You might assume that food bloggers cook big dinners every night, but that's not how my life works these days. I photograph my recipes in the afternoon light and eat a lot of leftovers. There's only so much one person can eat!

When the days are getting colder and shorter, I find myself counting down the minutes to my next hearty, warming meal. Here are my top five picks for simple weeknight meals that you'll look forward to all day long. Bonus? They all make fantastic leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

Welcome to This Week's Meal Plan

Planning my weekly meals is a habit I enjoy. Since I'm frequently asked by friends and family what I'm cooking for dinner each week, I thought it'd be useful to share my weekly meal plan here. Whether you're just learning to meal plan and looking for a real-life example of how this works or you're an old pro on the hunt for inspiration, here's a peek at how I'm eating dinner this week.

Dal makhani is a rich, spiced lentil-based stew made for special occasions in northern India. This recipe takes a few shortcuts and yields a creamy (yet cream-less) hearty stew that makes great leftovers. If you serve this with rice, make extra for tomorrow's fried rice. This dish freezes and reheats well for later.

This is what to make when you have leftover rice and some random raw vegetables languishing in your refrigerator. When homemade fried rice tastes this good, it's easy to resist takeout.

I genuinely crave this kale salad. It's fresh and hearty, creamy and crunchy, and you'll end up with some extra granola to snack on throughout the rest of the week.

This sauce is comforting like mac and cheese, but full of vegetables. It's the perfect way to warm up on a chilly fall evening. It's great on pasta and I bet it would be good on cooked spaghetti squash, too.

Throw a Friday night burrito bowl party with these festive spaghetti squash burrito bowls. Spaghetti squash replaces the rice, and you really won't miss it. Crisp cabbage slaw with black beans and avocado salsa verde make it a full meal. Cheers to making it to the weekend!