Nutrition & Recipes
Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes (one shopping trip!)
Oct
3 healthy, easy weeknight dinner recipes with, get this, just 11 ingredients. Save time and waste by using one grocery list, one trip to the store and utilizing some meal prep strategy!
My refrigerator is regularly packed with the remnants of the past week’s worth of meals. Leftovers, half used onions, dribbles of delicious sauces that we didn’t quite use up. I hate throwing food. I hate eating leftovers. Conundrum.
Enter: 3 meals made with the same 11 ingredients.
One shopping list. A single trip to the grocery store. Fewer leftovers in the trash. Winning!
Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes (one shopping trip!)
These easy weeknight dinner recipes check all the boxes:
- Simple to prepare and perfect for a quick, weeknight meal.
- Packed with healthy ingredients and well-balanced nutrients.
- Bright and colorful and fun to eat.
- Less waste (and more saved money).
Ready to rock and roll? Prepared for a delicious few days of healthy, waste-less, want-less dinners.
11 Ingredient Shopping List
Make life easy and print the list in PDF format below!
Each of these meals can be made with the same 10 ingredients, in addition to some pantry staples. I call these pantry staples because I always have them on hand but just in case, make sure that you have the following in your cupboards and cabinets before getting started:
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
Recipe #1: Tex-Mex Rice Bowls with Grilled Chicken and Black Beans
serves 2
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup brown rice
2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups mixed greens
1 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 poblano peppers
2 tablespoons salsa
Make it:
- Poblano Crema: Preheat your broiler. Place poblanos on the top rack and broil 5-6 minutes, turning to char every side. Carefully place charred poblano in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to cool completely. Remove the stem and seeds and then peel the skin off of the pepper – the skin should come off easily! *Pull on poblano to the side for tomorrow night. Roughly chop the peppers and then add to a food processor with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and a pinch of salt. Buzz until smooth. If your crema is super thick, add cold water by the tablespoon to the food processor to loosen a bit. Store in the fridge until ready to use. *Make sure to wash your hands after handling the peppers!
- Cook your rice: First rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of rice, and a pinch of salt, to a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer ~18-20 minutes until the water has absorbed. Turn off heat and let sit, untouched, 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork. *Save 1 cup of rice for tomorrow.
- While your rice is cooking, grill your chicken: Preheat your grill to medium-hot. Coat the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brush grill grates with olive and place chicken on grates. Grill, on touched, 4-5 minutes to get nice char marks on one side. Flip and finish cooking, another 4-5 minutes, until the inner temperature reads 160 degrees. Let rest for 5 minutes and then slice against the grain. *If you want to really meal prep, throw two more chicken breasts on the grill for salad night!
- Time to plate! I like to use large dinner bowls for this kind of meal but a dinner plate will work just fine. Arrange 1 1/2 cups of greens on each plate/bowl. In the center add your scoop of rice. Top with grilled chicken slices, spread evenly across the rice. Top with chopped tomatoes, onion, drizzle with poblano crema and add a tablespoon of salsa. Enjoy!
Recipe #2 Black Bean Burger with Fried Egg and Roasted Poblano
Next, Black Bean Burgers with a Fried Egg and Roasted Poblano. The fried egg on top adds this punch of savory indulgence. It’s so rich, even meat eaters won’t miss the ground beef with this veggie burger. And I can’t get over the roasted poblano on this burger. There’s such a savory, spicy punch of flavor that goes so well with the egg.
makes 4 large patties
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1, 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of garlic powder
3 eggs
4 whole wheat buns
2+ tablespoon olive oil
2 cups mixed greens
4 tomato slices
2 onion slices
1 poblano peppers, sliced
Make it:
- Make bread crumbs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Tear 2 whole wheat buns into large chunks an pile in a medium bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Mix well and spread in an even, thin layer on a sheet tray. Bake 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Hold half of the toasted chunks aside for tomorrow. To crumble the rest, you can either use a rolling pin on the pan (messy) or place pieces in a Ziplock bag and then using a rolling pin to smash (not so messy, but really satisfying).
- Make burgers: Heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add onion. Season with a pinch of garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sauté 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Turn off heat and add Italian seasoning. Mix well. In a large bowl combine rice, beans, sauteed onion and the rest of your seasonings (Italian seasoning, salt and pepper), and 1 egg. Mix well to combine the flavors and ingredients. Add your breadcrumbs. Form patties into flat rounds. Let the patties set in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Cook burgers and egg: Heat a non stick sauté pan over medium hot heat. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook burger patties 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown and hot through. If you can’t flip them, they probably need more time! Remove burgers from the pan and lower heat to medium. Add a touch more olive oil. Crack two eggs into the pan. Cook 3 minutes, until whites are set. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan.
- Build your burgers: Slice poblano peppers. Pull 1/2 aside for tomorrow. Place a burger bun on each plate. On the bottom burger bun pile a handful of greens, 1 burger (two if you’re hungry!), sliced tomato, sliced onion, sliced poblano peppers. On top of that, carefully place a fried egg! Enjoy with a side salad drizzled with some olive oil (and balsamic if you have it, or leftover poblano crema).
Recipe #3 Grilled Chicken Cobb-Style Salad with Herb Croutons and Spicy Yogurt Dressing
Finally, Grilled Chicken Cobb-Style Salad with Herb Croutons and Spicy Yogurt Dressing. My husband jokes that I will turn everything, including lasagna, into a salad. But we’re not talking about skimpy little side salads with wilted greens and a single sliced olive. We’re talking B.A.S. (big ass salads), packed with flavor and fun.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast, boneless and skinless
4 cups mixed greens
2 eggs
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 onion, sliced thinly
1/2 poblano pepper, sliced
Toasted bread from yesterday
1 teaspoon olive oil
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of Italian seasoning
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons salsa
Make it:
- Level up your croutons: You could use the torn and toasted bread as is or you can level up with this easy trick! Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Toss bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon olive oil, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Lay on a sheet tray and re-bake for just a few minutes to golden brown goodness.
- Grill your chicken: Preheat your grill to medium-hot. Coat the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brush grill grates with olive and place chicken on grates. Grill, on touched, 4-5 minutes to get nice char marks on one side. Flip and finish cooking, another 4-5 minutes, until the inner temperature reads 160 degrees. Let rest for 5 minutes and then slice against the grain.
- Cook the eggs: Place eggs in a small sauce pot. Cover with 1″ of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, shut off heat and let stand for 6-7 minutes. If you like really hard boiled eggs, leave a couple minutes longer. Transfer to an ice bath and once cool enough to handle, carefully crack and peel. Slice crosswise.
- Make your dressing: In a small bowl combine Greek yogurt and salsa. Mix well. If the dressing is too thick for your liking, add cold water by the teaspoon to loosen.
- Assemble the salad: Divide mixed greens between two plates. Cobb salad style means creating a rainbow of ingredients across the top so working from the center outward, top with grilled chicken, hardboiled egg, tomato, onion, and poblano pepper. Drizzle with Spicy Yogurt sauce and top with your croutons. Bon appetit!
