Weekly Meal Plan: Mexican Flatbreads, Sheet-Pan Chicken, and Crispy Fish

What's the best way to encourage kids to eat fish? Make it crispy. This week you'll be using our super-simple method (hint: it involves a sheet-pan) to make a crispy fish dinner you can easily tweak to suit your family's tastes.

On the other nights you'll make flatbreads topped with mashed black beans and avocado, try a sausage-and-broccoli twist on pasta Bolognese, roast a pan of cumin-scented chicken and vegetables, and pull together a lightning-fast chopped salad.

All the details are below. But first, the grocery list:

Pantry

• 2 lbs. dried black beans
• Bay leaves
• Kosher salt
• Dried oregano
• Ground cumin
• Black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• Ground coriander
• Mayonnaise
• Dijon mustard
• Sliced almonds
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Vegetable oil
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 oz. orecchiette

Produce

• 1 onion
• 2 red onions
• 1 head garlic
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 lb. fingerling potatoes
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 large head broccoli (1 1/4-1 1/2 lb.)
• 1 head romaine
• 1 cucumber
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 lemons
• 3 limes

Dairy

• 8 oz. Oaxacan string cheese
• Unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 oz. Parmesan

Butcher’s Counter

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• 12 oz. fresh Italian sausage (about 3 links)

Seafood

• 4 (6 oz.) fillets of cod, snapper, or halibut, at least ¾” but no more than 2” thick

Bakery

• Prepared pizza dough

Freezer Case

• Frozen corn kernels

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

SUNDAY: Big-Batch Black Beans

A big pot of black beans takes very little effort, and yields enough for multiple meals—they’ll come in handy if you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo tonight, and you’ll still have enough for two more dinners this week. Freeze any extra beans in two-cup portions so you’ll always have some ready.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

MONDAY: Sheet-Pan Roasted Cod with Asparagus and Fingerling Potatoes

Once you learn this winging-it method of roasting a fish dinner, you’ll turn to it again and again. Tonight, we’re adding a quick extra step: Before you start prepping everything else, halve the fingerlings lengthwise and set them up to steam until barely tender, about 18 minutes. Once that’s going preheat the oven to 500˚F. Trim the asparagus and thinly slice a lemon. Toss with a splash of olive oil, a few sprigs of thyme, salt, and pepper, then arrange on an oiled sheet pan. Combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard; spread each fish fillet with some of the mixture and press on some sliced almonds. Nestle the fish onto the sheet pan. By now the potatoes should be done—toss those with some more olive oil, salt, and pepper, and add them to the sheet pan. (If the sheet pan seems too crowded, divide everything between two pans.) Roast for 8-10 minutes, until the topping is lightly browned, the fish is opaque, and the layers of flesh separate easily when you push it from the side.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

TUESDAY: Black Bean Tlayudas and a Big Salad

That black bean prep starts to pay off with tonight's dinner: a kinda-sorta Mexican pizza. Just throw the pizza dough on the grill (or on a pizza stone or baking sheet in a 500° F oven) until lightly charred, then spread with mashed black beans. Top with avocado slices, Oaxacan string cheese, and maybe a few halved grape tomatoes. Hot sauce is optional. To round out the meal, make a big salad with romaine, thinly sliced red onion, grape tomatoes, and cucumber, tossed with cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

WEDNESDAY: Cumin-Dusted Chicken and Vegetables

Tonight’s sheet-pan supper will give you enough chicken to nextover for Friday. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. In a small bowl. combine 1 tablespoon of ground cumin, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and a hearty grinding of black pepper. Cut the cauliflower into florets and spread on a sheet pan along with a pint of grape tomatoes. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and toss with about 2/3 of the cumin mixture. Brush the chicken thighs with oil and sprinkle with the remaining seasoning, then place on top of the vegetables. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165˚F, about 35 minutes. You should have at least two thighs left over—pull the meat from the bones and refrigerate.

Photo by Alex Lau

THURSDAY: Broccoli Bolognese with Orecchiette

Italian sausage and broccoli make an easy sauce for orecchiette, and it’s all ready in just a few minutes more than it takes to cook the pasta. Don't skip the butter at the end—it really pulls the sauce together. Got kids with spice issues? Pass the red pepper flakes at the table instead of adding them to the dish.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

FRIDAY: Chicken, Corn, and Black Bean Salad

Wednesday’s chicken + Sunday’s beans = a super-easy chopped salad to close out the week. (Seriously, you’re chopping like three things.) Just toss the leftover chicken with a cup or two of black beans, a cup or two of defrosted frozen corn, a diced red bell pepper, a handful of diced red onions, and some torn cilantro. Dress with olive oil, lime juice, and salt. Nothing like heading into the weekend with no muss, no fuss.