Busy Weeknight Meals

There are FIVE big smiling faces in our house today because we have a SNOW DAY! {And then there’s Tab who’s trying his best to find the quietest spot in the house. hahaha!}. There’s something absolutely magical about a snow day and while we have really had more of a “Freezing Rain Day” we’re doing our best to make some fun memories. We’re kicking it off with a big breakfast complete with Tab’s gravy and well, how can the day go wrong with you start with Tab’s gravy, right?

As I was planning out my posts for the month, I went back to the poll I asked you guys to complete. In that poll, I asked for your favorite posts, any ideas for an upcoming post, and even wanted to hear your least favorites. Keep in mind, I’m not Nutella so I can’t make everyone happy but I am taking each and every recommendation into consideration this year. :). What I heard over and over again was you want to hear about what I feed my family when we have sports, after school practices, and just busy evenings. So I’m sharing.

I looked back through my calendar and just thought I’d share what we had to eat this month for January dinners. Keep in mind this month I made three dinners a week that are the kind you’re looking for…weeknight meals for busy families with kids and parents running all different directions. We usually ate out every Friday, the kids and I ordered in on Saturdays, and Sundays we’d make snacky foods while we watched football. We had one week night that was weird so Tab and the boys would grab a quick bite out {because they were gone from 4-9 at different practices. There was literally no time for them to eat at home which forced the girls and I to eat out or just grab something. {See what I did there-I was forced!}. That was probably TMI on our dinner habits but now you know how January looked…three full family meals, one family meal out, two nights where Tab was gone for football and the kids and I did whatever-ordered pizza, got takeout, had snacky foods, etc. and then one other evening we did a boys/girls dinner.

#1 Air Fryer Shrimp-This is a super easy dinner. Our favorite shrimp is Trader Joe’s Argentinian Red Shrimp. Trust me-it tastes the best prepared in the air fryer but my people can throw back the shrimp so I make three bags and it just doesn’t all fit. I make some in the air fryer and then will add the rest to a big baking sheet for the oven. I add olive oil and smoked paprika…the more the better for Tab and I but a light dusting for the kids. I bake them about 20 minutes…just keep watching. Add your favorite side or two and dinner is served! My kids also love a cocktail sauce so we have that on hand as well.

#2 Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie-I’m constantly googling new slow cooker recipes to change things up a bit in the kitchen. My kids are all fans of potatoes, carrots, peas…any of that combination in any soup or hearty meal. This was a hit! And other than chopping everything before adding to the slow cooker, it was really easy to make!

#3 Chicken Fajita Bowls-I’m WEIRD about meat-especially chicken, but our local grocery store has really good chicken meat mixed with veggies and seasoned for fajitas. My favorite way is for Tab to grill those but in January I just cooked them right in a skillet. They were absolutely delish! Tab and I ate ours over rice and the kids had theirs in a tortilla. {I realize this doesn’t really help if your grocery store doesn’t do this but maybe they do something similar?}

#4 Beef Stew-Everyone kind of has their favorite and I try to do the same thing but always end up changing it just a bit each time. Carrots, potatoes and peas are always gonna be in our line up though!

#5 Sausage Tortellini Soup-You’ve probably seen this recipe somewhere online but just in case…one pound of cooked breakfast sausage {I’m weird about meat-remember and much prefer the breakfast sausage over Italian sausage}, one family pack of cheese tortellini, one bag of fresh spinach chopped, two cans of Italian-style petite diced tomatoes, a big box of chicken broth, and cook four-ish hours in slow cooker. Thirty minutes before serving add a block of cream cheese and for the best results-sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes before eating-so good!

#6 Steak Bites-I bought several pounds of lean stew meat, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, added in beef broth and some brown gravy packets. Then cooked it on low ALL DAY. I called it, “Steak Bites”, instead of, “Stew Meat”, and served it with baked potatoes {Bob Evan’s mashed potatoes and a pack of jasmine rice-it was carb of your choice night} and green beans.

#7 Chicken Enchilada Soup-You throw it all in that morning or if you have time at lunch, shred the chicken before you serve, and add toppings for your family to pile on-dinner is served!

#8 Chicken and Rice-This is a recipe my family’s been making for years. But I found this one that’s really close to how we do it. The only difference is I cut my chicken up into smaller bites so I never have to worry about the chicken not getting fully cooked. You just mix this all up and bake it in the oven. I usually serve with green beans and a salad. This is a meal that I can only make if I’m gonna have time to throw it in the oven though-not as simple with timing. {Very simple in the recipe though.}

#9 Cheesy Ranch Tacos are the tacos of choice around here. We have them often because they’re one of the most frequently requested meals.

#10 Cili-I don’t have a big rhyme or reason to what I throw in…we like tomatoes, we like corn, we like beans, and ground beef. I’ll never forget at one of the companies where Tab worked they had a big chili cookoff and he signed up to bring a slow cooker full of chili. So, I made it-basically according to the McCormick’s Chili packet and added a few extras for some flair, but when he needed the recipe he was so disturbed that I pointed him to the McCormick’s packet. ha! Since then, I’ve graduated and prefer the Wiliams’ Chili Seasoning…still with all the extras. For chili on a busy night, I often cook the ground beef while I’m making breakfast and everyone’s in/out of the kitchen. Then I’ll dump the seasoning and other items in and let it cook on low all day. Then dinners ready no matter what time we get home. Or I’ll do that same thing but at 3:30 p.m., dump in the slow cooker and it’ll be ready whenever we can eat. Just according to my schedule, I’ll make it work.

I don’t want you to think everything I tried was a hit. I can quickly recall French Onion Chicken {in the slow cooker} and a healthier version of the typical Poppyseed Chicken that we ate but were like-yeah, let’s not have this again. Just in case you’re thinking I’m a success every night. I’m in fact, not! ha!

Okay, friends! What’s your family’s FAVORITE on busy week nights?! What’s your go-to? I know we all have one! Please SHARE!

Now I’m off to try to have some Snow Day fun!

XO