It’s time to start thinking about your meal plan for next week. From super simple sweet, salty, spicy tacos to a loaded Thai Steak Salad, we’ve got five weeknight dinners that will get you through the week ahead. So grab a pen, make your shopping list, and stock up before the weekend’s over. And if it’s easier for you to do that from your inbox, be sure to sign up for our weekly meal plan emails.
Top: Longaniza Pineapple Tacos at La Cocina de Leslie
Related: Easiest Corned Beef and Cabbage in the slow cooker.
This Garlic Chili Pasta with Cauliflower at Minimalist Baker has my mouth watering — and not just because I can serve it as a one-bowl meal (the best!). It’s a perfect example of how you can strategically use a short list of simple ingredients to make something extraordinarily delicious. Oh, and you can easily dial the heat up or down depending on your family’s taste.
This week for #TacoTuesday, I’m going to Leslie Limón of La Cocina de Leslie, a native-born Californian who’s been living in a small town in Mexico for years now. I’m pretty psyched that Leslie taught me about a new Mexican ingredient, longaniza, a chorizo-like sausage that sounds insanely good, especially used in these simple Longaniza Pineapple Tacos (above & top). Holy salty-sweet-spicy goodness! If you can’t find longaniza near you, use chorizo — but keep an eye out for it the next time you find yourself near a Mexican specialty food store.
I was sold the minute I spied these Sticky Tamarind Chicken Lettuce Cups at Skinnytaste, though I wondered if they would be fussy to make with hard-to-find ingredients. Then I realized that it’s a recipe from the new Melissa Clark cookbook, Dinner: Changing the Game, which I cannot wait to get my hands on. Then and there I knew that it would be a simple weeknight meal, and other than finding tamarind (usually stocked in the international aisle of most convention markets), so it is. I cannot wait to try this.
Related: 4 pre-washed, pre-packaged greens that last longer than lettuce (and how to use them to feed kids).
Thai Steak Salad | Half Baked Harvest
Our piece on how to cook steak perfectly is one of the most popular on the site and with good reason — I refer to it all the time, too, in part to hop over to the recipe for Thai Steak Salad at Half Baked Harvest. This salad is absolutely loaded with goodness and flavor. And with hard boiled eggs and steak, tons of protein too.
You know, I really thought that spring was near — and then we got walloped with a Nor’eastern this week. So I’m back to comfort foods. This Skillet Eggplant Marinara at A Couple Cooks is perfect, because it’s exactly that — a panful of comfort — but also on the lighter side, because no frying. (Please note that I said lighter, not light.) Plus, jarred sauce brings this meal together quickly. Perfect for Friday.
