Week 2 Meal Plan

I'm glad you're back for another week of meal plans! How did week 1 meal planning and prepping go? I hope you're giving the meal prepping a try if you haven't done it before. It's so helpful during the week!

Like I've mentioned before, I try these meal plans out of my family the week before I share them with you. So, my family ate this meal plan last week. I left to go out of town mid-week (one last trip to see my niece and nephew before school starts back!) so I only have 3 meals to share with you this week. But next week we'll be back in full swing.

MONDAY: CHEESY CHICKEN PASTA BAKE

This meal contained way more processed ingredients than I like to use, but it was super simple to make so I decided to give it a go. To be honest with you, I didn't love. Zach liked it and so did the kids (which is a win!) but it was kinda blah to me. It tastes exactly like you'd expect it to based on the title. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. Really the only reason I'm sharing it is because the kids liked it. As a side note, I forgot to take a picture of this meal. Sorry! [PREP: If you're prepping for this meal on Sunday all that is required is for you to chop 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs into bite size pieces. INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Spray a Pyrex 11" x 7" dish (or any baking dish really) with Pam. 2. Add 4 chopped boneless skinless chicken thighs, 2 packages of Knorr's Cheesy Chicken Noodles, 1 can of chicken broth, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, and 1 can of water to the dish. 3. Stir it all together. 4. Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins. INGREDIENTS/GROCERY LIST: 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, 2 packages of Knorr's Cheesy Chicken Noodles, 1 can of chicken broth, 1 can of cream of chicken soup.]

TUESDAY: CHICKEN SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Do you guys love spaghetti squash as a healthy alternative for spaghetti noodles? Every time I make spaghetti, I use noodles for the kids and get a spaghetti squash for me and Zach. It's so easy to prepare and saves well for leftovers. Zucchini noodles are a good substitute too, but I've found spaghetti squash to be easier to prepare than zucchini noodles. Anyway, for this specific recipe I decided to give the spaghetti squash noodles to the kids too and they LOVED it. My youngest (2 yo) ate it 3 nights in a row for dinner! He NEVER does that. Plus, this meal is super easy to make so you'll probably want to add this into your regular rotation. [PREP: If you're meal prepping on Sunday, boil 2 chicken breasts and shred them with a fork or in a KitchenAid Mixer (how did I live without one of these until last year?!). INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Spray a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish with Pam 2. Take your 2 boiled and shredded chicken breast and layer them evenly on the bottom of your baking dish. 3. Top the chicken with your favorite spaghetti sauce and your favorite Italian seasoning(s). 4. Bake that at 350 for 15 mins (look ahead to step 7). 5. Add shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheese to the top of your chicken spaghetti mixture. 6. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted. 7. While the chicken spaghetti mixture is baking, stab 7-10 holes in your spaghetti squash (it's okay if the hole doesn't go all the way through the squash). 8. Put the squash on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 5 minutes. 9. Turn the squash and cook for 5 more minutes. 10. Turn the squash and cook for 5 more minutes (a total of 15 minutes in the microwave for the spaghetti squash). 11. Slice the squash in half and spoon out the seeds. 12. Using a fork, scrape the sides of the squash down to the skin to get spaghetti-like strands of squash. 13. Once everything is done cooking, put spaghetti squash in your bowl and top it with the chicken mixture. INGREDIENTS/GROCERY LIST: 2 chicken breasts, spaghetti sauce, 1 spaghetti squash, your favorite Italian seasoning(s), shredded parmesan cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese.]

Here are my cute kids chowing down on this meal! Are we the only ones who make their kids eat spaghetti without their shirts on?! :)

WEDNESDAY: TUNA POKE BOWL

I blogged about this recipe last week. Have you tried it yet? And if so, how many times have you made it since? Isn't it so good?! The first time I tried to make a poke bowl, I thought I wouldn't like it because I've never made anything like it before, but it turned out so good and we LOVE this meal! Trust me, make this ASAP! You can read more about prepping for this meal and buying the right ingredients in my recipe post (by the way, it's so easy to make!), but I'll add the groceries here. Enjoy! [INGREDIENTS/GROCERY LIST: 1 Piece of Fresh Tuna, Sesame Oil, Salt & Pepper, Sesame Seeds, Jasmine Rice, Green Onions, Avocado, Cucumber, Soy Sauce, Spicy Mayo (This is the kind we use and we use it for stir fry bowls too, but you could also mix siracha and mayo if you don't want to buy this.)]

If you're making all 3 of these meals, here is your grocery list:

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 packages of Knorr's Cheesy Chicken Noodles

1 can of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

2 chicken breasts

spaghetti sauce

1 spaghetti squash

your favorite Italian seasoning(s)

shredded parmesan cheese

shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Piece of Fresh Tuna

Sesame Oil

Salt & Pepper

Sesame Seeds

Jasmine Rice

Green Onions

Avocado

Cucumber

Soy Sauce

Spicy Mayo (This is the kind we use and we use it for stir fry bowls too, but you could also mix siracha and mayo if you don't want to buy this.)

I hope you're finding these meal plans easy to follow and helpful for your family. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Have a great week!