Happy Sunday and long weekend for those of you who have off for President’s Day!
I am doing all of the Sunday things today: meal planning for the week ahead, washing, folding and putting away laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, dusting and vacuuming the floors, oh, and working on this blog post!! It feels good to get everything around the house together today to make my upcoming week a little easier.
Since I stay home with my two year old daughter Blakely, I can do the meal prepping and cooking on the day of since I’m lucky enough to have the time to do so. I usually do my grocery shopping Monday morning (when it’s less crowded than Sunday’s!), and meal prep for dinner during Blakely’s afternoon nap. Prepping dinner ahead of time (chopping veggies, setting out all the ingredients, even going ahead and making what I can and setting it aside) definitely helps save time and energy when dinner time rolls around and I have a hungry toddler on my hands.
WEEKNIGHT DINNER IDEAS
Today on the blog I’m sharing what my family of 3 ate last week for dinner!! I try to share this monthly to provide meal inspiration and a glimpse into our world of meal planning. I know for me I always love browsing Pinterest or my cookbooks to try out a new recipe for the week. It helps keep things interesting and exciting.. and also fun!!
Like I’ve said in the previous week of weeknight dinner posts, these photos are not glamorous or edited (besides brightening), but are just quick real pictures snapped right before we eat. I hope this post gives you guys some meal inspiration for both you, your partner and your toddlers!
MONDAY NIGHT: Chicken Sausage, Sweet Potato and Veggies
I absolutely love this quick one-pan meal for many reasons. For one, this dinner is great for a low budget meal because it’s simple, affordable and makes for great lunch leftovers. I also love how the vegetables are versatile and you can switch it up with what’s in season. Here I used broccoli, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. I put the sausage and vegetables on one pan and baked them for about 20-25 min on 400 degrees. I baked the cubed sweet potatoes on a separate pan because I kept them in the oven to roast longer.
On my toddler’s plate: Blakely devours this meal which always makes me feel good that it’s something she will actually eat! I gave her a little bit of everything to try, though she didn’t love the bell pepper or mushrooms very much. She had two servings of sausage though so I’ll take that as a win!
TUESDAY NIGHT: Taco Soup + Cornbread
Our Valentine’s day cozy dinner at home! Casey woke up before me and surprised me with flowers and a cute balloon when I woke up, so I wanted to make him one of his favorite dinners for when he got home from work. His mom makes an amazing taco soup that he loves, so I texted her for the recipe and whipped it together with my little toddler sous chef. We topped it with cheese, avocado, lime & dried cilantro! I got the cornbread as a mix from Trader Joe’s which never dissapoints.
On my toddler’s plate: I gave Blakely some of the taco soup in a bowl so she could scoop it herself and she ate most of it… mainly picking out the beans though. She had a lot of avocado pieces when we were cooking so I only gave her a few more on her plate.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Zucchini Pizza Boats + Naan Bread Pizzas
Pizza night… but make it healthy? For all my pizza lovers, you have to try zucchini pizza boats if you haven’t already. They are to die for!! I also used frozen naan bread from Trader Joe’s frozen section to make a few more pepperoni pizzas. The zucchini pizza’s are great, but I’ve found they don’t fill me up so I wanted a little bit of both.
On my toddler’s plate: Blakely probably had 20 pieces of pepperoni while we were cooking, so we just gave her two slices of the naan bread pizzas and a few of the zucchini pizzas cut up.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Leftovers
I told you guys in the beginning… these are my real, unedited, not fancy pictures of dinner. This night I had leftover taco soup, forgot to snap a pic when I first made it, and so I took one after stirring in all the cheese and toppings and after having a few bites. Not the prettiest looking meal, but this soup and cornbread were heavenly!!!
On my toddler’s plate: Casey was gone for dinner this night so it really was a clean the fridge out kind of night. I made Blakely some boxed mac and cheese from Trader Joe’s, frozen peas, and fruit for dinner.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Vodka Pasta + Baked Panko Crusted Chicken
This is the meal I was looking forward to ALL week long. Crispy parmesan and panko crusted chicken and creamy vodka pasta. My mouth is watering again just thinking about this meal! We ate dinner pretty late this night and I had plans to make creamed spinach to go with it, but some nights there are no vegetables and we are okay with that. Give me all the pasta instead!!!
On my toddler’s plate: I forgot to snap a photo of Blakely’s plate for the second night, but she has a version of this meal with the pasta, cut up chicken bites, and leftover peas from her dinner the night before.
QUESTION: What is your favorite weeknight dinner to make at home? Let me know in the comments!
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