Weeknight Meals

[ohchaucer 1,443]

I need to get out of a rut and somewhere between the Steel Shank thread and Shit I’ve Cooked Lately, I’m looking for ideas for easy and healthy-ish weeknight ideas. We regularly do tacos, turkey “chili,” chicken piccata, turkey burgers. What are some of y’all’s go-to meals?

[dcbc 14,487]

The easiest family meal I know:
 
Oven 375.  13x9 baking pan.  To the pan, add: 2 cups rice, 3 cups water, 1 can mushrooms, 1 or 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 4--5 frozen chicken breasts.  Salt, pepper, etc.  Season to taste.  Cover in foil and bake for 1 hour, 45 minutes.  Serve with vegetable of your choice. 

You can sub cream of chicken soup or pork chops.

[RollLeft 5,045]

soup/salad night

seafood night

bok choy&dumplings over steamed rice 

breakfast for dinner night

[RMac5 1,551]

Salmon is easy and quick.

[conVINCEd 21,469]

29 minutes ago, dcbc said:

The easiest family meal I know:
 
Oven 375.  13x9 baking pan.  To the pan, add: 2 cups rice, 3 cups water, 1 can mushrooms, 1 or 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 4--5 frozen chicken breasts.  Salt, pepper, etc.  Season to taste.  Cover in foil and bake for 1 hour, 45 minutes.  Serve with vegetable of your choice. 

You can sub cream of chicken soup or pork chops.

Easily my least favorite thing my mom cooked when I was a kid.

[Stringer 1,439]

I recommend finding one of those ingredient delivery services for a while. We did Plated (now closed) for a year or so and collected a binder full of recipes that we like, then turned the service off. We just cycle through those recipes now. They’re generally healthy and take 20-45 minutes.

[South Austin 52,521]

I make a lot of chicken thighs in the air fryer with a variety of rubs and marinades, and serve with a salad and some kind of starch. Easy to prep, cook, and clean. Pork chops and marinated chicken breasts from Central Market are also great in the air fryer.

If you’re tired of basic spaghetti and meat sauce, Ina Garten’s Weeknight Bolognese is solid. Link

Her shrimp scampi is also easy and my kids love it. Link

On the weekends, I love to make fine quality meals that take the better part of the afternoon. But on weeknights I’m just slinging plates.

[tigol 2,398]

Look at slow cooker recipes.  

Easy one is boneless chicken thighs or breasts, one packet of taco seasoning, can of drained Rotel or salsa.  Put it on low all day.  Come home from work and shred chicken for tacos, salads, etc.

Get several jars of this:

 https://www.target.com/p/herdez-salsa-verde-16oz/-/A-47112517?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012732781&CPNG=PLA_Grocery%2BShopping_Local|Grocery_Ecomm_Food_Bev&adgroup=SC_Grocery&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=c&location=9028274&targetid=pla-334150833281&ds_rl=1246978&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9YugBhCZARIsAACXxeJ_8XAbS6TMLzE71bWp3brAlsrtMfTMLB2k1rFofw5G9Mxgq-ZzDWkaAkpBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Works in the slow cooker with chicken and pork.  1 jar with 1.5-2lbs of meat.  Do not add salt.  Shred the meat when you get home and make tacos, burritos, who knows.  

 

[Texzilla58 4,738]

Most grocers now have pulled rotisserie chicken in a tub. I buy one every week at least. Easy for just about anything from pasta, tacos, bbq chicken, salads.

Make an easy pasta everyone seems to enjoy. Easy to customize. Put some pasta on the boil to just below Al dente.Fry up some chopped bacon or sausage. I usually do mini bow ties. Sauté chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper. Throw in some cut cherry tomatoes. I might add a can of chopped green chilies. Throw in chopped chicken and your sausage or ham. Add a can of cream of chicken soup. One and a half cans of whole milk. There’s your sauce once it just comes to high simmer. I might add fresh parsley, fresh japs, sundried tomatoes, or frozen peas. Toss in pasta and let it cook in sauce a minute. Done in ten minutes.

