I am bringing back a favorite series.  In the Kitchen- A Weekly Plan is written to help limit the stress that comes with putting a healthy dinner on the table.  With busy lives and kids’ practices and activities happening at all hours during the evening, dinner might be the only time we have to look each other in the eye and spend uninterrupted time together.  This post provides six meal ideas for you.  Pick and choose which recipes work for your family.  My hope is that you get at least one meal to add to your menu this week!  I have tried them all and provide notes and the link below.

A few things to know in case you are new:

1.  I usually make my plan for the week on Saturday.

2.  I do all the cooking in my family.

3.  My #1 criteria for weeknight meals is quick and easy.  No meal I post [unless a Sunday Dinner or a slow cooker meal] will take more than 45 minutes to prepare.

4.  All meals are 100% gluten free and dairy free.  [Because we are fun like that!]

5.  My kids do not eat everything I serve.  [And that, my friends, is an entirely different post.]

A Weekly Plan-

1//  Chana Masala

This Indian dish was superb.  Full of flavor and easy to make.  It does call for many spices {some you may not have in your pantry}.  Review and grab the spices you need so you are ready.  I served with rice.

2//  Pumpkin Avocado Tostadas

OMG!  Seriously.  These tostadas are a new favorite.  I might make a variation every week!  I used sweet potatoes instead of roasting a pumpkin.  The spice was perfect.  Crisping the corn tortillas in the oven for just 15 minutes created the perfect base to build upon!  TRY THESE!

3//  Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage

Breakfast for dinner.  My husband loves hash, so this was a crowd pleaser.  I added mushrooms for extra texture and flavor.

4//  Spicy Sausage, Spinach, and Mushroom Gnocchi

This was my favorite meal!  I am a pasta girl and this dish was perfect.  So easy and simple, but I loved every bite.  I used Capello’s Gluten Free Gnocchi.   They are little pillows of potato goodness.

5//  Spicy Fish and Potato Soup

This soup has been featured before.  It is excellent on cold nights.  Quick to make and the white fish provides a healthy protein alternative.

6//  Chicken Tamale Pie

Comfort food at its best.  Use a rotisserie deli chicken to make this meal even easier.  Add the spices at step 3 instead.

Oh, hello my long lost friend I call menu planning!  Welcome back to my life.

It it totally confession time.  The reason there has not been A Weekly Plan post in close to one year is because I literally dropped the ball.  I am not sure if it was 8 years worth of preparing meals, but I kind of just gave up.  Has this ever happened to you?  Sadly, even without a menu, dinner STILL needed to be prepared.  Let’s just say that eating is much better when you put some thought into it!

So, if you value eating a home cooked meal with your family like I do- you need a plan!  This is our week of dinners.  It is my hope that you can find at least one meal to put on your menu.

A few things to know in case you are new:

1.  I usually make my plan for the week on Saturday.

2.  I do all the cooking in my family.

3.  My #1 criteria for weeknight meals is quick and easy.  No meal I post [unless a Sunday Dinner or a slow cooker meal] will take more than 45 minutes to prepare.

4.  All meals are 100% gluten free. Most are dairy free.  [Because we are fun like that!]

5.  My kids do not eat everything I serve.  [And that, my friends, is an entirely different post.]

A Weekly Plan::

1// Quinoa, Chicken Kale Soup

{Slow Cooker}  Quick to prepare in the morning, hearty soup in the evening, and lots of left overs.  Make sure to add a squeeze of lemon before you serve it too!

2// Chocolate Chili

No beans in this chili and the unsweetened chocolate makes it super unique and tasty.  {You could always add beans.}

3// Thai Beef Stew

{Slow Cooker} This is dinner tonight!  It already smells delicious.  It would make a great Sunday supper.

4//  Wintry Mushroom, Kale, Quinoa Enchiladas

A spin on traditional enchiladas.  I used store bought enchilada sauce to make the prep faster.  Since my husband is not dairy -free, I added cheese to his enchiladas.  You could easily add chicken or pork as well.

5// Comfort Noodles

OMG.  These are crazy good!  I hesitated because the recipe calls for making zucchini noodles, which seemed kind of nuts.  Trust me, it took less than 5 minutes to make them and this whole dish was to-die-for good.  Searching now for more recipes with zucchini noodles.  This recipe link also has a short video on how to make the noodles! TRY IT!

6//  Energy Bites

A little something extra for your week.  Make these on Sunday and they will help with the “It’s 3pm and I will eat anything and everything right now!”  They are also great ski treats-if we had any damn snow!!

Have a great weekend!  Eat well, my friends.