Chicken Enchiladas. I can’t get enough of this recipe. It’s so good! I made two batches of sauce this time. One with the peppers and one without. We leave out the cream sauce and even without that, it’s still really tasty.

Spaghetti Carbonera with Black Kale. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, but it turned out alright. I don’t think I’ll have any cravings for this, but it was a good way of using the kale that’s growing in our garden.

Bruschetta. Yummy! I didn’t butter the bread, which I’m sure would have made it more yummy, but I went without that step. I can’t wait for our tomatoes to fruit because I’m definitely making this a lot this summer!

Week 5/27 – 5/31

Monday: Sopas (I’m putting Ben in charge of dinner since he’ll be home)
Tuesday: Orzo with Feta, Basil and Shrimp (I didn’t get to make it this week, so I’ll try to do it next week)
Wednesday: Simple Tacos
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza/sushi night

I’ve cooked so many different recipes since I started meal planning that I need to go back to help refresh my memory of some of other dishes we really loved. Cooking doesn’t come naturally to me and I’m still not a wing it sort of cook, so I definitely need recipes to help guide me. How do you decide what to cook for dinner?

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorino Cheese. I highly recommend this pasta. It’s easy, has vegetables, and so tasty. Next time, I would triple (or even quadruple!) the amount of swiss chard it calls for to get even more vegetables in. I didn’t add the red pepper in the sauce since I knew the kids would be eating this, but we just sprinkled it on our own plates instead. I also cooked some dijon mustard and rosemary marinated chicken breast, since the dish didn’t have any protein and I knew we would need it. It was a good combo.

Breaded Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Roasted Serrano Peppers and Onions. For the breading, I used panko bread crumbs, cornmeal, parmesan cheese, and salt. First dip the fish in egg, then coat with breading, then lightly pan fry. The best part, for spice lovers like us, is the thinly sliced onions and serranos sprinkled with salt and lightly coated with oil that was roasted in the oven. That spice goes so good with fish tacos. Yum!

Crunchy Turkey Tacos. This is how I ate tacos growing up… in crunchy shell. Ben isn’t a fan of the crunchy taco shell and he had his with whole wheat tortillas.

Vietnamese Chicken Pho. This time I added a bundle of cilantro in the broth while it cooked (as suggested by Joycie here). It was good, but maybe because I’m no pro and it all taste good to me, I couldn’t really tell the difference too much. Either way, I love pho!

Paella Valenciana. This was my 2nd reader’s recipe to try and we loved it. Paella sounds intimidating, but it really isn’t. Definitely doing this again! And I highly recommend you trying it out too!

Week 12/10 – 12/14
Monday: Homemade Pizza
Tuesday: Ben’s Birthday Dinner!
Wednesday: Cod with Herbed White Wine Lemon Sauce with Roasted Cauliflower Risotto
Thursday: Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair
Friday: Sushi or Pizza Night!

If you’ve got a good recipe to share, I would love to try it! What has been your most favorite thing for dinner lately?

Korean BBQ Tacos with all the fixin’s are from this recipe. I also made chicken breast using the same marinade and this dish is so good and so easy! After Japanese food, Korean food is my next favorite. Oh man. Good thing I have a best friend who is Korean and introduces me to all these yummy Korean dishes. Well, in this case, a fusion dish.

The Lemon Thyme Chicken Breast was good and I made a separate marinade for the girls so it wouldn’t be so spicy, but if I were to do this one again, I would let it sit in the marinade overnight. The brown rice pilaf was something I was kind of just winging and it came out alright. Not the best, but it did the job. I threw in spinach for good measure.

I am glad to be back in the kitchen. I missed the challenge of cooking for my family. So after a couple months off due to house renovating and vacation, it’s time to get meal planning again.

Week of 7/23 – 7/27
Monday: A healthified version of Panda Express Orange Chicken
Tuesday: Chile Stuffed Burger
Wednesday: Cold Soba Salad with Dried Shiitake Dressing
Thursday: Left overs
Friday: Sushi Night!

What have you been cooking up lately?

Wonton Soup. I made this a week or so ago when it was cold outside, and loosely followed this recipe. Doesn’t matter the weather though, I would gladly eat this soup anytime. Making wontons might appear fancy and extremely difficult, but it really isn’t. Give it a try and you’ll be surprised how easy it is!

Week of 3/16 – 3/20
Monday: Pozole
Tuesday: Beans and rice
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Homemade pizza
Friday: Tilapia

My BFF made this for dinner with her husband, and I can’t wait to add it to our meal plan in the next couple weeks.

Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles. The girls devoured this dish. Next time, I want to add shrimp and more vegetables, but even without those things, this really was so yummy. Another plus, it’s easy to make too!

Week of 2/23 – 2/27
Monday: Soba Sesame Noodles
Tuesday: Dumpling Soup
Wednesday: White Bean Chili
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Tilapia Ceviche (we have this every Friday night)

We have new friends coming over this week, so I think the chili is a safe dish to make. Do you have a go-to dish when you have first time guests coming over to your house?

Mexican Chicken Soup with Chick Peas, Avocado, and Chipotles. This is the best chicken noodle soup recipe ever. It actually isn’t exactly a chicken noodle soup, but we change it up to where it kind of is. First, we put ten times the amount of carrots it calls for, and then we add whole wheat pasta with it. I highly recommend you make this!

Week of 2/9 – 2/13
Monday: Supreme Soy Sauce Chow Mein
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Tilapia
Thursday: Bay Scallop Gratin (a healthier version)
Friday: Ceviche

I’m sure you figured out by now, we are pretty adventurous when it comes to eating and cooking. The only thing is we try to make things healthier, but we love trying new things. Are your taste buds open to trying new things or do you like sticking with what you know?