Meal Plan 28: July 2 - 8 - Restless Chipotle

Happy 4th of July! This week's meal plan includes lots of grilled meals like my favorite creole shrimp as well as some easy, old fashioned summer favorites like the classic tomato sandwich!

As always there are sides and desserts and plenty of time saving (and money saving) tips.

Collage of main dish images from meal plan 28.

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📅 Food Holidays
🫑 What's in Season?
🍹This week's cocktail
💭 Tips for success
July 2
July 3
July 4
July 5
July 6
July 7
July 8
📚 Related recipes

📅 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!

4th of July of course! You'll find tons of recipe in the 4th of July category.
July 5 National Apple Turnover Day. It's a good time to try these easy apple fried pies!
July 7 National Macaroni Day. Celebrate with pasta!

🫑 What's in Season?

A better question might be, "what isn't in season?"

Everything is ripening and coming into the Farmers' Markets now. It's fresh, in season, and at it's best. Make the most of these fresh flavors.

Apricots
Beets
Bell pepper
Berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries)
Chiles
Corn
Cucumber
Eggplant
Figs
Green beans & Wax beans
Mangoes
Melon
Nectarines
Okra
Peaches
Pineapples
Plums
Radishes
Tomatoes
Zucchini and yellow squash

🍹This week's cocktail

Red white and blue layered cocktail with a cherry garnish.

Gin & Tonic

This slushy, red, white, & blue gin and tonic cocktail is a little tricky to make but even if the layers blend a little it's STILL delicious!

💭 Tips for success

If you've got leftover gumbo it freezes well for 3 or 4 months.
Any leftover chicken this week? Add it to the southwestern pasta salad for a light lunch or dinner!
Use leftover cornbread as the crumb topping on the tavern style mac and cheese.
Make a big batch of homemade ice cream to use in various desserts this week.
Save some of the cookies to make ice cream sandwiches with.

July 2

Chicken and sausage on a serving spoon from a crock pot filled with gumbo.

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Chicken and sausage gumbo is packed with authentic Louisiana flavor but SO easy in a slow cooker!

Cornbread

You'll definitely want a square or two of this buttermilk cornbread to sop up every bit of gumbo from the dish!

Texas Flood Pie

Think of Mississippi Mud Pie only thicker, richer, and with more layers! Texas flood pie is a flood of two kinds of chocolate and peanut butter mousse.

July 3

southernbakedmacaroniandcheesewithbeerinaskillet closeupsquarerecipeimage

Tavern Mac & Cheese

Make this creamy mac and cheese in an iron skillet so the edges and bottom form a delicate crust! Save some to use for mac & cheeseburgers later in the week.

Close up overhead view of a bowl of gree

Southern Green Beans

Sweet and tangy, smoky and delicious! Southern green beans are quick and easy with my method.

Butterscotch Cookies

Chewy and crispy butterscotch buckaroon cookies are a favorite of kids of all ages. Save some for ice cream sandwiches later in the week.

July 4

Close up of chicken breast that's been grilled.

Grilled Chicken

When you wrap chicken breast in bacon before grilling you end up with the most delicious, juiciest grilled chicken ever.

Potato Salad

My mom's potato salad is a classic! It's creamy with tender chunks of potato, crispy celery, and delicious dressing in each bite.

Ice Cream Bowls

These edible white chocolate ice cream bowls are fun to make! Fill with homemade ice cream covered in red velvet hot fudge sauce!

July 5

Tomato Sandwiches

I love tomato sandwiches in the summer! I know you probably don't need a recipe but I figured you might need a reminder!

Macaroni salad made with Texas shaped pasta on a red plate.

Texas Macaroni Salad

This Tex-Mex pasta salad is made with Texas shaped macaroni, a creamy southwestern dressing and plenty of roasted corn.

Homemade french vanilla ice cream in a glass. ice cream

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

Use the leftover butterscotch cookies and homemade vanilla ice cream (or your favorite) to make ice cream sandwiches

July 6

Grilled Shrimp

This is my update on the classic shrimp creole. Seasoned grilled shrimp & roasted tomatoes make for a very summery meal!

Closeup overhead view of this recipe showing the different components in detail.

Fruit Salad

I can't get enough of this light easy summer fruit salad with lime dressing in the summer! If you use honeydew in it save some of the honeydew for later in the week.