The plan is in and it’s stock focused meals for the week since I’m creating Instant Pot Chicken Stock later today.

Again, I focus on what I have on hand to avoid waste and draw inspiration from those items. After roasting chicken a few weeks ago, I froze the bones and some of chicken bits. Now, it’s time to defrost those goodies and create some yummy homemade stock. I also have celery and parsley that needs to be used and since snow is in the forecast, some warm chicken noodle soup is in the plan for a potential snow day tomorrow. You know we love our Asian food and I’ve plan for a curry chicken soup since I have some red curry paste and various veggies in my fridge that should get used. And finally our favorite, risotto, because I always have arborio rice in my pantry and love creating risotto with fresh stock ❤️

1. Meal 1 – Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup: my homemade stock, chicken from the frozen bits, celery and parsley on hand. My shopping list consisted of carrot and egg noodles.
2. Meal 2 – Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup): my stock, chicken bits, red curry paste, and coconut milk on hand. I’ve grabbed some cilantro, jalapeno, and lime to finish this yummy soup and I’ll be sure to post this dish later in the week.
3. Meal 3 – Risotto: my stock and I’ll use some sugar snap peas I have on hand.
4. Meal 4 – Pork with Chimichurri Sauce: I have frozen pork that I’ll defrost mid-week and because I have parsley that needs to used, I’ll make chimichurri (during my Sunday prep) with the cilantro, jalapeno and lime I’ve grabbed at the store. Chimichurri will be another post I’ll share later this week.
5. Meal 5 (Late Add) – Scottish Stovies: My husband plans to take center stage for Sunday supper with this comfort classic. Root vegetables, stewing beef and brown gravy will make for a very happy hubby 😉. We have onion, I already had carrots on my list and he’ll needed stewing beef, potatoes, mushroom and brown gravy. If you want his Scottish Stovies recipe, please let me know and I’ll feature it.

Creating great meals is easy if you plan ahead and that is key for me. It does take time though and takes some of the spontaneity out of our week, but we eat out less, healthier and we don’t stand in front of the fridge wondering (although that happens most Friday & Saturday nights, so we keep some spontaneity 😉).

Another bonus to planning ahead, my grocery bills are controlled and I really only buy what I need and/or items that can be used in multiple dishes (i.e. cilantro and jalapeno for garnishing and chimichurri), your wallet wins and you avoid waste.

Search the fridge and freezer, see what you have in the pantry and feel inspired. Those steps save you money and allow you to create delicious mid-week meals in under 30ish minutes.

I hope my planning secrets are inspiring you ❤️ and feel free to share your feedback.