Week 4 Winter Dinner Plan: Cozy Recipes for Cold Nights

What to cook for dinner this week:

1. Roast Chicken with Sautéed Vegetables
2. Easy, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
3. Chicken Tartines with tarragon, capers, roasted red peppers, radishes and cucumbers
4. Chicken Chopped Salad
5. Potato Corn Chowder with Bacon and Roasted Poblano Peppers

This five-day meal plan is built to save time and maximize flavor by using leftover ingredients across several meals. A little planning up front—roasting extra chicken, slicing a few vegetables, or making broth—turns into several quick, wholesome dinners later in the week. Below you’ll find a daily plan with simple prep steps and a consolidated shopping list to make the week easy and delicious.

If you’re new here: the basic idea

Reuse core ingredients in multiple dishes to cut prep time and reduce food waste. Each dinner is designed to build on the previous night’s work: roast extra chicken on Day 1, then use that meat in enchiladas, sandwiches, and a chopped salad later in the week. Prep once, enjoy several times.

Note: This plan is sized for a family of four. Some recipes make extra servings so you’ll have leftovers for lunches or quick second dinners.

Day #1: Roast Chicken with Sautéed Vegetables and Crusty Bread

Meal prep for tonight and the rest of the week:

1. Roast three chickens. Choose your preferred method: a straightforward roast or a buttermilk-marinated roast; the buttermilk method requires an overnight soak. Roast two chickens together in a larger pan and the third in a separate smaller dish if your oven space requires staggered timing. Eat one tonight.
2. Save the meat from the remaining chickens. Reserve about 2 cups cooked chicken (freeze) for the chopped salad, 2 cups for enchiladas verdes, and 3 cups for open-face chicken salad sandwiches.
3. Optional: Simmer the leftover bones into simple chicken broth to use in Potato Corn Chowder on Day 5.
4. Sauté red bell peppers and any other vegetables you like to serve tonight. For a family of four, sauté about six red peppers total—serve half tonight and reserve the rest for the chopped salad later in the week.

Extra optional prep: make salsa verde if you prefer homemade, cube some bread to toast into croutons for Day 4, make or buy tortillas for Day 2, and thinly slice cucumbers and radishes for Day 3 tartines.

Day #2: Easy, Cheesy Enchiladas Verdes

Use 2 cups of the leftover roast chicken to make these fast, cheesy enchiladas verdes. They come together in one bowl and one pan, and take about 15 minutes of active time—great comfort food when you want something simple and satisfying.

Optional: warm homemade tortillas if you made them on Day 1, or use packaged tortillas for convenience.

Day #3: Chicken Tartines with Tarragon, Capers, Roasted Red Peppers, Radishes and Cucumbers

Use about 3 cups of the reserved roast chicken and several slices of crusty bread to make open-face chicken salad sandwiches. If you sliced the cucumbers and radishes on Day 1, this meal takes only minutes to assemble. Bright flavors—tarragon, capers, lemon, and roasted red peppers—make a quick, elegant weeknight dinner.

Day #4: Chopped Chicken Salad

If you did the early-week prep—chopping vegetables, boiling eggs, cooking bacon, and making croutons—tonight is simply a matter of thawing the reserved chicken and assembling the salad. This chopped salad is hearty and colorful: romaine, cucumbers, radishes, bell peppers, eggs, avocado, roasted chicken, bacon, and croutons come together quickly for a satisfying meal.

Day #5: Potato Corn Chowder

Finish the week with a comforting potato corn chowder. Use homemade chicken broth if you made it from the roast bones earlier in the week, or use store-bought stock. Add roasted poblano peppers and bacon for smoky depth. Smoked gouda and bacon jalapeño biscuits make an optional but recommended accompaniment.

Shopping List — Weekly Meal Plan

*Ingredient amounts are based on a family of four. This list does not include optional baked goods or cocktail ingredients.

Chicken roast options: If you choose the simple roast method, plan for three 4 lb chickens, salt and pepper. If you choose a buttermilk roast, you’ll need three 4 lb chickens and about 4 cups buttermilk for marinating.

Pantry and refrigerated items:

• Crusty bread (for Day 1 and Day 3; extra if making croutons)
• 22 ounces salsa verde (bottled or homemade)
• 5+ flour tortillas (homemade or store-bought)
• 5 cups chicken broth (homemade from bones or store-bought)
• 2 cups frozen or fresh corn (about 1½ lbs frozen listed below)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
• A few dashes of hot sauce (optional)

Fresh produce and herbs:

• 1 English cucumber
• 12–20 radishes (for tartines and salad)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 poblano peppers
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 cups Yukon gold potatoes
• ½ cup fresh parsley
• ¼ cup minced fresh chives
• ¼ cup minced fresh tarragon
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 large lemon
• 8–10 cups romaine lettuce
• 9 red bell peppers (or a mix of colors)
• 2 avocados
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes

Other items:

• 2 lb (32 oz) thick-cut bacon
• 4 oz capers
• 12 oz jar roasted red peppers
• 6 large eggs
• 1½ lbs (24 oz) frozen corn

Use this list to streamline shopping and prep. With small batches of prep on Day 1—roasting, slicing, boiling, and saving bones—you’ll enjoy quick, tasty dinners that make the most of your time and ingredients all week long.