Every Friday I share what my family’s eating next week: five dinners built around whatever’s seasonal and fresh plus a grocery list organized by section so you can shop efficiently.
If you’re new here welcome to Week 16 of me sharing how I plan our family’s dinners for the week ahead. Here’s why you’ll see more red meat options on here, sometimes I have chicken on the menu depending on if it makes more sense for the recipe, but overall we prioritize red meat. These are the actual meals going on our table Monday through Friday and they’re designed around a simple truth that took me way too long to figure out: when I plan our meals and have everything ready to go in advance, I never scramble at 6pm wondering what’s for dinner. The food tastes better because it’s fresh and at its peak and nothing sits in the fridge until it goes bad because I bought it with a plan. And we actually eat what we buy instead of letting good ingredients go to waste while we order pizza because we’re too tired to think.
I plan around whatever vegetables are in season so I can source from the farmer’s market and pair them with quality proteins and keep everything not spicy but absolutely full of flavor so my kids actually clean their plates. They eat exactly what we eat (no separate meals) and this approach has turned them into kids who get genuinely excited for dinner and ask for seconds on things like salmon and roasted butternut squash. I make enough for six people so tomorrow’s lunch is already ready to go (except for salmon which I only make for four because reheated salmon just isn’t the same and why waste good fish).
The recipes hover around 30 minutes of active prep because that’s the sweet spot for me between a real home-cooked meal and actually being realistic on a Wednesday night. The instructions spell out exactly what to do and when to do it so that I can put on a podcast or audiobook and absorb what I’m listening to while I cook instead of having to pause every two minutes to reread something confusing. I also clear out my fridge each Saturday and reorganize it when I put the groceries away, so I start the week feeling genuinely prepared and actually excited to cook these meals! The grocery list is organized by produce, proteins, dairy and pantry so you move through the farmer’s market or store more efficiently.
Family dinners are something that we prioritize, as far as everyone sits down together at the same time, we all pray together, no phones at the table and we’re asking our kids about their day. Cute conversations always happen at the dinner table so we think of it as using this to make imprints on their childhood with home-cooked meals and family conversations that I plan to continue all through raising them.
In case you missed them, here’s my top five posts of this last month:
#1 A Very Personal Reflection on Our First Eight Months in Tennessee
#2 My Thoughts on Mamdani and Why 2 Million New Yorkers Just Voted for Socialism
#4 Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows (refined sugar free, made with grass-fed beef gelatin)
#5 What Happened When I Stopped Trusting the Narrative (And Started Reading My Bible)
Monday: Turkey, Kale & Wild Rice Casserole
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 30 min Total: 45 min Serves: 6
Before You Start
Equipment: Large skillet, 9×13 baking dish, medium saucepan (for rice)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
If using uncooked wild rice, start it now: rinse 1 cup rice, add 3 cups water + pinch salt, simmer 35 min.
Dice 1 onion and 3 carrots, mince 3 garlic cloves, chop 1 ½ bunch kale (≈ 6 cups). Measure cheeses and yogurt so everything is ready.
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