Weeknight Dinners for the Whole Family

The worst part about dinners in the week is the need to plan and then cook them when you more than likely already have a lot going on in your daily life.  Instead of allowing for dinner to frustrate you: consider making one of these simple dishes!

Each has a great mixture of protein, vegetables, and carbs, while also leaving room for creativity and individual tastes.

Tasty Japanese Curry

Although this does call for a seasoning block from Golden Curry or Vermont Curry, which can be found in most grocery stores (even chain stores!), most of the ingredients and cooking required can be completed the night of the occasion.

The best way to put these to use is to stray a little from the directions.  Instead of boiling the vegetables and potatoes, cut them into bite-sized portions, toss with oil, and bake at 400 for no more than half an hour total.  Flip them halfway through to ensure even browning.  You can also bake your chicken this way, or you can cook it in onions and butter in the pan where you’ll eventually make your sauce.

Make the sauce in two to three cups of boiling water, and then combine all of the ingredients in the pot together.  Although this adds a couple more steps than simply boiling everything in one pot, it adds a little more flavor and makes the dish taste even better.  You can serve over rice or noodles, depending on your preference.

Crockpot Soups and Stews

There’s no weekday-meal-friend quite like the mighty crockpot. Use your crockpot to make soups, stews, chili, and other dishes that would usually take hours over the stove.  To best serve yourself, it’s a good idea to try and make the base for it the night before, or the morning of, so that in the morning before you go to work, you can start your crockpot and know that it will run and cook the food while you’re at work.

If you want to take a couple of extra minutes while the food finishes in the crockpot, most drop-biscuit recipes can be made and baked in less than half an hour.  Fresh bread can elevate a meal, even if it’s something so simple as drop biscuits.

One-Pan Chicken Dishes

Chicken is extraordinarily versatile, so don’t be afraid to lean into making tons of different dishes out of it.  One-pan chicken recipes require fewer dishes while still completing your meal.  Of course, depending on how many people you’re feeding, you may need a second pan, but it’s still minimal dishes.  

You can make this work by cutting and seasoning your potatoes first and allowing them to take up no more than a third of your baking sheet.  Bake at 400 for ten minutes, and in that time, cut up a vegetable like broccoli and oil and season it.  Prep chicken breasts and season them however you want, from paprika to cranberry pepper jelly: and then add these to the pan.  Bake for fifteen minutes before flipping the veggies, and then bake another ten to fifteen until your chicken is cooked through.  This simple dish doesn’t take up much time and can be modified to suit any taste.