a really simple meal plan v.24
easy meals for when your brain’s on vacation!
August has arrived, and with it, we’ve reached the height of tomato, corn, and “can we just grill everything?” season. It’s hot as heck outside, and while these meals don’t exactly avoid using the oven or grill (sorry!), they do make the most of summer’s best flavors, and — since we’ll double up while cooking certain elements — they will also minimize the amount of time you’ll actively cook throughout the week.
There’s a juicy burger situation, a tomato galette shortcut, a no-cook lunch that pulls its weight all week long, and more seasonal goodness. Read through the notes, print out the grocery list, and enjoy a highly efficient five days of delicious food!
If you cook through this meal plan, report back on your favorite meals! We’d also love to know: when do your kids start school?
As always, we’ve put together a grocery list organized by aisle to make shopping a little easier. These meals are written to feed between two and six people (see each recipe for its exact yield!), so if you’re cooking for one or two, feel free to halve recipes when needed or skip a couple dinners and eat your leftovers instead. Conversely, if you’re feeding a crowd, you may want to double certain recipes.
Want to tweak your grocery list? Just copy and paste it into a new Google doc or phone Note and make it your own — whether you’re swapping proteins, skipping gluten, or cutting a meal.
PS: Someone once asked if these are meant to be cooked in order. The answer is yes! There’s a little strategy baked in (like cooking seafood early in the week so it’s at its freshest), but feel free to shuffle things around based on your schedule or preference.
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LUNCHES: turkey pesto focaccia sandwiches
TWEAK THIS: The recipe instructs you to make all four to six servings at once using a big foccacia loaf; however, pre-prepped sandwiches won’t hold up well in the fridge all week (they’re ideal within a day-ish of assembly). So instead, you can buy individual ciabatta rolls, OR you can cut your big focaccia loaf into four to six sections and store the bread in a large zip-top bag in the pantry, pulling out one sandwich-size section (or however many) each day to assemble in the morning/at lunchtime. If you want, you could prep two days worth of sandwiches at once — it should hold up fine for a day in the fridge.
MAKE AHEAD: The most labor-intensive part of this recipe is the pesto, and you only have to make it once! Go ahead and make the pesto on day 1 (or day 0!) and stash it in an airtight container in the fridge, using a little each day.
PACK IT FOR SCHOOL LUNCH: This is a great lunchbox meal, if your kids are heading back to school next week! If your school is nut free, use sunflower seeds or pepitas when making your pesto.
DINNER DAY #1: sheet-pan chili crisp salmon
COOK ONCE, EAT TWICE: Double the sesame-scallion rice — let the leftovers cool then pack them in an airtight container in the fridge for dinner tomorrow.
FEEDING PICKY EATERS: If you have spice-sensitive eaters, skip the chili crisp mayo on their serving of salmon. Instead, drizzle their fish with a little brown sugar (or honey) and/or low-sodium soy sauce since you’ll have both!
DINNER DAY #2: vietnamese-inspired grilled pork and chicken
COOK ONCE, EAT TWICE: Double the marinade and grill both pork and chicken while you’ve got the grill going. Tonight’s dinner will use the pork tenderloin, and we’ll save the chicken to eat with tomorrow night’s dinner. Let the chicken cool completely, then store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
USE YOUR LEFTOVERS: Use up the leftover sesame-scallion rice from day 1 here.
DINNER DAY #3: the greatest kale salad
USE YOUR LEFTOVERS: Top your salad with the grilled chicken you cooked last night. All that’s left is prepping the kale and shaking up the dressing — a 10-minute dinner!
I’M FEELING EXTRA: If you have any leftover focaccia bread (or any bread), make homemade croutons! Cube it and crisp up the cubes in a skillet with olive oil (or toss them with oil and bake until crisp).
DINNER DAY #4: summer tomato galette
STORE-BOUGHT SHORTCUT: You’re cooking a lot this week! Use a store-bought pie crust (these are typically in the freezer section, but sometimes they’re refrigerated) to keep this a low-lift, high-reward kind of night.
USE YOUR LEFTOVERS: This is a filling vegetarian meal all on its own, but if you have any leftover grilled pork tenderloin or chicken in the fridge, you could serve it with this! Also… if you have leftover pesto from the turkey sandwiches, swirl a few spoonfuls on top of your warm galette to make it extra special.
WHILE YOUR OVEN’S ON… If you have any lingering veggies in your fridge/garden (snap peas, broccoli, onion, red pepper, zucchini…?), chop them into even-sized pieces and throw them on a sheet pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and let the oven do the work while your galette bakes. You can snack on the roasted veggies, or serve them with frozen meatballs or potstickers for an easy lunch (in case you’re out of sandwich ingredients!) or dinner in the coming days.
DINNER DAY #5: chicken chili verde burgers
OPTIONAL SWAP: Ground turkey works great instead of chicken, if you’d prefer it!
LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS: If you wind up with extra burgers, serve them for lunch tomorrow over a bed of rice and mixed greens with leftover salsa verde or chili crisp mayo (or a mixture of both) drizzled over top.
WINNING LEFTOVER COMBINATIONS: easy lunch (or dinner) ideas
Got extra buns, focaccia, or protein kicking around? Build your own sandwich! Here are some delicious ideas:
Bread/bun + grilled pork tenderloin + cucumber/avocado salad
Bread/bun + grilled chicken + kale salad greens
Bread/bun + baked salmon + arugula + chili-crisp mayo
a really simple meal plan v.22
I want a tomato galette right now!!!!
I cooked this meal plan over the last week and OMG... took my WTC experience to a whole new level of easy, delicious meals! Thank you! Gonna go back in the archive and try out some other meal plans. I always shyed away because it felt like "too much" but it actually makes my week so much easier. My grocery bill was less too. Thank you!!