Dinner
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Marinated Grilled Shrimp
My sister shared this recipe with me last summer, and it’s gone into high rotation in our household. You can use fresh or previously frozen (thawed) shrimp. A quick 20 minute marinade with pantry staples, and you have delicious shrimp that can be served hot, room temperature or cold! They make a great entree, or serve them as an appetizer. I prefer them with grilled veggies, but serve with whatever sides you wish.
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InstaPot Dry Rub BBQ Ribs
I have always loved BBQ ribs, and grew up eating country style ribs that were boiled and finished with BBQ sauce in the oven. Sounds delicious, no? LOL. At the time, it seemed very fancy, and required some planning since the ribs had to cook for a couple of hours. This was my requested birthday meal with twice baked potatoes and french silk pie every year until I was in my 20s, and still a very nostalgic meal for me.
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Creamed Corn
When you hear creamed corn, do you immediately think of the nasty stuff out of the can from the grocery store? I didn’t grow up eating creamed corn, but I know that is where my mind always went, until I had the pleasure of eating some creamed corn at Oceanaire year’s ago. Shortly after my amazing dining experience, Mpls St. Paul magazine printed Rick Kimmes recipe, and of course the recipe made enough to feed a small army! So I decided to take matter into my own hands and pare it down to a reasonable amount.
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Big Mac Salad Bowl
While a Big Mac isn’t my burger of choice from McD’s, I have always loved the flavors! Since I have been trying to cut the carbs, this salad hits all the same notes in a salad that helps get more veggies in. Another recipe that comes together very quickly for those busy weeknights. I do not make my own Thousand Island dressing since it’s not high carb, but you certainly can if you prefer. I thin out the dressing with white vinegar and add some garlic powder. This recipe makes two generous salads.
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Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs
I know not everyone is a fan of thigh meat, but this recipe may convert you! Chicken thighs are less expensive, incredibly juicy, and easy to find. The dry rub is delicious, the honey mixture caramelizes and creates crispy edges, and this dish is fast – ready to serve in 15 minutes. The original recipe hails from Cooking Light and can easily scale to feed a few or a crowd.
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Mississippi Pot Roast
We are in the thick of spring sports with both kids going different directions every night, which means this mama needs some quick, easy, and delicious recipes that can be thrown together earlier in the day and everyone can eat when they need to. I made this amazing roast again this past week, and ironically Sam Sifton from NYT posted about his riff on it today too! My recipe is close to the original with packaged mixes, and his is…fancier. I will definitely have to try it at some point, but for now, a recipe that takes less than 5 minutes to assemble is saving the day! The OG recipe calls for 5 whole pepperoncinis, but we like a little kick. I prefer to add the rings vs. whole peppers so you get more pepper in each bite.
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3 Cheese Salad
This recipe was shared with my sister years ago, and while it’s a family favorite, one of those recipes I tend to forget about. Not sure why? It’s delicious, amazingly crunchy, and comes together quickly. The dressing is 5 ingredients and would be amazing on so many other salad concoctions. Feeding a crowd? This recipe is easily scalable. Serves 4 entree portions in our household. I left the cherry tomatoes off in the photo since they aren’t in season, but they do add a wonderful pop of color to the plate.
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Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta
Anyone have a picky eater in their house? I refer to my daughter as a carbatarian…she lives on white carbs and fruit. I can get her to eat chicken nuggets, but that is about all she likes when it comes to meat. But this pasta dish is one she will gobble down without complaint, which means it has gone into high rotation in our house! Doesn’t look super appetizing in the photos, but it tastes delicious and is creamy like Alfredo, but feels healthier. BONUS – takes 5 minutes to throw in the crockpot midday and you have an awesome dinner after you boil water and cook the pasta of your choice.
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Chicken Hurry Curry
Another recipe that will have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes, including prep! My sister’s former co-worker and friend, Jane, has an arsenal of amazing recipes. This is one of hers! I usually double this recipe so there are plenty of leftovers. Our family likes a little kick, so I use smoked paprika along with the curry powder, but you can use sweet paprika as well. Delicious served over white rice, cous cous or riced cauliflower (low-carb!).
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Insta Pot Carnitas
I had been searching for a great carnitas recipe for a couple of years. I tried the slow cook method, the oven method, I used lard, fresh orange, lime juice, etc. Total pain and mess, and none of the recipes I tried were great. Is there anything more disappointing than taking the time to plan, shop, and cook a recipe and then have it fall flat? Such a bummer.
Believe it or not, the inspiration for this recipe came from my Whole30 a couple of years ago. I bought the book and low and behold, a delicious sounding pork carnitas recipe was in it. After making them several times in the oven according to the original recipe, I converted the timing to my Insta Pot and have never looked back. Thank you for the inspiration, Melissa Hartwig! Now I can have carnitas on the table in just over an hour with minimal planning and clean up!
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Chicken Picatta
When I lived in Minneapolis, the neighborhood SuperValu 3 blocks away turned into a Kowalski’s grocery store, and boy, was I spoiled! Gourmet everything – amazing bread, the parmesan dip I still crave, a fabulous chocolate selection, great gifts…it was awesome to shop and explore. Also not unusual to spend $75 on two small bags of groceries – probably not best for my monthly grocery budget, but it sure was fun!
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Asparagus Pasta
Who else has days that you walk into the kitchen at 6pm and still don’t have a dinner plan for your hungry people? Made mostly from pantry staples I always have on hand, this recipe is a family favorite, comes together in 15 minutes and hits all the right notes – a little heat, a little salt, and a little crunch. My tip would be to have all your ingredients prepped before you start cooking – this comes together quickly!
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Oven Risotto
This is a long-standing favorite recipe of my husband’s, and if you’ve been over for dinner in the winter, I most likely have made this dish. I’ve been making this recipe for YEARS – what are the chances that one of my favorite food bloggers, Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, posts her own oven baked risotto recipe this week?!
My Uncle Mark made this risotto for me when I visited him in San Francisco during my spring break my junior year of college at Iowa State. Such a fun trip – as a Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management major, his goal was to take me to as many restaurants and bars in San Francisco that we could squeeze in that week. I fell in love with the city, and immediately fell in love with his recipe. We ate it with steamed crab from Fisherman’s Wharf and some sourdough bread, which was heavenly! Might have been the only meal we ate at home that week, and it definitely left an impression! I still have the index card I wrote his recipe on, and have morphed it into my own over the years.
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Beef Bourguignon
Anyone watch Julia & Julia? Such a great movie that follows a young woman unhappy in her career who decides to cook through Julia Childs famous “The Art of French Cooking” in 365 days. No small undertaking! Remember the beef bourguignon disaster in the movie? Needless to say, I was hesitant to take it on knowing the traditional recipes needs to cook for HOURS…and I might not love the end result. This is also not a dish you find on a restaurant menu outside of France! Since I won’t be in France anytime soon, I decided to tackle it anyway.