Easy Weekly Dinner Menu #15 – Dusting off the Cookbooks

Hello, Fellow Chefs! It’s already time to do meal planning for next week. When you plan meals, where do you look for recipes? I usually mainly get inspiration from Pinterest and other online sources, but this week I pulled out some cookbooks and picked a few recipes I’ve never tried before. I have always enjoyed looking through cookbooks, and it was fun to thumb through some old favorites. I hope you will enjoy this week’s menu featuring lots of easy dinners ready in under 30 minutes!

1. Pineapple Shrimp Stir Fry or Skewers – This 20-minute meal was one attempt at a new, kid-friendly dinner. Truth be told, my kids were not impressed, but the grownups really liked it! I recommend serving this with The Pioneer Woman’s Simple Sesame Noodles, which the whole family loved, or you can serve over plain rice.
   
2. Ham and Broccoli Pockets with Fruit Salad – These pockets make for a really fun dinner and are very customizable. Haters gonna hate, so if not everyone in your family is a broccoli fan, just make them with ham and cheese and serve a veggie on the side.
   
3. Gyros Burgers with Oven Fries – We really loved these Greek burgers. They satisfied the burger and fries craving, but the pita and spicy yogurt sauce were welcome changes from the ordinary. If you make oven fries, you could try substituting Greek seasoning for the Cajun seasoning. (You can also bake frozen fries at 450 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until golden and crispy.)
   
4. Creamy Ranch Chicken Pasta – If you are like me and can’t get enough Ranch flavor lately, you will love this 30-minute pasta dinner!
   
5. Margarita Chicken Fajitas – Why should tequila be limited to cocktails? This week, I let the entree get in on the fun too. This quick and easy Mexican dinner is very flavorful and of course goes great with fresh margaritas. These fajitas will definitely be a regular visitor at our house!
   
6. Slow Cooker Pot Roast over Mashed Potatoes (or Rice) – The roast you see pictured here is not actually from the recipe it links to. I tried a new recipe with balsamic vinegar, and well, we didn’t really like it. This recipe I’m recommending instead is basically how I’ve always made slow cooker roast, and my search continues for a perfect roast recipe that doesn’t involve canned soups. Please let me know if you have one to recommend! (I suggest using baby portabella mushrooms instead of potatoes in the roast since it’s going over potatoes or rice.)
   
7. Foil Fish Packets with Dill Rice Pilaf – This healthy, make-ahead dinner is great for assembling ahead of time to take the stress out of dinnertime!

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