Hey, y'all! Back to school season is right around the corner. In fact, many teachers are already working hard in the classroom in preparation for the new school year (myself included). Getting back into the swing of things can be difficult for us all. One thing that I do to help get back into the school year routine is meal plan quick and easy dinner recipes that are simple to throw together. Let's face it, who wants to cook an elaborate dinner when there is homework to be completed and lunches to pack.
To make this transition even easier for you, I'm sharing with you some of my quick and easy dinner recipes that are perfect for crazy weeknights. While some of these are crock pot recipes, others are simple dishes that you can whip up in no time! Come August, my crock pot is my best friend. I love meals that I can toss into a crock pot and forget about while I'm working. If you haven't been crock pot shopping lately, you won't believe some of the options available now! There are ones that you can set to begin and end at a certain time so that your meal won't be over cooked and there are others that you can control via an app on your phone!
Tender Ranch Flavored Cube Steaks- This is one of our favorite meals in our household! I'm not exaggerating when I say that we have this dish about once a week. It is not only super easy to make, but it also tastes fabulous and is really inexpensive to make. Simply place your cube steaks in the crock pot with milk, cream of mushroom soup, and ranch seasoning and let the crock pot work it's magic throughout the day. It's truly that simple!
Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin with a Balsamic Glaze- Preparing a meal, such as a pork tenderloin, might sound daunting to some people but I assure you this dish involves very little prep work and the end results are amazing! Simply mix together the herbs with a bit of garlic and rub it all over the tenderloin. Add some water and boom! You're done...at least for a couple of hours. An hour before serving, simply prepare a quick and easy glaze, apply it to the meat and allow it to finish cooking while you unwind with a glass of red wine. You can even do all of the prep for this dinner the night before and simply store it in the refrigerator until morning.
Fabulous 30 Minute One-Pan Lasagna - Would you believe me if I told you that you could have all of the delicious flavors of lasagna in a 30-minute one-pot meal? After all, who has time to do a bunch of dishes after dinner? This fabulous lasagna recipe is perfect for busy weeknights and packs all of the flavors of this classic Italian dish with about 1/4 of the work! #winning
Good Ole Fashion Chicken and Rice Casserole- Man, I love love love casseroles on busy nights! This is another recipe where you can pile all of the ingredients into a vessel (in this case a casserole dish) and forget about it while you do other things. With a quick and easy shortcut, this dish takes less than 45 minutes to whip up from start to finish.
Baked Creamy Spaghetti Casserole- This is another one of my favorite casseroles to whip up on a school night. It has a secret ingredient that makes this dish creamy, tangy and oh so delicious!
American Goulash- This is a dish I remember eating quite a bit as a child. Now that I'm older, I totally get it. This delicious combination of elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, ground beef, corn, and cheese makes for the perfect dump-and-go weeknight dinner! It honestly couldn't be any easier to make.
Super Simple Teriyaki Chicken- This is one of my all-time favorite dinner recipes. It can be made with as little as three ingredients (chicken, soy sauce, and brown sugar) and takes just minutes to make. It tastes great over a bed of rice or served with a crunchy broccoli slaw. This delicious recipe will sure to become a family favorite!
Healthy Honey Garlic Chicken & Veggies- If Asian cuisine is your thing, I have another simple dinner recipe that you're sure to love. This Healthy Honey Garlic Chicken & Veggies is loaded with vegetables cooked in a delicious bath of chicken broth, honey and soy sauce. Holy yum!
Honey Barbecue Meatballs- Speaking of honey, I love love love this recipe! It so easy to make, especially if you keep a batch of meatballs handy in the freezer (either store bought or homemade will work just fine). Simply create a sauce with a bit of ketchup, honey, soy sauce, garlic and brown sugar. Pour this sauce of fully cooked meatballs and allow the sauce and meatballs to simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken- This recipe combines two of my favorite things, the flavors of honey and garlic together and a crock pot! It uses essentially the same awesome sauce as the honey barbecue meatballs recipe above so you could easily double the sauce and save it for dinner the next day! This recipe gets an A+ in any teacher's gradebook!
I hope these recipes will help make your transition into the school year a little more smooth! Give me a like on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more quick and easy recipes. See you soon!
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