Back to School Meal Planning
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Thinking of the weeks ahead, it seems helpful to organize all my favorite simple recipes in one spot for your meal planning needs, to make back to school a breeze. These recipes are fast, easy and made with minimal ingredients to keep you organized and prepared.
While we are home in the coming weeks, we are planning to do a lot of cooking and baking. We do plan to support our favorite restaurants with curbside pickups, but I like having a pantry and fridge stocked with recipes that I know I can throw together quickly and easily.
Last week I shared a great list of 10 pantry-based recipes that you can pull together quickly and with very few refrigerated ingredients. (PS… if you’re bored at home with the kids, here’s a fun list of things to do at home!)
Quick and Easy Meal Planning
With efficiency at the grocery store in mind, I’ve been hearing from readers who would love to have a meal plan for shopping and cooking at home. I thought the timing was perfect for this type of recipe round-up.
All of these recipes are reader favorites that are comforting, familiar and easy to put together in a pinch. You might find a few of your favorites, or a fresh spin on something you’ve been meaning to try.
Bonus! I’m including a printable grocery list to make your planning even easier and more efficient! You’ll be covered for 10 meals, plus a delicious salad recipe and a little baking and dessert thrown in for good measure.
Intentional Leftovers
One of my favorite meal planning techniques involves this tip: plan for intentional leftovers that can be re-used and re-invented the next day.
This eliminates waste and makes your life so much easier! For example: try this homemade bread (because you have time on your hands, and now is the best time to learn!), and then make delicious gourmet grilled cheeses for lunch or dinner!
Another example: make baked chicken breasts one night, and serve with a side salad and your homemade bread. The next day, use your leftover baked chicken for a chicken wrap, taco salad, or to top your pasta in white wine sauce.
Use the blackened chicken listed here for a nacho night or in your fajita bowls!
See where I’m going with this? Planning becomes so much easier when we think in terms of intentional purchases and re-purposing!
Even grumpy kids (or spouses) who say they don’t like leftovers will be more likely to jump on board when it’s presented as something new.
Meal Planning Made Easy
This list encompasses a variety of lunches and dinners that are flexible and easy to customize to your family's tastes.
A quick and easy artisan homemade bread recipe that is adaptable. It’s perfect for smothering in butter, dipping in oil, or slicing for sandwiches. This homemade bread is moist on the inside, crusty on the outside, and full of flavor! Finish with rosemary and olive oil for a beautiful savory kneaded bread.
This gourmet grilled cheese recipe is an easy way to elevate your favorite sandwich! Easy and simple to make, these grilled cheeses are loaded with caramelized onions and green apple for a deliciously indulgent treat.
The best beef tacos are ready start to finish in just 10 minutes with a few simple ingredients. This beef taco recipe is always a crowd pleaser, incredibly flavorful and low in calories, too!
The easiest and juiciest Baked Chicken Breast recipe. Oven Baked Chicken Breasts that are tender and flavorful – delicious as an entree or to toss in salads, tacos and more!
This Taco Salad is loaded with fresh lettuce, juicy chicken, tomatoes, fresh shredded cheese, red peppers and optional cilantro and red onion for a light but flavorful effortless lunch or easy weeknight dinner.
Easy Chicken Nachos – the best weeknight dinner recipe or crowd pleasing appetizer. Perfect way to use up your leftover blackened chicken or baked chicken breasts, also listed in this meal planner.
Easy White Wine Sauce for pasta, seafood and chicken dishes. It’s light and refreshing for spring, summer and fall!
A simple Italian Salad recipe, St. Louis style. Mix up this delicious, memorable salad with fresh and flavorful Italian Dressing in less than 10 minutes! This Italian Salad is filled with crisp lettuce, red onion, artichokes, pimentos and grated parmesan to ensure each bite is perfectly covered in Italian Salad Dressing.
Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the crowd pleasing classic All American Burger. We’ll cover seasoning and cooking methods along with a classic easy burger recipe your family will love!
Blackened chicken is the perfect way to add a little spice to your dinner life! Enjoy this blackened chicken recipe over pasta, or alongside veggies or salads for a flavorful, healthy protein your family will love!
Learn how to create this light and easy chicken over rice fajita-inspired bowl! This flavorful, delicious dinner is on the table in less than 30 minutes start to finish – who knew a chicken fajita bowl could be so good?
Keep it light with this easy and delicious Chicken Wrap recipe filled with fresh lettuce, grated cheese, juicy chicken, tomato, red onion, optional cilantro and more!
Carrot cake muffins are the best carrot cake, in muffin form. They are so easy to make with minimal prep time. Covered in a delicious cream cheese glaze for the perfect muffin to frosting ratio, they are a moist, delicious carrot cake with cream cheese icing in muffin form!
Because many of these recipes are Mexican-inspired flavors, you should probably make a margarita (or three). In fact, if you want to be truly prepared for the week, make this big bottle of margarita mix and you’ll be all set!
I’d love to hear from you! How are you spending this time at home? Are you cooking a lot, like we are? Or supporting your local neighborhood restaurants during this difficult time?
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Melissa says
Thanks for sharing! Helping my family eat, as usual 🙂