I don’t know about you guys, but I get in a rut sometimes when it comes to dinners. Between needing fast, easy and budget friendly meals, I need kid friendly as well. I recently asked some girlfriends for some of their go to week night meals, and I thought I would share those plus a few of my go to’s! Below are 5 quick, easy and kid friendly meals that I hope you can add to your dinner recipe bank!
Crockpot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
2 lbs Chicken
1 C. BBQ Sauce
¼ Italian Dressing
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ C. Brown Sugar
*Salt to taste
Directions
1. Season chicken breasts lightly and place in crockpot
2. In mixing bowl combine BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, Worcestershire
3. pour over chicken, cook on high for 3-4 hours
4. shred chicken and cover for another 15 minutes
5. serve on buns or over rice
**Who doesn't love BBQ!? I acutally made this recipe for Millie's 1st Birthday, and it was such a hit that I've held onto it since. We typically serve this with some type of veggie and some tator tots :)
Tita’s Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 Package of spaghetti
14 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 lb of Jimmy Dean sausage
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 C. Shredded cheddar cheese
9x13 dish
*Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Set oven to 350
2. Cook spaghetti according to package
3. On medium heat brown sausage in caste iron skillet with olive oil
4. Season with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper
5. Once browned, turn down heat to medium low and stir in stewed tomatoes, breaking apart tomato pieces
6. Remove from heat and set aside
7. To assemble spray 9x13 dish with Pam, pour in prepared spaghetti, sprinkle cheese evenly on top of spaghetti and finish with the sausage and tomato mixture
8. Bake for 20 minutes, let stand for 5 minutes before serving, serve with salad and French bread
**To be honest, in the winter time we eat this meal almost every week. It's so darn easy and a no fail. It's a nice alternative to your typical spaghetti and who doesn't love a baby covered in noddles and stained red from tomatoes. If you're making this one prepare for lots of leftovers or invite some friends over for dinner! I usually serve this with french bread and a Cesar salad...yum!
Sheet Pan Meal
Ingredients
2 medium chicken breasts chopped
1 cup bell pepper chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup tomatoes chopped or plum/grape
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 500 degree F.
2. Chop all the veggies into large pieces. In another cutting board chop the chicken into cubes.
3. Place the chicken and veggies in a medium roasting dish or sheet pan. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Toss to combine.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the veggies are charred and chicken is cooked. Enjoy with rice, pasta, or a salad.
**I have a hard time getting my hubby to eat broccoli (yes my husband, not my 18 month old). But this meal, turned him into a broccoli believer! I ended up serving this with sliced polenta. Millie approved of the flavor and colorful veggies!
Teriyaki Kabobs
Ingredients
1/3 C Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp of season salt
1-1/2 lb Beef Top Sirloin, cut into 1-1/4” cubes
12 whole mushrooms
1 large pepper cut into 1-1/2 cubes
1 large onion, cut into wedges
*Pineapple wedged (optional)
Hot cooked rice
Directions
1. In a large bowl combine soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, salt. Pour marinade into gallon bag; add beef. Seal and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
2. Drain meat but keep marinade. Alternate meat, mushrooms, pepper, onion, pineapple on metal or soaked wooden skewers
3. Grill uncovered for 3 minutes on each side, basting with marinade. Continuing turning and basting for 8-10 minutes until meat reaches desired doneness.
4. Serve with rice
**These Kabobs turned out so delicious! To be honest, my husband did the grilling, not me :) We served them with some edamame as well as brown rice. We had plenty of left overs and this is a Millie approved meal. This will definitely be a staple moving into Summer.
Slow Cooker Chicken Bowls
Ingredients
1 -1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, divided, plus more if needed
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup brown rice
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 C of canned corn
**Optional toppings: Shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream, diced avocado, salsa, hot sauce, diced green onions, shredded lettuce
Directions
1. Combine the chicken breasts, diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, chili powder, salt, and cumin in slow cooker. Make sure the chicken is covered, and add additional broth if needed. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Uncover and add the rice, beans, corn, and remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth. Cover and continue cooking on low for another 3 to 4 hours.
3. Check the rice periodically in the last hour of cooking, stirring once or twice to make sure the rice cooks evenly and adding more chicken broth if the mixture seems dry.
4. Remove chicken breast, shred and stir back into crockpot
5. Serve over salad, burrito bowl or burrito!
**Fair warning, this makes A TON OF FOOD! We had my parents over for dinner and we still had leftovers. I opted to serve it over a salad with plenty of toppings and chips and salsa. This one is super easy and delicious.
Well, there you have it! These are some of my old go to dinner recipes and now new favorites! I hope you enjoy giving these recipes a try. Have fun with them and make them how you want...maybe vegetarian or gluten-free, whatever works for you, I hope these are some winners for you. Happy cooking, Mama!
Abby is a Mom and an amazing team member of Baja Baby. She lives in Colorado with her husband Alex, their beautiful daughter Amelia Grace, baby boy Amos Lee and Maple the dog. You can find Abby on Instagram by clicking here.
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