A Full Week of Dinners + Grocery List (Free Download Included)
If figuring out dinner every night has been feeling overwhelming lately, this week’s meal plan is designed to make things easier with simple prep, overlapping ingredients, and leftovers that stretch into multiple meals throughout the week.
This week is built around one big batch of braised beef, a few simple sauces and toppings, and meals that intentionally build on each other so you’re not starting from scratch every single evening. We’re using the braised beef for bowls at the beginning of the week and then turning the leftovers into crispy quesadillas later on. We’re also prepping sourdough pizza dough ahead of time so Friday pizza night feels easy instead of stressful.
I’ve also included a free downloadable weekly meal plan and master grocery list below so you can print everything out and make the week feel a little more manageable.
Download the Free Meal Plan + Grocery List
Click here to download the FREE Meal plan and Master Grocery List I have made to make your life a little easier!
This free printable includes:
- Full weekly dinner plan
- Optional prep ahead checklist
- Pantry staples checklist
- Complete categorized grocery list
- Recipe links and ingredient overviews
A Few Notes Before You Start
One of the biggest things that has helped me with cooking from scratch consistently is learning how to overlap ingredients and prep components instead of trying to fully prep every meal. A batch of beef can become multiple dinners. A sauce can work across several meals. Rice cooked once can stretch through the week.
That’s really the goal with these meal plans. Not perfection. Just making homemade meals feel a little more doable during busy weeks. And if you make any of these recipes this week, I’d love to hear how they turned out for you!
Optional Prep Ahead Tips
A few prep ahead tasks at the beginning of the week can make dinner feel much easier later on.
- Make the braised beef ahead of time so it’s ready to use for multiple meals
- Prep the jalapeño ranch ahead and keep it in the fridge for bowls, quesadillas, and pizza
- Cook a batch of rice to use throughout the week
- Prep the sourdough pizza dough several days ahead for Friday night
- Shred cheese and prep toppings ahead of time
- Chop vegetables like cabbage, onions, cilantro, and sweet potatoes in advance if desired
This Week’s Dinner Plan
Monday РBraised Beef Bowls with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Jalape̱o Ranch Slaw
Tender braised beef served over roasted sweet potatoes with crunchy slaw and creamy jalapeño ranch. This is one of my favorite meal prep style dinners because the beef can be reused in multiple meals later in the week.
Recipe: https://christinesnotebook.com/braised-beef-bowls-with-roasted-sweet-potatoes-jalapeno-ranch-slaw/
Tuesday – Easy Egg Roll in a Bowl
This one pan dinner comes together quickly with ground beef, cabbage, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. It uses a really short ingredient list and makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.
Recipe: https://christinesnotebook.com/one-pan-egg-roll-in-a-bowl/
Wednesday РWeeknight Beef Quesadillas with Jalape̱o Ranch
These crispy quesadillas are filled with leftover braised beef, rice, beans, melty cheese, and lots of jalapeño ranch for dipping. This ended up being one of our favorite dinners of the week.
Recipe: https://christinesnotebook.com/weeknight-beef-quesadillas-with-jalapeno-ranch/
Thursday – Flex Night / Leftovers
I almost always try to leave space in the week for leftovers, easy meals, or a night where we just clean out the fridge a little bit. This helps keep the week feeling realistic and manageable.
Friday – BBQ Chicken Pan Pizza
Homemade pan pizza topped with barbecue chicken, mozzarella cheese, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeño ranch. The sourdough pizza dough can be prepped earlier in the week so pizza night comes together much faster.
Pizza Recipe: https://christinesnotebook.com/bbq-chicken-pizza/
Pizza Dough Recipe: https://christinesnotebook.com/sourdough-pizza-crust-with-100-freshly-milled-flour/
I hope this meal plan helps make your week feel a little simpler and gives you a few easy homemade dinner ideas to rotate through. Don’t forget to grab the free downloadable meal plan and grocery list so you can save everything for later and make shopping a breeze.
This meal plan is part of my monthly meal plan video over on youtube. You can watch it here:
