Bringing inspiration and ideas to better manage your home kitchen
Practical meals are key for weeknights. They can’t take too long, they need to be balanced and somewhat healthy, and appeal to a wide range of palettes (even the most picky)! It can feel impossible to find recipes that meet the criteria. These recipes focus …
Cooking during the week is not easy. It requires a bit of preparation and organization to be successful. Most of us would fail to get a scratch-made dinner on the table without the ingredients on hand and a recipe in mind. The last thing you …
Cooking during the week is not easy. It requires a bit of preparation and organization to be successful. Most of us would fail to get a scratch made dinner on the table without the ingredients in hand and a recipe in mind. The last thing you want to do after a long day is think about what you should cook and discover that you don’t have the ingredients you need to make it. I’m sharing 10 great recipes that won’t take you hours to get on the table.
This traditional appetizer becomes a meal when served with rice and garnished with sauce and herbs. It’s high-protein and very satisfying full of Thai flavor.
Get the full recipe here: Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce
How To Make It Extra Easy:
2. The Best Pancake: Banana Oat Pancakes
Don’t underutilize breakfast for dinner. When you need something easy and you want it to be simple on your stomach or even comforting, breakfast is a great tool. These pancakes are gluten free and they’re delicious. They taste like a banana muffin in pancake form.
Get the full recipe here: The Best Pancake: Banana Oat Pancakes (Gluten Free)
3. Korean BBQ Chicken & Rice Bowl
Rice bowls are a great way to get a satisfying, easy meal on the table quick. And the leftovers are great for lunch the next day. This rice bowl is unctuous with the Gochujang, comforting with scrambled eggs, and crunchy with roasted vegetables. Use the rice bowl as a generic framework to iterate off of with what you already have.
How To Make It Extra Easy
Get the full recipe here: Korean BBQ Chicken & Rice Bowl
4. Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken & French Vinaigrette
This spring salad is healthy and brings together the classic combination of spinach, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and French dressing with the welcomed additions of grilled chicken and grilled vegetables. The flavors are all part of a great symphony delivering a satisfying entree salad.
How To Make It Extra Easy
Get the full recipe here: Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken & French Vinaigrette
5. Takeout Style Chicken Teriyaki
Chicken teriyaki is what everyone wants in the middle of the week. Like the rice bowl, it covers protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables leaving you feeling satisfied and yet healthy-ish. This teriyaki recipe has no added sugar and has a depth and complexity that will make it your go-to.
Get the full recipe here: The Best Chicken Teriyaki Recipe – Easy, Saucy, and Takeout-style
How To Make It Extra Easy
6. Roasted Chicken with Charred Scallion Vinaigrette
This pan-roasted, whole chicken recipe will make you feel like a pro in your kitchen without much technique required or fuss. The roasted red onions, roasted lemons, and vinaigrette pack a major flavor punch. Serve with rice or roasted potatoes.
Get the full recipe here: The Pan-Roasted Chicken Recipe I Make On Repeat
How To Make It Extra Easy
7. Breakfast Skillet
Again, breakfast should be on your radar for easy weeknight dinners. This skillet is a copycat of one we love from our local breakfast diner. Scrambled eggs, sauteed onions and peppers, crumbled sausage and cheese all on a bed of crispy hashbrowns.
Get the full recipe here: Our Favorite Diner-Style Breakfast Skillet
How To Make It Extra Easy
8. Meatballs & Roasted Vegetables
I lean on sheet pan meatballs with roasted vegetables at least monthly in my weeknight meals. They’re satisfying, easy to make quickly and deliver on lots of good protein.
Get the full recipe here: How To Make the Best Meatballs At Home (Technique, Flavor + Versatility)
How To Make It Extra Easy
9. Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Burger + Fries
Burgers should be on your quick list for easy weeknight meals. Iterate on the cheese, toppings, and bun style’s you like. They’re easy and so satisfying. This is a classic combination of roasted red pepper and goat cheese.
Get the full recipe(s) here: Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Burger Recipe + Oven-Roasted Fries
How To Make It Extra Easy
10. Pad Thai with Chicken
Think of things you crave after a long day of work. Across your home, I’d bet that burgers, chicken teriyaki, pad Thai and breakfasts will consistently be hits on your table. This pad Thai recipe tastes authentic and is easy to pull together.
