Now that most of us are settling into our dinnertime routines for our families during quarantine, making use of pantry and freezer staples, cooking in bulk more often, and adding some super easy, 30 minute recipes into the rotation, we thought we’d start getting back to our regular weekly meal planning tips.
But don’t worry! We’re still putting together family dinner ideas with our quarantine life in mind. (PSA: Save home, save lives.)
So this, week, I’m sharing 5 terrific meal ideas that are all one-pot, sheet pan, or grilled dinners to help cut down on after-dinner cleanup time. Hooray for that! And we’re continuing to offer helpful ways to helpful ideas for turning five dishes into 10 or more, with creative suggestions for leftovers.
For even more ideas, be sure to check out our post on 7 easy sheet pan dinner recipes that we love.
So grab your pen and grocery list, because next week’s meal plan is ready.
Related: The one store-bought item that makes four easy family dinners, no meal planning required.
This Southwest Salad from Sweet and Savory Meals is so easy, primarily because the only part you have to cook is the chicken, If it’s an option for you, do it outside on the grill, or of course, you can use a stovetop grill pan. Pro parenting tip: If your kids aren’t big salad eaters, it’s easy to serve the ingredients separately, with some chips and salsa on the side. Or offer up some tortillas so they can make their own roll-ups.
Double down: Cook extra chicken for the salad, then later in then week, you can add it to tortilla chips with melted cheese, beans, and other favorite Mexican-flavor ingredients for some easy sheet pan nachos. Now that’s a leftover I can look forward to!
This one-dish Sheet Pan Chicken with Rainbow Veggies from Garlic Matters is such an easy way to get dinner in the oven. You can prep it early in the afternoon and let it sit in the fridge right until dinnertime too. I’d serve it with some pita bread and hummus on the side. hummus is fairly easy to whip up in a food processor, but store-bought is terrific too.
Double down: Double the recipe, shred the chicken, then toss it all with some linguini noodles for an easy pasta dinner later in the week.
Related: 7 easy sheet pan dinner recipes. Because, just one pan to wash.
This Sheet Pan Shrimp with Garlic Butter at one of our favorite sites, Damn Delicious, is super easy — just 5 ingredients, and it cooks in 10 minutes. And if you use frozen shrimp, you don’t even have to clean them yourself before cooking. Whoo! Serve alongside pasta, or just enjoy them straight-up with fresh veggies on the side. We’re all about versatility.
Double down: Leftover shrimp is so good on a Cobb salad, or toss them in a favorite jambalaya recipe for a quick dinner later in the week.
I’d take a moment in the afternoon while the kids are busy playing or finishing up school work to go ahead and slice up veggies for this Sheet Pan Roasted Sausage and Peppers. The recipe from Kay’s Clean Eats makes for a quick, easy dinner that takes very little effort besides chopping those vegetables.Serve it over rice, over pasta, or enjoy straight up with some of that homemade bread you’ve been baking these days.
Double down: If you cook up enough sausage and peppers to have leftovers, they are so good added as toppings to a baked potato for lunch or dinner one day, or stuffed in a hoagie bun for a flavorful homemade sub.
Whether you’re worried about meat shortages or just looking for more vegetarian options these days, these Grilled Caprese Sandwiches at Oh, Sweet Basil are phenomenal. They really are best if you can get your hands on good mozzarella, but if you’ve got a bag of the shredded stuff in the fridge, it works just fine to turn this into a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. And, of course, if you have picky eaters at home you could just do straight-up grilled cheese for them, skipping all the fixings — but they won’t know what they’re missing.
Double down: Any extra tomatoes and mozzarella can be easily served as a Caprese salad to accompany your leftover shrimp or chicken from earlier in the week. Or, grill up a fresh piece of fish to go with it for a light dinner to welcome the warmer spring weather that’s finally coming.
