Next Week’s Meal Plan: The 5 Recipes I’ve Been Dreaming About All Summer

Every once in a while, I get a week free from obligations — calendar or budget — and can just choose recipes that are new, enticing, or have just been on my to-try list for too long. This is one of those rare weeks, and how it fell in the middle of summer when produce is at its peak I’ll never know, but I’m thanking my lucky stars.

This week’s meal plan features a bunch of seasonal suppers that have had me drooling. The meals are still relatively quick and easy, and almost every dinner uses one or more peak-season vegetable — making the most of our farmers market haul and overrun from our neighbor’s garden.

Planning my weekly meals is a habit I enjoy. Since I’m frequently asked by friends and family what I’m cooking for dinner each week, I thought it’d be useful to share my weekly meal plan here. Whether you’re just learning to meal plan and looking for a real-life example of how this works or you’re an old pro on the hunt for inspiration, here’s a peek at how I’m feeding my family this week.

• The Beginner’s Guide to Meal Planning: What to Know, How to Succeed, and What to Skip
• The Best Way to Use a Weekend for Meal Planning Success
• Ask Yourself These 5 Questions Before You Start Meal Planning
• 5 Strategies for Picking Recipes for a Week of Meal Planning

This is a near-perfect summer Monday meal — it’s meatless, comes together in about 25 minutes, uses sweet, juicy corn, and is creamy and comforting. Orzotto is like risotto — broth is added in stages and you stir regularly until the orzo is creamy. Unlike traditional risotto, though, orzotto cooks relatively quickly.

We are meeting friends for barbecue for dinner this night at our favorite local smokehouse. We’ll have pulled pork sandwiches, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese. These pulled pork sandwiches can be made in the slow cooker, which is exactly what I’d do if I was staying in for dinner this evening. Bonus: This recipe makes a ton, so freeze the extra for pork sandwiches or tacos later this summer.

My neighbor’s vegetable garden runneth over and I could not be a happier recipient of basil, hot peppers, and tomatoes. I’ve got some pesto to make this weekend and then we can easily throw together these caprese grilled cheese sandwiches on Wednesday night after we get back from a pool date with friends. I’ll be throwing these on the panini press for extra ease.

Honestly, I don’t cook pork chops enough and in preparation for back-to-school and tightening up our grocery budget, I’m going to try cooking them more regularly. Kelli’s one-pan pork chops look like a great place to start. The recipe includes zucchini, and I plan on throwing together my own peach and tomato salsa for the pan sauce.

We’re nearing the end of our summer burger project, and while I’m excited to get back to our pizza Friday routine, I’m drooling over these classic beef burgers made ultra-juicy with bacon worked into each patty. This recipe requires grinding your own meat, so I’m keeping things super simple with chips and pickles as our side.