I did something I haven’t done in a long time last week. I actually took the time to meal plan. Why I’ve let meal planning fall to the wayside I’ll never know but I was reminded why it’s so helpful for me last week. Not only did it make me genuinely look forward to dinner each night because I was excited about the meals and recipes I selected but it also helped me feel less stressed because I had a game plan going into each day and could use small pockets of free time in the day to prep whatever we were having for dinner that night or the next day. Let’s hope I can stick to it because it worked like a charm last week!

On our menu: Chopped salads, seafood, Instant Pot meals, some pre-made shortcut dishes and more. Hopefully something below pops out at you and makes it onto your weekly menu soon!

Week of Weeknight Meals: February 2023

Monday: Greek-Inspired Chopped Salad with Baked Chicken

This chopped salad was what fresh and nutrient-dense dreams are made of and the only reason it happened was because I meal planned. If you think I would’ve taken the time to chop up all that stuff at the end of the day when things feel chaotic, you’re sorely mistaken! Instead I chopped up all the veggies after I picked up Ryder from preschool and he and Rhett were entertaining each other in the early afternoon. Having all the veggies ready made the rest of the meal a breeze! In the salad: Chopped tomatoes, olives, cucumber, red bell pepper, artichokes, fresh parsley, black-eyed peas (random, I know) and feta cheese. I tossed it all with bottled balsamic dressing we had in the fridge and sliced chicken breasts. (I marinated the chicken breasts in a combination of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano and garlic powder and baked them at 350-degrees until they were cooked through.) Also, I titled this meal Greek-inspired chopped salad because that’s what it seemed like to me but I really have no idea what it should be called because the ingredients were all over the place. It was a winner though!

On the boys’ plates: I honestly don’t know because Ryan was in charge of the boys’ dinners on Monday night. I had a preschool board meeting to attend and forgot to ask him what he made!

• Tuesday: Everything Bagel Tuna with Sesame Ginger Broccoli, Edamame and Fresh Bread

This meal likely looks familiar if you read my Valentine’s Day recap! I still swear by ALDI’s wild caught tuna (found in the frozen section) — it’s only $6! — and we used it to make Everything Bagel Seared Tuna and served it along with sesame ginger broccoli, edamame and a warm baguette we heated in the oven and served with butter. My recipe for sesame ginger broccoli is my all-time favorite way to make broccoli and I joke that I could eat an entire pound of it because I love it so much. I think Rhett agrees because he’s been all about that broccoli since he was a baby!

On the boys’ plates: Shrimp, edamame, broccoli (from the above recipe), bread and butter

• Wednesday: Salmon Salad

Ryan had a work event on Wednesday night and usually on his work dinner nights I’ll do something like breakfast for dinner for myself or even oatmeal but I planned to make a salmon salad for myself when I did my meal planning and that actually sounded delicious! Another win for meal planning! I prepared the salmon in the air fryer and placed it on top of a bagged chopped Asian salad mix along with avocado. Simple and tasty!

On the boys’ plates: Scrambled eggs, toast with butter and jelly, bell pepper slices and clementines

• Thursday: Chicken Grain Bowls

This meal was semi-homemade thanks to a few shortcuts. I first prepared Kevin’s Thai-Style Coconut Chicken in a skillet. (Worth noting: We’ve made Kevin’s chicken meals in the past and preparing it on the stovetop vs. in the microwave is the way to go!) I then added a frozen Asian quinoa mix I bought from Publix that included brown rice, bell pepper, peas and squash. Gotta love a super-easy dinner!

On the boys’ plates: Quesadillas, carrot slices, apple slices and grapes

• Friday: Instant Pot Paleo Chicken and Broccoli with Brown Rice

This meal appeared on my list of Blogger Recipes I Make Again and Again and clearly it’s still one I turn to quite often! We love this recipe so much because it’s simple to make (especially if you use pre-chopped frozen broccoli which I always do). We served our chicken and broccoli with a side of brown rice and loved every bite!

On the boys’ plates: Macaroni and cheese, broccoli (from the above recipe) and blueberries

Question of the Day

What was your favorite meal of the week last week?