Meal Plan 32: July 30 to August 5

Summer is in full swing and these meals are planned to give you the most free time possible. As always, be sure to read through the tips to save time and money!

Collage of images from this week's meal plan.

Table of Contents

📅 Food Holidays
💭 Tips for success
🍹This week's cocktail
July 30
July 31
August 1
August 2
August 3
August 4
August 5
📚 Related recipes
💬 Comments

📅 Food Holidays

We celebrate a couple of fun food holidays this week. They're silly little holidays but it gives us an opportunity to make some memories and have some fun!

July 30 National Cheesecake Day - I've added my no bake recipe for lemon cheesecake but if you're feeling particularly adventurous try one of these cheesecakes.
August 2 National Ice Cream Sandwich Day - y'all I love making my own with these or these and my vanilla ice cream.
August 3 is National Watermelon Day - no better time to try your hand at a watermelon basket.
August 4 is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day - I've give you a recipe for my favorite quadruple chip cookies in the meal plan but these chocolate glazed chocolate chip cookies are delish!

💭 Tips for success

When you poach the chicken for the chicken salad go ahead and make enough for the chicken spaghetti and chicken empanadas, too.
Use leftover Vienna rolls for garlic bread to go with the chicken spaghetti.
When you make the meatloaf mixture for the stuffed peppers go ahead and mix up the patties for salisbury steaks. Separate them with waxed paper, cover with plastic wrap and leave them in the fridge until you're ready to cook.

🍹This week's cocktail

Closeup of a peach margarita in a glass.

Spicy Peach Margarita

One of my favorites! If you love fresh peach flavor and spicy heat you'll love relaxing with this spicy peach margarita cocktail.

July 30

Ricotta chicken topped with melted cheese.

Baked Ricotta Chicken

This easy baked ricotta chicken is so good! It's an easy version of ricotta stuffed chicken.

Vienna Rolls

Soft and buttery Vienna rolls are the perfect vehicle for getting that scrumptious chicken salad into your mouth.

A square of lemon cheesecake on a flowered plate with a lemon slice on top.

No Bake Cheesecake

This is the thick, creamy lemon cheesecake made famous by Woolworth's in the 1960s. Instead of graham crackers use the lemon cookies you reserved from yesterday for the crumb crust and topping.

July 31

Casserole with a serving taken out showing the inside texture.

Cowboy Casserole

Ground beef in a creamy, cheesy sauce with a crispy tater tot topping - no one can resist Cowboy Casserole! Put together a salad and you're done!

Close up overhead view of a bowl of gree

Southern Green Beans

Tangy southern green beans with bacon are a classic side dish that even picky eaters love.

Jello Poke Cake

Jello Poke Cake is fun anytime and with any flavor of Jello. Kids have loved this vintage recipe for decades.

August 1

Chicken Spaghetti

Creamy RoTel Chicken spaghetti is quick and easy when you make it with the extra chicken you cooked on Thursday. Use leftover Vienna rolls to make garlic bread.

Overhead view of a bowl of green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and red onions created for the feature image of this post.

Green Bean Salad

Marinated green bean salad has fresh cherry tomatoes, red onions, and baby potatoes in a zesty vinaigrette.

Gooey Brownies

These gooey, fudgy brownies are easy to make and they absolutely are my favorite. SO good.

August 2

Meatloaf Stuffed Peppers

The perfect mashup between stuffed peppers and meatloaf! These meatloaf stuffed peppers are wrapped in bacon and baked to smoky perfection.

Crockpot Mac & Cheese

This easy crockpot mac and cheese has almost no prep time!

Overhead view of strawberry pie garnished with whipped cream.

No-Bake Strawberry Pie

If you remember Shoney's Strawberry Pie you'll love this easy, no bake copycat.

August 3

Crispy Baked Chicken Wings

Baked chicken wings go together fast and they are so easy! Yummy sweet-spicy bourbon glaze. Serve with a side of the cornbread you tossed in the freezer on Thursday.

Sweet Potato Fries

Baked sweet potato fries are so good! Sweet potato strips are tossed in a spicy coating then baked until crispy. Air fryer instructions included.

White Texas Sheet Cake

White Texas Sheet cake is moist and delicious with a topping that's somewhat like vanilla fudge. It's delicious.

August 4

Chicken Empanadas

These easy to make chicken empanadas are just as good for a main dish as they are for a game day snack. I love them dipped in queso.

Queso

This easy queso dip is delicious with the empanadas. You can also make nachos with it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! Celebrate with these chewy quadruple chip cookies!

August 5

Closeup of taco filling and salsa for feature image.

Pulled Pork Tacos

Pulled pork tacos with mango salsa are quick and easy. The salsa just gets better with time and you can make it easy with prepared pulled pork from the deli!