Week of Weeknight Dinners: March 2020

Hi friends! How was your weekend? How are things going in your area right now? We spent the vast majority of our weekend outside and let the springtime sunshine do its thing to lift our spirits and help us focus on our blessings right now. We also ate some good food! My baking whirlwind continued with a batch of my chocolate chip almond butter bars (an easy one-bowl recipe you must make ASAP if you haven’t tried them already!) and we also ordered takeout from two local restaurants which always feels like a treat and a small way to support our favorite restaurants right now.

Weekend eats aside, for today’s post, I’m continuing my monthly series where I share a real-life glimpse into our weeknight dinners for one week every month.

The series showcases our dinners photographed in real time (no fancy food photography allowed!) and, if a specific recipe is followed, makes note of any changes I made to various recipes as well. I hope it helps give you some dinner inspiration if you’re looking for something delicious to make at home this week!

WEEK OF WEEKNIGHT MEALS: MARCH 2020

• Monday: Veggie Burger Grain Bowl

This was a throw-together meal that turned out surprisingly delicious! I combined brown rice I prepped the day before with chopped veggie burgers, steamed green beans and edamame and added a drizzle of olive oil along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. It was such a simple meal but Ryan and I thought it was great! (The boys opted for a deconstructed version of brown rice, green beans and leftover chopped hamburger dipped in ketchup.) I am a big fan of grain bowls for lunch and when cooking isn’t calling to me, they make a wonderfully fast weeknight dinner option as well since I usually make them with freezer food or food already have prepped and ready to go.

• Tuesday: Homemade Tomato Sauce with Hot Italian Sausage and Spaghetti Squash

This dinner was basically a deconstructed version of our family’s favorite Pizza Spaghetti Pie Casserole. We were too hungry to wait for the casserole to bake for 60 minutes so I followed the recipe (though I used the microwave to cook our spaghetti squash to save time) and then stirred everything together, skipping the part of the recipe where it calls for adding eggs and baking the casserole for an hour. We liked this simplified version a lot, however, I definitely prefer the original casserole version! One thing I especially loved about this recipe was the flavor from the hot Italian sausage. The sausage was part of my latest order from Evans Family Farm, a local farm that offers a great selection of pasture-raised meats and eggs, and it was fantastic!

• Wednesday: Cucumber Dill Rotisserie Chicken Salad with Apples and Carrots

Dinner on Wednesday night was a no-cook meal that came together in 10 minutes. We ate this meal in our screened in porch and it felt like summer on a plate! I paired cucumber dill rotisserie chicken salad sandwiches with carrots and apples and was reminded, yet again, that chicken salad actually can taste good. As someone who generally isn’t the biggest chicken salad fan, this recipe is a big-time exception for me!

• Thursday: Linguine with Oven Baked Paleo Meatballs and Marinara 

Clearly we were feeling tomato sauce this week because it made an appearance for dinner again on Thursday night. This time I used a jar of ALDI’s organic marinara sauce I heated up and poured on top of linguine and homemade meatballs. The meatballs were Chase’s request and we looked up a recipe to make online together and found this recipe for Easy Oven Baked Paleo Meatballs. Since we had everything we needed to make the meatballs on hand, it was a clear winner and we all enjoyed the end result. I’ll absolutely make these meatballs again!

• Friday: Paleo Marinated Chicken Thighs with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Brown Rice and Quinoa

If I had to name one blog recipe I make the most often for dinner for our family, I think it’s safe to say it’s my Paleo Marinated Chicken Thighs. I’ve had it memorized for a long time now and love that it’s so delicious and requires no chopping and very little effort. Plus, we all love it and the chicken comes out perfect every time! While I typically opt for boneless skinless chicken thighs, this time I used skin-on chicken thighs I got from Evans Family Farm and they were also very tasty. I paired the chicken thighs with Brussels sprouts roasted in avocado oil, garlic salt and pepper and shortcut brown rice and quinoa that I quickly microwaved thanks to one of ALDI’s 90-second Simply Nature organic grains pouches.

Question of the Day

What was the best thing you ate for dinner last week? 

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