What’s For Dinner Wednesday (3 More Meal Ideas)
It’s the third installment of our “What’s For Dinner Wednesday” series! I’ve recently really gotten into finding quick or simple meals to make for supper. As much as I love an ambitious recipe (and enjoy cooking), I’m also a big fan of an easy supper that I can pull together with our busy 15-month-old daughter nearby! 🙂 I’m also trying out a free month of Plan to Eat (an online account and app that stores recipes for you, helps you plan your meals out, and creates your whole shopping list! – click here to try a free month of it for yourself!)
You can read the first two “What’s For Dinner” posts HERE and HERE.
I think each of us appreciates some fresh ideas now and then, so hopefully this post will be inspiring to you!
** Note: The meals I’m sharing for “What’s For Dinner Wednesday” aren’t ALL of the exact recipes I’ll be making that week, although I’ll make sure to include some of the meals in my weekly meal plan amongst the recipes in the list. 🙂 Enjoy!
Quick Stir Fry:
This one is an easy meal my mom likes to make. It’s really delicious and you can make it extra heavy on the veggies! My mom freezes pre-cut strips of meat in small Ziploc bags so they’re ready to grab and go when it’s time to make stir fry. She uses a combo of the two stir fry sauces (just adding small amounts of the Szechuan Spicy flavor).
Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen “stir fry mix” veggies
1/2 bag of frozen bell pepper stripes
beef or stew meat, cut into chunks or strips
1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
olive oil
House of Tsang Stir Fry Sauce – “Classic”
House of Tsang Stir Fry Sauce – “Szechuan Spicy”
rice
dry roasted peanuts, optional
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat to skillet and cook until mostly (if not all the way) done. Pour in the onion wedges, bag of frozen veggies and the half bag of frozen bell peppers. Cook for a few minutes until all the veggies are tender, stirring often. (The onion wedges will begin to fall apart nicely.) Drizzle some of the “Classic” stir fry sauce on, plus a smaller amount of the “Szechuan Spicy” sauce, and continue to stir and cook. Then add about a cup of water into the pan and stir that around, as a final step to keep it juicy. Serve over rice, with extra stir fry sauce drizzled on to your liking and peanuts sprinkled on top!
White Bean & Chicken Chili:
This is another easy and amazingly delicious meal my mom makes! I love all kinds of chili, but this white chicken chili is one of my very favorites.
Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb. total)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion (it works well to use a bag of frozen diced onion, too!)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 15-oz. can Great Northern White Beans
1 19-oz. can cannelini beans
1 small can (4.5 oz.) diced green chiles
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 14-oz. can fat-free chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
shredded Monterey Jack cheese, to put on top
sour cream, to put on top
Directions:
Heat olive oil on medium in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the diced onion to the pot, and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cut the chicken into bit-sized chunks. Add the chicken to the pot and stir. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. While the chicken cooks, rinse and drain both of the beans and drain the chiles. Add the chiles to the pot along with the cumin, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Raise the heat to high, and add the broth and drained beans. Cover the pot and bring the chili to a boil. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small container. Cover and shake it or otherwise stir it well to remove any lumps. When the chili boils, the chicken should be cooked through (even if you began with partially defrosted chicken). Add the cornstarch mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly. Continue to boil until the chili reaches the desired thickness. Remove from the heat and serve. Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream, if desired.
Baked Ravioli (aka Cheater’s Lasagna):
This is a recipe my friend Jordan introduced me to! It’s a perfect pasta bake for nights when you need something easy, but it also “dresses up” well with a side salad, breadsticks, and dessert for a fun Italian meal! 🙂
Ingredients:
1 25-oz. bag frozen ravioli
1 26-oz. jar marinara sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Spray bottom and sides of a 9×13 rectangular baking dish with cooking spray. Spread a 3/4 cup of the pasta sauce in baking dish. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over the sauce; top with half of the remaining pasta sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in the center. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.