Sunday Meal Planning

A weekly practice that helps make dinner time more relaxing and enjoyable

Hello! I wanted to touch base with you all, as it’s been such a full week for me. I have spent every spare minute working on the freshly milled sourdough guide, which is almost ready for you! I am so excited about how it’s all coming together.

I thought I would walk you through my simple Sunday routine for keeping our week on track. The first thing I do is flip a new page over on our desktop family planner and fill in the blanks with all the things. Homeschool classes, appointments, sports practices, and time set apart to rest and connect. Having a household with four teens is non-stop in the best way.

Another one of my Sunday rhythms is to meal plan. If I were to choose, I would not meal plan. I prefer to walk through my pantry, open the fridge, and become inspired by what I have on hand, but the current season of life requires planning for the week ahead. I have found it can be very helpful to not have to “wonder” what we will be eating for dinner every day. Having it mapped out for the week, brings me a sense of ease and relaxation.

My simple system is to jot down a basic plan of five or six dinners. I have a master list of favorite family meals. I also save meal ideas I see here on Substack, on Instagram, or recipes I have marked in cookbooks or magazines. Next, is to make sure I have all the ingredients needed for the week. I place one large monthly Azure Standard order, which keeps us pretty well stocked. I also love that we are able to support local farms and source all of our meats, raw dairy, produce, and eggs locally. If there are still a few items needed for meals, I will place a delivery order for groceries or stop in at a grocery store at some point on Monday, usually.

My routine during the week is to think about what I’m making for dinner one day ahead, before I go to bed. I will take a trip to the freezer to pull out any meat needed and set it in the fridge to thaw overnight. When I wake up in the morning, and start making breakfast, I will prep for dinner at the same time. I have saved so much time in the kitchen this way. I don’t always do this, but most week-days I am on the go, and having dinner prepped in the morning is such a game changer.

When dinner time rolls around, we often gather around our kitchen island. It’s so easy to place everything at the center of the space and eat family style. Sometimes we migrate to the table, but I love the ease and simplicity of kitchen island mealtimes.

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Here is our current week’s meal ideas:

Baked Potato bar with Italian Sausage - we have a couple favorite local farms who make the best Italian sausages and kielbasas. We’ll toss those on the Traeger, roast some potatoes (both Japanese sweet potatoes and russets) and create a baked potato bar with all the toppings + the sausages. Easiest Monday meal.

Boston butt carnitas in the slow cooker - I just toss a boston butt from my favorite local farm into the Vitaclay with Siete carnitas seasoning and a little homemade beef stock. Easiest prep ever. I’ll serve it shredded on corn tortillas with all the taco toppings.

Honey garlic chicken + rice bowls - I’ll marinate chicken thighs in a coconut amino, honey, garlic mixture in the fridge and grill before serving over a bed of rice. Topped with green onions, chili flakes, coconut aminos, pickled onions and jalapeños

Crispy sheet pan beef tacos - The tacos are pre assembled and baked on a parchment lined cookie sheet: seasoned ground beef, cheese, salsa. Roast in the oven for a few minutes until the tortillas are crispy and cheese is bubbling and then everyone tops with pickled onions, lettuce, cilantro, guac, etc.

Sourdough pizzas on the Traeger - I’ll mix the dough up in the morning and we will roll out and top personal pizzas with choice toppings before throwing on the smoker to cook. A Friday night favorite.

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I hope that gives you some meal ideas inspiration for your week.

I’d love to hear your meal planning strategies and challenges. Let’s continue chatting throughout the week!