Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad

 

I fell in love with Thai and Vietnamese food a few years ago while visiting San Francisco. Whenever I stumble across a recipe that reminds me of the culinary adventure I experienced on vacation, I am eager to add the recipes to our weekly menu. 

Once I opened up the recipe, I was slightly intimidated...there are a lot of ingredients but if you break it into the dressing, shrimp, and salad categories, it becomes much less daunting. 

Chicken Fajita Pasta

With a softball tournament tomorrow, Kenxie requested pasta to give her some extra energy. I found this Chicken Fajita Pasta and thought it sounded pretty tasty. I was right...it had great flavor!

I did alter the recipe a bit based on what I had on hand at home. I love recipes with wiggle room where you can adjust them to meet your needs. 

Ancho Chile Beef Tacos

I still haven't found a taco I didn't like! This Ancho Chili Beef Taco did not disappoint. The kids thought it was a little on the spicy side but still really good flavor. 

To make these tacos a little more hearty, I added some diced zucchini and a can of diced tomatoes to the beef mixture (actually venison for me). We topped the filling with a little shredded lettuce and some plain greek yogurt to help with the spice. The kids also added some shredded cheese on top. 

Black Bean & Corn Salad

 

I do love a good salad! This Black Bean & Corn Salad was easy to throw together and I really liked the flavor of the homemade dressing. 

While I liked it, it wasn't my favorite salad. I could see myself making it again in the future when I meal prep lunches for myself for the week. The kids thought it was good but didn't like it enough to request to have it again. 

Grilled Shrimp Tostadas

We are becoming big tostada fans at our house! So quick and easy with lots of possible variations to mix it up.

You can make this recipe pretty quickly but if you'd like to make the prep a bit shorter, you can opt to buy premade guacamole instead of making your own. 

Italian Zucchini Topped Baked Potato

 

In our house, we all love a good baked potato! As a way to mix it up a bit, we tried this Italian Zucchini Topped Baked Potato. It was quite tasty!

This will be a recipe I continue to return to throughout the summer. It's easy to make, very filling, and a great way to use some of the zucchini in our garden. 

Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Bagels

 If you like spinach artichoke dip, you'll love this recipe. It is full of cheesy yumminess! It's a quick, easy, and filling lunch or you can serve it as a dinner on the go too. 

I bought a package of plain bagels and planned to top all of them with this filling. I used one block of cream cheese as called for but added a lot spinach and artichoke hearts to bulk it up. I also eliminated a lot of the cheese because I really didn't think it was necessary with the cream cheese base. Everyone loved these open faced sandwiches and we didn't miss the extra cheese at all. They were delicious even with considerably cutting back the cheese. 

Cabbage Roll Chicken Enchiladas

 

I've made zucchini enchiladas in the past so when I found this cabbage enchilada recipe, I was intrigued. I do like cabbage so was eager to give this recipe a try. My kids are not big fans of cabbage and do not tend to eat it plain or cooked but with this recipe, they didn't seem to mind it at all. 

The enchiladas were very filling. If I were to make this recipe again, I would consider halving it as we did have quite a few leftovers.

Crispy Fish Taco Bowl

 

We haven't had fish in a while so when I saw this recipe, I was immediately drawn to it. I usually season fish but avoid adding any additional fats or oils but for this recipe, I did use a small amount of mayo to help the panko breadcrumbs adhere to the fillets. It turned out great and was a crunchy treat to add to our taco bowls. 

When I first made the sauce, I was a little nervous that it would be too spicy for the kids (I halved the adobo sauce called for in the recipe). If eaten alone, I think it may be however, when mixed with all of the ingredients in the bowl, it provided the perfect amount of added heat and flavor. 

Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach & Feta Pasta

 

I was in search of a new pasta recipe to try to help Kenxie carb load the night before a softball tournament. I wasn't looking for a heavy, rich sauce but instead wanted something lighter. I thought this quick and easy pasta would fit the bill.

It was easy to make with only a few ingredients required. In the end, once the pasta was ready to serve, it left me underwhelmed. The flavor just wasn't there. Everyone ate a big plateful but they were in no rush for me to make this recipe again. Bummer...we'll keep searching for a new pasta recipe to try. 