We make a big pot of vegetable soup all the time. Three pounds ground beef browned with a large finely chopped onion, celery, carrot, garlic. Season it. Add three cans red gold crushed tomatoes. Bag or two of frozen corn and English peas. Season as you wish.simmer til carrots are soft. Make a skillet of jalapeño cornbread.

[tigol 2,398]

4 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

Most grocers now have pulled rotisserie chicken in a tub. I buy one every week at least. Easy for just about anything from pasta, tacos, bbq chicken, salads.

Make an easy pasta everyone seems to enjoy. Easy to customize. Put some pasta on the boil to just below Al dente.Fry up some chopped bacon or sausage. I usually do mini bow ties. Sauté chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper. Throw in some cut cherry tomatoes. I might add a can of chopped green chilies. Throw in chopped chicken and your sausage or ham. Add a can of cream of chicken soup. One and a half cans of whole milk. There’s your sauce once it just comes to high simmer. I might add fresh parsley, fresh japs, sundried tomatoes, or frozen peas. Toss in pasta and let it cook in sauce a minute. Done in ten minutes.

We make a big pot of vegetable soup all the time. Three pounds ground beef browned with a large finely chopped onion, celery, carrot, garlic. Season it. Add three cans red gold crushed tomatoes. Bag or two of frozen corn and English peas. Season as you wish.simmer til carrots are soft. Make a skillet of jalapeño cornbread.

He asked for healthy.  Bacon, whole milk, sausage, and pasta rarely make that list.  I agree about the chicken in a tub.  Convenient.

[elfenix 34,320]

a couple months ago i read something along the lines of it should be more acceptable for adults to eat like kids.  not dino nugs and french fries, but why not eat some cut up raw veg, some cut up fruit, some cheese, maybe some summer sausage or pepperoni, and some crackers or slices from a baguette.  if it was served at a decent restaurant you'd be paying $35 for the pleasure of the sharkcoochie board. 

[Mittens 8,286]

I use the veggie pasta to be a bit more healthy.

Sautee half a large yellow onion, a head of garlic - yes, I like a lot of garlic - and a green bell pepper, add a pound of ground turkey - I try to find the higher fat %....85/15?  Add a jar of sauce and a box of veggie rotini.  Filling and fairly healthy...until I load it up w/ parmesan.

[Jerry Callo 8,704]

Sheet pan meals are pretty easy.  I do a sheet pan chicken and vegs and a sheet pan jambalaya.  

Ham, cheese, and broccoli fritatas are easy and healthy as well.  I had an 18 pack of eggs fall out of the 4runner last week - menu changed immediately from Thai Basil chicken to leftover brisket and gouda fritata.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Jerry Callo

[jimmyjazz 45,978]

I've been making a "chef's salad" for my wife and I every couple of weeks.  A couple of hard boiled eggs, a couple of chicken tenders from the frozen aisle, some fresh grated cheddar, some diced tomatoes and cucumber, croutons, a bag of romaine salad blend, Litehouse Ranch dressing, voila!  A moderately healthy, easy, inexpensive meal.

Mix and match with maybe some deli meat, your own vinaigrette, different cheeses and veggies, whatever.

[Viking 301]

My favorite in the current rotation is an asian stir fry. Prep takes the longest but could be done a few days before when you have more time. You can use different proteins and veg; I usually do skirt steak (sliced thin) and carrots, onion, garlic, and tofu. Sauce is 1/2 cup soy, 1/4 cup dark soy, 1T brown sugar or honey, a bit of vinegar, and 1 T gochugaru. Served over rice or rice noodles.

[CoachTex 2,628]

Chicken Pita

cook chicken in a cast iron skillet with salt and pepper butter and olive oil. 

top with 

Romaine, tomato, red onion, black olive, Fettuccine, and olive oil vinaigrette 

[jimmyjazz 45,978]

16 minutes ago, CoachTex said:

top with 

Romaine, tomato, red onion, black olive, Fettuccine, and olive oil vinaigrette 

Fettucine?  Is that some voice-to-text bastardization of feta cheese?

