Easy Weeknight Meals – Short Recipe Ideas

As a working mom, I struggle at times! I struggle with knowing what to make on a weeknight after I have been at work all day, and my husband is often outside. Often my brain is zapped from working and thinking all day, the noise from kids at school, the noise from my kids, and I just want some go to meal options. I appreciate having posts like this one to help me think of what I might have in my fridge/freezer that I can make and have on the table within the hour. If you’re the type of person that always hits the “Jump to Recipe” button on posts, then this post will definitely resonate with you!!!

I’ll also share some tips I’ve picked up along the way that have helped me be more prepared to make healthier options for dinner. We need to give ourselves grace when it comes to putting food on the table. My counselor told me, even if it’s peanut butter and jelly, some baby carrots, and applesauce. You and your kids are getting food in your bellies. That is what matters. Picking an “easy” meal could maybe help set you up for success another day. You can get the dishes done so you’re ready to tackle dinner tomorrow, get your youngest to bed because he’s teething, or maybe so YOU can go to bed a little earlier too. 

Here are some of my top tips when it comes to easy weeknight dinners. I’ve split this apart into different meat categories, including chicken, beef and pork. I do feel like if you can think of a main dish or meat option, the rest kind of falls into place. Sorry I don’t have many pictures, the food I make just vanishes…poof, gone. Not a lot of pics! (I’ll work on that!)

Keep is Simple, Silly (KISS)

Every night doesn’t need to be a big production. Do what you can, and remember, you’re not perfect. You can identify a goal of what you would like your weeknight dinners to look like, and make small steps each night towards achieving that goal. The good thing is, we get a lot of practice because meal times come e.v.e.r.y day. Take small steps, like learning how to make a simple side and get good at doing that, then tackle making a more put together main dish. If you try to do it all at once and have no experience you’re likely to quit before you get good at it. Make a mental note (or a physical one on some pretty journal paper, if you want) of how long things take to get done, and think about how that one side could fit into a larger meal. You got this! I’m cheering you on!

Easy Chicken Recipes for Easy Weeknight Meals

Chicken breasts are a pretty popular cut of meat, but I have actually come to love chicken thighs, and hindquarters. They are, in my opinion, more flavorful and juicy than a chicken breast, and just as versatile. They are also often cheaper! 

Here are my tips when it comes to chicken: 

• Have a 9×13 pan in the refrigerator designated for thawing out chicken and other poultry
  • Pull out what you think you want to make in the next day or two and put it in the pan to slowly thaw in the fridge 
• Cook up multiple pieces of chicken or a whole chicken at one time. Already have the oven, grill or smoker going? Great, throw an extra package of chicken thighs on the barbey and get it cooked up. By cooking up more than you would eat for one meal you open yourself up for easier weeknight meals the following nights and/or for leftovers for lunch.
  • When doing this UNDER-cook your chicken! Safe to eat chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook your “extra” chicken for a different meal to about 145. Keep in mind, meat will continue cooking about an extra five degrees after pulling it off of your heat source. By under cooking your meat this time it will allow it to be reheated without drying it out and leaving it tasteless
  • Season pretty generically so you can go a variety of different directions with already cooked chicken
    • Use salt and pepper, garlic/onion powder, dried basil/oregano/parsley
    • This allows you to pull out already cooked chicken and reheat the it, or make it into a variety of recipes
• Use your slow cooker!
  • I love to season a whole chicken, like I talked about above, shove a stick of butter up its butt and pour in a can of Busch Lite (yes, we’re in Iowa, it has to be Busch Lite!), however, any beer will do the trick! Turn the slow cooker on low, and leave it while you’re gone at work. This chicken will literally fall apart and be so juicy.
    • ** PRO TIP** Put your chicken breast-side down so the breasts sit in the juices all day and soaks in the delicious goodness
    • Pull the bones out while it’s still hot.
    • Eat some of the chicken that night for supper and make simple sides-like instant mashed potatoes and frozen vegetables so you can pre-prep for the next night.
      • By making a whole chicken you can mix white and dark meat together and make something like chicken pot pie, enchiladas, chicken tortilla soup, etc. 

