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Save yourself some time, money and stress by using this FREE Meal Plan that is full of amazing recipes. Each plan includes 5 dinner ideas, 2 side dishes, 1 dessert and a shopping list making meal planning easier than ever!!
Weekly Meal Plan #3
Each week, I share with you a FREE meal plan that consists of 5 dinner ideas (Monday-Thursday plus one Weekend meal), 2 side dishes, and 1 dessert!
Included is a grocery list with EVERY ingredient you need for all the items on the meal plan.
This is meant to help simplify menu planning, shopping, and cooking so you can more easily enjoy meals with your family throughout the week!
Tip Of The Week
Level up your salads this week by using Homemade Croutons! They take a little more effort, but yield a whole lot of YUM! All you need is 5 basic ingredients:
- Butter
- Olive Oil
- Parmesan Cheese
- Parsley
- French Bread
And be sure to check out some of our favorite homemade dressings too.
Benefits of Meal Planning
There’s nothing worse than the dread every time a family members asks, “What’s for dinner??” And your answer is “I have no clue.” Having a meal plan for the week eliminates that completely, which is the number one benefit in my book!
Besides having a game plan in place, there are several other benefits of meal planning, including:
- Cost: When you have a plan set in place, and a specific list of groceries, you eliminate cost wasted on impulse items or produce that never gets used.
- Decrease Waste: No wasted money, and no wasted food! Having a set grocery list will help to avoid both of those issues.
- Variety: Our meal plans specifically include a lot of variety, with Mexican, Italian, Breakfast for Dinner, and so much more! You can expose your family’s palates to all kinds of meals.
- No Indecision: Did you know there’s such thing as “indecision fatigue”? The idea is that when you can’t make a decision on something (like what to make for dinner) it actually makes you mentally fatigued. When dinners are already planned out, though, you avoid indecision completely!
- Health: When you plan for/anticipate making well-rounded meals, you’re much more likely to actually make them rather than defaulting to convenient boxed meals, or unhealthy fast food!
As you can see, there are so many benefits to meal planning!
And if you want to create your own menu, be sure to check out all our recipes and visit our recipe pages, including: Main Dish, Side Dishes, Desserts, Appetizers and Breakfast!
MONDAY
toStadas
Open face tostadas topped with all of your favorite Mexican ingredients! These tasty tostadas are a frequent Mexican meal in this house!
Don’t forget the homemade salsa (red salsa and green salsa). Both are favs with tostadas!
TUESDAY
Crock pot Spaghetti
We make this yummy crock pot spaghetti all the time! Buttery noodles topped with a flavorful meaty sauce—DELISH!
This is a great dish to serve Caesar Salad with (one of the sides of the week). If you really want to round it out, you could even add some bread—we like Cheesy Garlic Bread or Olive Garden Breadsticks.
WEDNESDAY
Easy Pancakes
The easiest and yummiest basic pancake recipe. Use this recipe if you’re out of mix for delicious pancakes that everyone will love. Plus, check out all our tips on how to change them up for even more flavor!
Besides including add-ins, we love to top them with freshly made whipped cream or buttermilk syrup. If you decide to do the same, don’t forget to add the ingredients to your grocery list!
THURSDAY
Southwest Salad
Our favorite Southwest Salad recipe filled with chicken, peppers, beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado and topped with a homemade cilantro ranch dressing.
Use homemade croutons on this salad as we mentioned in the tip of the week, or to keep it southwestern, crunch up some Homemade Tortilla Chips instead!
WEEKEND
Ranch Burger
The BEST homemade hamburgers!!
Once you realize how easy it is to make hamburger patties, you will never purchase pre-made patties ever again. This easy burger recipe is complete with the most delicious secret sauce that compliments the ranch burger perfectly!
Sweet Potato Fries (one of the sides of the week) are our favorite partner for these burgers, but if you aren’t a sweet potato fan, I suggest our Homemade French Fries or Baked French Fries.
SIDES OF THE WEEK
Our Top Two Choices
Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing is such a versatile side dish that nearly everyone loves! It’s SO easy to throw together, that you’ll definitely have time to make Homemade Croutons to pair with it. Serve it this week with your crock pot spaghetti!
Sweet Potato Fries are so delicious and crispy. If you love sweet potatoes, you’ll love these fries because they’re simple, flavorful, baked in the oven, and go great on the side of pretty much any entree. Especially the ranch burgers from this week’s menu!!
We always opt for homemade dipping sauces like fry sauce, honey mustard, or ranch.
DESSERT OF THE WEEK
Lemon Sheet Cake
If you’re looking for an easy lemon cake recipe, look no further! This super moist and delicious Lemon Sheet Cake recipe topped off with a tasty lemon buttercream frosting is a favorite dessert, and it’s perfect for feeding a crowd!
FOr more sheet cake recipes:
DOWNLOAD THE MEAL PLAN!
Click the link below to download this week’s FREE Meal Plan!
And remember – if you want to create your own menu, be sure to check out all our recipes and visit our recipe pages, including: Main Dish, Side Dishes, Desserts, Appetizers and Breakfast!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF!
