Grilled oregano spatchcock chicken and a warm zucchini salad

Hello! I hope you’ve had a great week and are enjoying the best of summer eating right now (because as much as the internet would like to tell us it’s pumpkin season, I’m not ready to talk fall when summer produce is this good)!

I have a new recipe for you this week that is perfectly summery: a protein on the grill and a warm zucchini salad that I promise is completely possible on a weekday (but also makes a great Sunday night dinner).

I also have the first of a series of themed meal plans I will be sharing with you, and this one is all about doing the most with your time and ingredients.

Between the busyness that this time of year naturally brings, I figured many of us could use a meal prep(ish) plan, but without spending hours of actual meal prep! So I’ve put together an all-new meal plan which I’ve called The Crazy-Busy Week plan, and it reflects what I’m doing this month as we wade into a new school year and routines.

As for this week’s new recipe, it is still summer-inspired, uses the grill (with an option for the oven if you prefer), and makes the most of seasonal zucchini.

The flavors are from one of my favorite recipes I shared last summer: an oregano and olive chicken skillet, which we made on repeat last year.

I’ve taken that flavor combo and created a new type of main dish— a grilled oregano spatchcock chicken and a warm zucchini salad with tons of capers and olives and all the briny flavor you’d expect.

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If you enjoy having a dinner plan for the week (and maybe even a few lunches) AND you like to tackle some of this in advance, this is the plan for you!

And if not, all of these meals except for Dinner 1 take right around 30 minutes, so each one is still doable on a busy night.

Here’s a preview of what we’re making this week. The full plan + shopping list + meal prep tips are all included in the PDF below.

A whole roasted chicken is wonderful any night of the week, but especially at the beginning of a new week since it can give you a jumpstart on creating other meals with roasted chicken leftovers (and homemade bone broth).

The spatchcock method speeds up the roasting process, and when done on the grill, you simply get unbeatable flavor!

Here’s why this meal is so great:

• we’re making use of the grill (but you can also choose the oven) to cook a whole chicken in a speedier way, thanks to the spatchcock technique;

• zucchini is so versatile and it’s wonderful grilled, but the warm salad situation combines sweetness from dates, earthy oregano, and briny ingredients like olives and capers, which is a delicious way to amp up this neutral veg.

Yield: 5-7 servings

Prep time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

For the chicken