Weeknight Dinner Amnesia

how to (happily) plan everyday meals; plus the dog who ate $4,000, and Dry January inspo!

The celebrating, indulging, and lazing around I do during every holiday break results in a very specific type of amnesia: I completely forget what to make for weeknight dinners. Without fail, I wake up on the first day of “real life,” and conduct a panicked search of the far reaches of my brain to remember what on earth we were eating every night pre-vacation.

But then, I remember that I keep a list for exactly this purpose: evening meals that are easy, quick, mostly healthy, create minimal mess, and most crucially, that I will look forward to. Eating well is important to me, and in the winter, when fresh produce (and sunlight!) are limited, I find it depressing when dinner is a dud.

To guard against boredom – the bane of weeknight meals – I have separate lists of dinners for each season, with a loose plan for each day of the week; for example in the winter, Mondays are soup, while Thursdays are chicken, and Fridays, of course, are either takeout or at a restaurant! I don’t necessarily make the same type of soup or chicken dish each week, but with this structure in place, it’s easy to quickly put together a shopping list, as we need the same core ingredients each week. And when the kids complain that they’re sick of a particular dish, I adjust…

And so, in case you, too, are suffering from post-vacation-dinner-amnesia and need some ideas, here’s my winter weeknight dinner plan, with recipes, tips, and strategies!

I'd love to know what you think - and what your weeknight dinner strategies are. Please share in the comments!

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Winter Weeknight Dinner Plan

🍲 Monday: Soup or Spaghetti Squash Bake
This is the night for something healthy, veggie-focused, and cozy. Depending on the soup, I’ll add grilled cheese, quesadillas, or, if I’m really exhausted, buttered toast on the side.

An immersion blender is key to minimizing mess (you blend soup in the pot) and getting a kid-approved smooth texture!

🐟 Tuesday: Baked Fish with Rice and Veggies or Salad
While I love to eat fish, several residents of my house do not like to eat or smell it. To keep everyone happy, I bake fish fillets to minimize the odor, and serve other menu options on “fish night.”

I love halibut, cod, and salmon, and use the same method every time: add a generous coat of olive oil, salt, and pepper to the fish, then bake on a sheet pan for 10-12 mins approx. (depending on thickness) in a 450 F oven. I use less olive oil for fatty salmon, and spritz with fresh lemon juice and Maldon sea salt flakes when done. To minimize clean-up, line the sheet pan with foil, then parchment paper. If I’m feeling fancy, or bored with plain fish, I’ll use one of the recipes below.

Whenever I serve fish, I also serve rice. We love our Japanese rice cooker: it cooks rice perfectly every time (in a nonstick, easy-to-clean pot!) and keeps it warm. Sometimes, if things are really grim, we might just have a bowl of rice for dinner, with some toasted pine nuts, a pat of butter, or a spritz of soy sauce on top.

Alongside the fish and rice, I serve either a very simple green salad or easy roast veggies, which is the entire dinner for non-fish-eaters. See below for tips on these.

🥗 Wednesday: Baked Potatoes or Risotto with Salad
My kids have been vegetarian on and off for years, so our weeknight dinners have become largely veggie-focused. Baked potatoes and risotto (known to my kids as “fancy mac 'n cheese”) are the comfort foods we crave in the middle of a long, cold week.

You probably know how to make baked potatoes, but here’s the method I use, which, if you do it right, involves minimal washing up: wash Yukon Golds in cold water to remove dirt, then dry; prick them a few times with a fork; generously coat in vegetable oil and Kosher salt; then bake directly on the middle oven rack at 475 F for one hour, turning once if you happen to remember. It’s important to place a baking tray or foil on the bottom rack of your oven to catch drips. Add butter, sour cream, cheese, Maldon sea salt flakes, or whatever else you like!

🐔 Thursday: Chicken with Salad
I really love crispy chicken thighs and tend to make them in some form or another once a week, accompanied by a nice fresh salad. My go-to chicken recipes are below, and when we’re sick of thighs, I switch to my version of chicken “milanese.”

