Menu time! With a new look!

MONDAY:

• Mini roadtrip to a mountain or a desert or somewhere fun!

TUESDAY:

• Lasagna-Baked Ziti

WEDNESDAY:

• Island Pork with Sticky Coconut Rice

THURSDAY:

• Carnitas Tacos

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Takeout night

SUNDAY:

• Chicken Gumbo with Tasso and Andouille Sausage

Please comment below with your own meal plan!

And, before we go, check out this egg yolk! Yes, that is an orange bowl. Yes, the yolk is the same color. And yes, scrambled eggs are orange instead of yellow when using these Happy Egg Co. Heritage eggs. No this is not sponsored. Yes, I am stunned by these egg yolks – they’re darker than the eggs from my backyard chickens!

Have a great week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope the year has gotten off to a nice start for you, but I have a sneaking suspicion it might be a little crazy for everyone. 2022 has already proven to be quite a ride for me. I won’t get into boring details about work, life, etc…but our family is getting PCR tests tomorrow morning. Pretty sure COVID is making another unsolicited visit to our home. Apparently it missed the memo that the Maynards aren’t hosting guests right now. Update 1/13: None of us have COVID-19, hallelujah! We are definitely sick but at least it’s not that. Phew.

George Clooney contemplating where he’s been and where he’s going…

2022 Kitchen Resolution

A new year means a new kitchen resolution for me. I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week. If you’ve been hanging around on this blog for a while, you know that each year I choose a resolution that links what we do in the kitchen to environmental goals. You may also know (or not, that’s fine) that in October 2020, I severed a tendon in my thumb, which turned into a year-long journey of surgeries and physical therapy. Today I can use my thumb again. (Woohoo!) It’s not the same as it was before but it works, so I am grateful. Bottom line, last year I did not make a resolution and I did not cook much at all…mostly because I couldn’t. Hello Fresh is the only reason we cooked at home in any capacity.

Which brings me to this year’s resolution. I’m going back to basics, back to what started this blog in the first place. 

Plan. Shop. Cook.

I am re-committing to weekly meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking at home. I am fine with the fact that I fell out of practice over the last 15 months – there were many good reasons why that happened. But I am also ready to get back to the thing that not only alleviates stress every week but is just plain good for my family’s health and the environment.

First Weekly Menu of the Year!

I appreciate each and every one of you who have stayed here posting menus, even when I wasn’t able to be here every week. I am scared to even say it out loud, but I will be back every week putting our menu up! Starting today! Plus I actually do have a list of photographed recipes to share with you…here’s hoping I can get those published this year, too!

MONDAY:

• Spicy Chicken Tacos

TUESDAY:

• Mushroom Ravioli and Salad

WEDNESDAY:

• Homemade Hamburgers

THURSDAY:

• Rotisserie Chicken + Mashed Potatoes + Brussels Sprouts

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Takeout Night

SUNDAY:

• Thai Basil Beef

This week in the comments, I would love to not only hear what you’ve got cooking this week but also what your New Year’s resolution is! 

Happy Holidays! I have survived the busiest two weeks of the year for our family…and now it’s time to relax. No work for the next week, just eating, puzzling, and enjoying Christmas. Figured I may as well finally sit down and plan a menu for the week!

MONDAY:

• Lasagna Baked Ziti

TUESDAY:

• Chicken Verde Enchiladas (modifying this recipe)

WEDNESDAY:

• Naan Pizzas

THURSDAY:

• Leftovers

FRIDAY:

• Christmas Eve lunch: Swedish feast at my parents’
• Christmas Eve dinner: Chinese Takeout

SATURDAY:

• Swedish Meatballs with boiled potatoes
• Swedish cardamom bread (braided loaves and buns)
• Swedish Limpa Bread

SUNDAY:

• Leftovers

Your turn! Please share your menu for the week below! Happy holidays to all!

Happy Thanksgiving Week! Today’s post is all about the Thanksgiving menu. If you care about the rest of our dinner plans for this week, it’s Hello Fresh meal kits Monday – Wednesday, then leftovers after Thursday. Pretty simple!

Okay, here is this year’s plan for Thanksgiving. I will be combining forces with my family this year, which means way less work than usual. Yippee for me!

2021 THANKSGIVING FEAST

• Turkey (dry brined, spatchcocked and roasted + a few smoked turkey breasts from Nate and my brother)
• Gravy
• Stuffing
• Mashed potatoes
• Charred greens
• Salad
• Marshmallow fruit salad
• Brown butter squash and sweet potatoes
• Homemade crescent rolls
• Squash rolls
• Cranberry sauce
• Cranberry slush (traditional family drink)
• Pumpkin pie
• Apple pie
• French silk pie
• Bread pudding

OTHER WINNING THANKSGIVING RECIPES

We aren’t cooking these recipes this year but not because we don’t love them. In fact, we love them so much it’s hard to strike them from the list! But there is already so much food on our plates, so what are ya gonna do?

• Sweet potato souffle
• Green bean casserole from scratch!
• Broccoli casserole
• Rose’s creamed onions

Your turn! Share your weekly menu plans and/or Thanksgiving menu! Have the most delicious week!

Hello! This week I’m only one day late and a dollar shot. Progress! Last week the company I work for ended up hosting a large virtual conference the same week as quarterly earnings and announcing a new CEO…and I was involved in the communications for all of it. I ended up cooking only one of our Hello Fresh kits (well, actually, my 13-yo cooked it), so this week we have a lot of Hello Fresh meals to eat. Fine by me! (And no, actually, this blog is not sponsored by Hello Fresh.)

