Weekly Meal Plan: Slow-Roasted Salmon, Grilled Lamb Chops, and Cheesy Sweet Potatoes

Welcome to life after Labor Day. If you're finding it particularly, uh, laborious, you're in luck: this week's meal plan offers plenty of sanity-saving tips.

On Monday you’ll roast a piece of salmon large enough to eat that night and nextover into salmon salad sandwiches the next day. Wednesday you’ll grill lamb chops, making enough to transform into a Middle Eastern-spiced hummus bowl on Friday. And in-between, you’ll learn that steaming sweet potatoes is much faster than roasting them.

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

Pantry

• Kosher salt

• Za’atar (optional)

• Cayenne pepper

• Black pepper

• Ground coriander

• Ground cumin

• Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Red wine vinegar

• Israeli couscous

• Mayonnaise

• Hot sauce (optional)

• 2 (15.5-oz.) cans chickpeas

• Tahini

Produce

• 1 bunch dill

• 1 bunch chives

• 1 bunch thyme

• 2 bunches flat-leaf parsley

• 1 bunch rosemary

• 1 bunch green onions

• 8 oz. small cherry tomatoes on the vine (optional)

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes

• Arugula

• 1 English hothouse cucumber

• 1 head garlic

• 12-16 Jimmy Nardello peppers, 8 Cubanelle peppers, or 8 oz. shishito peppers

• 3 lb. sweet potatoes (4 large or 6 small)

• 1 lb. summer squash and/or zucchini

• 1 firm avocado

• 1 bunch radishes

• 5 lemons

• 1 lime

Dairy

• 8 oz. plain Greek yogurt

• 6 oz. plain yogurt

• Unsalted butter

• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

Butcher’s Counter

• 16 lamb rib chops (about 3 lb. total), preferably unfrenched

Seafood

• 1 (3-lb.) piece center-cut skin-on salmon fillet, preferably wild king

Bakery

• 1 large loaf ciabatta

• Pita bread

MONDAY: Slow-Roasted Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes and Couscous

Tonight’s recipe makes enough to serve 6-8, so you’ll have plenty to nextover. Cut tomatoes don’t hold particularly well, so before you start on the couscous set aside about a third of the cherry tomatoes, keeping them whole. Do the same with about a third of the cooked couscous. Refrigerate the couscous, the leftover salmon, and the extra yogurt sauce separately.

TUESDAY: Salmon Salad Sandwiches on Ciabatta with Israeli Couscous Tabbouleh

Add a dollop of mayo and a few pinches of cayenne to yesterday’s yogurt sauce and use it in place of the recipe’s Piment d’Espelette Mayonnaise—with that pro move, the salmon salad is ready in minutes. To make tabbouleh couscous, finely chop the rest of one bunch of parsley, the cucumber, a green onion, and the reserved cherry tomatoes. Add couscous and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Toss and adjust seasoning.

WEDNESDAY: Grilled Lamb Chops and Peppers

A garlic-herb paste adds a punch of flavor to these lamb chops, so get 12 of the lamb chops coated as soon as you can—season the other four with just salt and pepper, since you’ll be nextovering those. If you have any ciabatta left from yesterday, serve it tonight. Refrigerate the four simply-seasoned chops for Friday.

THURSDAY: Cheesy Loaded Sweet Potatoes

Steaming the sweet potatoes gets this dinner on the table in around half an hour, but if you want to eat even sooner, you can steam them on Sunday and they’ll keep in the fridge. Use the rest of the plain yogurt instead of sour cream for topping the taters, and if you have any herb salsa left from last night, set that out on the toppings bar, too.

FRIDAY: Hummus with Spiced Summer Squash and Lamb

You’re nextovering the lamb tonight, so don't follow the recipe’s instructions for that part. Instead, remove the meat from Wednesday’s chops and cut into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil in a large skillet as directed, and add half the spice mixture. Cook for about 30 seconds, just to release the flavors, then add the lamb and toss until the meat is heated through. Proceed with the recipe as directed.

Originally Appeared on Epicurious