Sample Meal Plan for a Week Full of Puerto Rican Food, Plus a Pollo Guisado Recipe

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Meal planning is now my best friend. I went years without menu planning and now can’t believe I ever went without planning my dinner menu in advance! Planning your meals for dinner ahead of time not only saves time in the kitchen, it also helps you with grocery shopping. Since I know what I’ll be cooking all week, I can do my grocery shopping at Walmart for the whole week in one trip. Menu planning also allows your family to know what to expect. My husband now just looks at his calendar and knows what he’ll be eating that night – which also helps him get dinner prepped should I need him to.

Being that I grew up almost exclusively eating Puerto Rican food, I tend to cook a lot of the food I grew up with. I love cooking and eating it, my husband enjoys it, and I like sharing the food with my children to keep my heritage and culture alive. I’ve tweaked the cooking method for many of the recipes, such as using a rice cooker to cook my rice, and using the slow cooker for many of the meats. I still get the great flavor of the Puerto Rican dishes I know and love, but cooked in a modern way to fit my busy working schedule. If you want to give some of the recipes a try, let me share with you a full week’s menu plan of Puerto Rican food for you to serve your family! Tip: Schedule a leftovers night 1-2 times a week to make use of extra food and save yourself a night of cooking!

Meals for Dinner: Sample Meal Plan for a Week Full of Puerto Rican Food

1. Sunday: Pastelón (Puerto Rican Plantain Lasagna)
2. Monday: Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Stewed Chicken) served with white rice – see recipe below!
3. Tuesday: Carne Guisada (Puerto Rican Beef Stew) served with Arroz con Gandules (yellow rice with pigeon peas)
4. Wednesday: Leftovers
5. Thursday: Bistec Encebollado (Puerto Rican Cubed Steak with Onions) served with white rice and red beans
6. Friday: Carne Molida (Puerto Rican Ground Beef, Picadillo Style) served with white rice
7. Saturday: Leftovers

Want dessert? Try these strawberry & cream cheese pastelitos (puff pastries)!

Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Style Stewed Chicken) Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 or 7 chicken drumsticks, or about 1/2 a chicken
• Adobo
• Meat tenderizer
• About 1 1/2 cups water
• Carrots, about 10 baby carrots
• Sazón, 1/2 packet
• 1 Tbsp sofrito
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp tomato sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil
• 4-5 green olives
• Salt to taste
• Potatoes, about 3 medium, rinsed, peeled, and chopped into eighths

To see pictures and links for these ingredients, see 5 Must-Have Ingredients for Cooking Puerto Rican Food

Directions

1. Season chicken with adobo and meat tenderizer.
2. Add chicken to pot with water, carrots, sazón, sofrito, tomato paste, tomato sauce, oil, olives, and salt.
3. Cook covered on low-medium heat until chicken is somewhat tender.
4. Add potatoes and continue cooking on low-medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
5. Raise heat to medium-high heat. Cook about 10 minutes until broth thickens a bit. Keep an eye on the pot as to not over-cook.

You could also cook this recipe in a slow cooker for a maintenance-free meal you can cook while away! Simply add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low heat until the chicken is done and potatoes and carrots are tender.

How do you manage cooking meals for dinner on busy weeknights?

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I received compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™