Chicken Shawarma

 

This might be one of my favorite meals! The seasoning on this chicken is soooo delicious. We all practically inhale the chicken as soon as it comes off the grill. The addition of the greek yogurt sauce and veggies in a pita, make this a perfect, balanced meal. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

This recipe calls for 2lbs of chicken thighs. You could halve it if you'd like but I promise you will have no trouble eating any leftover chicken. It really is that good!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe

When I stumbled across this recipe, I immediately thought back to the Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches we had on vacation in Philly. Wow...were they amazing! If this recipe could come close to achieving those flavors, I knew I'd be one happy mama. 

This recipe did not disappoint! It was amazing! It is a great way to use ground beef (or venison for us) in a new way with a totally different flavor. 

BBQ Chicken Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

 

I was excited to try this recipe as it has two things I love...tacos and BBQ. Turns out, it was the perfect match and these tacos were delicious. An seriously, they were made in about 10 minutes!

We don't need it to be Tuesday to have tacos in our house! There are times where we will have different types of tacos multiple days in one week. I am an equal opportunity taco eater. These BBQ tacos have definitely secured a place on our keep list of taco recipes. 

White Bean and Pesto Risotto

 

I was drawn to the recipe because it was fairly healthy and the ingredient list was incredibly short. Besides oil, salt, and pepper, there are ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS! 

I don't shy away from beans when cooking but this recipe just didn't come together quite as expected in the flavor department. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't left wanting more either. 

Turkey Skillet with Veggies

 

It's not very often I cook with ground turkey. I've made plenty of recipes that call for ground turkey, but I typically sub it out for ground venison instead. For this recipe, I actually used ground turkey...and it was delicious!

I LOVE all of the veggies in this skillet. This recipe called for smaller portions of the veggies but I decided to add a bit more. Rather than using part of the can of black beans, I used the entire can. You can never go wrong with adding a few extra veggies 😁

Korean Beef Bibimbap

This recipe was shared with me by one of my third grade students...thanks Ryan! He LOVES this recipe and knows how much I love to cook so he sent this recipe my way to give it a try.

I've made Korean Beef Bowls in the past that we really liked but this Bibimbap recipe was different because it added in a TON more veggies than the other recipes. I LOVE veggies so this recipe was perfect for me. 

Sweet Potato Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

 I am a big fan of mushrooms and have yet to find a stuffed portobello mushroom I don't like. I wasn't sure how this one would go over with the kids since Lexie is not a fan of sweet potatoes BUT...she ate it without any complaints, had seconds, and told me that she liked it so much that she thought it was squash. Win for Mom!

I have to agree, this was a tasty combination! The sweet potato paired with the apple, pepper, and walnuts was a winning combination. The addition of the poultry seasoning is a must too! I loved it on top of the portobello mushroom but could also eat the stuffing plain 😋

Baked Broccoli Penne

 

This recipe caught my attention because the prep seemed to be SUPER easy. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a baking dish...you can't get much easier than that!

I was slightly unsure how the pasta would cook in this recipe. Part way through the bake time, I took a peek. So happy that I did because I realized that not all of the pasta was fully submerged in liquid and it was not cooking evenly. To avoid crunchy, uncooked pieces of pasta, I quickly stirred up the mixture before placing it back in the oven. Really not much of an inconvenience at all. 

Mom's Lasagna

The ultimate comfort food...Mom's Homemade Lasagna. Our recipe may not be your favorite but it's my favorite lasagna recipe :) My kids are big fans as well!

Some of the best perks about making lasagna

- the kids are happy

- there are leftovers for the kids to eat on a busy weeknight

- if you add spinach, veggies are included

- you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate until you're ready to bake it

Tomato and Black Bean Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I LOVE mushrooms! We’ve tried a number of different stuffed portobello mushroom recipes, all of which I’ve loved! When I saw this recipe, I thought it may be a good one to add to our selection. 

The flavor was wonderful! I was a little nervous when I finished making the stuffing because I thought I was a bit too seasoned BUT when it was paired with the portobello mushroom, it was the perfect balance. So yummy! The added asparagus was a nice touch as well :)