Easy Ground Beef Recipes for Easy Weeknight Meals

• Have a 9×13 pan in the refrigerator designated for thawing out beef
  • Pull out what you think you want to make in the next day or two and put it in the pan to slowly thaw in the fridge
    • Technically you could put ground beef in the same pan as chicken because to be safely consumed both should be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit
    • Other whole cuts of beef should be put in a separate pan because you don’t have to cook it to such a high temperature
      • Safe cooking temperatures for beef according to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
• I do find myself defrosting ground beef in the microwave for an easy weeknight meal, and that’s ok! Ground beef is still going to taste good if you defrost it in the microwave
• Ground beef thaws out quickly, not like a roast, or even a steak would. If I’m rushed for time I’ll use ground beef to make something. Some of our favorites are:
  • Chilli Mac
    • Brown ground beef (with some diced onions, if you would like)
      • Add tomato paste for a great depth of flavor
      • Add diced tomatoes to get some extra veggies in (well, fruit 😉 ) 
      • Add 1 Tbsp of chili powder + 1 Tbsp of taco seasoning
      • Melt some cheese
        • I like to use Velveeta-type cheese in a glass measuring cup with about 1 cup of milk, microwave it until it’s melted
    • Cook up your favorite shape of pasta
      • Combine everything. Yummo!
  • Taco Meat
    • Throw it on some leftover spinach, lettuce or sliced cabbage to make a taco salad, or just add cheese, sour cream, peppers, or whatever you like to put on your tacos, even if you don’t have shells or chips
  • SOS (S…..urprise on a Shingle)
    • Brown up some ground beef, add some of your favorite seasonings and add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Toast up a piece of bread and slap it on. Easy peasy. 
  • Sloppy Joes
    • Use buns OR bread or make it an open face
      • To make an open face sloppy joe for an easy weeknight dinner, throw some cheese on a piece of bread on a cookie sheet, throw it under the broiler to make it melty and golden, and top with meat and add some more cheese. It’ll look gourmet, but it was easy! 
    • TWIST – Use a can of refrigerated biscuit dough, flatten them out with your hands, put a couple tablespoons of meat mixture in and seal them up and bake on a cookie sheet according to biscuit directions
  • Taco or Sloppy Joe Ring
    • Brown up your meat, season with taco seasoning
    • Use a can of crescent dough. Unroll crescents and slightly overlap them on a sheet pan in a circle. Drop spoonfuls of meat mixture onto the wide end of the crescents, top with some shredded cheese and bring the pointy end of the crescent under the wide end. Looks fancy, but was pretty easy!

Easy Pork Recipes for Easy Weeknight Meals

• Pork chops can be an easy weeknight dinner and can be dressed up a number of ways
  • Just season both sides with your favorite seasoning and cook them in a cast iron skillet with some coconut oil
• Ground pork can be used in the same way as ground beef
• Pork sausage can be used for more flavor in an ground pork recipe, and used like ground beef
• Unwrapped egg rolls is a good weeknight recipe
  • Brown up some ground pork, ground sausage, or ground beef
  • Slice up and saute cabbage, carrots, onions, whatever vegetables you have in the fridge
  • Season with some powdered ginger, garlic, add a tablespoon or so of sesame oil, some soy sauce, red pepper flakes and top with sour cream, cheese, and sriracha, if you like it hot! 

The University of Minnesota has a pretty good resource for Safe Meat Handling and Cooking Temperatures

Overall Easy Weeknight Meal Tips

• Have breakfast for dinner-we call this brinner or brupper
  • Most breakfast things cook fast!
    • Eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausage, bacon, fruit
      • Use a pre-made mix for pancakes and waffles and you’ll have dinner put together even faster 
      • Cook bacon on a sheet pan lined with tin foil for easier cleanup and cook in a 400 degree oven 
    • Did you see the picture at the top of this post?! That is a waffle, with a country gravy mix, some ground pork sausage, tater tots, shredded cheese and siracha. Easy meal, and delicious!
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or meat and cheese sandwiches really ARE viable options for dinner
• Set yourself up for success by having meat already thawed out
• Prep your meal for the next night by making an easy meal tonight! Then you’ll feel grrreat! 
• Master some sides that you and your family love, and you’ll feel like a rockstar
• Use paper plates if you want to! 
• Remember, you don’t have to make a production out of dinner! KISS (Keep It Simple Silly) 
• While they may seem easy, things like chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, tater tots, etc. in the “ready to eat” frozen food aisle are often VERY expensive, and are NOT nutritious! You can make things semi-homemade and save yourself THOUSANDS of dollars a month, and be ahead nutritionally 

You got this, I’m cheering you on! I would love to know how this goes for you! What did you end up making? What would you like to learn about next? Comment below, and subscribe to the Iowa Family Gardening Homestead so you never miss a post, and learn skills that will help you become more self-reliant.