Hello, Fellow Chefs. I hope you have all had an enjoyable week. Sadly, we have had a couple tragic losses within our elementary school community recently, and that has made me try to appreciate my family even more than usual lately. When I am reminded how fragile life can be, it really makes me want to hug my loved ones a little tighter and try even harder to keep them happy and safe.
On a happier subject, The Short One is going to be starting school next week! He will only be there two mornings each week, but this will be the first regular free time I’ve had for over two years. What will I do with my newfound freedom? Cooking, eating, and writing about it are likely to be involved. Maybe I’ll spend some time learning more something about photography!
Now, onto this week’s menu! There are a few old favorites combined with some brand new Weary Chef creations. All of these meals are quick and easy and perfect for weeknight dinners. I look forward to hearing which recipes are your favorites!
- Jalapeño Popper Turkey Burgers – This is probably my favorite burger I have ever made, and I’ve made a lot of burgers in my day. It only took a little more work than typical burgers, but the cheesy, stuffed center was fun and delicious. Of course, if you don’t want to go to the trouble of stuffing your patties, just top with jalapeños and melted cheese. Serve with oven-baked frozen fries or homemade oven fries.
- Italian Sausage Pasta Bake – This was a new creation this week and one I will definitely be making again. It was fast and flavorful, and I LOVE one-dish dinners!
- Stand Up Tacos – We all know the heartbreak of biting into a crunchy taco and having it disintegrate into broken pieces all over your plate (or worse, the floor).
Have no fear because these baked tacos have the perfect texture to be sturdy and tasty. Serve with your favorite toppings and fresh margaritas.
- Salmon and Bok Choy over Rice – This is a simple, healthy, and delicious meal. We used to eat this almost weekly, back before I became
obsessed withdedicated to blogging new dinner recipes every week. It’s easy to change up this recipe with different vegetables.
- Creamy Ranch Chicken Pasta – I’ve been loving ranch-flavored dishes lately, so I was excited to come up with this one. The squash was a nice change of pace since I often forget about it, and the ranchy dill flavor was right tasty.
- Lemon Chicken Soup – This is an old favorite at our house and one of the first recipes I ever shared on The Weary Chef. It goes great with No Knead Bread or another crusty loaf. This soup was made for dunking!
- “Spread” – I have waited a while to share this one with you because not everyone would consider this dinner. We somewhat regularly have what we call “a spread” for dinner, which another friend calls picnic dinner. It usually consists of hummus and pita, 1-2 cheeses, crackers or bread, sliced fruit, and raw vegetables like sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, and baby carrots. Sometimes we throw in prosciutto if we’re feeling fancy. This is great for nights when I don’t want to cook but don’t want to order takeout. (When we have a newborn in the house, this is dinner at least 3 nights/week!) Kids and adults all like it, and it’s easy to pick and choose what you want. If this wouldn’t go over well at your house, just choose another meal from my list of recipes for this week.
Remember, you can easily build a grocery list from any recipes on The Weary Chef thanks to Feastie! When you are on a recipe page, just click the “List” button in the right sidebar to add it to your Feastie grocery list.
Julie says
Great recipes, Andi. Pinned. Thanks for sharing at MM!
The Weary Chef says
Thank you, Julie!
Paula says
One word – YUM! Thanks for sharing at MM @ Call Me PMc ~ Paula
The Weary Chef says
Thanks for having me and for stopping by, Paula!
Liz says
Love your Spread idea :-) We used same concept for my youngest’s family bday party today–hummus, popcorn, crackers, cheeses, fruits, carrots. The was My Little Pony, so my thought was that we should graze like ponies. Works for you, too, yes :-) Also, the salmon will be on our table soon.
Sorry the losses in your community and thanks for the reminder that life is fragile.
A separate note: hope you saw my “happy hour” on deLizious. Didn’t post on your timeline as the photo was dark and is not all that impressive. But wanted you to know I followed through! Irony is the photoed cocktail was not mine–just the prettiest of the bunch. Also hope you catch my daughter’s bday cake on deLiz as I know you make sweet cakes for your kids. This one really rocked, thanks to my 10-year-old’s friend who has taken many a cake decorating class.
The Weary Chef says
Thanks, Liz! It is such an easy dinner, but I love it. Your party sounds perfect, and the cake turned out great! Love the over-the-top ponies!
I appreciate the reminder to look for your cocktail photo. I am very frustrated with Facebook lately because it is so sketchy with what shows up in feeds. My posts don’t get to all my readers, and I know I miss things from my favorite blogs too. I also don’t get any sort of notification when you mention me in a post. Grrr…
Liz says
I hear you on the facebook–I never know if folks are actually seeing what I put out there. Grrrr… You aren’t “notified” when you’re tagged? Huh.
Again, have fun with your weekend bday party. Let me (or deLiz :-) ) know how it goes. Speaking of parties, I would LOVE to have you at a party here. You have an open invitation to anything I throw ever!
The Weary Chef says
The Facebook thing is so frustrating. For example, a link I shared yesterday was seen by 48 people, and I have over 350 likes. I know not everyone is on Facebook every day so it won’t go to everyone, but I also know FB only shows your stuff to a handful of people if you don’t pay to promote it. I should email support about not getting notifications because that used to work and stopped for some reason.
I think I’m going to try my hand at a Hello Kitty cake for Saturday’s party. I’m aiming to be at least as good as your cat cupcakes! ;)
Liz says
Looking forward to a picture of the cake! Figured FB has some overarching plan–get us all to pay to promote sounds about right. Have another fb question–I’ve seen your Like number shoot way up and I’m curious your secret. I feel like I fight for each little number bump.
The Weary Chef says
Advertising! I got $50 in free FB advertising when I opened my account and put it to good use.