After what felt like a solid three-month hiatus from any cooking (pregnancy aversions are real, my friends), I’ve recently felt inspired to get back into meal planning and have been loving my time in the kitchen again. Couple that with the fact that Chase is constantly asking to help me cook and we’ve tried a lot of new recipes around here in the recent weeks!
Today I wanted to highlight five recipes we loved enough to make multiple times. Every single one of these recipes received two very enthusiastic thumbs up from both me and Ryan and I hope a few of them will pop out at you and help you feel inspired in the kitchen, too!
5 Recent Recipes We Loved
- Avocado Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potato Fries via Pinch of Yum
I couldn’t make this recipe fast enough when I saw it pop up on Pinch of Yum’s website. Everything about it appealed to me from the creamy avocado Caesar dressing to the crispy sweet potato fries. The dressing was rich in taste but still quite light and tangy and easy enough to make even without the use of a food processor, assuming the avocado you used to make it wasn’t too firm. (I just did some seriously vigorous stirring to make the dressing and it worked well, but then again I will do just about anything to avoid cleaning my food processor.) I topped Ryan’s salad with leftover chicken thighs for more staying power but thought the recipe was fantastic meat-free for me!
- Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Artichoke Cream Sauce via Hummusapien
You must make this recipe simply for the vegan artichoke cream sauce alone! It absolutely blew me away and somehow the simple combination of marinated artichoke hearts and soaked raw cashews resulted in the creamiest, most addicting artichoke dip-like sauce that tasted fantastic both with the spaghetti squash AND as a dip for fresh veggies. (Yep, I made the sauce part of this recipe on its own because it was SO tasty and the perfect vehicle for cucumber, carrots and red pepper slices.) Ryan loved this recipe as well and we both found it quite satisfying. (The only change I made to this dish was adding my own roasted Brussels sprouts simply because we had some leftover and I didn’t want them to go bad.) Also, I feel like I should apologize to Alexis (the blogger behind Hummusapien) for the horrendous photography of her recipe which, admittedly, isn’t the prettiest dish to photograph! I tried to help it out with a pop of green from a parsley garnish but sometimes the ugliest foods are the tastiest, right!?
- Egg Roll In a Bowl via Peace, Love and Low Carb
I’ve made a few Egg Roll In a Bowl recipes after stumbling across them on Pinterest but it wasn’t until a friend recommended this one to me that I felt like I finally found a winner. The best part? This recipe is SO simple and tasted fantastic as leftovers the next day as well… if you double the recipe. The recipe says it serves four, but had I not doubled the recipe, it would’ve only served me and Ryan for one meal, though I will admit that one pound of any kind of meat doesn’t go very far in our house with two hearty appetites. When I make it again, I’m planning to prepare a batch of brown rice along with it for more volume!
- Thai Coconut Chicken Soup via Fannetastic Food
I’ve had this Thai Coconut Chicken Soup on my radar for nearly two years since Anne first shared it on her blog! Why did it take me so long to make this delicious dish!? I cannot get enough of anything Thai and coconut lately, so this recipe had to happen. I prepared a big batch of the soup a couple of weeks ago and then made it again on Sunday evening. I LOVE that this recipe is packed with vegetables and comes together quickly. It’s also a great vehicle for leftover chicken, so keep it in mind if you have a rotisserie chicken on hand or some leftover chicken breasts you want to use up. Tip: Use full-fat coconut milk. I’ve used both light and full-fat coconut milk in this recipe and definitely prefer the creamier consistency and more developed flavor of the full-fat coconut milk.
- Queso Crockpot Chicken Chili via Pinch of Yum
This recipe is so ridiculously fantastic and easily adaptable! Ryan and I both loved it so much that I’ve made it four times in three weeks. YUM. While the name Queso Chicken Chili doesn’t sound like the healthiest recipe on the planet, it’s surprisingly not heavy at all thanks to a small amount of cream cheese that somehow give the entire chili a creamy, cheesy flavor that kept both of us refilling our bowls over and over again. I’ve also played around with this recipe a lot, even adding shaved Brussels sprouts and cooked spaghetti squash to it at the end and omitting the corn and peppers to simplify everything and it turns out great every time.
