meat is already cooked; 45 if not).
DAY 2: English muffin sandwiches can go a variety of directions, but we usually like to make an assembly line of toasted, buttered muffins, scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and a slice of melted cheese. The great thing about these is that they’re super easy to wrap up individually and store in your fridge or freezer and then rewarm quickly for a yummy, filing, fast breakfast without all of the fake stuff from the fast good joints.
The following “recipe” is a FAVORITE around here, but I never measure anything (and even if I did, the chances that you’re cooking for 12 people are slim, but I’ll do my best). We just call it “turkey patties and rice”, which doesn’t sound super appetizing but is actually pretty scrumptious.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
- Salt + pepper + garlic powder to taste
- 2 lbs. of ground turkey
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- Chicken broth–to desired consistency
*Sauté your onions in olive oil until just beginning to brown. Remove from pan and add in ground turkey formed into 3″ patties. Brown on both sides, seasoning with salt + pepper + garlic powder to taste. Return onions to the pan, and add in all liquids, continuing with the broth until it is quite saucy (wink) and making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate all of the yummy stuck-on bits. Some of the liquid will cook off, and the part my family loves the most is the sauce, so you don’t want to skimp.
Simmer on low-medium heat until the sauce is partially reduced/thickened, and the turkey patties are cooked through/no longer pink. Make a big of pot of rice (we love basmati), and serve the patties + the onions + the sauce over a bed of rice. Sooooo good!
DAY 3: Smoothie bowls are delish, no denying. But they can often be full of unusual, expensive ingredients. I love that this option ticks all of the nutritional boxes without requiring a trip to a specialty grocery every time you want to make it!
I’m all about one-skillet meals when I’m crunched for time, and this Chicken Dijon with Potatoes and Green Beans was a HIT when I made it (along with several other recipes in one day, so I wouldn’t have to cook for the rest of the week–HOLLA!). Flavorful, moist, and healthy! Yes, please!
DAY 4: I’m including our trusty fruit and nut granola (Bear Naked brand) + yogurt (Greek Gods) + fruit parfait as a breakfast option because it just ain’t broken, so I’m not fixin’ it.
Neither is spaghetti. Spaghetti is never broken. I can distinctly remember cajoling Nola, one of our girl twins (if you’re new and don’t know, we have boy twins too) to eat her dinner 6/7 meals a week for a time. But if we were having “Nola’s spaghetti” (what we called it to make it sound extra-appealing JUST to her), no convincing was needed. She (and everybody else) gobbled it right up. I know that this recipe says “lasagna,” but the base sauce is exactly how we make our spaghetti sauce. We love it with angel hair pasta instead of traditional spaghetti noodles.
DAY 5: These banana muffins feature whole wheat and maple syrup, so you don’t have to feel even a little bit guilty about carbs for breakfast.
But for dinner? There’s nothing guilt-free about these cheeseburger sliders + sweet potato fries. But they sure are tasty!
If you’re wondering about lunches, I don’t provide a meal plan for those because we do leftovers, salads, sandwiches, burrito bowls, and other easy options for our middle meal of the day.
And there you have it, folks. Another week, another meal plan you didn’t have to make.