It’s about to get crazy up in here!
Since all of this food drama started, I’ve had to revamp my previous interpretation of a meal. No more sandwiches for lunch and heavily processed stuff like pasta and canned foods went right out the window for dinner. When you combine that with the fact that Will doesn’t eat pig or cow {nor do I like either of them– bacon included!}, we need to be creative with our cooking.
Fortunately, Will and I both love seafood with a healthy dose of chicken in the mix, so there are plenty of options. I’ve never been someone who enjoyed cooking but I’m starting to sing a different tune. Not sure why, but I’m beginning to think it’s kind of fun!
That said, I still don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen, nor do I have the time. And when our company re-opens for the season in March, I will have even less time to spare for my culinary prowess. This means that I want recipes that involve minimal work!
Through this process, I found two concoctions that Will and I both love and we make them once a week. What is a concoction, you may ask? It’s basically a recipe, only without the instructions! I scour the internet for recipe ideas but without fail, I always forget where the recipe idea came from or never have the full list of ingredients. Instead of putting in the effort to assemble the meal as written, I always come up with my own version based on what we have. Thus far, they’ve all been a success….but cooking them a second time poses a problem since I don’t always remember what I did!
Concoction #1: Chicken with Apples {For 2 people}
4-6 chicken breasts, thighs, or drumsticks
4 apples {two apples per person}
Random veggies from the fridge
Olive Oil
Rosemary
Salt/Pepper
By far, this concoction has become a staple in our house because it is stupid easy–and surprisingly tasty! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then, slice the apples and remove the cores. Place them all in a casserole dish. If you have other veggies you want to add {leeks or carrots are really good too!}, chop them up and throw them in as well. Mix some olive oil in there with salt and pepper. Then, cover the chicken in olive oil, salt and pepper and nestle the pieces in the apples. Put a few sprigs of rosemary on top. Throw in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Done.
Stupid easy, right? The apples tend to sweeten the chicken and the rosemary makes your house smell like the best thing ever! Plus, I try to make extra so I can pack leftovers for Will’s lunch the next morning. It reheats pretty well!
Concoction #2: Breaded Tilapia with Citrus
I originally got the idea for this concoction from PaleOMG. A lot of her recipes are beef/pork-based which obviously doesn’t work for our household, but she gives me some fantastic ideas. And, even if her recipe is more elaborate than I want, I always manage to find a way to dumb it down….like this concoction.
3 tilapia filets {I eat one, Will eats two}
~1 cup of pecans
a handful of coconut
1 egg white
Citrus fruit of your choice {we like oranges, blood oranges, or grapefruit}
Leafy greens
Olive oil/coconut oil
Throw the coconut and pecans in a food processor and pulse until they have a bread-like consistency. Then, coat both sides of your tilapia with the egg white before covering each side with your newly-acquired bread crumbs. {I tend to dump all of the bread crumbs on a plate and roll the fish around.} Heat up some coconut oil {or olive oil} in a cast iron pan on the stove and throw your fish on. Cook for ~3-4 minutes on one side before flipping. Once the tilapia is cooked, place the filets on a bed of leafy greens. Finally, chop up whatever citrus you chose and put on top of the fish. If I have leftover breading, I’ll sprinkle that on as well. This dish takes maybe 20 minutes and has been a huge hit with both Will and me. Voila!
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This post is sponsored by Garmin and Whole Foods Market as part of their #PathtoFit program. The views and opinions expressed above are my own. This is post five of six. If you want to join in on the fun, use the above hashtag on social media to share your upcoming goals!
94 Comments
my favorite easy meal is either a big salad with whatever toppings are in the fridge or a big sweet potato piled with all sorts of things!
My favorite easy meal is pot roast in the crock pot. Between work and after work/school activities, it’s nice to come home and not have to worry about dinner. I’ve actually been prepping the meals beforehand and freezing until I’m ready to cook. It’s been a lifesaver!
My favorite easy meal is to just throw some chopped chicken breast and whatever veggies I have lying around into a casserole dish with some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne and top it all with a little grated cheese.
my go to meal is usually stir fry of some kind.
My favorite easy meal? I would say a make-ahead frittata for breakfasts (or lunches/dinners). It usually varies depending on what veggies and meat we have on hand, but it’s always an easy and filling meal!
Great recipe ideas, Heather. I am lucky enough to have a wife who is an unapologetic and talented foodie and she spoils us with her talents. We do take it easy often, though, and my favorite easy meal is a chicken stir-fry with whatever veggies are in the house and some white rice. I am usually the one who makes the stir fry so I go straight to the freezer to see if we have some frozen green beans or broccoli. If we have baby carrots, I’ll chop them up as well. Easy peasy, just cut the chicken into strips, cook them up in the pan. Remove the chicken, cook the veggies in a low-sodium soy sauce, then re-add the chicken at the end with a bit more soy and serve over rice. Bam!
Favorite easy meal is homemade pizza or some sort of tacos/taco salad/burrito!
brinner – breakfast for dinner!
I love to make stuffed sweet potatoes! You can put black beans, chickpeas, kale… basically anything in your fridge inside and it’s delicious!
love nachos and loaded sweet potatoes!