Question of the Day
What is one of the best recipes you’ve tried recently in your house?
Aside from the recipes mentioned above, a few more recipes we’ve loved recently that I didn’t get the chance to photograph include Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup (AMAZING and so EASY), Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato and Kale, Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast and Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps.
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Just saved so many of these. I totally agree there are so many food blogs it’s nice to have someone recommend some of their favorite recipes. Thanks for sharing these!
These all sounds amazing! And I love the veggie options and how easy it is to throw some chicken on there for the others in my house! My favorite part is your thoughtful description of each, it’s 7 in the morning but I’m always jonesing for some coconut soup and artichoke sauce!
This is a favorite in our house! Its great with tomato cucumber salad, yogurt sauce, hummus and pita. Or over a greek salad!
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017161-oven-roasted-chicken-shawarma
Aw I’m so glad you enjoyed my Thai Coconut Chicken Soup! Thank you for the love. <3 And I agree re: the full fat coconut milk!
Julie, you are a life saver! My husband and I are doing Whole 30 and I just got to work and realized I didn’t put our dinner in the crockpot this morning (I prep it the night before so I just have to pop it in and turn it on). BUT, almost all of these recipes will work with Whole 30. I’m already dreaming of the sweet potato fries I’m going to make tonight! Thank you!
Yay!! Hope you find a few new staples! We loved all of these so much!
Thanks for sharing these – i like that they are a bit different and most are plant based! Excited to try some. 🙂
hi! been loving your blog for years and years! my oldest daughter is Chase’s age, and I am always so inspired to see you cooking with him! can you share some tips and tricks on how you include him in dinner-making? I find my attempts often result in a lot of hazards/huge mess/cranky toddler wanting to eat raisins or chocolate chips LOL. would really love your insight on it! also, does he eat such wide ranging meals?! would love to hear your experience on that too, as she tends to stick to the same foods that she likes. thanks so much!!!!
Have been wanting to try an egg roll in a bowl recipe! Going to check this one out!!
Thanks for these! Just saved them for future dinners! Have you tried pinchofyum’s healthy sweet potato skins? Holy yum!
We tried Gimme Some Oven’s sheet pan “stir fry” last week and it was great!
RE: the chili from POY – did you include the jalapeno? If so, did Chase still eat it? Want to make this soon but wasn’t sure if it ended up a bit spicy (no bueno in our house).
I actually omitted the jalapeno mainly because I am SUCH a baby with spicy food!!
Thanks, Julie! I printed many of these and will try. Bloggers always rave about their recipes and say how wonderful they are and then I try them and it’s a flop. I prefer using recipes that others have tried and loved. Thanks, keep these coming!
The slow cooker chicken chili looks so good! I love recipes like that that are “hands off” in the slow cooker.
Can’t wait to make that queso chicken chili. I’ve been loving any kind of stir fry mostly because they are so fast and easy. I’m also itching to make Emeril’s Cajun Jambalaya – it is SO good!! Mardi Gras has me craving Cajun/Creole food I guess.
Egg roll in a bowl is a staple in my house! I’ve made it with ground chicken, turkey, and pork, and they’re all great options. So. Good.
The queso crockpot chicken chili looks delicious!! I so, so wish I could do kale. But I just can’t stomach it! What am I missing?!
I pinned most of them, thanks!!
Bookmarked that avo caesar salad and am definitely making it next week! It sounds SUPER delicious. One of my favorite meals from this week was vegan sweet potato huevos rancheros, minus the egg of course. I made a delicious cashew nacho sauce that tops ANY nacho cheese I have ever had. It’s seriously addicting and so full of nutrients and no weirdness!
that sounds so, so good! did you make it up or follow a recipe for the sauce?
