Real Simple Four-Week Dinner Plan: A Summary

The four weeks, annotated:

Week 1

Day 1: Roasted tilapia, potatoes and lemons. Best way to make a cheap fish sophisticated.

Day 2: Penne with tomatoes, eggplant and mozzarella. Summer eggplant parmesan.

Day 3: Turkey burgers with creamy romaine slaw. Best turkey burgers we've ever had!

Day 4: Pork cutlets with spicy noodles. Weirdest combo that worked.

Day 5: Steak with roasted carrots and onions. My introduction to tarragon, and my second favorite recipe of the group.

Week 2

Day 1: Curry shrimp and snow peas. Most photogenic.

Day 2: Lamb meatballs with couscous and feta. Truly a fresh take on Greek meatballs.

Day 3: Red currant-glazed chicken with spinach. Great spinach preparation alternative to my standby of garlic, lemon and olive oil.

Day 4: Chorizo and potato tacos with black bean salsa. Hands-down favorite.

Day 5: Ravioli with Brussels sprouts and bacon. This recipe was just too random; I couldn't make it.

Week 3

Day 1: Chicken paprikash. "When Harry met Sally" chicken.

Day 2: Shrimp with white beans and toast. As we discovered the second time around, the toast is essential.

Day 3: Asian beef and mango salad. Asian taco salad!

Day 4: Mushroom and herb strata. Delicious, but does not lend itself to leftovers... friends?

Day 5: Balsamic-glazed pork with lentils. Not making this again.

Week 4

Day 1: Roasted pork chops with polenta. My introduction to polenta. Love!

Day 2: Salmon with potato salad. Now my go-to salmon recipe.

Day 3: Seared steak with cauliflower puree. A series of unfortunate events only led to a messy kitchen and the conclusion that I do not like green olives with steak.

Day 4: Sweet potato and Brie flat bread. California Pizza Kitchen, at my house.

Day 5: Cajun chicken with collard greens. Wherein I triple the seasonings by 3 times and find success.

So, more than six months after I started, my October 2010 Real Simple issue is wrinkled and torn up, I've become more adventurous in trying recipes based on how adaptable they are for weeknights even if I wouldn't normally select them otherwise and I'm working on making complementary sides, instead of using frozen vegetables. Although there were a few busts, I've made most of these recipes more than a few times. Definitely more success from this issue than most cookbooks!