I can’t believe this week kicks off September already! This week’s meal plan feels like the perfect transition between summer and fall: still plenty of bright, fresh flavors, but with a few cozier dinners starting to make their way back into the rotation.
I’m also cooking from Alex Snodgrass’s brand-new cookbook, Everyday Eats, this week. I’ve been excited to dig into it, so Monday’s lunch and dinner are both recipes from the book: her 20-minute wonton soup and one-skillet buffalo chicken pasta. I’ll link the cookbook here if you want to check it out for yourself.
I’m keeping lunches especially simple this week with leftovers, snack plates, and that quick wonton soup, while dinners are a mix of easy comfort food, fresh seafood, and a couple of recipes I’ve been excited to make again.
Monday starts with the 20-minute wonton soup from Everyday Eats for lunch, which sounds exactly like the kind of quick meal I love when I want something warm and satisfying without spending much time in the kitchen. For dinner, I’m making Alex’s one-skillet buffalo chicken pasta, another recipe from the new cookbook. Creamy, a little spicy, and made in one skillet, it feels like the perfect Monday-night dinner. I’m intentionally making enough for leftovers so Wednesday’s lunch is already handled.
Alex Snodgrass has been one of my favorite cookbook authors to cook from over the years, especially for weeknight meals. Her recipes always feel approachable and realistic, but still interesting enough that dinner doesn’t feel boring or repetitive. I love that so many of her recipes strike that balance between wholesome, flavorful, and actually doable on a busy weeknight.
Her blog, The Defined Dish, has also been one of my go-to recipe resources for years, and I find myself coming back to her cookbooks again and again when I need new dinner inspiration.
If you’re looking to add a few reliable cookbooks to your kitchen, these are all worth checking out:
Tuesday’s dinner is all about bright, fresh flavors: red snapper topped with fresh mango salsa. The salsa is bright and citrusy with mango, lime, cilantro, and a little serrano pepper for heat. It’s fresh, colorful, and exactly what I want to eat while summer produce is still at its best.
Wednesday, we’re making steak with homemade chimichurri sauce, cooked inside in a hot cast-iron skillet and served with air-fried fingerling potatoes and charred broccolini. I love how much flavor chimichurri adds with very little effort — plenty of fresh herbs, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil spooned over a simply seasoned steak. I’m making extra steak and sauce on purpose because they turn into Thursday’s lunch: chimichurri steak quesadillas.
Thursday night is one of our quick weeknight favorites: bulgogi pork lettuce cups. Savory ground pork gets tossed in a sweet, spicy, gingery gochujang sauce and piled into crisp lettuce leaves with crunchy vegetables and crispy rice noodles on top. They’re flavorful without feeling too heavy and come together quickly enough for a busy weeknight.
And then, of course, Friday is pizza + Caesar salad — our longtime Friday night tradition. If you’ve been following along for a while, you already know this one. My husband and I have been doing pizza night for years, and I still look forward to it every single week. It’s easy, reliable, and honestly one of my favorite little rituals to end the workweek.
What I especially like about this week’s menu is how much of the work carries over from one meal to another. Monday’s pasta becomes Wednesday lunch, Wednesday’s steak becomes Thursday quesadillas, and Friday lunch is whatever is left in the fridge. A little bit of intentional leftover planning makes the whole week feel much easier without eating the exact same thing every day.
this week’s menu:
MONDAY
D: one skillet buffalo chicken pasta
TUESDAY
L: snack plate
D: red snapper with mango salsa
WEDNESDAY
L: leftover buffalo chicken pasta
D: steak with chimmichuri sauce
THURSDAY
L: chimmichuri steak quesadillas
D: bulgogi pork lettuce cups
FRIDAY
L: leftovers
D: pizza + caesar salad
