It’s a new year and the perfect time for new meal ideas. I enjoy cooking, when I have the time. These days, I don’t exactly have the time, but it’s important to me to feed my family well. Here are some of our favorites that hopefully you will enjoy too. They are pretty healthy, some are Paleo, all are made with clean ingredients, most aren’t too involved to make, many use only one pan, and they all taste delicious!
These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Meals…
Sweet Potato Sloppy Joes
I always roast the sweet potatoes in the oven. Take the time to roast them – you won’t regret it. They taste SOO much better that way than microwaving them. Also, they will likely take longer than you would expect to roast. Depending on the size of the sweet potatoes, I usually roast them for about 1-1.5 hours. Just remember to throw them in the oven early (with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper), then you can make the sloppy joe mix closer to dinner.
Mexican Spiced Ground Turkey with Penne
This is a simple, one pan meal. You can modify the ingredients to your liking too – use olive oil instead of vegetable oil, omit the beans, add a veggie, etc. To make gluten free, we have substituted Banzo chickpea pasta instead of penne. I have also made the recipe as written and just scooped out a portion before adding the noodles to avoid the gluten.
Beyond Easy Pulled Pork
The slow cooker does all the work, and this is the EASIEST recipe! Besides the spices you rub on the meat, it only has two ingredients – a roast & onions. You can either eat this meal on a bun or by itself. Since the meal is so easy and cooks itself, I like to spend a little time (not much though…) on a veggie side. I usually eat my pulled pork portion right on top of the vegetable. Cauliflower rice, roasted butternut squash, or roasted brussel sprouts are my favorites with this meal.
Skinny Chicken Fajita Soup
Cut down the broth a little, as this recipe calls for eight cups of broth. I find it’s too much liquid so I only use about half of that amount. The recipe suggests to also add water if adding rice to the soup, but I have never added rice (or the water).
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
As posted, the recipe has you cooking some of the meal on the stove, then putting everything in the crockpot. That works well, but sometimes I cook everything in one pan on the stove instead to save on time and dishes.
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Another one pan meal that is VERY easy. You can also add other ingredients to this one, as it’s pretty basic. I prefer to substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce in this recipe.
One Pan Chicken Parmesan
For dairy free needs, this still tastes delicious without cheese. You can also use gluten-free bread crumbs, if desired. Again, two words: one pan! It makes clean up so much easier!
*For all of the recipes calling for ground beef, I use ground turkey. Just a personal preference. Also, I generally make my own chili seasoning and taco seasoning using the recipes found here. If any of these recipes make too much for your family, freeze the rest so you’ll have a no-prep meal for later!
I hope this list helps make dinnertime a little easier in your home. Let me know if you enjoyed any of these and also what your tried and true favorite meals are! Happy cooking (and eating)!
Thanks for the great ideas! I wish I would have had the pulled pork one this morning – I made almost the exact same thing, except only used garlic instead of the dry rub. Definitely will put in my recipe list!
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