5 Simple Dinners I’m Making on Repeat

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

I know I’m about to sound very unrelatable, but bear with me…  It is very hard for me to make simple meals.  I grew up in a family of foodies, we eat food and we discuss it and then we clean up and start preparing the next meal.  We just love good food! We love a creative main dish served with a good salad and least two other side dishes.

Fast forward to me marrying Josh, and although he enjoys good food, he could also eat a turkey sandwich for every meal for the rest of his life and never skip a beat.  I really lucked out with this guy.

I love cooking creative and beautiful meals for my little family and for friends that we try to host often, but simple they are not.  Even during a difficult pregnancy and postpartum and a life on the road, I just haven’t been able to give myself a break and am constantly at the grocery store, slicing and dicing and forcing myself to produce home cooked dinners and sides every night.

Hi, my name is Abbe, I am a recovering perfectionist, welcome to my life.

I realized as I came into this year overwhelmed that “food” in our home needed to be reformed.  I was tired, maxed out, my grocery budget was maxed out and I needed to truly simplify and let a few things go.  Food being the first thing.

I have an open note on my phone that I add easy meal ideas to and I’m happy to say that it’s grown quite a bit.  Grocery shopping this month has already been much easier as I’ve added organic canned and frozen items (again, let’s not die on the hill of “homemade”) and you know what, it’s all good.  Josh is still raving over dinner, I have a little more time and clean up is easier.

Here are 5 of our current favorites that I think you’ll love too!

Zuppa Toscana

This is such a good cold weather soup.  I like to bump up the nutrition by starting with a mirepoix (finely chopped celery, carrot & onion), using bone broth, all-natural chicken sausage, extra kale (it wilts down to nothing anyways) and milk instead of cream.

One Pan Mexican Quinoa

I swiped this one from Lisa a long time ago and still make it often, the leftovers are amazing too!

You can serve it as is (vegan) with tortilla chips or really go crazy with the toppings.  I usually add a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, sour cream, cheese and salsa.  And I always serve the leftovers for lunch the next day with a fried egg on top.

Turkey Sandwiches

I did warn you.  My husband’s favorite meal.

The natural turkey lunch meat is our favorite.  You can add some bacon, lettuce, tomato for a TBLT, or a side of tomato soup or sometimes I’ll just pop a turkey & cheese sandwich into a pan and make a grilled cheese.

French Onion Soup

When this recipe says it’s the last french onion soup recipe you’ll ever need, it isn’t even joking, I’ve made this several times right in a row and it’s just the most cozy dish I’ve ever made.  I like to layer swiss cheese (it’s my favorite with this soup) and gluten-free bread and put it under the broiler before placing on top of the soup. I also use gluten-free  flour as the thickener and it turns out perfect every time.

Buffalo Chicken

This is the newest recipe in my lineup and we love it!  I use an organic ranch seasoning packet that I find at Sprouts and serve it in a sandwich, on a lettuce wrap or with celery sticks for dipping.  And it’s so good with a pile of coleslaw on top!