Welcome to my meal plan space here on 3 Scoops of Sugar!
I recently hit publish on my first ever 5 day dinner meal plan. I chose to do only 5 days because weekends are for using up leftovers, getting takeout, or hitting up a fancy restaurant. I need a schedule during the week, which includes a written down plan for what dinners will consist of. I can’t fly by the seat of my pants with weeknight dinners or there wouldn’t be dinner. So 5 more dinners for you it is! If you want to see my first meal plan click here. I am currently only doing one meal plan a month with the hope that will increase in the future, but for now one a month it is.
Plus, a year from now I will have 3 months worth of meal plans on my blog and that’s a good start! A grocery list is provided at the bottom of the post.
And here they are…
Creamy Mushroom Soup
Creamy mushroom soup that will have your craving for more. This is one of the tastiest soups I have ever had. Ever.
This one’s done on the stovetop, and comes together easily. For being a mushroom soup, there is a lot of flavor with the seasonings tossed in and yet isn’t too heavy as I used low-fat milk. Grated parmesan cheese and a few chopped fresh chives on top are a must!
Creamy Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 3/4 cup yellow onion chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- For serving: fresh chives grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter over med-low heat. Add mushrooms. Cook until soft and liquid escapes, about 10 minutes. Set aside a few mushrooms to garnish later.
- Add chicken stock, celery, onion, and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make your white sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over med-low heat. Whisk in the flour working through any clumps. Slowly add 1 cup milk and whisk in to keep mixture smooth. Don't let boil but keep warm.
- After mushroom mixture is done simmering, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot. Slowly add milk mixture to soup and stir until heated through. Add salt, pepper, paprika, and nutmeg.
- To serve, top with freshly chopped chives and parmesan cheese and those mushrooms you set aside. ENJOY!
Notes
Italian Chicken Paninis
The best chicken paninis loaded with roasted tomatoes, parsley pesto, lemon garlic mayo, and Monterey Jack cheese on garlic sourdough bread.
At times, a sandwich for supper sounds like a good option. But I’m not talking two slices of bread with a little turkey smashed between. I’m talkin a SANDWICH! One such as this “could’ve been from a bakery” kind of sandwich or panini. Whatever you want to call it is fine with me. You can certainly substitute pesto that is store-bought but I sometimes find those to be a bit too oily for my liking and a little tiny jar costs around five dollars.
Italian Chicken Paninis
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 loaf Sourdough bread
- Monterey Jack cheese sliced
Parsley Pesto
- 3 cups parsley packed
- 2/3 cup walnuts
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon Garlic Mayo
- 1/4 cup light miracle whip
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Parsley Pesto
- Combine all ingredients for parsley pesto except olive oil. Process until smooth. Add olive oil and continue to blend until incorporated.
Lemon Garlic Mayo
- Combine ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.
Tomatoes
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Arrange tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 18 minutes. Gently press tomatoes down with back of a wooden spoon to flatten them being careful as they may splatter.
Italian Chicken
- Meanwhile, prep chicken breasts. Brush with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add chicken breasts to skillet and cook 3-4 minutes, flip and cook another 3 minutes or until cooked through.
Paninis
- Preheat panini grill to medium high heat. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet. Layer bottom slices with pesto, 4-5 tomatoes, chicken, and Monterey Jack cheese. Spread lemon garlic mayo on top slice and place on top of cheese. Cook in panini grill until bread is golden brown and cheese is nicely melted. Times may vary depending on preference and type of panini grill.
Notes
Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
Chicken fried rice made in the Instant Pot to make your life easier and your food tastier!
GUYS, I don’t know where you are at on the spectrum of loving Asian food in general but I personally can’t do the Chinese food here in America. My body just can’t handle it for some reason and I don’t like it.
My husband on the other hand, LOVES all Asian food. I have been encouraged to start cooking more Asian meals since well, we got married.
This dish is the second one I have made and I love it you guys. I love it in the sense that I will actually make sure to make this regularly and it’s super simple since I get to pull out my handy dandy Instant Pot! This is good eatin. For reals.
Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3/4 - 1 lb chicken breasts skinless and boneless cut in half lengthwise
- 8 oz teriyaki sauce
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1/2 yellow onion chopped
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Place chicken in baking dish and pour teriyaki sauce over and mix in. Bake for 22-25 minutes until cooked through. Set aside and shred once cooled.
- Meanwhile, add rice, water, and salt to Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 8 minutes making sure steam release is set to sealing. When done, do quick release and turn valve to venting and wait for steam to release. Then transfer rice to a bowl and cover with a towel for 10 minutes.
- Add sesame oil, peas, carrots, and onion to Instant Pot and press sauté function. Stirring frequently cook until onion, carrots have softened then push contents all to one side.
- Add eggs to the other side and stir to scramble. Once eggs have scrambled mix in with veggies and stir-fry.
- Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce and mix together well. YUM!!
Family Night Bolognese with Zucchini
Bolognese with cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, fresh basil and coarsely grated zucchini. It’s so good the whole family will stop to sit down and eat this delicious meal.
Traditional or not, the addition of zucchini to this pasta dish is on point. I’m loving the mix of tomatoes and kalamata olives in it as well. Oh, and don’t underestimate the power of fresh basil in a pasta dish! You gotta try this one!
Family Night Bolognese with Zucchini
Ingredients
- 12 oz whole grain thin spaghetti
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or granulated
- Pinch kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tap water
- 1 lemon zest + juiced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 zucchini coarsely grated
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 5-6 basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to manufacturer's instructions, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile in a large skillet, brown beef with the crushed red pepper, thyme, garlic. Once beef has browned, add tomato paste, coconut sugar, and salt and pepper. Continue to stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add white vinegar and tap water and cook another 2 minutes or so until almost evaporated.
- Add pasta at this time along with lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix to combine.
- Stir in cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and olives along with 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. If needed add remaining 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Serve topped with chopped basil leaves.
Sheet Pan Pesto Salmon and Asparagus
Easy sheet pan salmon flavored with a parsley and walnut pesto spread paired with roasted asparagus cooked in under 15 minutes.
All salmon lovers, ahem! Over here!! This salmon is stupendous. I don’t remember the last time I used stupendous in a sentence, honest. My favorite thing about this salmon is that I grabbed the pesto out of the fridge (leftover from the paninis!) and spread it over this healthy slab of salmon and smiled! I popped it in the oven with some asparagus tossed in some olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and 12 minutes later this happened…
My parsley pesto is a miracle worker. That is if you like pesto. Haha!
Sheet Pan Pesto Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 1/4- 1 1/2 lb salmon fillet
- 1/4 cup parsley pesto
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1/2 lemon sliced
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1/2 pound asparagus
Parsley Pesto
- 3 cups parsley packed
- 2/3 cup walnuts
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Season salmon with salt and pepper. Spread pesto over salmon evenly.
- Prep asparagus by snapping off thick ends. If you haven't done this before, bend the asparagus spears on the thick end and they will snap where they're supposed to, getting rid of the tough end. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus and roll spears in olive oil to coat evenly. Season asparagus with a pinch of salt and pepper and lemon juice. Place lemon slices over salmon and asparagus to garnish.
- Bake for 12 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes to get charred edges. Salmon is done when opaque, pink and flakes easily.
!Parsley Pesto
- Combine all ingredients for parsley pesto except olive oil. Process until smooth. Add olive oil and continue to blend until incorporated.
Hope you guys love these meals! We sure do!
For your convenience, here is a printable grocery list.
Happy Meal Planning!
Hugs!
Megan
