ThePrep: Comfort-Food Dinners That Feel Like a Hug

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A comforting dish can feel like a big, warm hug from someone I love, only in food form. And right now, I'm leaning into those types of cozy dishes. My mind is on steaming pots of soup, creamy pastas and anything spicy—which is exactly what you'll see in this week's meal plan. But instead of cooking away for hours, we're speeding things up with recipes that are ready in about 30 minutes.

Your Meal Plan

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken kicks off this week of comforting dinners. I love that this recipe uses a store-bought rotisserie chicken! It's such a convenient shortcut and adds lots of delicious flavor to the dish. You can speed up this dinner even more by buying a container of pre-chopped onion, carrot and celery (also called a mirepoix) from the grocery store. The recipe makes 8 servings, so I'll save leftovers to enjoy for lunch this week.

Some of the other comforting dinners in the lineup also use shortcuts to make the cooking process quicker, like pre-sliced mushrooms in Tuesday's Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms. If you can also find shredded Brussels sprouts, great! And peeled and cubed butternut squash in Wednesday's Easy Butternut Squash Soup helps cut way down on prep time. The rest of the dinners don't even need shortcuts. They're just fast and easy as is and as delicious and comforting as ever, of course. Enjoy!

Sunday: Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken

Monday: Crispy Fish Taco Bowls

Tuesday: Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

Wednesday: Easy Butternut Squash Soup with Grilled Cheese

Thursday: Spicy Noodles with Pork, Scallions & Bok Choy

Friday: Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan

Get the shopping list here!

Meal-Prep Snack

These coconut- and pumpkin-flavored energy balls are the best bite-size snack to take on the go or to have at the ready for something healthy to nibble on. Make a batch at the beginning of the week and enjoy!

Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Coconut Energy Balls

Treat Yourself

There's nothing like a little bourbon to warm you up, which is why this Maple Whiskey Sour sounds like a the choice for cocktail hour. The fresh citrus juice is a tasty, tangy addition. I like to use lemon, but fresh orange is also delicious.

Get the Recipe: Maple Whiskey Sour.

I hope you all have a great week, and if you have any questions or requests for future newsletters, please let me know by emailing ThePrep@eatingwell.com!