I’ve been planning our weekly menus for a while now; however, I still find that there are times I get “stuck” on what to plan for each week. I’ve decided to work on compiling a list of meals we frequently eat and enjoy so that I can refer to the list to make menu planning even easier. I’m categorizing my meals in lists below; some meals may appear on more than one list. At least twice a week we eat a meal that I can make ahead of time – either in the slow cooker or that I can simply pop in the oven when it is time to cook it. (Writing this list out has also reminded me of some meals that we enjoy that I haven’t made in a while!)
Make Ahead Meals
- Chicken enchilada casserole
- Beef enchilada casserole
- Roast
- Country style steak
- Chicken spaghetti
- Lasagna
- BBQ chicken quarters
Beef
- Taco salad {ground beef}*
- Beef enchilada casserole {ground beef}*
- Hamburgers (we usually go bunless and add awesome toppings like caramelized onions, bacon, and sometimes for me, a fried egg) {ground beef}*
- Warm, toasted roast beef sandwiches
- Roast
- Beef fajitas
- Beef fajita quesadillas
- Pasta with meat sauce {ground beef}*
- Hobo dinners {ground beef}
- Taco soup {ground beef}*
- Grilled steak
- Stuffed bell peppers {ground beef}*
*For recipes that use ground beef, sometimes I substitute part or all of the ground beef with ground turkey.
Chicken
- Chicken enchilada casserole*
- Chicken spaghetti*
- Baked chicken breast
- Crispy yogurt chicken
- French fried onion chicken
- Chicken fried rice
- Chicken pot stickers
- Chicken pot pie (drop biscuit or regular pie crust)*
- Chicken and dumplings
- Chicken fajitas
- Chicken fajita quesadillas
- Chicken and sausage jambalaya
- Chicken enchilada soup
- BBQ chicken quarters
*I make homemade chicken stock about once every six weeks. When I make the chicken stock I also freeze portions of the cooked and shredded chicken. I then use that shredded chicken in many different recipes. (By the way, the trick I saw on Pinterest about using your KitchenAid stand mixer to shred chicken does work! It works best with warm/hot chicken)
Pork
- Pulled pork
- Grilled pork chops
- Pork tenderloin
Other
- Breakfast for dinner
- Pizza
- Stuffed bell peppers {could be stuffed with ground beef and cheese OR breakfast sausage, cream cheese, and shredded cheese}
Favorite sides
- Grilled corn
- Grilled asparagus
- Grilled squash
- Roasted broccoli or roasted broccoli and carrots
- Roasted asparagus
- Sautéed green beans
- Sautéed broccoli or sautéed broccoli and carrots
- Sautéed squash
- Sautéed cabbage
- Black-eyed peas
- Mashed potatoes
- German potatoes (still trying to master these!)
- Crash hot potatoes
- Coleslaw
- Asian coleslaw salad
- Rice
- Couscous
- Cornbread stuffing (if I’m feeling ambitious)
Breads
We really don’t eat much seafood, but I would really like to implement eating more fish in our diet regularly. Hopefully I can add some favorite fish recipes before long!
