So I’ve really been slacking on making dinner lately. Thankfully my husband is amazing and has been saving us and our tummies these past few weeks and taking care of making meals for us. In an effort to try and get on top of things again here is my meal plan for the week for easy weeknight dinners… week 1. Here’s to hoping I can come up with an easy month of meals to make future planning a little easier.

• Sunday: Food Trucks after church
• Monday: Filet steaks on the grill and roasted Brussel sprouts
• Tuesday: Fish tacos with salmon and Mexican corn.  (I’ll have to write a post with the recipe for both of these that night)
• Wednesday: Ranch chicken club roll-ups
• Thursday: Homemade pizza
• Friday: Date night- Dinner out!
• Saturday: Shrimp and grits

So full recipes and results on how well we stuck with this plan to come!

Last night I made dinner for one of our friends and neighbors who recently had their fourth child. It’s crazy to think we moved into our new home and neighborhood just two years ago, right around the time they had their third child. Man, how time flies!

My typical go-to meal when bringing dinner to another family is Sicilian Meatloaf, however I’m pretty sure that’s what we gave them after baby #3 so I had to change it up a bit this time around. This recipe takes a little longer than my usual weeknight meal but the results are well worth it! And it makes a ton! So not only did we send a dinner (plus enough for leftovers) to our sweet friends but we had enough for 2-3 meals ourselves. That’s a lot of peppers (and yes, this recipe can definitely be halved if you don’t want this much).

Ingredients

• 6-7 red, yellow, orange, or green bell peppers or a mixture of all
• Olive oil, divided
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp chili powder (if desired-I don’t love spicy food so I often leave this out)
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 16 oz ground turkey
• 1 (16 oz) jar chunky salsa, mild or hot
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup cooked brown rice*
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 2 large avocados, peeled and pit removed, sliced
• 1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped basil

*Quinoa or couscous can be subbed instead of brown rice.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, slicing from the stem to the bottoms. Remove the white pithy ribs near stem and down length of inside. Remove the ribs and seeds and discard. Place the peppers in a shallow 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Drizzle the peppers with oil. Cover the dish with foil, and bake the peppers 15 to 20 minutes, until they start to soften.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin; cook until the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey to the skillet. Cook, breaking it up with a slotted spoon or potato masher, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the salsa and the spinach, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cooked brown rice.

Carefully fill the pepper halves with the turkey mixture. Cover the dish with foil, and bake until the filling is hot and the peppers are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil, and sprinkle the cheese over the top of the peppers. Return to oven; bake, uncovered, until cheese has melted, about 7 to 10 minutes.

When ready to serve, top the peppers with a heaping tablespoon of the greek yogurt.  Place slices of the avocado on top of each pepper.  Sprinkle with the basil.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Original recipe available here.

Yesterday was a super busy day. We got up early, headed to my office to put together a new book shelf I recently purchased, then back to my husband’s office so he could finish up some work, lunch with my parents and then a trip to Costco. We left the house around 10:00 a.m. and didn’t get home until after 4:00 p.m. – just in time to throw together some dinner for friends coming at 6:00 p.m. This is one of those great recipes that can come together quickly either last minute or you can put it in a pot and forget it until you’re ready..it’s also one of those that I make without a recipe and the quantities often change every time I make it..  I’ll try and capture it below as best as possible- I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 package tortillas (I like to use the Mission extra soft tortillas)
• 3-4 chicken breasts (usually 1 chicken breast per person)
• 2 cup shredded cheese (I like to use mexican blend or cheddar)
• half and half
• 1-2 jars of salsa (depending on size- you need enough to cover all of the chicken)*
• 1-2 packets of taco seasoning (1 packet for every 2 pieces of chicken)*

Directions:

• In a crockpot mix salsa and taco seasoning. Cook on high about 6 hours or low about 4 hours until chicken breaks apart easily with a fork. (*If you missed the window to use the crock pot you can also cook the chicken in a skillet on the stove and then mix in a bowl with red enchilada sauce. 1 can per 2 pieces of chicken then continue with directions below).
• About 20 minutes out from your preferred dinner time…
  • Preheat oven 350 degrees
  • Shred chicken with a fork and mix in bowl with half of shredded cheese.
  • Fill each tortillas with chicken/cheese mix and wrap with the fold face down.
  • Pour half and half over the top of all enchiladas (this keeps the tortillas soft while baking).
  • Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes.
• ENJOY!