Edited March 4, 2023 by jimmyjazz

[CoachTex 2,628]

God damit. Feta! I can't spell for shit. Typed fetta and it corrected it to Fettuccine. Fuck me.

[Neonmoon 38,129]

Easiest and healthiest thing to make by far 

Sheet pan. Chop up little red potatoes, white onions, bell peppers, broccoli and sausage link. Drizzle with olive oil. Spice as desired. Put in oven on 420 for 20-30 minutes. Done

[Texzilla58 4,738]

He asked for healthy.  Bacon, whole milk, sausage, and pasta rarely make that list.  I agree about the chicken in a tub.  Convenient.

I missed the healthy. It’s easy to make it healthier by leaving out the soup, adding more veggies. I often make it with chopped Kalamata olives, capers, lemon zest and lemon juice and lots of parsley.

If your kids like eggs, and like tomato sauce, make shakshuka. It’s very quick and the sauce can be made day before.

You can do fresh tomatoes but I use red gold canned crushed. Sauté a chopped large onion, garlic, a red or yellow bell pepper or two, and I add chopped japs. Add spices: black pepper, coriander, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes. Once that’s all cooked add a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. Let it tighten up a bit and make wells and drop an egg in each. Let them poach in the sauce to you fineness. Top with chopped parsley and mint. I like it with a bit of feta, wife does not. I like it with warm pitas or like a Benedict on a toasty English muffin.

[Deej 76,833]

10 hours ago, RollLeft said:

breakfast for dinner night

 

[salonghorn 204]

I take a little time on some weekends to fix large batches of stuff and freeze into meal sizes. Right now I have shrimp and sausage gumbo, crawfish etouffee and Mexican soup in the freezer. Pot roast., stew, carne guisada, chili, any variety of soup, all freeze well

[Brew 3,049]

2 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Easiest and healthiest thing to make by far 

Sheet pan. Chop up little red potatoes, white onions, bell peppers, broccoli and sausage link. Drizzle with olive oil. Spice as desired. Put in oven on 420 for 20-30 minutes. Done

Prefer sheet pan with sliced carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, drizzle with olive oil, season with whatever, same time and temp. Eat with chicken, salmon, whatever you want to fix with it. We usually do a couple of sheet pans on Sunday and eat during the week.

Grilled cauliflower steaks with some steak seasoning also is a nice mix in. 

Salmon (cooked in aluminum foil with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and italian seasoning) along with vegetables is simple and quick.

[dcbc 14,487]

12 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

Easily my least favorite thing my mom cooked when I was a kid.

I fucking love it.  But yeah, it's a total throwback, back of the soup can sort of recipe.  It benefits from a good combination of seasoning. 

Edited March 5, 2023 by dcbc

[conVINCEd 21,469]

13 minutes ago, dcbc said:

I fucking love it.  But yeah, it's a total throwback.

My mom published a cookbook.  The bar was relatively high.  She called it sherry mushroom chicken and I hated it.

[Texzilla58 4,738]

I get 2lb bags of frozen on the boat Texas Gulf shrimp when it’s on sale. So simple. I clean and she’ll them, toss with olive oil, whatever spices I feel like, and roast them in the oven. See the ina garden recipe.
Often I’ll pull out the baking sheet, squeeze some lemon on them and we just dive in with nothing else.

Other nights I might make scampi, or a shrimp Thai curry, or shrimp tacos. The list is long on fast meals with shrimp.

[kilroydos 267]

Sheet pan salmon with potatoes and parmesan asparagus.

I don't always make the arugula basil dill salad for the top, but it's really nice to cut through the buttery potatoes, etc.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/wprm_print/103915

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

17 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

Easily my least favorite thing my mom cooked when I was a kid.