WHAT ABOUT SWEET POTATO NACHOS 😉
I have been loving my Sizzlefish, and I make some MEAN power bowls and stirfries.
I love an easy big ol’ salad. Everything but the kitchen sink thrown together with some delicious homemade dressing! 🙂
I make a hearty creamy chicken soup that’s loaded with vegetables. The kids don’t even notice. (ssssh!)
Big fan of steaming some broccoli and eating with tempeh and hummus.
Can I just say that I find it strangely awesome that you guys don’t eat beef or pork? I don’t eat them either (I just don’t like the taste or smell or… bleck), and I always have felt like the oddball! YAY, friends! Ha!
Hahah yay! Will has never eaten either in his life actually. I’ll occasionally eat beef, but rarely–like once every month or two. And I just don’t like pork!
baked chicken with roasted sweet potatoes
I love making tacos with guacamole.
You most definitely need groceries to make this recipe and what better place to go than Whole Foods! I do however miss my Colorado Whole Foods. Boulder and Cherry Creek…. lets just say I basically lived at Whole Foods.
I love making fajitas with lots of yummy toppings! It’s always a family favorite in our house!
I love the combo of chicken and apples! So easy, too! My stupid easy meal is usually 2 eggs and some sweet potato hash.
I love to make spaghetti bolognese weekly, and we switch up the heat and flavors each time.. mmmm!
My go-to easy meal these days is oven-roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower over quinoa, lentils, and thinly sliced red cabbage (drizzled with a bit of lemon juice), served almond dressing. I prep all the veggies while my baby watches, enthralled, from her chair (pretty soon she can start trying some of the food, too!), and then toss then in the oven before I put her to bed. Perfect!
Side note – I never liked bacon either, even back in my meat-eating days. No one believes me! Dang hipsters and their bacon obsession. :^)
Haha try being a CrossFitter that doesn’t eat it! 🙂
My favorite easy meal is baked chicken with lemon slices, and a side of sauteed veggies or salad. I also love just throwing tons of stuff into a pan with leftover rice for a hack at fried rice. I do love your breading idea for this tilapia so I’m going to have to try that out!!
Pressure cooker split pea soup! A little chopping and sauteing and then it’s done in twelve minutes.
Tacos are my favorite weekly easy meal. Everyone can tailor them to their taste, so no complaints either!
Mexican Bean bowls!
Lately my go to meal has been fajitas! Marinate some ground turkey and veggies of choice, and then brown the turkey in the pan. Sometimes I add taco seasoning, sometimes I don’t. Toss in a lettuce cup and you’re good to go!
I love making huge salads with WF’s Spring Mix! and add beans, cheeses, citrus segments, any combination of ingredients with walnut oil and good vinegar. I like to get freshly made bread still warm from the oven, if I can, or have my own homemade from another day.
I never thought to try breaded Tilapia! Thanks for the idea!
I make a lot of one-pot Mexican type meals. I toss in bell peppers, black beans, frozen corn and some sort of grain (brown rice, quinoa) into a pan with some cumin, lime juice, cilantro, etc. It’s super easy to make and clean up and features some of my favorite foods.
Lots of elk in our freezer, so we do a lot of burritos.
I usually have random ingredients on hand to make a curry. It’s so easy. Just throw some coconut milk and curry paste on the stove with whatever random vegetables and protein I have.
Steamed sweet potatoes and a huge salad made of anything and every thing on hand. I make enough of each so that there is plenty for lunch the following day. I can always add a boiled egg or chicken for something extra. Or some green drink. Easy.
Buttered noodles. It’s simple and easy to make.
Easy meals are the name of the game for me – often that means eggs (like huevos rancheros – I just keep the beans and red sauce in the freezer for when I need them) or a bowl type meal (have prepared ahead of time rice or a grain, beans or tofu, then just add quick veggies and a sauce). Tonight’s plan is rice, beans, shredded carrots and cabbage, sliced avocados and a cheezy queso sauce (I’m making a vegan one from cashews, but whatever you have would work; it’ll be like a burrito bowl made from stuff in my fridge!
My go-to quick and easy meal is always an omelet. An easy way to get protein and veggies in under 10 minutes. If I need carbs, then I’ll add a slice of bread. If I want more of a meal, then Ill make shrimp scampi with zoodles. Shrimp cooks up super quick and zoodles just need only a minute or two on the stove. Ready in under 10 minutes!
My current easy meal in the winter is baked sweet potatoes and chili for the family. Pre-prepped chili that only has to be heated and then baking the potatoes. Throw on some toppings and the family is taken care of.
I like to do “fancy” ramen. Cook up some top ramen noodles (toss the flavoring), add sesame oil, siracha, rice wine vinegar, a couple of scrambled eggs and a ton of steamed broccoli.
My favorite easy meal is hummus + greens + homemade roasted red pepper Italian dressing on a pita. If I need more protein, I’ll add turkey or chicken (rotisserie – yum)! Now I’m hungry…
Pan roasted chicken and roma tomatoes is another good, easy meal.
Sweet potatoes and bison!
Favorite easy meal? Taco Salad!
