YOU GUYS! It’s been SIX MONTHS since I wrote a recent eats post! (insert face screaming emoji here) These have been a mainstay on my blog for years. It’s probably my longest-running content series of all time. I have received countless comments and messages from people over the yeas about how useful they find them when looking for food/meal inspiration. I also love writing them! I WILL DO BETTER!
I have quite the backlog of meals to share so let’s kick it off with 15 things I’ve eaten for dinner recently. While I don’t have formal recipes for you for most of these dishes, I tried to add a lot of detail about how I created the meals. Let me know what you think about this new beefed up format!
SALMON SOYAKI BOWL
This was such a fun meal to put together. Here’s how it happened!
- I marinated the salmon in Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce for about 20 minutes and then baked it at 375 for about 15-20 minutes, until the internal temperature was 125.
- Quick pickled some cucumbers in rice wine vinegar and sugar.
- Sauteed baby portobello mushrooms in avocado oil and finished with coconut aminos.
- Satueed spinach in the same pan after wiping clean.
- Heated a pack of Trader Joe’s Thai wheat noodles in a pan with a little water and Soyaki sauce until they were warmed through, soft and separated….about 5 minutes.
- Layered it all up in a bowl and topped with cilantro and Sriracha.
SIMPLE CHICKEN THIGH SHEET PAN DINNER
You can never go wrong with a sheet pan meal! Here’s what went on mine:
- Chicken thighs seasoned with salt, Trader Joe’s Everydday Seasoning grinder and Spiceology Greek Freak Mediterranean Blend.
- Potatoes with sea salt and the same TJ’s Everyday Seasoning.
- Cauliflower with sea salt.
I gave everything a generous drizzle of olive oil and roasted in my Ninja FoodiOven for about 25-30 minutes – until potatoes and cauliflower were soft and chicken was 160.
Served with ketchup for potato dipping and tzatziki for the chicken/cauliflower.
FYI – this is the instant read thermometer that I use for everything. Spendy but incredibly accurate and lasts forever.
CHICKEN + SWEET POTATO + BRUSSELS BOWL
Another sheet pan creation but in a bowl with feta dip and hummus.
- Chicken breasts seasoned with salt and Dizzy Pig Wonder Bird.
- Peel and cubed sweet potatoes seasoned with sea salt.
- Brussels halved and seasoned with sea salt.
Everything got a big douse of olive oil and then went in the Ninja for about 25-30 minutes – until potatoes and brussels were soft and chicken was at 160.
HAVE YOU EVER TRIED COLLARD-“INI”?
Collardini, also known as collard raab, is the young flower stems of collard plants at the end of their growing season. All winter long, their leaves are cut from the plants for traditional collard greens. Once the weather starts to heat up, flowering stems bolt from the plant. These bolts signal the end of the harvesting window for the collard plant because it means the plant is sending energy away from the leaves so the product is deteriorated. It somewhat resembles broccoli raab. The collardini has tender stalks and a wonderful flavor profile.
My friends, this is one of my favorite things about developing relationships with famers at the market. I would never have tried collardini otherwise. I love the idea of eating the plant through its whole life cycle. Don’t be scared of the flowering parts – it’s so good and good for you. Absolutely packed with nutrients. I got mine from my friend Casey of Honey Tree Farm.
Here’s what’s in this bowl. You could create it with broccolini or broccoli raab.
- Steamed brown rice
- Satueed ground turkey with shitake mushrooms from Bluebird Farm, fresh ginger and Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce.
- Sauteed collardini.
- Finished with Sriracha.
SHRIMP, QUINOA + VEGGIE BOWL
Love mixing in shrimp as a dinner protein. I keep a big bag in the freezer. They defrost and cook super quickly and are a powerhouse when it comes to protein. A 3.5 ounce serving of shrimp only has about 100 calories but packs 24 grams of protein.
- Steamed quinoa – I always cook it just like rice. with a 2:1 ratio of water or stock to quinoa and a generous shake of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, stir, cover and leave it alone for 20 minutes.
- This one couldn’t have been easier thanks to a frozen veggie blend from Whole Foods. It was their Provencal blend which has yellow and red bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant and a basil garlic sauce.
- Satueed shrimp.
- Feta on top.
SPAGHETTI NIGHT IS ALWAYS A WINNER
Finn loves my homemade spaghetti sauce so spaghetti night is on regular rotation over here!
