Food is love! I firmly believe that! And for me, preparing meals for my family during the week is one of the best ways I can show that. With two kids in high school right now, most days I see them out the door before eight and not home again until six. When they walk in the door, they are hungry and I love having dinner ready for them. Just the other day, my son told me coming home from practice and having dinner is his favorite part of the day! Insert melting heart! That is all I need to hear to keep myself motivated in the kitchen week after week.
Life-Changing
Yet, as much as I love being in the kitchen, I do not like going to the grocery store. I used to spend many late afternoons during the week going up and down the grocery aisle trying to find inspiration for that night’s dinner. It really added stress to my day, never mind it was a huge time waster. So about a year ago, I made a commitment to meal plan and grocery shop for the week each Sunday and it has been life-changing!
Now not every week goes according to plan. Life happens and I find myself scrambling for the week too! But as much as I can stay on task, I will share with you my weekly meal plans on Sunday.
I will share them with you in a couple of ways. Most of my meals will be linked through a Pinterest Board dedicated to my weekly plans but I will also post a full recipe here that I will pull from a favorite cookbook or cooking magazine. I also will include a grocery list for these meals but please note I will assume you will have pantry and refrigerator staples on hand.
Items such as:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Oils
- Vinegars
- Butter
- Garlic
- Honey
- Soy Sauce
- Mustard
- Eggs
- Traditional Spices
Another thing to note is that I need to accommodate two very different eaters in my household. One is a vegetarian and one does not care for vegetables very much! In both cases, I will adapt recipes to add a meat or bean protein as needed.
So with that, let’s jump right in to the first weekly meal plan of this series!
Weekly Meal Plan, Vol. 1
Recipe of the Week
Sheet Pan Nachos
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 10 ounces seasoned tortilla chips
- 3/4 grated Monterey Jack cheese
- 3/4 grated Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans
- Toppings: avocado, sour cream, diced green onion, diced tomatoes, black olives, minced cilantro, squeeze of lime
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil
- In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat until fully cooked, stirring often to break up the meat, 7-9 minutes. Pour off any standing liquid. Add the chili powder, garlic powder, garlic salt, paprika and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir to fully combine. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Remove from the heat.
- Spread the chips on the sheet pan. Spoon generous portions of the meat on top, followed by the cheeses and black beans. Note: I divide the meat and beans in half. Meat on one end and beans on the other in order to accommodate the vegetarian
- Bake until the cheeses are melted and golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Garnish with toppings
Source:
Bon Appetit!