Spaghetti
I make a lot of one dish casseroles, since I hate to do dishes. There are so many different ways to prepare them, and all delicious!
Scrambled eggs and veggies!
Cooking with coconut oil, Ahhh soooooo good – and then putting some melted coconut butter on top! I literally just finished eating dinner but now I want moreeeee! ha ha
Eggplant Pizza
BBQ is really easy and a favorite here.
My easy to make recipe and my go to is always a good lettuce wrap. Always a good one! I like chicken in mine.
We’re in the middle of a full kitchen gut and renovation, so my meals are all easy and based in the microwave, toaster oven, crock pot, and panini press. We’re only two weeks in, though, so I expect this to get quite old…
green beans, mushrooms & tofu with garlic, salt, and pepper– super quick and yummy!
My favorite EASY meal would be pasta with a quick salad.
Great nice easy recip … er i mean concoctions. 🙂 I need to you your simplify method. It seems when I find a good recipe I don’t have something and don’t have time or want to go to the store.
My favorite EASY meal to make each week is veggie fried rice.
This is our go to recipe lately (http://www.cookingclassy.com/2014/09/stuffed-pepper-soup/) I can’t remember if tomatoes bother you, but if they don’t, I highly suggest this, because it definitely allows for leftovers! And you could replace the beef with ground chicken or turkey!
Meatless chili – tomato puree, chili seasoning, water and kidney beans.
chicken caesar salads
Salad with lots of veggies. I cut everything up in advance and throw it all together – can’t get much easier than that!
I am loving your tilapia recipe! I need to try that ASAP!
Steak with mushroom and onions, broccoli and salad
I love making sauteed vegetables and steamed rice.
Noodles are super great!
I love making spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and sometimes turkey meatballs! very easy, just cut the squash in half and bake in the oven for 40 minutes and simmer your sauce with whatever veggies are on hand (mushrooms, onions and bell peppers are awesome in this).
You really can’t go wrong with olive oil, salt/pepper, and rosemary. I can’t say we have a favorite meal, but we do roasted rosemary red potatoes with several meals every week. So good – and definitely no definitive recipe. 🙂
I just wrapped up my first Whole30 and have a whole bunch of easy recipes that I’m loving! Crockpot chicken curry made with canned coconut milk is so delicious and super simple. I’m also loving sweet potato egg boats and eggs baked in a bed of kale and mushrooms. Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
My favorite easy meal is spaghetti with mini meatballs and garlic parmesan bread.
Vegetarian chili – just throw the ingredients in a big pot and let them simmer for a while
That chicken and apples dish sounds amazing! I bet the apples get really good 🙂 A lot of times I substitute chicken for beef or pork recipes since I don’t eat a lot of those often either. I also love roasted veggies with rice or quinoa (not sure if you are eating either of those, I think I missed the “food drama” post and am going back to read that now!).
Favorite easy meal is tacos
My favorite easy meal is roasted veggies with saffron rice.
My favorite easy meal is a veggie stuffed omelet for dinner!
My favorite easy meal is a big chef’s salad with some fruit on the side.
First time i check out your blog. AMAZING photos! 🙂
My favorite easy meal is broiled salmon with an orange marmalade and macademia nut liquor glaze with a side of rice.
We love grilled chicken and veggies seasoned in olive oil and Mrs. Dash
Taco bowls! Just add meat or beans or rice and salsa, avocado, veggies, and a bit of cheese!
My favorite easy go-to is chicken soup in the crock pot – I almost always have thawed chicken breast in the fridge, or leftover from something the night before. Toss it in the crock pot, add whatever vegetables/potatoes/grains or legumes like lentils that you want, add enough chicken broth or vegetable broth to cover it all, and cook! My household is only my husband and me so I can cook it on high for 2 hours if it’s a small batch, or make a larger batch and cook it on low all day. It also works great if you have vegetables you want to use up but might be just a day or two past being fresh enough for stir fry.
My family loves tacos! And it is really easy to just throw together!
We love to do egg scrambles with whatever veggies are at the farmer’s market that week.
Brocoli and cheese!
My favorite easy meal is a bean + grain + veggie combo of whatever we have in the crockpot with lots of cumin, garlic, and chili powder! Easy, healthy, and warm!
My favorite quick meal is Bam Shrimp with a salad! The shrimp is marinated in hot sauce and then cooked! Served with a salad! Make this several times a week. No leftovers
I have mastered the easy peasy meal (often aided by the microwave)! Omelettes, soup and salads top the list!
Paninis! Every leftover is better between toasty bread!
We love raviolis!
My favorite easy meal to make are chicken quesadillas
We enjoy making chicken enchiladas once a week.
My favorite easy meal is a salad and sandwich.
I love to make BLT without the bread:)
I am also a chicken lover but not so much of a seafood guy. My favorite easy meal to make is steamed chicken w/ veggies and potatoes in the oven. It’s a really easy clean up with the steam bags and leaves the chicken nice and tender!
I like to make tacos.
[…] Just A Colorado Gal: Reply Art January 29, 2015 at 7:48 am. Great recipe ideas, Heather. I am lucky enough to have a wife who is an unapologetic and talented foodie and she spoils us with … […]