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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 #64
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
Keep things simple, if you need, and use store-bought rolls to serve the Rice-a-Roni Chicken Salad. We just LOVE to eat the chicken salad on homemade rolls.
A few other favorite roll recipes that you can use (if you wanted to swap out the Potato Rolls) are our Homemade Dinner Rolls, Crescent Rolls or Yeast Dinner Rolls.
All are simple recipes to follow and would make an excellent sandwich bun!
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
Green Chile Burritos
The easiest Green Chile Burritos require just a few ingredients, including a seasoned chuck roast and 505 green chile sauce. The whole family loves them!
For some crispiness, you could could try this flavorful green chile meat in a chimichanga. Or, if you’re wanting some gooey goodness, try our Green Chili Smothered Burritos.
Tuesday
Cheesy Garlic Tortellini Pasta
Cheesy garlic tortellini pasta is covered in a delish homemade sauce, and is ready in 20 minutes! It is perfect for busy weeknights.
Looking for a side to pair with this delicious pasta dish? Our Quick Caprese Salad or a green salad with our Caesar Dressing or Creamy Pesto Dressing would be perfect!
wednesday
Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole
Crescent roll breakfast casserole is savory and cheesy. It is easy to assemble and bakes in under 30 minutes!
This yummy breakfast casserole has it all, but when we’re wanting something healthy on the side, we serve it with Fruit Kabobs, Easy Fruit Salad, or Fall Fruit Salad.
Thursday
Rice A roni Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Easy Rice-a-Roni Chicken Salad is so flavorful and perfect for any gathering. It’s our favorite way to enjoy chicken salad!
We love to eat this chicken salad on homemade Potato Rolls (one of the Sides of the Week) and serve with Brussel Sprout Salad. If you don’t have time to make rolls, store-bought rolls are totally fine!
Weekend
Sweet and Sour Pork
This sweet and sour pork recipe includes pork, pineapple, and green bell pepper—all smothered in a perfectly tangy sauce. Try this recipe, your tastebuds will thank you!
Some of our other favorite “Sweet and Sour” recipes are Sweet and Sour Chicken, Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Sides of the week
Our Top Two Choices
Sweet + savory Ramen Noodle Salad is topped with a simple homemade dressing. It’s easy, delicious, and whips up in only 15 minutes!
This salad would be fantastic with our Sweet and Sour Pork on the menu this week. Or, you could try one of our other Asian salads like Asian Noodle Salad, Asian Chicken Noodle Salad, or Asian Ramen Salad.
Potato Rolls are soft, chewy and buttery. The mashed potatoes make the rolls very pillow-y and add that little extra something to make them melt in your mouth!
Some of our other favorite rolls are Crescent Rolls, Dinner Rolls, Yeast Rolls, and Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls. All of these rolls disappear in no time at our house!
Dessert of the WEek
Easy Apple Crisp
Get ready to fall madly in love with this incredible, flavorful apple crisp recipe! Filled with baked chopped apples and topped with crispy streusel crust, everyone can enjoy this delicious dish, especially topped with ice cream!
For more APPLE DESSERTS, try:
- Apple Cake
- Apple Cobbler Recipe
- Slow Cooker Apple Crisp
- Apple Dump Cake
- Apple Crescent Dumplings
- Caramel Apple Nachos
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!
