Following a weekly meal plan is the best way to cook healthier for your family, and save time and money! Each week I share six simple, healthy, and family-friendly recipes to help you simplify feeding your family.
It’s been a while since I’ve done an introductory post so to those who are newly subscribed, welcome to Dinner with the Duffys! Sit down, grab a glass of wine and let’s talk about simplifying the way you approach dinner. I’m Kelly Regan Duffy a busy working mom to two beautiful daughters Regan (14) and Ava (12) and wife of 16 years to Patrick. Based in Charleston, SC our family loves to entertain, cook together, and spend time relaxing in our PJs with our Golden Retriever, Clare. I am an everyday gal – not a Martha Stewart clone. I don’t make elaborate owl-faced rice cake snacks for my kids daily – they eat plain old cheese sticks and pretzels. But every night when we sit down for dinner (some days at the table, some days standing in our kitchen, and some days on the fly) my family enjoys a delicious, healthy, and simple home-cooked meal. I am here to show you how you can do that too without sacrificing all of your precious and limited free time! Whether you work full-time, part-time, or stay at home, time is our most precious resource. I am just a mom who likes to eat, drink, entertain and enjoy her family and I will share with you my strategies on how to enjoy all of this within life’s limits. Everyone who walks into our home is always greeted with a warm welcome; the same goes for this online community. Say hi at kelly@dinnerwiththeduffys.com
5 Things About Me:
- Favorite Pandora Channel to Cook To: Hipster Cocktail Party Radio
- Food I’d Bring to survive for 3 days: Cheez-Its, bread, and wine
- Style Icons: Grace Kelly and Olivia Palermo
- Favorite Way to Spend a Saturday: Sitting on my back porch, with family and friends, sharing food & drinking wine
- Never Leave Home Without: My Yeti water bottle
Meal Plan 11/6 – 11/11
Sunday, November 6th | The BEST Ground Beef and Macaroni Soup | Total Time: 35 minutes | Here at DWTD, Sundays are the only day I can bank on my family eating together as a unit so I try really hard to choose a recipe everyone will tolerate. When I find one that both the adults and kids LOVE, I know I’ve hit a home run. This is that recipe! 5 minutes of prep, cooks for 30 and you’re done.
Monday, November 7th | Sheet Pan Maple Dijon Sausage and Fall Veggies | Total Time: 35 minutes | Sheet pan recipes (or one pan wonders as I like to call them) are sort of a Monday staple around here. I not only love them because it’s less work before, during, and after but also because sheet pan recipes are customizable for your fam. Sub in whatever veggies your people will eat or what you have on hand. Bonus, you can serve without everything touching for your picky eaters.
Tuesday, November 8th | Easy Lean Chili Mac | Total Time: 40 minutes | I’m a big fan of @LillieEatsandTells and this recipe of hers is a healthier version of the old classic. (BTW – I wish I could follow a macro diet like Lillie does but it’s way too confusing and time-consuming for me. And what the heck is a macro anyway?) If your kids will balk at the veggies incorporated in this dish you can chop them really fine to disguise the goodness.
Wednesday, November 9th | Sheet Pan Marinated Pork Chops and Veggies | Total Time: 30 minutes | Pork chops get a bad rap for being too dry but when you have good cooking instructions and follow them to a “T” I promise you will see them in a whole new light. (The old adage about undercooked pork chops is out – a 145 internal temp and they are perfection) Potatoes and broccoli roast alongside the marinated pork chops in this “one pan wonder.” Bonus – this 10-minute recipe calls for a little white wine. Cheers to hump day.
Thursday, November 10th | Pickle Juice Brined Chicken and Roasted Asparagus | Total Time: 1 hour + | I hate pickles – like don’t even want to touch them – but I LOVE chicken brined in pickle juice. I’m not sure what it is but something magical happens when you put chicken in pickle juice. The longer it sits, the better it gets so I suggest you toss your chicken in a ziplock bag with the pickle juice the night before for a really quick and easy weeknight meal. Serve alongside roasted asparagus. (I always roast mine with some cherub tomatoes and top with fresh mozzarella cheese!) Tip – double for easy lunches!
Friday, November 11th | Apple Walnut Salad | Total Time: 30 minutes | My in-laws had us over for a fabulous dinner this past week and the first course was the most delicious fall salad, similar to this one. Apples, bacon, candied walnuts, blue cheese, bacon, bacon. I’ve been drooling, I mean thinking, about how good it would be served alongside a nice grilled steak or topped with simple grilled chicken. Most Fridays I order pizza for my girls so it’s the perfect night to cook something just for me! Would be SO yummy for lunch too.
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