This Week's Meatless Meal Plan | 12.15.14

It's a busy time of year, so this week's menu was crafted with that in mind. The recipes are easy, filling and make use of repurposed ingredients. They're also the kinds of cozy meals we all crave when it's cold out!

Here's this week's meatless meal plan:

Monday

Roasted Butternut Squash Panini // I was so excited to re-post this recipe this week that I had to put it in the meal plan too -- it's one of my favorite sandwiches and if you make the butternut squash in advance, it's done in minutes. Perfect for Monday!

Tuesday

Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup // Wild rice takes a long time to cook, but instant wild rice makes this hearty soup doable for a weeknight dinner.

Wednesday

Sage Polenta Bowls with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mushrooms // Leftover sage from Monday night's sandwiches gets used in these polenta bowls. Not a fan of Brussels sprouts? Just about any vegetable you like can be used instead.

Thursday

Thai Kabocha Squash Curry // The best part about this curry is that you'll have lots of leftovers for quick weekend meals -- they also freeze well if you want to save them for later.

Friday

Baked Fried Brown Rice // Making a big batch of rice on Thursday means you can use the leftovers to make Baked Fried Brown Rice on Friday! This recipe is an Oh My Veggies favorite and it's one that I find myself making again and again.

Tips For This Week's Plan

• Serve leftover bread from Monday's sandwiches with the soup and polenta bowls.
• Because it's not used in any other recipes this week, I left the basil garnish off of the list for the Thai Curry. If you like basil in your curry, add it to the shopping list!
• The curry calls for 2 ingredients you may not be able to find at your grocery store: coconut or palm sugar and yellow curry paste. But no worries! Brown sugar can be used for the sugar and I've tested the curry with red curry paste with great results.
• The Baked Fried Brown Rice calls for leftover brown rice because letting it sit in the fridge helps it dry out a bit. So when you're preparing rice for Thursday's dinner, remember to make extra rice for Friday's dinner too!
• You'll probably have leftover parsley this week. Use it to make parsley pesto and freeze it for future dinners. It's great tossed with pasta, roasted potatoes and vegetables!

Click here for a printable version of this week's meatless meal plan and shopping list, then click on the links above to print out each recipe. Now you're set for the week! Find more dinner ideas from our Meatless Meal Plan archives.