Cream of mushroom soup is the work of the devil.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,819]

22 hours ago, South Austin said:

I make a lot of chicken thighs in the air fryer with a variety of rubs and marinades, and serve with a salad and some kind of starch. Easy to prep, cook, and clean. Pork chops and marinated chicken breasts from Central Market are also great in the air fryer.

If you’re tired of basic spaghetti and meat sauce, Ina Garten’s Weeknight Bolognese is solid. Link

Her shrimp scampi is also easy and my kids love it. Link

On the weekends, I love to make fine quality meals that take the better part of the afternoon. But on weeknights I’m just slinging plates.

You using whole chicken thighs or boneless skinless?

[South Austin 52,521]

49 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

You using whole chicken thighs or boneless skinless?

Boneless skinless.

[Etexhorn13 3,052]

A couple of super easy go-tos when I feel like putting in minimal effort:

Boneless/skinless chicken thighs, marinated equal parts teriyaki and lower sodium soy sauce, black pepper, ginger powder. Grill or cook in cast iron, serve with some steamed rice and green veggie of choice.

Pork chops, rubbed with Dijon mustard and lightly breaded with panko. Great in the air fryer or a cast iron skillet. Those are both probably 25 minute dishes that require very little skill or effort.

[Mittens 8,286]

 

From the HEB thread:

On 12/22/2022 at 8:10 AM, Mittens said:

Those sausages are money. Way better than the Ekrich or Butterball ones.  At least once a week I cut up 1/2 of one of those and cook it in the skillet. Throw a bag of cauliflower rice into the microwave, then add it to the skillet, add red chili flakes and garlic, mix well. Top w/ about 2/3 bag of chopped spinach (cooked/drained) w/ some lemon juice.  Quick and easy, filling, healthy.

I've been making some version of this bowl forever.  The basic concept - meat, grain, veggie.  Mix and match w/ what you have/like - excellent w/ leftover meat from yesterday's dinner.  S

Grain - rice, quinoa, couscous...lately I've been on riced cauliflower
Meat - rotisserie chicken or turkey, salmon, sausage
Veggie - broccoli, peas, spinach, squash/zucchini

 

 

[SimonBolivar 10,958]

13 hours ago, dcbc said:

I fucking love it.  But yeah, it's a total throwback, back of the soup can sort of recipe.  It benefits from a good combination of seasoning. 

It was one of my favorites too but my mom used cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom.

[Underdog 28,712]

On 3/4/2023 at 9:13 AM, dcbc said:

The easiest family meal I know:
 
Oven 375.  13x9 baking pan.  To the pan, add: 2 cups rice, 3 cups water, 1 can mushrooms, 1 or 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 4--5 frozen chicken breasts.  Salt, pepper, etc.  Season to taste.  Cover in foil and bake for 1 hour, 45 minutes.  Serve with vegetable of your choice. 

You can sub cream of chicken soup or pork chops.

Do something similar but in a crock pot and rice is cooked separately.  Going to try CoM soup, ground beef in CP served over egg noodles sometime this week. 

[Red Five 40,862]

About once a week or so I put a can of tuna over whatever vegetables I have (lettuce, kale, cucumbers, whatever), add some beans and/or nuts and vinegar/vinaigrette. That's actually normally my "time to go to HEB tomorrow" dinner. 

[Brew 3,049]

2 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

It was one of my favorites too but my mom used cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom.

Found a recipe a few years ago we do instead. It’s garlic butter rice and chicken thighs. Use brown rice and cut the butter back and it comes out really good.

[wackawacka 179]

In a rice cooker, rice plus cut sausage. When close to done, add greens (e.g., spinach, kale).

Boring but extremely low effort.

[billfromlaketravis 11,519]

Very boring, but I've been grilled chicken tenders and oven roasted green beans for lunch and dinner for about a month. I like Montreal Chicken Seasoning for the strips. Olive oil, salt and pepper on the green beans. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Finish up uncovered for 7-8 minutes. 