LOOKS WEIRD, TASTED AMAZING
File this under not appetizing but insanely tasty. Like I couldn’t believe how much the giant beans added. SO good.
- Steamed quinoa.
- Satueed zucchini.
- Satueed ground turkey.
- Trader Joe’s canned Giant Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce – if you haven’t tried these and you like beans…get on it. They are cooked cannellini beans with tomato sauce and Mediterranean herbs and spices. Saucy and delish!
- Hummus and feta dip on top.
I know it looks a bit weird but trust me on this one.
MY FAVORITE DINNER SALAD
Can’t tell you how many times I’ve repeated this Buffalo chicken salad for a quick and refreshing dinner.
- Chopped romaine
- Air fried chicken nuggets tossed in Buffalo sauce once they come out.
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Shredded cheese
- Avocado
- Ranch – you have to do a creamy dressing on this salad! If you’re a blue cheese lover (I’m a ranch girl), that would be good too.
BURRATA PASTA BAKE
This was a WINNER!
- I sauteed turkey Italian sausage with shallots, garlic and mushrooms.
- Cooked a pot of Rao’s rigatoni pasta.
- Added the cooked pasta and Rao’s vodka sauce to the skillet along with chopped fresh spinach.
- Seasoned it all with Trader Joe’s Soffritto Seasoning, dried basil and sea salt.
- Transferred to a bakin dish and scattered chopped burrata cheese throughout.
- Baked at 350 for 20 minutes to let the cheese get melty.
- Topped with parm.
BUNLESS BURGER NIGHT
Finn loves burgers so I make them often. I don’t mind eating the patties but I don’t usually want it as a traditional burger. This night I did the patty with a baked sweet potato topped with butter and brown sugar and roasted brussels and baby portobello mushrooms.
STEAK DINNER!
Finn is also on a steak kick right now. Here’s a recent dinner I prepared for us.
- Grassfed NY strip steak. I don’t have my grill up and running so I seared it in a cast iron skillet and then flipped it and finished it in the oven. Pulled at 130 and let it rest. The temp ends up coming up a few degrees.
- Sauteed mushrooms with white wine and garlic.
- Caramelized onions – just thinly sliced sweet onions and sauteed them with olive oil and butter on low heat until they were browned, caramelized and soft.
- Roasted brussels.
- BAKED POTATO! I love baked potatoes. Yum, yum. I scrub them well, poke about 12 holes in them, coat with olive or avocado oil and then coat with sea salt. Cook at 350 until internal temperature is 205. Can’t recommend baking your potatoes to temp enough – makes a huge difference!
WARM SALMON SALAD
I have always preferred warm protein on my salads when I’m having chicken, shrimp or salmon on a salad. This bowl had spinach drizzled with olive oil, sea salt and balsamic, sliced beets, avocado, warm freshly cooked quinoa and roasted salmon.
CRISPY CHICKEN FOR THE WIN!
Panko crusted chicken topped with lots of fresh squeeze lemon juice, parmesan couscous and sauteed spinach.
For the chicken:
- Cut chicken breast in half and pound thin.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Dredge in flour, egg wash and then a mix of panko, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and parmesan.
- Sautee with a generous amount of olive oil until browned on both sides and temp is 160.
GREEK INSPIRED CHICKEN PLATE
Dreamed this one up at the end of a long day of teaching and taking classes.
- Boxed rice pilaf
- Roasted chicken breast – seasoned with Dizzy Pig Shakin’ The Tree and olive oil
- Sauteed zucchini
- Beet salad – I could not stop thinking about the beets from Ilios Crafted Greek as I was leaving the gym so I stopped and got a side just to have with this dinner.
- A scoop of hummus and tzatzini
- Feta
MISO MUSHROOM PASTA
I have been making this simple pasta dish on repeat for the last couple of years, especially when I can get these gorgeous shitake mushrooms and fresh spinach at the farmers market from my Bluebird Farm friends.
- Cooked spaghetti noodles
- Sauteed shitake mushrooms in a pan with olive oil until they started to soften. Added garlic, butter and a couple tablespoons of Trader Joe’s white miso paste and then some chicken stock.
- Stirred in spinach at the very end and cooked until wilted.
- Topped with parm.
THAT’S A WRAP!
I bet you’re hungry now!
Which dinner are you replicating ASAP?
Ranch or blue cheese?
Any unique things you’ve tried at a farmers market like collardini?
