Quick, easy weeknight dinner

Meatloaf Monday. Prep before mommy starts afternoon drinking, pop in oven.

Cast Iron chicken with a consistent winner: here. 15m of prep, 20m of active time. Devoured.

Sous vide pork tenderloin. Put on herbs and seasoning in advance, vacuum seal and freeze/refrigerate. Put in sous vide, and pretty much make rice/gravy and sweet potatoes, and you're done. Go rare/medium rare, you can use the leftovers for breakfast or lunch.

Because if there's one thing little kids clamor for, it's salmon and broccoli.

Jacked up SOS:

1 lb ground beef
1 (12 oz) pack of bacon (diced)
1 yellow onion (diced)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of celery soup
2 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box of garlic toast

Season ground beef and diced bacon together then brown. Add diced onion and cook until wilted then add soups and water and cook on medium until it thickens. Prepare garlic toast per directions on box. Slap a couple heaping spoons of the awesomeness in the pot onto the hot garlic toast and enjoy the best SOS ever.

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Quick, easy weeknight dinner

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When I don't have my kids, I usually just make a protein. I rarely make any sides.

And even when I have my kids, there are times when I just make a protein as well.

It's simple, nutritious (unless fried), and filling.

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And even when I have my kids, there are times when I just make a protein as well.

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You are weird as frick thats why.

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We are always looking for new meals that don’t break the bank.

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I've found the key to this is, if you have the freezer space, going out and buying proteins when on sale, vacuum packing/freezing, then building your meals for the week off of what you've got on hand. I've got a freezer full of ground meat, pork chops/tenderloins, fish, etc etc.

We've got 2 little kids so we try to have dinner ready to go within 30-45 minutes of getting home.

Tacos
Quick spaghetti with a salad
Korean beef bowls with cucumber salad
Grilled chicken/pork chops/fish with bbq beans & cucumber & tomato salad or roasted broccoli
Fried rice using chicken thighs and some frozen chopped veggies
Burgers
Asian style pork or chicken served over rice
Chuck roast/potatoes/carrots in a slow cooker while at work, serve over rice with some sort of veggie

On weekends I try to cook something that takes longer but cook it in massive quantities, freeze it, and atleast one of our weeknight meals is some sort of heat & eat thing. Red beans & rice(throw some chicken legs in the air fryer for added protein), rice & gravy, chili, gumbo, etc. Something like pulled pork freezes well, use it to make tacos or sandwiches.

I made smothered okra and tomatoes with chicken and shrimp last night.

Chopped an onion into large pieces and saute'd in olive oil. Seasoned the chicken & shrimp with Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Seasoning (orange cap) and added to onion to start cooking. Tossed the seasoned chicken in the pot to cook for 4-5 minutes. Next, I added a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice, 2 small cans of mushrooms (drained), a small can of green chiles, 2-3 cups frozen okra and about a cup of chicken broth. Seasoned the pot with a little extra salt, pepper, garlic powder and Chipolte Tabasco for a smoky flavor. Simmer on low until its barely boiling and the slime's cooked out of the okra. I served with a side of asparagus (they were fixing to go bad), but I've previously served dishes similar to this over rice and over stewed cabbage.

The entire meal took roughly 30-45 minutes, and may have been quicker had the chicken been thawed all the way through. Plenty of leftovers, too.

We do chicken breasts and thighs boneless in a crock pot with just salt / pepper and chicken stock so it’s a neutral chicken flavor. Then we can make two or three dinners out of it during the week. Chicken Tacos, sandwiches and pasta.

Ground chicken, make into nuggets, air fry. Can get some molds to make shapes. Can pre make and freeze

Ground turkey or beef, jar of Rao’s, protein pasta

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I made smothered okra and tomatoes with chicken and shrimp last night.

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Damn, like minds think alike. I have tons of smothered okra in my freezer and took out 3 quart bags of it, a quart bag of shrimp stock, a small container of oyster liquor, 2 lbs. of large fresh shrimp and a 1 lb. bag of my own crawfish tail meat to cook down for dinner.