MONDAY:

• Homemade Honduran Baleadas (thanks to my talented sister-in-law Cora – we are planning to do a post and share the recipe soon!)

TUESDAY:

• Italian chicken over lemony spaghetti

WEDNESDAY:

• Sweet chili pork bowls

THURSDAY:

• Firecracker Meatballs

FRIDAY:

• Citrus pork tacos

SATURDAY:

• Leftovers

SUNDAY:

• Cheesy smothered mushroom chicken

Your turn! Share your menus in the comments below! And THANK YOU for all your kind thoughts last week, it means so much.

HELLO. Whoah boy. 2021 has been a year. I have missed you all the last month or so. I know everyone is busy and life is hard, but for real the past several months have been a doozy in our household. All is well, but cooking dinner has fallen by the wayside and I have been dropping balls left and right, including my weekly menu planning. One of you wonderful people sent me an email this week to check in and make sure everything is okay, which was beyond sweet and thoughtful.

SO. My menu is late this week. But I’m just gonna get it published and try to hop back on this meal train! I have always firmly believed that planning and shopping at the start of the week makes life so much better. So, in the interest of my own sanity, I am going to get back to it. 

MONDAY:

• Smoked brisket with salad and cornbread

TUESDAY:

• Leftovers

WEDNESDAY:

• Rubio’s and Panda Express (real talk, y’all)

THURSDAY:

• Hello Fresh to the rescue! Italian chicken over lemony spaghetti

FRIDAY:

• More Hello Fresh! Sweet chili pork bowls

SATURDAY:

• Hello Fresh again! Mushroom chive risotto

SUNDAY:

• Smoked pork shoulder

I appreciate all of you so much! I love our little corner of the web here on This Week for Dinner. Can’t wait to see your menus and “see” all of you each week once again.

It was a big birthday weekend for Owen and me! So, here I am on Monday planning the menu. Better late than never, and I need it.

MONDAY:

• Takeout night (because I am just now planning!)

TUESDAY:

• Lasagna-Baked Ziti

WEDNESDAY:

• Grilled chicken with rice and salad mix

THURSDAY:

• Slow Cooker Sweet Korean BBQ Beef (gonna do rice bowls this time)

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Takeout night

SUNDAY:

• Caprese Paninis

Your turn, please share your own menu below! And thank you all for your love and healthy sentiments on last week’s menu post. I am feeling SO much better, I appreciate it so much! Happy eating and sending love and health back to you all.

Hey everyone. The last two weeks we’ve been dealing with COVID-19 in our home. Nate, Anna (13) and I all came down with COVID-19 (yes, we are all vaccinated and, yes, we were all symptomatic). First off, I am so grateful we are all coming out of this healthy. Secondly, I am grateful we were vaccinated because I definitely would not have wanted symptoms to be worse. COVID-19 really threw Nate and I for a loop! Bottom line, whether or not you are vaccinated, be careful out there! Wear a mask! Wash your hands! Watch out for eating indoors at restaurants (the source of our cases). 

Last Sunday I was probably asleep in a tent in the backyard, hence no menu. I also did not cook all week – we relied on ready-made meals delivered by my wonderful sister-in-law, Cora. Today I actually feel more like myself again and am looking forward to getting back to work, hugging my kids as much as I want, and making food for our family!

MONDAY:

• Crispy Parmesan Chicken (Hello Fresh)

TUESDAY:

• Thai Coconut Pork Meatballs (Hello Fresh)

WEDNESDAY:

• Slow Cooker Sweet Korean BBQ Beef (gonna do rice bowls this time)

THURSDAY:

• Lasagna-Baked Ziti

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Takeout

SUNDAY:

• Grill Night

One more thing…Hello Fresh vs. Blue Apron!

For those of you wondering if I like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron better…I ended up giving two weeks of Blue Apron meals to my sister-in-law (thanks, COVID). The meals we DID have were delicious. I like Hello Fresh’s packaging much better, though, and I think the meals are a little more successful for every member of the family. Plus Hello Fresh has more choices each week. So, Hello Fresh is the winner for me! Also, they give me better referral deals…let me know if you want a free box in the comments, I currently have six to give away! You can also get $100 off if you join at this link.

Your turn to share your weekly meal plan in the comments below! Have a healthy week and stay safe!

Happy day after the holiday weekend! We were gone all weekend for a small, outdoor wedding in San Luis Obispo, which was beyond lovely. Even though I’m a bit late to the game this week, still need to get my dinner brain organize! We have some Blue Apron meal kits to power through this week. (Related: we are liking Blue Apron, but I think Hello Fresh is my favorite…but going to give it a few more meals before deciding!)

MONDAY:

• Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

TUESDAY:

• Garlic Caper Chicken

WEDNESDAY:

• Oregano Chicken & Olive Pan Sauce

THURSDAY:

• One-Pan Beef & Udon Noodle Stir Fry

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Takeout Night

SUNDAY:

• Sheet Pan Pork and Sour Cherry Sauce

Share your own meal plan in the comments below! Thank you!

I must have jinxed myself two weeks ago, declaring I was back in the meal planning game. We have had a very big two weeks in our family and meal planning quite simply was an afterthought. But I am (for real) back now. 

I had a very sweet friend give us a very generous Blue Apron gift card after my last surgery, so we are trying it for the first time this week. Will be fun to compare to Hello Fresh!

MONDAY:

• Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

TUESDAY:

• Cheesy Pork Chorizo Enchiladas

WEDNESDAY:

• Garlic Caper Chicken

THURSDAY:

• Leftovers

FRIDAY:

• Rachel Sandwiches

SATURDAY:

• Takeout Night

SUNDAY:

• Smoked Meat Night

Let’s see those menus, you guys are the best!