12 January dinners to get back into a routine
Caesar Salad Pasta
Open ReelLove this dinner hack! And I love halloumi! 🧀
Ingredients
- 1/2 lbs pasta
- 1 bag Caesar salad mix
- 8 oz halloumi
- Olive oil
Instructions
1. Cook pasta according to instruction. Cut up halloumi to bite size pieces and sauté in olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Around 4 minutes per side.
2. Add cooked pasta to a bowl, add salad mix, dressing and toppings, as well as halloumi. Mix to combine and drizzle with olive oil. 🫒
Butter Masala Chicken Pizza
New obsession unlocked with this butter masala chicken pizza! 🍕 sometimes the most wonderful things happen when you combine delicious things, and this was no exception!! Bonus tip is to dip the pizza in the leftover butter masala sauce 🤤
Ingredients
- 2 naan
- 12.5 oz jar butter masala
- 1/2 cup shredded chicken
- 1/4 red onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
Instructions
1. Add naan to a baking sheet, mix sauce and pour about 1/4 cup over each naan. Top with chicken, red onion, cheese and cilantro.
2. Bake in oven at 400F until cheese is melted. Serve with remaining sauce!
Dump and Bake Chicken Alfredo
I love a 5 minute prep meal that tastes this good and the whole family will eat! If there’s anything left after serving this dish does great as meal prep too.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (16 oz) rigatoni, uncooked
- 2.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 jar (16 oz) Alfredo sauce
- 7 oz pesto 💚
- 12 oz chicken sausage
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 🧀
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- Salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large 9x13 baking dish, dump in Alfredo sauce, pesto, and chicken broth. Stir, and pour in uncooked pasta. Stir until pasta is coated and liquid is evenly distributed.
3. Mix in 1 cup mozzarella, season with salt and pepper
4. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top along with Parmesan cheese 🧀
5. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10–15 minutes, until pasta is tender and top is golden bubbly. You can broil the last few minutes.
6. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
Creamy Orzo Shrimp
I somehow always keep orzo in the pantry so this dish can easily be whipped up if you grab some shrimp from the grocery store! It’s so creamy and feels fancy but easy enough to make for a weeknight 🥘 skip on the red crushed peppers if you don’t like spicy 🌶️
Ingredients
- 1 lbs shrimp
- Olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic seasoning
- 1/2 red crushed pepper
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes
- 3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 cups dry orzo
- 1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 🧀
- 2 cups spinach
Instructions
1. Add olive oil to a large pan, medium heat, and let it heat up. Add shrimp, season with salt, garlic seasoning and crushed red pepper, and let cook for a few minutes each side until golden and mostly cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add some more olive oil to pan, add diced onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes before adding cherry tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes until bursting and until they starten to soft. Add sun-dried tomatoes and stir. Crush tomatoes lightly by pressing down on them.
3. Add orzo to pan, along with cream and broth. Stir everything, add parmesan cheese and continue to stir. Cook for about 10 minutes until the orzo is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir often so that the dish doesn’t burn.
4. Once most of the liquid has been absorbed, add spinach, and stir in. Once wilted, remove from heat and serve with parmesan.
Marry Me Butter Beans and Burrata
Call them Marry me butter beans or just call them your new favorite weeknight dinner. Either way, don’t skip the bread. 🥖
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 2 cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 cups shredded kale (or spinach)
- 1 ball burrata
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan. Sauté onion for 2–3 minutes.
2. Add cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic powder. Cook 5 minutes, until tomatoes soften.
3. Stir in heavy cream, broth, butter beans, and Parmesan. Simmer 2–3 minutes, then add kale and cook until wilted.
4. Remove from heat and gently stir in burrata until creamy and melted through.
Serve warm with crusty bread or pasta.
Harissa Shrimp
If you are not using harissa paste in your cooking you’re seriously missing out! It’s such a delicious flavor bomb and can be either mild or spicy! This is a super simple weeknight dinner that is ready in the time it’ll take you to cook some rice. 🍚 🍤
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp harissa paste @zwitafoods
- 1 tbsp shrimp, I used cooked shrimp but you can also use raw
- 1 cup half and half, heavy cream, or coconut milk
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2-3 servings of rice
- Toppings: green onions, red pepper flakes or more cheese
Instructions
1. Start off by adding olive oil to a pan along with some butter. Once hot, add garlic and harissa paste. Mix to combine.
