Easy Weekly Dinner Menu #9 - Bring on the Bacon.

Hello, fellow chefs. How has your week been? It has been a good one for us. A highlight was when I found out that a sack load of clothes I bought for my birthday were never charged to my card! I went back to return something from that mini shopping spree, and they couldn’t find the transaction, only to find out that I wasn’t charged for anything I purchased there that day. They said it was their mistake and everything was mine to keep at no charge. I feel happy and guilty about this, but after offering multiple times to pay and being turned down, all I could say was “Thank you!”

Another stroke of luck this week was when I accidentally left a bag of groceries in the parking lot at our local supermarket. I realized it as soon as we got home, and when I drove back (only a few minutes later), it was still sitting in the parking spot right where I left it. It’s a pretty big fail to go shopping and not manage to bring the groceries home with you!

Speaking of groceries, are you ready to plan your meals and go shopping for the week? For that, I bring you this week’s menu of easy dinner recipes. I hope you will enjoy these dishes as much as we did!

1. Lemon Couscous Salad with Coconut Lime Salmon (or chicken) – I loved this couscous salad. LOVED IT! We ate it with salmon, as pictured, but I also really liked the marinade on chicken. Alternatively, cut cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir it into the salad for a one-dish meal.
2. Smothered Beef Burritos – Some people may call these “wet burritos.” I am not one of those people because that sounds embarrassingly dirty to me. Smothered sounds delicious instead of suggestive, so let’s go with that, shall we? I was expecting to adapt this recipe, but I don’t think my little changes added much. I’d rather just point you to the original, which is great as is!
3. Bacon Gouda Alfredo – If you are like me, the words “bacon” and “gouda” were enough to make you want to try this before you knew any more details. I found this tasty-sounding dish at Cassie Craves, which looked delectable, but I wanted to lighten it up a bit. I was really happy with the result, and I think you will be too!
4. Steak with Potatoes – You can go two ways with this dinner: Get fancy with Steak Xavier and Hasselback Potatoes, or just make steak with roasted vegetables. Either way will be delicious and easy!
5. Spinach Artichoke Lasagna – This recipe is a classic in our house. It takes about 15 minutes to prep and an hour to bake, so plan accordingly. You can make it ahead and bake when you are ready, which is almost as convenient as a 30-minute meal if you ask me.
6. BLTAs with fries – I’m not sure you really need a recipe for this sandwich, but I created one for list building and future reference. Serve with homemade or frozen fries. This made for a casual, easy, and fun dinner!
7. Chicken and Dumplings – This week The Tall One had the International Potluck at his school. I love this event, but we are extremely American. The closest I get to International is being from Mississippi, which is practically another country, right? To show off my heritage, I brought chicken and dumplings. I added extra dumplings to make it thicker since it would be going on a plate instead of in a bowl. Many thumbs up came my way.