Week of Weeknight Meals: August 2022

Hey friends! How are ya!? I hope you’re hungry this morning because we’re chatting about food and easy dinner ideas on the blog today! I’m sharing a peek into last week’s meals as part of my Week of Weeknight Meals series. It’s a series I began a while back to give you guys a glimpse into what weeknight dinners looks like in our house for one week of every month. No fancy food photography is allowed and all photos are snapped in real time.

We’ve clearly been on a bit of a seafood kick in our house and last week’s meals included a lot of seafood and frozen veggie mixes! Below you will find a mix of air fryer recipes, Instant Pot meals, simple skillet mixes and more. (Also, thanks to your feedback, I once again included what the boys ate each night as well.) I hope something pops out at you and inspires you in the kitchen this week!

Week of Weeknight Meals: August 2022

• Monday: Air Fryer Maple Ginger Salmon with Ginger Sesame Broccoli and Chickpea Fusilli Pasta

For Monday night’s dinner, I marinated salmon in my favorite maple ginger salmon marinade and then cooked it in the air fryer for about 12 minutes until it was fork-tender. While the salmon was cooking, I made a huge batch of my ginger sesame broccoli — aka the broccoli recipe that makes me want to eat a full pound of broccoli every time! Our whole family loves this broccoli recipe so I always make a ton of it whenever I make this recipe. We rounded out our meal with some chickpea fusilli pasta from Thrive Market on the side. I simply tossed it in avocado oil and seasoned it with a light sprinkle of garlic salt.

On the boys’ plates: Pasta with ginger sesame broccoli, string cheese and strawberries

• Tuesday: Scallops with Cauliflower + Brown Fried Rice and Edamame

I’ve raved about ALDI’s frozen scallops in the past and they are still a favorite in our house! I thawed the scallops overnight and then seared them and placed them on top of a bed of mixed cauliflower fried rice and brown rice. I added brown rice to a mix of frozen cauliflower fried rice from Whole Foods ( I LOVE this mix!) and increased the flavor with a drizzle of soy sauce. I also added a bunch of frozen edamame to the mix because I love the crunch!

On the boys’ plates: Macaroni and cheese, edamame, cucumber slices and mango slices

• Wednesday: Caribbean-Style Veggies + Beans with Shrimp

Talk about an easy meal! I prepped a bunch of frozen shrimp around lunchtime so they were easy enough to throw into a skillet with a big bag of Caribbean-style frozen vegetables from Whole Foods. I stretched the bag of veggies by adding brown rice and more black beans and we loved this meal!

On the boys’ plates: Shrimp with corn, brown rice and pear slices  

• Thursday: Pasta with Steak and Brussels Sprouts

This dinner wasn’t my favorite but they can’t all be winners, right? The flavors of this dish just didn’t jive well together but we still ate it! I combined chickpea pasta with small slices of leftover steak, Brussels sprouts, garlic, avocado and garlic salt. You won’t see this one on the blog again. Ha!

On the boys’ plates: Quesadillas with green beans and apple slices

• Friday: Instant Pot Chicken Soup

We were actually out of town on Friday so I swapped our Friday night meal pic for yesterday’s dinner! I sautéed carrots, onions and celery in olive oil in the Instant Pot and then added chicken, chicken broth, turmeric, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and rosemary before pressure cooking the soup for 18 minutes. I then shredded the chicken and added frozen edamame (don’t knock it ’til you try it!) and corn to the soup before stirring in cooked chickpea fusilli pasta.

On the boys’ plates: Applegate Farms organic chicken nuggets, carrots, edamame and peach slices 

Question of the Day

What was the best meal you ate for dinner last week?