🍕 Friday: Pizza, Takeout, or Eat out!
No notes. We don’t cook on Fridays in our house!

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Recipes & Strategies

🌶️ Hot tip #1: I keep a printed version of each of these recipes in a plastic folder on a shelf in my kitchen. This way, I know exactly where to look when I’m making a grocery list or getting ready to cook; and I get less distracted when using a printed recipe than using one on my phone.

🌶️ Hot tip #2: I season literally everything with Maldon sea salt. It’s less salty than regular salt and adds crunch.

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Soups

Easy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons: I leave out the cream and saffron, and you can make quesadillas instead of “croutons” if you prefer. Allow 30 mins for chopping and stirring plus 30 minutes hands-off, plus another 10 minutes for making grilled cheese.

Butternut Squash Soup: buy pre-cut butternut squash to make this extra-speedy. I use an immersion blender for a smooth texture and minimal clean-up! Allow 1 hour hands-off plus approx 20 mins hands-on.

Tomato & Eggplant Soup: this is a good recipe to amp up the veggies in your (and your kids’ diet). I skip the fennel seeds and finely chop the eggplant to satisfy the picky eaters in our house. I also skip the food processor step and use a knife to “chop” the whole tomatoes in the pot, then smooth everything with the immersion blender at the end. Allow 20-30 minutes for chopping and stirring plus 20 mins hands-off. Bonus: add leftover soup to par-cooked pasta and mozzarella for a separate meal.

Sesame-Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup: sometimes I use rice instead of noodles, and sometimes I skip the noodles completely! My kids love this because it tastes similar to the ramen broth at their favorite bubble tea place… Allow 50 minutes hands-off plus 30 minutes hands-on.

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Cozy Spaghetti Squash Bake

Allow one hour hands-off, approx 20 mins hands-on.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut spaghetti squash in half, sprinkle with salt, pepper, dried oregano, and olive oil; then roast on a sheet pan, cut sides up, for 50-60 minutes, until the edges of the squash turn brown. Remove squash from the oven (but leave oven on), and when it cools down a bit, use a fork to pull the “spaghetti” away from the skin. Heat a jar of store-bought marinara sauce on the stove, then add the spaghetti squash and combine thoroughly. Add pieces of fresh mozzarella to the pot, combine, then spoon into individual ramekins or a 9x12 baking dish. Top each ramekin or the baking dish with more fresh mozzarella. Return to the oven at 400 F for 10-12 minutes, until squash and sauce are bubbling and mozzarella is beginning to brown. You can sprinkle some grated parmesan over the top and return to the oven for a minute or two, for extra crispy cheesiness!

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Fish Recipes

Roasted Halibut with Lemons, Olives & Rosemary: a slightly fancier version of my standard baked fish. Takes less than 20 minutes.

Tomato-Poached Fish with Chile Oil & Herbs: the broth is “chef’s kiss” with rice! Takes less than 30 minutes.

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Risotto Bianco by Alice Waters (allow 45 minutes)

• 2 tablespoons butter (I use olive oil instead)

• 1 small onion or shallot diced fine

• 1 ½ cups risotto rice (Arborio, Canaroli, Baldo or Vialone Nano)

• 5 cups chicken broth (homemade is best, if store bought, use low sodium)

• ½ cup dry white wine

Finish with:

• 1 tablespoon butter (I skip this)

• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano)

Melt the butter or olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat, add the diced onion or shallot and cook about 10 minutes until it’s translucent. Add the rice and cook about 4 minutes. In a separate pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil, and remove from heat. Pour the white wine over the rice and cook, stirring often, until all wine is absorbed. Add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook at a vigorous simmer (some bubbles, but not boiling) while stirring occasionally. When the rice starts to thicken, pour in another ½ cup of broth. Keep adding broth ½ cup at a time every time the rice thickens, and don’t let the rice dry out. Cook rice until it’s tender but still has a firm core —20 to 30 minutes total. Once you’re almost out of broth and happy with the rice’s texture, turn off the heat, add the last tablespoon of butter and grated Parmigiano cheese, and stir to develop a creamy starch. Let it rest 2 minutes before serving.

