Thursday, August 29, 2019

Weeknight Dinner Ideas

Today I'm sharing some of my "busy weeknight dinners".  Tried and true recipes that you can pull together after work/soccer practice/the parent meeting and (hopefully) have some leftovers for lunch the next day.


This is a recipe that my mom made ALL THE TIME growing up and it's awesome because you can customize it to whatever your kids like/whatever is in your fridge and it's super quick.  Serve it with some fruit and a side salad and call it a night.




This is a more recent favorite but my kids ask for it weekly and I gladly oblige because I don't mind the leftovers the next day for lunch one bit.


So these can be a tad labor intensive on the front end (making the rice and aioli and grilling the chicken and corn) but they are SO SO SO GOOD and everyone can make them to their own liking. A weeknight hit for sure.


I feel like the name says it all.  If your kids love sloppy joes these are quick and easy and a crowd pleaser.


We were never huge pork chop fans until I started making them like this.  They're super quick to prep and while they're baking you can whip up... 


.... the tastiest, creamiest macaroni ever.   


We love chicken enchiladas and my "trick" to prepping these fast on a weeknight is to prep and shred the chicken the night before.  That way when I get home from work I just assemble everything, bake it and we're good to go.


My chicken pot pie recipe is one of my all-time favorites and while I wouldn't recommend making it from start to finish on a busy weeknight I WOULD recommend making it on the weekend and then having the pie ready to bake the next day.  The recipe actually makes two pies and you can freeze one for a later day as well.


Easy, quick and DELISH!  It's a fun spin on regular spaghetti.


Probably one of the fastest recipes I make and one of my absolute favorites.  Microwave some brown rice (Trader Joe's is SO GOOD!) and you'll have dinner on the table in under 20 minutes.


This is probably Mason's favorite meal of all time.  It's a weeknight staple and is great with a side salad.


If you love peppers you'll LOVE this recipe!  Great with freshly grilled chicken and comes together surprisingly fast.


If you bookmark one recipe to make this fall make it this one!!!  Brown some sausage the night before then put everything in your crockpot the next morning and you'll have a tasty soup ready when you get home. 


SO GOOD! SO EASY!!!


This is the meal that Luke requests more than any other and these meatballs are so full of flavor and great on subs or on top of pasta. 


Weeknights are often SO BUSY so often times I like to prep a meal for the next day after my kids go to bed so that it's ready to pop in the oven the next night.  I like to do this with  chicken spaghetti, baked ziti and even  a breakfast casserole.

Happy meal-planning, friends!!!  If you have an easy weeknight meal I'd love it if you'd leave it in the comments!

23 comments :

  1. All of these look delicious. Cannot wait to try some ! Thanks for sharing !

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    1. I'd love to hear what you think when you have a chance to try them!

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  2. The tortellini soup is my go to. I made it for Bunco one year, and everyone raved. So easy and flavorful and yummy!

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  3. Thank you for this! Easy weeknight meals is something I am always looking for, I see some we will definitely be trying!

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    1. YAY! I'd love to hear what you think when you try them!

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  4. Thanks for putting these altogether, I will remember to check back when school gets underway next week!

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  5. These look SO good , and any of your recipes I have tried are always a hit (chocolate cake, I am looking at you!).

    My dilemma is the side salad... everyone always mentions a simple side salad, but to me, the salad is the most prep! I try to prepare the lettuce ahead, but it seems to brown over night... and washing, drying, chopping all the veggies consumes so much time. What are your side salad tips? (And honestly, I spend about an hour to an hour and a half on dinner prep, but when I want a fast meal and try a salad it seems to take forever.)

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    1. My biggest secret is that Dave will bring home a side salad from the country club which obviously makes my prep non-existent. hahaha It's a HUGE help!!! (and yes, we pay for these) It's usually pretty basic (lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrots, maybe a couple of hard boiled eggs, diced tomato, etc.) and then we use whatever dressings we have at home that everybody likes. I'm also totally not above a bagged salad... Costco makes our FAVORITE one which is a chopped kale/cabbage/radicchio one with dried cranberries and a greek yogurt poppyseed dressing. If I'm all the way on my own it's usually a bagged spring mix and sliced cucumber with maybe some cheese sprinkled on top kind of situation. Hope this helps!!!

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    2. That is a perfect plan :-) I think I may need to go back to the bagged salad and just buy them day of use... thanks again for the great recipes- your suggestions are always a hit!

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  6. We tried the Meaty Mac a few weeks ago and it was delicious! We actually left the cheese out because it was already delicious enough before adding it

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  7. Bookmarking this! I was struggling with fast ideas for busy school night dinners. Thanks Andrea!

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  8. I literally came to your website today to check your recipes for some dinner ideas and you read my mind! Your faux quiche is always a hit with us!

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  9. Super helpful! Totally going to try these! 😊

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  10. Can't wait to give these a try!! I have to say I make your Andrea's pulled pork recipe weekly..it is becoming a family favorite!! Love all your recipes! :)

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  11. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! You just planned my menu for the next couple of weeks and I LOVE you for it! I am a kindergarten teacher with two BUSY kids and a hubby that travels and these are going to be SO HELPFUL! Wish I could buy you a sweet tea to say THANKS!

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  12. THANKS SO MUCH!!! You just planned my menu for the next couple of weeks! Cannot WAIT to try these!

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  13. We’ve been making a few of these for a while now. We love Masons macaroni, the sloppy joe cups, and The cheeseburger pie. Looks like I have a few more to add to our list!

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