5 Easy Dinner Recipes

One of the most difficult things about school days seems to be figuring out what’s for dinner! After years of trying different recipes, there are specific ones I turn to again and again when I need to make something my kids will eat and that is simple enough to prep on a weeknight (aka no chopping onions or pre-searing meat before adding it to a slow cooker!). Since figuring out what’s for dinner is a common issue for families, I thought I’d share 5 of our favorite dinner recipes - hope they give you some ideas for fast, nutritious, and delicious dinners for your family!

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One quick tip before I share the recipes - I always keep frozen cut veggies and peas in the freezer to quickly steam for a vegetable side to our dinners - they're easy to make and take forever to go bad in the freezer so that means I can stock up on them - they've been a big help!

5 EASY DINNER RECIPES

TURKEY PASTA BAKE

Delicious ground turkey, pasta, cheese and marinara dish with shredded zucchini is a family hit

Type A Mom Tip: prep two baking pans - one to eat that night and one to cool and then freeze for up to three months. Move from freezer to fridge the night before you’d like to eat to defrost then bring to room temperature and bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 until warmed through –you may want to cover loosely with foil so it doesn’t burn the top when warming through, and consider sprinkling with more cheese too!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey

1 box dried penne or elbow pasta

1 Jar of marinara sauce

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 Zucchinis grated

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Prepare the pasta as directed (boil)

Cook the ground turkey in a pan using a wooden spoon to make sure it is in small pieces and is cooked through (no pink)

Add the jar of pasta sauce into the pan

Grate the zucchini and add to the pan

Mix the turkey, zucchini and sauce together on a low simmer

Pour the plain cooked pasta into a pyrex dish (or split between two dishes if freezing half)

Pour the turkey sauce mix on top of the pasta and combine/stir together

Add the mozzarella to the dish and combine/stir together

Sprinkle the parmesan across the top

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes OR store in the fridge until later that day and then bake for 40 minutes until warmed through OR freeze for up to 3 months (see above Type A Mom Tip)

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Easy way to set up and make deconstructed chicken enchiladas

Type A Mom Tip: for kids who are sensitive to spices use just half of the enchilada sauce and then use water to make the liquid equal the amount that would have been there had the entire sauce amount been used

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds chicken breasts (boneless skinless)

28 ounces red enchilada sauce

8 soft corn tortillas

2 cups grated cheese - cheddar or Mexican cheese blend

Directions:

Place chicken into a slow cooker

Pour the enchilada sauce into the slow cooker

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours

When it’s finished cooking, take two forks and carefullyshred the chicken inside the slow cooker

Tear the corn tortillas into small pieces and add to theslow cooker

Add the cheese into the slow cooker

Mix the tortillas and cheese and chicken together

Put the cover back on the slow cooker and let cook for 30more minutes

When ready, scoop and serve in bowls

You can serve with small sides of sour cream and mashed avocado if you’d like to add that into your enchilada bowl

SLOW COOKER BEEF STEW

Easy hands-off way to make beef stew when you need a hearty cozy meal

Type A Mom Tip: serve on top of steamed rice in a bowl

Ingredients:

1 lb cut beef stew meat

1 cup diced tomatoes (from a can/box, not drained)

3 cups chicken broth (premade in can/box or make your own)

1 bay leaf

1 cup carrots cut bite size

1 cup sweet potatoes cut bite size (don’t need to peel)

1 cup frozen peas

salt & pepper as needed

Directions:

Place the beef stew meat, the diced tomatoes, the chicken broth, the carrots, the sweet potatoes and the bay leaf into the slow cooker

Stir everything together

Cook on low for 7-8 hours

Add frozen peas and stir

Cook another 30 minutes

Remove bay leaf before eating

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BAKED SALMON

Simple baked salmon with very little prep time

Type A Mom Tip: cut the salmon into bite size pieces and serve in a bowl with steamed rice and peas for an easy meal

Ingredients:

1 pound salmon/salmon filets

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Line a baking pan with foil

Place the salmon into the baking pan, skin side down

Drizzle the olive oil and salt over the top of the salmon

Cover the baking pan with foil so that there is no space for air to escape (this will steam the salmon), and make sure it is not touching the top of the salmon

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and check that it is cooked (light pink) all the way through

Add pepper as needed when serving

CORNFLAKE CHICKEN

Delicious chicken option that is a bit different from plain roasted chicken

Type A Mom Tip: kids love to help with rolling/pounding the corn flake bag!

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 6 strips or 1package chicken breast tenders (chicken tenders are much easier!)

1 Large Egg

1/4 cup Milk

3 Cups Corn Flake Cereal

1 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat your oven to 400 degrees

Cover a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, then place a cooking rack on top of it

Whisk the egg and milk together in a large bowl

Put the corn flakes into a large ziploc bag, add in the saltand pepper, and seal the bag

Use a rolling pin to roll/pound the corn flake bag until theflakes are almost a fine powder (this mixture coats the chicken so make it assmooth or crunchy as your family would like)

Pour that corn flake mixture into a large bowl

Place your chicken tenders or sliced chicken one by one intothe egg/milk mix, then into the corn flake mix making sure to coat all sides

Place each coated tender onto the prepared cooking rack/bakingsheet

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, flipping over halfway(until the chicken is cooked through)

Wait for it to cool for a few minutes then serve! I usually serve with steamed veggies or peas

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If you’d like more nutritious simple to make dinner recipes, click here for a recipe book I put together that has 22 easy recipes including slow cooker recipes, make ahead and freeze for later recipes, simple one pan recipes, and all with a “Type A Mom Tip” that I’ve learned over the years. And, for a list of the kitchen tools and equipment needed to make these recipes, click here for a list.

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Hope these recipe ideas help make planning your dinners easier!

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‍❤️, Amanda, your Type A Mom friend

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