A week of meal plans for your convenience. These aren't always my own recipes, as I love to try others out and maybe even tweak them for my own spin. But I aim to have fairly easy, family friendly meals. A downloadable + printable PDF of plans are available below as well as links to all recipes.
When meal planning, I sometimes like to plan meals where I can reuse ingredients later in the week or cook ahead to save time. So Monday I will make extra mashed potatoes so that they are ready to go for shepherd's pie later in the week. Tuesday, I will brown 3 pounds of hamburger meat and pull out two pounds to be used in my shepherd's pie. I will actually probably assemble my shepherd's pie Tuesday night and put in the fridge until Friday. Throw it in the oven during hockey practice and come home to dinner ready!
This is the beginning of my busiest time of year. Travelling for hockey and tax season... so lots of breakfasts at the rink and pizza at the pool!
Banana Muffins
1 1/4 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup apple sauce (or neutral oil)
1 cup stevia (or regular sugar)
2-3 ripe bananas
chia seeds
mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender (I use my nutribullet) blend bananas, sugar, applesauce & eggs. In a bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt then stir in the wet ingredients. Add a tbsp or two of chia seeds for added protein and a heaping handful of mini chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center.
Banana Muffin alternative - I make the muffin recipe on the back of the Kodiak pancake mixes, add in chia seeds & mini chocolate chips!
Waffles - I typically buy the frozen Kodiak protein waffles. My kids love both the chocolate chip and buttermilk & vanilla ones.
Curry Tuna
Eat this as a sandwich or a dip. My favorite is to eat it with tortilla chips or rice crackers!
2 7 oz cans tuna, drained
4 chopped green onions
3-4 diced celery
3/4 - 1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp curry powder
Mix everything in a bowl - use as much or as little mayo as you'd like and same for curry powder. If you like a lighter curry taste - use less, if you like a stronger curry taste- use more!
**To enjoy as a salad, top of chopped romaine and add diced honeycrisp apple, avocado, sunflower seeds and lemon vinaigrette!
Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb hamburger
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Brown hamburger and remove excess fat. On medium heat, stir in garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, onion powder, garlic salt + pepper. Cook for a couple minutes until fragrant. Then add in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce + tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and stir in balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 20 minutes.
You can also just put cooked + seasoned meat in the crockpot and stir in everything else and cook on low all afternoon, this is actually my favorite way to have it. Let those flavors marinade and that meat get nice and tender!
If you're feeling extra, pour a splash of heavy cream into your sauce for added richness!
Cheesy Chicken + Rice Casserole
Chicken Breasts - as many as you'd like works
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans jasmine rice
shredded cheese blend of choice
1 can water
salt + pepper
1 sleeve ritz crackers, crushed
2 tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, mix cheddar cheese soup, cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of rice and 1 can of water. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, crush your crackers and melt your butter then mix. Remove casserole from oven and top with shredded cheese, then chicken, salt + pepper. Top with ritz cracker + butter mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes or until your chicken is cooked through. Enjoy!
Shepherd's Pie
2 lbs hamburger
1/4 cup flour
1 14 oz. can beef broth
spoonful beef base
salt+pepper
mashed potatoes (see recipe below)
shredded cheese
frozen mixed veggies
Brown hamburger, stir in flour and cook for a minute. Then stir in beef broth, beef base, salt + pepper to taste. Simmer until thickened. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle with frozen veggies if desired (we serve on the side). Top with mashed potatoes and then shredded cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until heated through.
**if you make this in advance, you can refrigerate it and bake for closer to 45 minutes to an hour!
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 stick butter
1/4 brick of cream cheese
salt+pepper
Partially peel, or don't (either works) potatoes and place into instant pot with 1 cup chicken broth. Put on manual for 11 minutes with a quick release. Add in butter and mash by hand with a masher. Add in cream cheese and salt + pepper to taste. If they seem a little dry, add more butter or a splash of milk.
BLT's are pretty standard... to fancy it up, use a nice loaf of bread from your local bakery and instead of regular mayo, use truffle mayo!
Click the buttons with the recipe title below to be taken to the link!
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