January is here which means a few long, cold months. It gets dark early which means you’re cooking dinner in the dark and trying to stay awake. I like to meal plan in the winter. It helps me start the year feeling organized and helps with the lull that tends to come in the cold winter months. Today I’m sharing my simple winter meal planning.

This is my plan for January and I will probably just repeat it in February, swapping out any meals that were a total bust with my somewhat picky audience. I like to do my meal planning as a list to pick off of rather than a calendar. It’s easier to stick to for me. I’ll pick the 4-5 meals for the week off my checklist and add the ingredients to my grocery list. 

Looking for more variety for next month? For another month’s worth of meal ideas and another free printable meal checklist, visit this post: A Month of Meal Ideas.

Click here to download and print this Simple Winter Meal Planning Checklist

Why only 20 days? No, this isn’t some special January that’s 20 days instead of the normal 31 days that feels like eternity. I like to be realistic with my meal planning. I know I am not cooking 31 days in a row. I know there will be a birthday party or two, pizza nights, take out, leftovers and nights where we just cook something out of the freezer. Cooking 20 nights this month (or any month) feels reasonable and like a solid acheivment. Now if only all 5 kids said they liked all 20 meals we’d really be talking! 

For each of the meal ideas below, I have linked to the recipe OR noted that it’s below. The recipes below are my own simple dinner recipes and some are more “ideas” than recipes. I like to keep it simple, not use a ton of ingredients and make things that everyone will eat. 

Simple Winter Meal Planning 

1. CrockPot Chicken and Potatoes

2. Broccoli Cheddar Soup

3. Honey Garlic Soy Glazed Salmon

4. Fried Tortellini & Salad 

5. Easy Crockpot Chili 

6. Crockpot Chicken and Rice

7. One-Pot Orzo Pasta with Italian Sausage and Kale

8. Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

9. Baked Mac & Cheese

10. Greek Night  (more details below)

11. Crockpot White Chicken Chili

12. Simple Baked Chicken & Broccoli (see below)

13. BBQ Pulled Pork on Hawaiian Rolls (see below)

14. Vegetarian Baked Ziti

15. Healthier Homemade One Pot Hamburger Helper

16. Creamy Pasta Pomodoro

17. Crockpot Pot Roast 

18. Crockpot Mexican Chicken (and rice)

19. Easy Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs (with spaghetti)

20. Tortellini Soup

“See Below” details:

Greek Night

This is an easy one and a favorite in our house. I put everything out and people make their own meal out of it. Here are some of the things I add to it:

• Cucumbers
• Sliced green peppers
• Olives
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Feta
• Tzatziki
• Hummus
• Pita (I like the Naan from Whole Foods best)
• Dolmedes (Whole Foods or the canned from Trader Joes)
• Gyro Slices from Trader Joes 
• Rice

Simple Baked Chicken & Broccoli

This is seriously the easiest dinner and for some reason my kids love it. 

• Thin sliced chicken breasts on a baking sheet with: olive oil, salt, pepper, squeeze of lemon (or lemon juice), sprinkle of bread crumbs
• Broccoli tossed in the same: olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon and a little sprinkle of bread crumbs
• Bake everything at 375 until cooked

BBQ Pulled Pork on Hawaiian Rolls 

This is a winter favorite because the bbq and Hawaiian rolls feels a little summery…

• Cook pork in the slow cooker (pork tenderloin, pork shoulder, whatever you prefer) with 2 cans of rootbeer
• One cooked, shred and mix with bq sauce 
• Serve with coleslaw and Hawaiian rolls 

I hope this helps with your dinner plans this month (and maybe next!).