Meal Plan: Simple Recipes to Help You Cook from the Pantry

by Jen Tilley on May 14th, 2012 | No Comments »

Rice, pasta, beans, sauces, ...When preparing meals on the fly, it is important to have a well-stocked pantry of general, non-perishable items. If you have a well-stocked pantry, you will find that you can prepare delicious meals without having to run to the store. Plus, a well-stocked pantry makes grocery shopping easier.

When menu planning or planning a meal, if you have a well-stocked pantry, all that you need to purchase are the perishable foods (dairy, meats, etc.). By having the non-perishable items already in your pantry, you can save money and time at the store. What's not to love about that? This menu plan is all about cooking and preparing meals form the pantry.

Theme: Cooking from the Pantry

Weekly Meal Plan: Monday, May 14 - Sunday, May 20

Monday:

Dinner Recipe: Chicken Linguine and Crimini from The Lovely Pantry
Dinner Discussion Question: What is your favorite game?

Tuesday:

Dinner Recipe: Garlic Soy Stir Fry from Sarah's Cucina Bella
Dinner Discussion Question: What is your favorite vegetable and why?

Wednesday:

Dinner Recipe: Spicy Black Bean Burgers from Budget Gourmet Mom
Dinner Discussion Question: What is your favorite burger topping?

Thursday:

Dinner Recipe: Chicken Noodle Casserole from (a)MusingFoodie
Dinner Discussion Question: If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?

Friday:

Dinner Recipe: Layered Cheesy Chicken with Spinach from Budget Gourmet Mom
Dinner Discussion Question: What are you most looking forward to this weekend and why?

Saturday:

Dinner Recipe: Creamy Butterfly Pasta with Endive from Bell'alimento
Dinner Discussion Question: What was your favorite part of the day?

Sunday:

Dinner Recipe: Shrimp Risotto with Peas from The Merry Gourmet
Dinner Discussion Question: What's happening in school this week?

Dessert

Enough with the savory portion of the meal, bring on the dessert! We're featuring Magic Bars with Chocolate and Coconut for this week's dessert!

Meal Plan and Grocery Shopping List Free Printable

Is your mouth watering yet? We can’t wait to give these recipes a try this week! If you’re interested in trying some or all of these recipes, be sure to fill out the Mom It Forward Meal Plan and Grocery Shopping List Free Printable before you head to the store!

Discussion Questions

Be sure to stop by the comments section of this post or on our Facebook page and let us know how your family members answered the discussion questions. We would love to hear what your family shared at the dinner table!

Share Your Side Dish Recipes!

Sometimes thinking of main entrees is the easy party...but what do you pair with your main dishes? We would love for you to share your ideas for side dish recipes!

Disclaimer: This post is part of our Weekly Meal Plan series. Each week, we share recipes and photos from bloggers around the web. We have been given permission to use all links and photos in this series. A huge thanks goes out to all of the bloggers who helped us create this delicious menu! If you have recipes on your site that you would like for us to feature, please be sure to fill out this form.

Top photo and featured photo courtesy of Flickr.