Meal planning is time consuming, so if I’m going to do it I might as well share it, right? It’s November, so we’re feeling in the mood for slow cooker meals, comforting pastas and soups, and hearty meat-and-three dishes over here. This is what I’m planning for my household of five this week.
Note: One family member is pescatarian with no eggs or dairy—a vegan that eats fish—so I’ll include the ways I tweak these dinner ideas to work for them too!
Mondays are slow-cookers days for me. We’re at our homeschool co-op from 9:30-5:00 (we stay late for drama rehearsal), then we come home for about an hour before the boys leave for scouts. This week I’m making this slow cooker lasagna at Tastes Better from Scratch, using up some of the leftover sausage I froze after making DIY pizzas recently. Vegan option: I typically prep some store-bought vegan ravioli in marinara on these nights.
We made these Sage Chicken Meatballs with Parmesan Orzo at The Original Dish the other night, and they were a huge hit so they’re going back in this week’s rotation. Thinking ahead, I made double the meatballs last time and froze them, so this week it will be super-easy. To make it work vegan, I sautéed the sage and shallot in vegan butter, then when it was time to make the sauce I moved part of the orzo to a new pot and used almond milk rather than cream and just skipped the parmesan. It’s not quite as thick, but he said it was still really tasty. I typically add 1 tsp of white pepper when subbing almond milk, to cut some of the sweetness.
During winter months, I’m a big fan of soup and sandwich nights. Easy and so comforting. The classic, of course, is tomato soup and grilled cheese and you can’t go wrong. I love this tomato soup at Gimme Some Oven because it’s not too sweet and (bonus) it’s vegan! I pull out my pancake griddle for the grilled cheese, butter my bread, and keep flipping it so that it’s nice and crispy without burning. The vegan sliced cheese has gotten pretty good so that it actually melts, so now a meal my husband kind of hated as a kid is one of his favorites. And don’t judge: but I’ll also add a potato soup option… straight out of the can. Progresso is delicious (not sponsored) and I crisp up some bacon and add grated cheese on top.
Instead of burger night, I’m going to make these shrimp po-boys at Grandbaby Cakes. Not gonna lie: I have some frozen fried shrimp on hand in case I run out of time to make these from scratch, but her remoulade sauce recipe will definitely be on my table.
I’m heading back over to Tastes Better from Scratch to make these Chicken Shawarma Bowls. I usually make the same spice marinade to use on chickpeas or cauliflower for my husband, and I’ll double the chicken to make pita sandwiches later in the week. If you prefer a spiced rice, I recommend the spiced basmati rice packets from Target’s generic line (not sponsored). They cook in 90 seconds and are really tasty.
Spilled Milk 