I made it up! I just blended soaked cashews with nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fire roasted tomatoes and it’s BANGIN’. I winged the huevos rancheros too by layering roasted sweet potatoes cut lengthwise in a cast iron with chile, onion, peppers, black beans, corn, etc. Adding an egg on top and baking a bit longer would be super good, too!
When I make egg rolls I use a similar recipe (no sriacha) that I got from a chinese cooking class waaaay back…..what puts it over the top is adding a blob of peanut butter <3 try it! I always eat the insides while making the egg rolls for family
Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to try! The spaghetti squash is going on my list!
http://Www.themilestraveled.com
I’ve been making paleo shepherds pie lately (with a mashed sweet potato topping and ground turkey) and its SO GOOD, especially the leftovers! I’ve also been making alot of SkinnyTaste crockpot recipes because with two kids under 3 years the crockpot is a life saver!
I adore egg roll in a bowl. So easy and so tasty. I just made Hummusapien’s artichoke spaghetti squash this week (added chicken sausage at the end because meat-free doesn’t fly with my family), and we loved it. I also made A1-Inspired Beef Roast (https://physicalkitchness.com/a1-inspired-slow-cooker-beef-roast/) and Pork Chops with Apples (https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/pork-chops-apples-paleo-whole30/) this week, and both got rave reviews, plus were super easy!
I love this post! Thank you for sharing. I pinned almost all of these because I’m in serious need of some new dinner ideas!
Did you modify the queso chicken chilli recipe for Chase? I’m concerned about the jalapeno and the pepper jack but without it, it seems like it’d be bland.
Yum..looking forward to trying some.
After some recommendations, I finally tried this lasagna soup and it is so good!! Leftovers heated up well too.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/lasagna-soup/
I love Angela’s Lentil Soup! I just made it tonight 🙂 I only had light coconut milk but it worked ok in a pinch.
Love the sound of these recipes! I made The Lean Green Bean’s bbq meatballs and sweet potato for dinner tonight and it was a HIT!!! Sully devoured it and I threw some pre-roasted veggies on the side for some greens and it all took max 15 mins to prep and 20 mins to cook! Win win win in my books!
A favorite soup in our house this winter has been The Lemon Bowl’s Sausage Kale Butternut Squash Soup! I usually use chicken sausage sliced up but I feel it could easily be made vegetarian by skipping the meat! My “soup hating” boyfriend really loves this soup!
https://thelemonbowl.com/sausage-kale-and-butternut-squash-soup/
Jessica’s spinach feta chicken meatballs with zoodles are a HUGE hit too!
https://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/06/zucchini-noodles-with-mini-chicken-feta-and-spinach-meatballs/
Can you please your favorite recipe round up a frequent post?!
Love that idea!! I’ll definitely work on another one when I have a handful of “shareworthy” recipes to share!
Lord have mercy, the aversion to cleaning a food processor is REAL. I am there. Always. There are whole things I don’t make (or take the shortcuts) because I don’t want to clean a piece of equipment. I have a chopper that’s hard to clean, and so even though I hate chopping onions, I will sometimes actually CHOOSE it to avoid cleaning “the extra thing”.
Love your recipes and recommendations.
Just wanted to say thanks for the this post! I love tried and true recipe recommendations and these all inspired our eats this weekend and into this week. We had the Thai coconut soup for lunch yesterday and the queso chili for dinner and both were hits! Egg Roll in a Bowl is on our meal plan for tomorrow 🙂
Thank u for the recommended recipes! I’m always looking to try something new that LIDS will eat too! Keep them coming!
I meant KIDS. #autocorrect
The queso chicken meal sounds so yummy! I always love a good crockpot meal!
When I make egg rolls I use a similar recipe (no sriacha) that I got from a chinese cooking class waaaay back…..what puts it over the top is adding a blob of peanut butter <3 try it! I always eat the insides while making the egg rolls for family
https://www.everylastbite.com/2018/11/17/leek-fennel-gratin/