Weeknight Dinners for the Win
It’s a busy week here with cooking classes, college visits, and back-to-school events. Below is a clear, practical plan for dinners that keeps evenings simple and satisfying while fitting around a hectic schedule.
Houston friends: I’ll be teaching an easy grilling class at Bering’s on September 15, focused on straightforward outdoor dinners that come together quickly. If you’re local and interested, sign up to reserve a spot and see the full menu.
I’m also running a meal planning course — join the waitlist for notifications about discounts and bonuses I’ll be offering to those on it. If you want a reset in your kitchen, I’m hosting a free Kitchen Reboot masterclass online via Zoom. The session will be recorded, but attendees who join live will be eligible for prize drawings.
Here’s what the Smart family is having this week. The plan emphasizes easy prep, make-ahead elements, and balanced meals you can enjoy with your household.
SUNDAY
We’ll be out getting new football gear for our high school junior, so dinner needs to be low-effort. I’ll pull a freezer staple: tortellini casserole. I often bulk it up with extra greens — four cups instead of two — and because I don’t have Italian sausage thawed and prefer to avoid the crowded grocery store on Sunday, this will be a meatless version that’s still comforting and filling.
MONDAY
Leftover kale and pistachio pesto from last weekend is on the menu. Make it by following a basic any-greens pesto recipe but use chiefly kale and a handful of basil if you have it. It’s versatile: toss with roasted or baked spaghetti squash, spread on a caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella and ripe tomatoes, stir into cooked orzo, or use as a base on pizza dough with a little tomato sauce and mozzarella. It’s a tasty shortcut that stretches across meals.
TUESDAY
I’ll be teaching an online class with Memorial Hermann — register to get the recipes and access to their healthy dinner database. In class we’ll prepare healthier ground beef taquitos, chipotle cauliflower, and a three-bean with butternut squash chili. The session includes practical knife skills and prep tips that speed up the process and make these dishes easy to replicate at home.
WEDNESDAY
Ground chicken lettuce cups are a long-time family favorite and make a quick midweek dinner. They’re light, fast to assemble, and pack plenty of flavor, which makes them perfect when you want something fresh without a lot of cleanup.
THURSDAY
We’ll be touring Boston College and Boston University with my oldest, so the family will rely on ready-to-heat freezer meals. I keep a stash of my favorite easy “cheater dinners” that require minimal effort — just reheat and plate — so the household stays fed even when I’m away.
FRIDAY
In my private Smart in the Kitchen Facebook group, I asked members to share their favorite “too tired to cook” dinners. I’m collecting those responses for a blog post because they’re full of smart, practical ideas: one-pan meals, pantry-and-freezer combos, and shortcuts that take the stress out of the end of the week. What’s your go-to tired-night dinner that you can pull together from pantry or freezer staples with minimal chopping and fuss?
Whatever your week looks like, plan for a couple of make-ahead components, lean on a few trusted freezer meals, and keep a flexible list of easy sauces or pestos to transform leftovers. That approach makes weeknight dinners manageable and enjoyable, even on the busiest evenings.