I stopped posting my meal plans at the beginning of July because I was already giving daily food updates on the Whole30. I’ve decided to resurrect my weekly dinner recaps. I tend to make a lot of old favorites, but that’s exactly why they show up time and time again — they taste good!

Monday: Chipotle

Paul was off work (he took an extra vacation day after we returned from Buffalo and Portland), so he picked up dinner for us at Chipotle. He had a burrito; I had a chicken bowl with brown rice, veggies, medium salsa, lettuce, and guacamole. No beans. Except for one dive into a bowl of hummus about a month ago, I haven’t eaten any beans since late June. (I have 11 cans of beans — various types — taking up space in my pantry right now.)

I’ve continued to eat a lot of braised cabbage (instead of rice or other gluten-free grains), but I make an exception when Paul and I are craving Chipotle. If I were to leave out the rice, my chicken bowl would be a pretty small serving.

Tuesday: Taco-Seasoned Beef

Paul was recording a podcast with his friends, so I cooked up some ground beef, added homemade taco seasoning, and served it over braised cabbage. I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Wednesday: CrockPot Coconut-Curry Beef

This was my first time making this recipe…it was delicious! Then again, I’m a huge fan of the coconut milk + curry combination, so I assumed in advance that I’d like it.

Thursday: Weeknight Bolognese

Instead of making this recipe with ground beef like I usually do (I’ve made this sauce many times in the past), I substituted a pound of ground sausage. This sauce is rich, spicy, and divine. Paul ate his over pasta and I had mine over braised cabbage.

Friday: Country Captain Chicken

I’ve made this dish six times since I tried it for the first time back in July. It’s a winner. Not only is it super easy and fast to make, but it has the coconut milk + curry combination, plus a hint of sweetness with the golden raisins.

Saturday: Chocolate Chili

Paul and I spent a few hours at the National Zoo on Saturday. I hadn’t been in two years (it had been even longer for him), the weather was great, and we had never been to a zoo together, so there were a lot of factors combined to make it an awesome visit.

I made this chili when we got home; it’s a recipe I’ve seen on several Paleo blogs recently and I wanted to try it out. I didn’t have fire-roasted tomatoes so I just used the regular diced variety. I also didn’t have beef broth, so I substituted homemade chicken stock for both that and the water.

Verdict? Mmmmmm. I don’t miss beans in my chili one bit. I thought the consistency looked a bit runny when I first put the ingredients together, but it had thickened up nicely by the time it finished simmering on the stovetop for two hours.

Sunday: Vapiano

I went out to dinner with the two Janets.