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We’re heading into one of the busiest times of the year. I’ve already started planning our Thanksgiving dinner menu and discussing when we’re going to get our Christmas tree and start playing Christmas music. So when it comes to cooking nightly dinners, I’m going to try to take it easy before the holiday busyness hits. Everything we’ll be cooking this week is made in one pot, with ingredients added all at once or without a lot of extra fuss—in other words, dump dinners. And to make sure we are all feeling our best and have the energy we need to tackle the holiday tasks ahead, all of these dinners have at least 15 grams of protein per serving. Let’s ease into this week.
Your Weekly Plan
Sunday: Slow-Cooker Loaded Broccoli & Chicken Soup
Monday: Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas & Spinach
Tuesday: American Goulash
Wednesday: One-Pot Shrimp with Tomatoes & Feta
Thursday: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
Friday: One-Pot Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pasta
Our column, ThePrep, has everything you’ll need to make dinner planning and grocery shopping as easy as can be. Nutritional needs differ from one individual to another, and we invite you to use these dinner plans as inspiration and adjust them as you see fit. Sign up to get a dinner plan delivered to your inbox every Saturday!
Sunday: Slow-Cooker Loaded Broccoli & Chicken Soup
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall , Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
The easiest kind of dump dinner to make is a slow-cooker dinner. You simply gather and prep your ingredients, then toss everything in. Once the soup has spent the day simmering, you’ll finish it by shredding the chicken, thickening it with cornstarch and stirring in frozen brown rice and cream cheese. Let everyone top their own bowl with Cheddar, scallions and bacon.
Monday: Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas & Spinach
For this quick dinner, you’ll start by wilting spinach and then adding lycopene-rich canned crushed tomatoes and fiber-rich chickpeas along with cream to make a sauce. Then comes the fun part: make little wells in the sauce and drop in the eggs. Cook them covered until set, and that’s it. Serve with quinoa (½ cup per person) to hit our protein goal of at least 15 grams per serving.
Tuesday: American Goulash
Photographer: Brie Goldman Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
American goulash is a super-cozy dish of pasta cooked in meat sauce. The lean ground beef packs this dinner with protein (and has less saturated fat than higher-fat ground beef) while the whole-wheat elbow macaroni adds fiber, which helps support healthy digestion. Paprika, Italian seasoning and garlic give it lots of flavor.
Wednesday: One-Pot Shrimp with Tomatoes & Feta
To make this simple yet elegant dinner, you’ll cook onions, aromatics and tomatoes and then add the shrimp. These sweet crustaceans need just a few minutes to cook through and are a low-calorie source of protein and other essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids. Before serving you’ll top everything with some briny feta and fragrant basil. A whole-wheat baguette is perfect on the side.
Thursday: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili
Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke
This vegetarian chili gets its heft from a combination of sweet potatoes and black beans. With bold flavor from cilantro, cumin, ground chipotle chile, chili powder and garlic, it can rival any meaty chili out there. Plus, the spices help with reducing inflammation, the beans provide plant-based protein, and the sweet potatoes are high in fiber and antioxidants. Serve the chili over brown rice (½ cup per person) to meet our protein goal.
Friday: One-Pot Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pasta
Cremini mushrooms, whole-wheat penne and rotisserie chicken are the main components of this easy dish. Mushrooms are a great source of antioxidants, B vitamins, vitamin D and potassium, as well as other nutrients. Browning the mushrooms and cooking them with a splash of sherry vinegar builds a solid flavor base for the creamy sauce made with chicken broth and crème fraîche.
I wish you all a great week, and I hope you enjoy this dinner plan. If you try a recipe, remember to add a review.