Friday, March 24, 2017

4 (MORE!) easy family meals!

You guys LOVED my last post featuring 4 easy family meal formulas!  Any one else absolutely dread coming up with dinner ideas? I'm okay with actually making dinner, it's just the deciding and planning that is the hardest for me.  Trying to find meals that all four of us enjoy and that are relatively easy and quick to make is NOT easy!   Here are four meals I have made for my family recent that are EASY and delicious - and most importantly, kid approved!


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Mexican Rice Bowls
This is a CROCK POT meal that does NOT disappoint! I put the chicken, one whole can of salsa and a half jar of the corn salsa in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.  Then right before serving, open the crock pot shred the chicken with two forks (it should pull apart really easily) and then mix it well with the salsa so the chicken can soak it up.  Then I layered rice (with chopped cilantro), the chicken, cheese, avocado and lime wedges in a bowl and served.  My whole family went nuts for this meal. It is so delicious!

Open Face Masala Chicken Wraps
This was the perfect after school throw it all together and then eat it later that night after practice meal.  I bough precooked chicken and put it in the crock pot with the simmer sauce for about an hour and a half on low. Since the chicken was already cooked I just wanted the flavor to infuse it.  You could do this on the stovetop if you have time too - I just like a more hands off approach.  Then right before dinner I threw the broccoli in the oven to roast (400 for 20 minutes with a sprinkle of olive oil and salt/peper) and the naan to warm up (5 minutes or so).  Then I laid the naan on the plate and layered the chicken and tzatziki on top... then you can eat it with fork and knife or roll up the naan and dig in.  This was another family approved meal.  The Trader Joes Tzatziki sauce is so good I wanted to eat it with a spoon! Yum!

Pizza
Duh. We LOVE homemade pizza... and the Trader Joes pre-made dough is so incredibly yummy.  I like to roll out the dough and bake it on it's own for 5-10 minutes BEFORE putting toppings on.  I find it gives it a crispier crust in the end.  Also, you haven't lived until you've tried this Quattro Formaggio cheese blend. OMG! It brings pizza to a new level.

Greek Salad with Chicken
This is a perfect spring meal... I just pile on all the greek-ish toppings I can find... tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and feta are my favorites, and then throw the chicken on top (often cold - but you can heat it up too).  My kids don't love the idea of chicken IN a salad, so I put their chicken on the side. I mean, who would ever eat meat that had touched a vegetable, right!?!?  For salad dressing, a balsamic vinaigrette - either home made or store bought is my favorite. 

Want more meal ideas? Here are more!


 

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