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Chicken Recipes

Genius Chicken (Chicken Thighs with Lemon): I make this once a week, all year round! You must use a cast-iron skillet; I typically skip the preserved lemons and find that the cooking time is usually less than 30 minutes.

Alison Roman’s Turmeric & Vinegar Chicken: if your kids don’t like olives and herbs, you can skip those ingredients. This is excellent served with rice and a green salad. Takes less than 40 minutes.

Easy Weeknight Chicken “Milanese” (allow 20 minutes)
Take some boneless skinless chicken cutlets, liberally salt and pepper them, then dredge them first in mayonnaise (trust me!), then in some good quality panko breadcrumbs. Wait a few minutes before cooking so that the breading sticks.

Heat some olive oil in a non-stick pan and gently fry the chicken (approx. 4-5 mins per side depending on thickness).

While the chicken is cooking, place salad greens on dinner plates. Add any other raw veggies that take your fancy (or that your children will eat): grape tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, scallions, or shallots are all regulars for me. You could add carrots! Or asparagus! Or pine nuts! The beauty of making the “salad” this way is that each serving can be different – no one needs to get upset about finding an offensive vegetable on their plate.

Dress the salad (as below) with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown, place it on top of the salad, and sprinkle the chicken with flaky salt – and maybe a few drops of lemon juice. A shaving of parmesan might be nice too!

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Baked Veggies: How To

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Arrange cut (and washed) vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, broccoli or cauliflower florets, potatoes, butternut squash, or carrots, on a sheet pan. Scatter some sliced garlic, onion, or shallots around the veggies (or don’t!). Season with olive oil, Kosher salt, and white or black pepper, then bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on desired crispiness!

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Easiest Green Salad Dressing: How To

A nice crisp vinaigrette is the main reason I eat salad but I’m lazy and don’t like whisking and measuring in separate cups. Instead, I make the dressing with the salad, as follows:

Assemble salad ingredients (sometimes I only use greens, sometimes I add pine nuts or seeds, sliced cucumber, avocado or tomatoes); finely chop a small amount of shallot, scallion, or red onion (you know how much you like) and scatter this over the salad ingredients. Then add a couple of pinches of Maldon sea salt and a liberal sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper. Mix this together so that the salt and pepper is evenly distributed. Drizzle olive oil over the salad, mix, then sprinkle white wine vinegar (or whatever vinegar you prefer). Taste a leaf and decide if it needs more salt, pepper, oil, or vinegar, and adjust.

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📺 Fool Me Once: I’m watching this limited series while exercising on the treadmill, and it’s perfect for that activity (easy to watch, addictive, not mentally challenging). By popular mystery/thriller writer, Harlan Coben, the show follows Maya, whose husband Joe was killed in a mugging - or was he?!

📺 You Are What You Eat: Jim and I watched this Netflix documentary together this week and are now seriously reconsidering our meat consumption. The show follows a Stanford study of identical twins focused on the differences between eating vegan or omnivorous and includes a heavy helping of statistics and anecdotes about the importance of a good quality diet for our health and longevity and the damage meat production does to the environment.

🍽️ What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: this newsletter and website has become one of my go-to’s for recipe and meal-planning ideas. Caro Chambers, a mom of three young boys, shares easy-to-make family-friendly weekly meal plans, including how to use leftovers, and grocery shopping lists.

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Looking for something else? All recommendations can be found at the following links: Current Recs; Books; TV Shows; Movies; Playlists & Podcasts. Search by whatever you’re in the mood for, like an Engrossing Novel; Cozy Movie; or Luxe Soap Opera!

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In Case You Missed It: Dry January inspo // Emoji’s are getting expensive // Cecil, the very good dog who ate $4,000 // Everyone’s yearning for the pre-internet days // These might be the holy grail of fancy sweatpants // Vegan, robot-served lunches are on the horizon // Apparently no one wants to go out on NYE!

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Have a wonderful weekend! ❤️If you liked this newsletter, clicking the ❤️ button at the top or bottom helps more people discover it! Thank you!