Weeknight Favorites Archives - Page 2 of 11

Recipes, Veggies and Fruit, Weeknight Favorites

Vegetarian Potato Curry – Yum!

ByCarrie Hill | On February 27,17 | 0 Comment

I am a complete novice when it comes to Indian food. I make a few dishes with curry powder, and I thought adding curry powder to some stuff would be as “exotic” as it got for me – but I was inspired by a book I read and thought a vegetarian potato curry sounded scrumptious (I have never met a potato I didnt like.)

Trying to cut back on portion sizes and calories, having a vegetarian meal once or twice a week is a good habit to pick up. I keep the toaster size Naan Bread from Costco in my freezer so adding some rice and a piece of bread rounds out a great meal. If you want to stretch it – add a can of chickpeas and some frozen peas as well :).

Even more adventurous – I didnt really have a recipe – I sort of smooshed a few different things together. I hope you like this!

Entertaining, Light and Healthier, Recipes, Weeknight Favorites

Cowboy Caviar – Small Batch

ByCarrie Hill | On February 12,17 | 0 Comment

I found a nice recipe for Cowboy Caviar but honestly – they make SO MUCH and I really didn’t need to have so much in my fridge. I cut the recipe here and there and it still made quite a bit – great for a couple or small gathering.

Hubby hates cilantro – so I made it optional here. Use whatever bell pepper you have on hand, I like yellow, orange & red better than green – but green would work okay as well. I do think that red onion is a must, a regular yellow onion would be too strong.

Menu Planning, Recipes, Weeknight Favorites

Oven Baked Tacos

ByCarrie Hill | On February 11,17 | 0 Comment

I am a fan of the crispy taco. The soft taco is good, too – but sometimes the crunch is just what you need. But I needed a taco recipe that solved the dreaded crunchy taco disintegration issue – this Oven Baked Tacos Recipe does the job.

I thought the issue was just the way the taco crumbled UNTIL I found this oven baked taco recipe. The one I found had chicken in it, which is good – but I had ground beef thawed out and no black beans…what’s a gal to do?

Well first, I had to solve the bean problem. Instant Pot (or Cuisinart in my case) to the rescue! I found a recipe for Slow Cooker Charro Beans that looked good – but I wanted to make some adjustments, and not have to cook them for 10 hours, so I adapted it for the Pressure Cooker an came up with these Instant Pot Pinto Beans.

Then I turned the beans and my ground beef into these AMAZING baked tacos. I made a batch of my Cowboy Caviar to go on top (sans the beans, too many beans did not a happy home make).

SO – by baking the topping in the shells with a bit of cheese, the bottoms get a bit soft – still kinda crunchy though – and they don’t break into a million pieces. PERFECTO!

Give these a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Budget Friendly, Recipes, Weeknight Favorites

Potato & Chicken Coconut Curry Recipe

ByCarrie Hill | On January 15,17 | 0 Comment

I am, admittedly, a novice when it comes to Indian food. Curry scared me as I’d had it years ago and it tasted terrible and was so stupidly hot it was inedible. I sort of painted all curry with that same brush – and steered clear for years. Then I tried a coconut lime chicken recipe that had a tad of curry powder in it, and I realized that not all curry is hot, and some curry tastes amazing!

So – I got braver today and tried a Coconut Chicken Curry recipe that I modified a bit and made more to our taste. This turned out great! I served with steamed rice, toasted naan bread, shredded lettuce, fresh tomato, and sliced red onion. It was ah. mah. zing.

If you wanted to make this vegetarian, use water instead of broth/stock and double the potato. It would taste great. I had one chicken breast in the fridge already thawed so that’s what I put in here, but all potato would be pretty damn tasty as well!

If you feel the need – garnish with parsley or cilantro 🙂

Odds & Ends, Recipes, Veggies and Fruit, Weeknight Favorites

Odds & Ends: Chicken and Veggie Tortellini Soup

ByCarrie Hill | On January 07,17 | 0 Comment

I think we throw away way too many leftovers as a whole. Society has become such a “throw it away, buy new” entity – and it’s just laziness and lack of imagination that causes it. When your fridge has a bunch of semi “meh” veggies – make soup. When you have leftover meat, throw it in the freezer – when you make soup – pull out the odds and ends of chicken – add it in to your soup. You can do the same with ends and pieces of vegetable as well.

I always have chicken stock in the freezer, so if we clean out the veggie drawer, the odds and ends of chicken, and add in our stock – we have Chicken and Veggie Tortellini Soup. This one is a bit different than my other Vegetable Tortellini Soup recipe. This one works really well in the winter, and as a week night dinner. Just grab a package of refrigerated or frozen tortellini and you’re set. Use spinach, kale or escarole – or don’t add greens at the end – anything works here!

Budget Friendly, Menu Planning, Recipes, Weeknight Favorites

Garlic Honey Mustard Chicken & Veggie Tray Bake

ByCarrie Hill | On January 07,17 | 0 Comment

I am a really REALLY big fan of one dish meals – in fact a recent Christmas present was a cookbook of one-pan dinners – from slow cookers to sheet trays and dutch ovens. Really great for weeknight meals and easy clean up when you’re not really into doing a bunch of dishes. This chicken veggie tray bake recipe if definitely one to put in your repertoire.

I generally get 2 chicken breasts and butterfly into thinner pieces – they cook faster and it’s more of a realistic portion size. You can do fresh green beans, cauliflower or broccoli if you want in place of the Brussels sprouts – we like Brussels sprouts though. I also use russet potatoes, but halved baby reds work too… really this chicken veggie tray bake recipe can be whatever you have in the fridge. If you use broccoli or cauliflower, add it in the last 15-20 minutes of cooking because they cook faster than Brussels sprouts do.