Quick and Easy Recipes

This post is #12 in my September Writing Project. Details are here.

Prompt: Share your favorite recipes.

I honestly enjoy cooking. It was a bit of a journey to get to this point but now I look forward to unwinding after work in the kitchen. These recipes might not be my all-time favorites forever, but they are great for this stage of life. 

The stage when you have picky kids saying “I don’t like this!”

The stage when you rush home from work and only have 40 minutes before you have to run someone to dance class or soccer practice.

The stage when you’re working full-time and also trying to cram blogging into each and every day because you made a commitment to do so. 

Anyway, here are a few go-tos that are perfect for busy weeknights.

The One-Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta is our #1 right now. Dude has actually requested “chicken onion pasta” and our daughter eats it without complaint. I add an extra can of diced tomatoes to up the veggies. I’ve simplified the presentation a smidge by skipping the scallion, cilantro and avocado; I feel that the flavors are great without those additions. We also skip the peppers because none of us care much for them.

These Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos are excellent. What I really love about this recipe is that I can eyeball some of these measurements and it still tastes fantastic. They also reheat really well. On a good, productive Sunday, I make a batch of these to use for quick dinners during the week.

When it’s cooler outside, we rotate through a number of crockpot meals regularly. This Easy Cheesy Crockpot Chicken Corn Chili is excellent. This is about the easiest recipe in the world. Throw it all in a crockpot, shred the chicken later on, add cheese and there’s your dinner.

Another favorite crockpot meal are these Salsa Verde Honey Lime Chicken Tacos. Of everything I make, this is my husband’s favorite. 

Finally, how about a vegetarian option? I love sweet potatoes, so these Sweet Potato Burritos with Avocado Salsa Verde are one of my favorites. This is another one that I simplify. When I make the salsa verde, I skip the cilantro, jalapeño, water and sea salt. I’m all about cutting out anything that doesn’t feel totally necessary. I’ve made it with all that jazz before and of course it was good, but I find the flavor to be totally satisfying without that stuff too.

It seems that we really, really like Mexican food. I guess I knew this subconsciously but it’s quite apparent now. If you give any of these a try, let me know!