Dinner recipes, Winter Meal Plan #1

What to cook for dinner this week:

1.) Perfect Roast Chicken with Sautéed Green Beans, and Red Peppers 2.) Chicken Salad Niçoise 3.) Chicken Enchilada Bake with Black Beans 4.) Tortilla Soup 5.) Stuffed Poblano Peppers.

If you’re not familiar with this blog, here’s the basic idea behind each weekly meal plan: A little advance planning and meal prep work every day is the key to getting delicious, wholesome, good for you, home cooked meals on the table several nights of the week. A little = a lot.

On this page, you’ll find a meal plan for the week. Each meal is designed to build on the previous night’s efforts by using leftover ingredients. You’ll also find a preparation schedule and grocery list.

Your Meal Plan for This Week:

Perfect Roast Chicken, French Bread, Sautéed Green Beans, and Red Peppers
Chicken Salad Niçoise with Homemade croutons
Chicken Enchilada Bake with Black Beans
Tortilla Soup
Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Individual Recipes:

(A shopping list for this week’s meals is at the bottom of this page)

Meal Prep, Day by Day

Day #1

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Perfect Roast Chicken, French Bread, Sautéed Green Beans and Red Peppers

For me, “Day #1” is usually a Sunday, and it’s the day with the most heavy lifting when it comes to meal prep for the rest of the week. I am always so grateful to myself for taking a couple of hours on Sunday to make getting dinner on the table that much easier the rest of the week.

Whatever day of the week you choose as your “Day #1”, here’s your meal prep task list:

Roast one, two, or more chickens, depending on how many people you’re cooking for this week. For a family of four, roast 2 chickens. Eat one for dinner tonight and save the meat from the second chicken for Chicken Salad Niçoise, chicken enchiladas, and tortilla soup.
Sauté green beans and red peppers: For a family of 4, sauté 6 red peppers and 1 – 2 lbs of green beans. Serve half for dinner tonight and reserve the rest for tomorrow night’s Chicken Salad Niçoise.
After dinner, pick all leftover chicken from the bones, divide into 3 portions, and put each portion in a separate zip-top bag. Use chicken bones to make ultra simple chicken broth, letting it simmer on the stovetop or in the slow cooker overnight.
Wrap and reserve leftover French bread.
If you really want to get a jump on the week, go ahead and make the dressing and the croutons for Chicken Salad Niçoise, and the black beans that will be served with chicken enchilada bake, and used in tortilla soup and stuffed poblano peppers later in the week.

Day #2

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Chicken Salad Niçoise with Homemade croutons

In the morning, strain bones from the chicken broth that’s been simmering away on your stovetop all night and store in the refrigerator in a covered container.
Use some (or all) of last night’s leftover bread to make homemade croutons.
Make Chicken Salad Niçoise using the reserved green beans and red peppers that you sautéed yesterday and 1/3 of the leftover roast chicken.

Day #3:

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Chicken Enchilada Bake with Black Beans.

In the morning, get the black beans cooking in a pot on the stovetop or in the slow cooker (instructions for both are in the recipe).
Make chicken enchilada bake using some of the chicken broth you prepared earlier in the week and 1/3 of the leftover chicken meat. *NOTE: Using chicken in the enchilada bake is optional. This dish is wonderful with just cheese. So, if you don’t have enough leftover chicken, or you’d rather do something else with it, don’t worry about it.
Reserve leftover corn tortillas for tortilla soup.
Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the enchilada sauce in two portions: 1 cup for tortilla soup and ¼ cup for stuffed poblanos peppers.
Reserve leftover black beans in two portions: 2 cups for stuffed peppers and 1 – 2 cups for tortilla soup.

Day #4

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Tortilla Soup

Make tortilla soup using leftover chicken broth, corn tortillas, 1/3 of the chicken, 1 cup reserved enchilada sauce, and 1-2 cups of black beans.

Day #5:

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Make stuffed Poblano peppers using reserved 2 cups of black beans and reserved ¼ cup enchilada sauce. *NOTE: If you want to get a jump start on these early in the day, roast the poblano peppers in the morning, placing them in a bowl covered with a towel on the kitchen counter, and leaving them there for the day. Then, that evening, peel off their blackened skins and proceed with the recipe.

Suggested Recipes for the Baker

Homemade flour tortillas are especially delicious alongside Stuffed Poblano Peppers.
Blueberry Crisp
Blackberry Crisp
Chewy chocolate brownie cookies
Lemon bars

Shopping List, Weekly Winter Meal Plan #1

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*Does not include ingredients for suggested baked goods.

2 whole roasting chickens, 3-4 lbs each
Large loaf French bread (Enough to serve with roast chicken on Day #1 with enough left over to make 2 cups of croutons.)
Flour tortillas (for serving with stuffed poblano peppers)
26-33 corn tortillas
6 red bell peppers
1 & 1/2 to 2 lbs green beans, fresh or frozen
1 lemon
4 limes
1 shallot
2 small red onions
1 large yellow onions
1 & 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
Enough garlic for about 4 tbsp minced
3 tomatoes, cut into eighths
About 1 lb Boston, Bibb, or Romain lettuce, or any variety of mixed greens
48 oz frozen red chili paste (I use one 24 oz bag mild and one 24 oz bag hot)
1 avocado (optional, to top tortilla soup)
8 large poblano peppers
1 jalepeno
3 tbsp fresh basil
2 cups fresh cilantro
2 tbsp green onions (optional, to top enchilada bake)
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme – OR – 1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp minced fresh oregano – OR – 1 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp dried oregano
4 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup long grain white rice
16 oz. ( 1lb) dried black beans
One small can chipotle in adobo sauce
Two 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth (*Purchase broth only if not planning on making it from the roast chicken bones – Day #1)
4 large eggs
Olive oil – 2 cups
Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp
22 oz Colby jack cheese (Grated)
Cotija or Monterey Jack cheese (about 1 cup; optional, for topping tortilla soup.)
Sour cream (for serving with Enchilada bake, tortilla soup, and stuffed poblano peppers)
Butter – 6 tbsp
2 tbsp dry vermouth (optional, for the chicken Niçoise salsd)
Salt and pepper