Whether you love to cook or hate it; whether you are used to cooking every night or just once a week; whether you cook for your family or just yourself; now is a time where most people are finding that their cooking duties and time in the kitchen has increased exponentially. All over the internet are ideas and recipes you can use to help make your nightly cooking routine a bit easier while still making interesting and delicious food that your whole household will love.
So to try to help, I have compiled a list of my favorite easy recipes – sheet pan dishes, simple dinners, vegetarian options, and recipes that use ingredients that you most likely have in your fridge or pantry already.
Sheet Pan Dinners:
Sheet Pan Fajitas by It’s Delizious – This recipe has been a fan favorite since the day I posted it. It is simple, uses minimal ingredients and has basically no clean up. Just add a margarita (which you can order for delivery!) and you’ve got a delicious meal the whole family loves.
Honey Balsamic Chicken and Veggies by Damn Delicious – This dish is basically the same process as the one above but with a very different flavor profile. Here you get the sweet and tangy sauce baked onto the chicken and veggies. Instead of adding tortillas, add some rice and a glass of wine and voila!
Panko Crusted Mustard Chicken with Roasted Carrots by Bon Apetit – If you want a meal with a little more punch, try this chicken. The sharp mustard adds a nice bite and panko gives it a good crunch. Note – if you don’t have carrots on hand, you can substitute any firm vegetable or even potatoes. Anything that will stand up to the baking time and the flavors.
Salmon with Citrus Avocado Salsa by Half Baked Harvest – This dish is definitely not as simple as the rest – it uses more ingredients and more dishes – but I had to add it in because if you have the time (what else do we have to do) and are able to get the ingredients, it really is one of my favorite sheet pan recipes. As the weather gets warmer, the citrus get so bright and juicy and gives this dish a fresh finish, perfect for springtime.
Easy Dinners:
Weeknight Bolognese by Ina Garten – This is my go to bolognese recipe, and it gets made a lot in this house. My husband loves bolognese, and it’s a great way to get the kids to eat some meat that isn’t a chicken nugget or taco.
Beef with Broccoli by Ree Drummond – Even though some restaurants are doing delivery/curbside pick up (and I fully support supporting local businesses during this time) I have to say that even during “normal” times, I find this version of beef with broccoli better than delivery – and faster!
Perfect Roast Chicken by Ina Garten – Ina is known for making chicken for her husband Jeffrey every Friday night, and this recipe is in the rotation often. The chicken soaks in the flavors from the lemon, garlic and herbs, while the skin gets crispy and the veggies are tender. Bonus – there will be leftovers that you can use for quesadillas or chicken salad!
Lemon Chicken and Rice by It’s Delizious – A bonus to this dish is that it is truly a one pan meal. The chicken cooks nestled in with the rice and liquid, helping keep it m-word while the rice get a slightly crispy edge from baking. The lemon and herbs lend a nice mediterranean note – a fun change up to chicken and rice. A nice Sauvignon Blanc would go beautifully here!
Baked Lemon Butter Tilapia by Damn Delicious – You can probably see by now that lemon is one of my all time favorite flavors, it appears as a main flavor in so many of my favorite dishes. This recipe is great for fish lovers who are scared to cook fish. Tilapia is not only budget friendly, but it isn’t a fishy fish and it’s basically fool proof. Here it bakes for 10 minutes and gets a simple lemon butter sauce on top. Can’t get easier than that!
Vegetarian Dishes:
Vegetable Goat Cheese Frittata by It’s Delizious – Frittatas are a great dish to master because once you do, you can mix them up any way you want. This is a great way to use up veggies in your fridge – whatever you have, whatever you like, just throw it in! I love using goat cheese in my veggie frittatas because it adds a tangy note to bring out the freshness in the veggies. Frittatas are also great because they work for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. Add a little side salad and you are good to go!
Pasta Cacio e Pepe by Gimme Some Oven – 4 ingredients, that is all this recipe takes. Pasta, butter, parmesan and lots and lots of fresh cracked black pepper. Cacio e pepe is creamy and nutty from the cheese and the pepper adds a great spice – and you can adjust the level of pepper to your taste.
Shakshuka with Feta by NY Times – I happened to make this dish last week so it’s been on my mind. It was healthy and filling, with the thick tomato sauce filled with peppers and onions and topped with runny baked eggs. Add some crusty bread for dipping and it’s dinner is served.
I hope these recipes help your creative juices flow in the kitchen, or at least get some delicious meals on the table for you and your family. If you have any suggestions for recipes that would be good to try during this difficult time, leave them in the comments below. I would love to hear what you are making and what I should try!
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