If you're feeling very lazy, you can cook the chicken strips and green beans together in the oven. 

I usually add grilled peppers and onions to spice it up. 

[TonyTexas 10,517]

I just don’t get why people use boneless/skinless thighs or breasts when baking or grilling chicken. Those should only be used for skillet type meals. 

Edited March 5, 2023 by TonyTexas

[dcbc 14,487]

15 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Cream of mushroom soup is the work of the devil.

Could be.  I sure do like his lettuce.

[Brew 3,049]

1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

I just don’t get why people use boneless/skinless thighs or breasts when baking or grilling chicken. Those should only be used for skillet type meals. 

I use skinless for everything, bone in/out just depends on what I’m cooking and the timing. Don’t like skin, don’t like the grease/fat that comes with it.

[TonyTexas 10,517]

1 hour ago, dcbc said:

Could be.  I sure do like his lettuce.

I like his eggs. But the ham sucks. 

[Redneck Mutha 8,005]

We try to do most of our cooking for the week on Sunday and Monday, we eat leftovers from those nights Tuesday and Wednesday, sometimes Thursday.  And we like to use our slow cooker when we do cook on weeknights to save time.

Tomorrow we're doing slow cooker red beans and andouille.  Other relatively healthy slow cooker recipes we like: pot roast, carnitas, beef tips.

[Steamboat1874 4,069]

Hello Fresh is your friend.

We get 3 meals a week on Sunday and they are great.

[Mittens 8,286]

I really liked the meals Hello Fresh offered and cooking new meals especially.  But between their portion sizes (I would often end up eating both portions of the 1 meal) and all the packing waste, I pulled the plug.  Best thing about them corporately is that they'll let you turn it on/off whenever and they'll always entice you back w/ a discount, so if you want to do it once a month or take a break for 6 months, there's no penalty.  At least that was the case when I was using it, but haven't done it in a couple of years.  Great option to get out of a rut and try new things for sure.

[Tylerocks 2,553]

As has been mentioned a few times. We like to do chicken in the air fryer.  Usually thighs because they're cheap...and I prefer them flavor-wise.

We'll also do a whole roasted chicken once every couple of weeks.  Usually a one pot deal.  Dutch oven, potatoes, whole chicken. Use the leftovers for lunches the rest of the week.  Salads/sandwiches/tacos, whatever.

We'll do salmon/rice.

We'll do baked potatoes or sweet potatoes.

There's a pasta night

Breakfast/Omlette night

 

We had a struggle night and just picked up an HEB Pesto/artichoke/chicken pizza.  It was solid enough and like $8

[52-80 19,178]

roast chicken - whole or pieces

fried rice (use all leftover)

pasta with aglio olio (literally just oil and garlic), and/or bacon, and/or egg, and/or shrimp and/or just some tomatoes... theres a billion simple pasta recipes out there

tex-mex tacos i.e. ground beef + spice packet

simple burgers.  ground beef, onion, no frills.

 

[Jerry Callo 8,704]

We usually do a salad one night.  Taco salad, chicken Caesar, or something similar.  Lettuce topped with a protein is easy, quick, and healthy.

[TankedBevo 2,483]

Same here, I'll usually buy a whole rotisserie chicken and a bag salad of some sort for this very reason. Laziest meal in the planet that you can customize almost infinitely. 

[tigol 2,398]

I smoke 2-3 of those butterball turkey breasts every few weeks.  Random Sunday task while mowing or doing laundry.  3lbs for ~$12 pre-cooked each.  I remove the skin/fat and season them with salt and pepper plus whatever rub/hot sauce I have on hand.   I leave the little skirt on after minimal trimming.  Takes about 3-4 hours on the smoker then I let them rest.  Slice thin and vacuum seal what we're not going to eat during the week.  

We make salads, quesadillas, and lunch sandwiches with it.  The real bonus is that I always have some smoked turkey in the freezer ready to hit the water bath as needed.