2. Add your shrimp. I used cooked shrimp so they only really need to be heated up, but if you’re using raw shrimp you can let them cook for longer. Sauté for a minute or two before adding cream, mix to combine and add cheese. 🧀 cook for another minute or two. Serve with rice 🍚
Artichocke Chicken Bake
If you need a filling and flavorful dinner, try this one out! Super creamy and easy to make, make great leftovers too! I served with about 1 cup of basmati rice and each serving packs 55 grams of protein!
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breast, diced into cubes
- 12 oz artichoke hearts
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp spices of your liking
- 3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes or sub for 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
1. Combine artichoke hearts, cottage cheese, cream, garlic and spices in a mixer or food processor. Mix until smooth.
2. Layer half the sauce in an oven save tray, top with diced chicken and sun dried tomatoes. Add half of the mozzarella cheese, layer with the remaining sauce and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with grated Parmesan.
3. Bake in oven at 400F for 45-50 minutes. Broil for 2-3 minutes on high. Remove from oven and set for a few minutes before serving.
Chicken Stroganoff
You don’t need a dinner party menu every night. Sometimes you just need something quick, like this creamy chicken stroganoff. This is one of our favorites and it’s kid approved!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 (8-ounce) package white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 (12-ounce) package pre-cooked cheddar chicken sausage, sliced into rounds
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Cooked basmati rice, for serving
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and sliced mushrooms, and sauté for about 2 minutes, until they begin to soften.
2. Stir in the sliced chicken sausage. Cook for another 4–5 minutes, until the sausage starts to brown and the onions are translucent.
3. Add the tomato paste, Dijon mustard, and soy sauce. Stir to coat everything evenly and cook for 1 minute to deepen the flavor.
4. Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 5–10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and reduces slightly.
5. Serve over basmati rice and enjoy warm.
Cheeseburger Pasta
Nothing beats a dinner that comes together in less than 30 minutes especially if the whole family will eat it! If you think your kids will be able to spy the carrots you can cut them out, the celery and onion blends in so easily with the cheese and pasta 🍝
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3 carrots
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 cups beef broth
- 4 cups pasta shells
- 1 cup cheddar or mexican cheese
- Salt + pepper
Instructions
1. Dice onion, carrots and celery into very small pieces. Add to a pan with some olive or avocado oil over medium heat. Sauté for a couple of minutes, stir to combine. After a few minutes, add ground beef and break a part. Cook until mostly browned.
2. Add broth and pasta. Stir to combine and let cook for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. remove from heat and stir in cheese.
Crispy Chicken Tacos
Crispy tacos is a new favorite around here and I love that you can customize it so easily depending on what you have at home! For these I used ground beef but you could easily swap the beef for turkey or chicken!
Ingredients
- Olive oil spray
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 package taco seasoning 🌮
- 8 small corn tortillas
- 3 tbsp cheddar cheese spread with hatch chile 🌶️
- 1 cup Mexican or cheddar cheese
- For serving: avocado, pico de gallo salsa
Instructions
1. Cook beef in a pan in olive oil over medium heat, add taco seasoning and mix. Cook until cooked through.
2. Add a wet paper towel to a large plate, add your tortillas and cover with another soaked paper towel. Microwave for 30-60 seconds until the tortillas are a bit softer.
3. Spray a sheet pan with olive oil and line up the tortillas. Spread cheddar cheese on each tortilla, as well as add ground beef and top with shredded cheese. Carefully fold up each tortilla and spray with olive oil. I placed a wire rack on top, you can also use another pan. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes at 375F until crisp. Don’t worry if they break! They’re still gonna be delicious.
Crunchy Sheet Pan Quesadillas
If you’re stuck on what to make for dinner tonight, make this! It’s a crunchy sheet pan quesadilla with taco beef and some hidden cauliflower! no one’s gonna notice. One of those dinners that actually makes you feel like you’ve got it together.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 cup riced cauliflower
- 8 burrito-size tortillas
- 2 handfuls crushed tortilla chips
- 6 oz shredded Mexican cheese
- 4–6 tbsp mild salsa
- 4–5 tbsp sour cream
- Olive oil spray
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with tortillas.
2. In a skillet, cook the ground beef with taco seasoning. Stir in the riced cauliflower and cook until heated through.
3. Spread the beef mixture evenly over the tortillas.
4. Add salsa, crushed chips, cheese, and sour cream on top.
5. Place another tortilla on top and fold the edges slightly to seal.
6. Spray the tops with olive oil, then place another sheet pan on top to weigh them down
7. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the top pan, and bake for another 5 minutes until golden and crisp.
8. Serve with extra sour cream, guacamole 🥑 , and salsa.