Get the full recipe here: Skip Takeout – This Pad Thai is Faster, Better + Healthier
What Cooking From Scratch Actually Means (And Where To Start)
How To Stock A Whole-Ingredient Pantry (Beginner Friendly Guide)
The easiest dinners that we actually want to eat during the week include burgers + fries, meatballs + roasted vegetables, and breakfast for dinner.
Breakfast is easy and so are burgers and fries. Plan on at least one of these in your weekly menu. It’ll give you an easy button on a busy night while still achieving a homemade meal.
Leverage the “How To Make It Extra Easy” ideas above. No shade on buying prepped or prepared ingredients if every moment counts for you in the evening.
Hands down, meal planning paired with grocery shopping. Come up with realistic meals you want to cook for the week ahead and create a grocery list with all of those ingredients on it. Go shopping and come Monday, rest assured you have a plan and what you need to execute that plan!
Check out his post on “How To Stock a Whole-Ingredient Pantry.”
With a few simple ingredients and reliable recipes, weeknight dinners don’t have to be stressful. Start with one of these easy meals and build a routine that makes cooking at home easier during the week.
What Is A Whole-Ingredient Pantry? WHOLE INGREDIENTS How & Where To Start? Whole-Ingredient Pantry Staples Fresh Ingredients To Complete a Whole-Food Kitchen What To Know About these Staples: How Stocking A Whole-Ingredient Pantry Makes Cooking Easier Easy Meals You Can Make From These Pantry Staples …
Cooking From Scratch For Beginners If you’re just getting into cooking, it can be intimidating. Knowing where to start, what to cook, how to cook are all skills that you haven’t yet developed. Don’t worry – your palette and your curiosity will be your teacher. …
Every once in a while, pancakes just fit the bill for a weekend breakfast. I’m not much of a carb heavy breakfast lover – I’d opt for protein heavy over carb heavy – but when you’re avoiding gluten, you start to appreciate the carbohydrates that are available. In the past, sourdough pancakes were always my favorite. I like the tangy flavor and that it doesn’t have that pancake mix, odd floury flavor.
This recipe has surpassed the sourdough pancakes as my new favorite pancake recipe. It’s easy, they’re gluten-free, made with oats, and comforting! I love it because is full of flavor and has a combination of flavors I love – bananas, oats, and cinnamon. These pancakes are fluffy, flavorful, and satisfying. Give them a try next weekend!
This has become our "go-to" pancake recipe. It happens to be gluten free and has two flavors that I love with breakfast - bananas and cinnamon. These pancakes are fluffy and very flavorful!
Preheat your griddle or pan for cooking the pancakes. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on medium-high until smooth, about 1 minute. Once the batter is blended, cook in preferred way and top with syrup and butter.
Inspired by: Cookie & Kate "Blender Oatmeal Pancakes"
Muesli is a cold Swiss cereal that primarily consists of rolled oats. Traditionally, it’s set to soak in water overnight (hello overnight oats) and is eaten with fresh fruit, nuts, and cream sweetened with honey. This takes a bit more preparation than a typical cold …
Special K with red berries? Probably one of the best cereals out there, if you ask me! Store-bought cereals are a special treat. Growing up, our family had a tradition that every time we went camping, we could pick out a sugar cereal. Not camping? …
There’s something about the combination of oatmeal and bananas with a cup of coffee that I love. In this version, loads of warming spices, roasted pecans, bananas, and raisins bring together a delicious bowl of hot oatmeal. And this recipe can be adapted for an “on the go” version that only requires hot water.
Think of a healthy banana nut muffin turned into a bowl of warm comforting oatmeal. This is a wonderful way to change up your oatmeal routine with something you'll look forward to!
In a thermal cup or container, combine all dry ingredients. If you're using fresh dairy, fresh fruit, or liquid sugar (maple syrup, honey, etc.) hold these and add at the end. To the dry ingredients, add 3/4 cup to 1 cup hot water. If I'm using rolled oats, I use 3/4 cup water. If steel cut oats, 1 cup water. Stir to combine and place an insulating lid on the cup/container. Let sit for 15-20 minutes (30-60 for steel cut oats). Add any wet ingredients at the end. Enjoy!
I’ve noticed some seasonal patterns in our food and drink consumption. We drink a lot of sparkling water in the warm weather months. Sparkling water gets traded for tea when the weather turns cold. Oatmeal becomes increasingly popular December thru March. It’s interesting to see …