4 Quick and Easy Weeknight Meals

Straw Purse/ Recipe Binder/ Notebook/ Similar Market Tote

Hey, y’all! Today I wanted to round up 4 quick and easy weeknight meals! These are meals I use when I’m just cooking for myself, or I’m super busy and don’t have time to cook a full meal. Having quick meals on hand not only saves me time and energy, but it also saves me money because I’m not running through a drive through when I don’t have a lot of time to cook. Some are healthy and some are not so much. I try to have a balance in my meals on a day to day basis so I don’t go crazy.

Trader Joe’s Frozen Meals

Honestly, during the holiday season this past year, these were my lifesaver. I love the beef with broccoli and the frozen chicken strips with french fries (recipe below for my favorite Buffalo Wild Wings style chicken strips!).

I always add a bag of the 90-second jasmine rice to my beef with broccoli to bulk it up a bit, and make it last longer!

Costco also has great frozen foods if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you.

At Home Buffalo/BBQ Boneless Wings & Fries in the Air Fryer

Honestly, I can’t live without my air fryer. It makes cooking so easy and quick! I can make fries at home that taste like they’re straight from a fast food joint with half the fat and for much cheaper.

Ingredients:

Frozen Chicken Strips & Frozen French Fries (I use the Trader Joes ones but any will do)

Buffalo or BBQ sauce of your choice (I use the Buffalo Wild Wings sauces. They sell them in the restaurant)

Directions:

Cook frozen chicken strips in an air fryer at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (this may vary depending on your air fryer). If you don’t have an air fryer you can use an oven or toaster oven! I just love the way an air fryer makes them taste. It seriously tastes fried! After the ten minutes is up I open up the air fryer and pour the sauce over top of the chicken and let cook for 2-3 more minutes. Don’t leave it too long or the sauce will get hard. You just want it to be warm.

Cook fries at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Take the basket out of the air fryer halfway through cooking and toss around the fries so they cook evenly. The air fryer is the only way I’ve ever been able to cook fries where they don’t get soggy. They’re crispy and perfect and have way less fat like this!

Serve on a plate, and enjoy! I love dipping all of it in ranch!

Single Serve Chicken Noodle Soup

Ok, this one came about when I was sick, and I just wanted homemade soup. I knew I didn’t have the energy to make a full pot of soup, so I came up with a single serving option.

Ingredients:

Already cooked chicken (rotissierie chicken or cooked chicken breast)

One celery stalk

Handfull of cut up baby carrots

4 cups of chicken broth

1 cup orzo or fideo noodles

Salt & Pepper to tast

½ tbs garlic

Splash of olive oil

Directions

Heat olive oil in bottom of a pot. Once warm, add celery and carrots and cook until they start to get soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the chicken broth and cook until it comes to a boil. Add noodles and let cook until they are fully cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Add chicken, salt and pepper, and let boil for 2sh minutes. Transfer to bowl, and enjoy! I love adding lemon juice to mine!

Measurements on this one aren’t perfect because I made this one up a long time ago, and I tend to just eyeball it all.

Rotisserie Chicken with Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

Whole Rostisserie Chicken (I love the Costco ones!)

Half a pound of Brussel Sprouts, cut in halves

1 Tbs Olive Oil

2 tbs of balsamic vinagarette

To taste,  Salt & Pepper

Directions:

I’ve mentioned this super easy dinner in my Costco blog post already, but it’s one I use on a weekly basis, so I thought it deserved repeating. This time I added my brussel sprout recipe instead of broccoli though because it is so good. I honestly used to hate brussel sprouts until I started cooking them like this. Cut your desired amount of meat off of the rotisserie chicken, and if it’s been in the fridge, reheat in the microwave. For the brussel sprouts, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place brussel sprouts on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper, and balsamic vinaigrette on top of Brussel sprouts. Mix together (I usually just use my hands), and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until they get crispy. Serve all together on a plate, and enjoy!

What about you? What are your favorite quick weeknight meals? Let me know in a comment below!