I have mentioned before that I am not a very creative cook. I wish I were (for crying out loud – my dad is a CHEF!) but I am not. That being said, I am a grownup and I cannot subsist simply on takeout and going out to eat (I mean, I could… the food is great in Charleston, but I feel a lot better when I’m cooking for myself on the regular. And so I do Blue Apron a bunch, but for when I want something really really easy and healthy (or at least healthy-ish), there are a few recipes I make so often that I have them memorized. Mostly healthy soups (for me these are more satisfying than a salad) or delicious easy proteins that I can make a bunch of and then eat for a few days with a salad or in a wrap, etc!
Easy recipes I make again and again!
goop’s broccoli and arugula soup
This soup is basically a salad in disguise. Besides water it has just five ingredients (onion, garlic, olive oil, broccoli, arugula) but is somehow so much more satisfying than eating a bowl of veggies or a plate of salad. I think that the cooked onion just gives it this really delicious creaminess! It’s also really good cold. I make this a lot. Basically any time I feel like I need to eat more veggies but salad sounds unappealing.
oh she glows’ vegan cream of tomato soup
I eat a lot of soups with cream in them (and usually feel like garbage afterward). This one will rival any creamy soup, without the stomachache. The secret ingredient is the cashews, which you soak for a little bit in vegetable broth. Magic. I can’t get over it – such a fantastic swap. I don’t have the patience to make the chickpea croutons (not a vegan, just really like this recipe) so I eat this with a big piece of buttered sourdough bread but the soup itself is amazing. As a sidebar I really love this cookbook. So many delicious and healthy recipes.
lemon stripes’ buffalo chicken
Oh my gosh this is SO good. I like to make a big batch of the chicken mixture and eat it all week over salads, english muffin pizzas, in a wrap, etc. It’s super easy to make the sauce and then you just shred up a rotisserie chicken and you have this healthy-ish (it does have a lot of butter in it) protein to put on EVERYTHING. I am a fiend for anything buffalo chicken and am obsessed with this recipe!
liz adams’ skinny chicken tenders
This recipe is what made me fall in love with the everything but the bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s (I’m so happy that you can order it on Amazon!). It’s really really easy and so delicious (I make mine in my air fryer). I will make a bunch of them (I prefer to make them in the air fryer vs bake them) and heat them up throughout the week. They are really great over salad (preferably with a bit of hot sauce and blue cheese dressing) or just to munch on (maybe heat up some frozen french fries in the air fryer too!).
PS – my 10 most essential kitchen gadgets and my air fryer review!
What are your go-to easy recipes? Would LOVE to hear them.
Whole30s Mexican Tuna Lettuce Cups – sooo tasty and simple and you can easily modify wit what’s on hand. The fresh cilantro and lime juice make all the difference! I like to add crispy shallots to give it a crunch.
These are great! What time/temp do you do the chicken tenders in the air fryer?
Depends how thick the chicken strips are but I generally do 5 minutes per side at 400.
Love this post! I’ll use Trader Joe’s Carolina honey bbq sauce similar to the buffalo chicken and have cole slaw mix as a side or roasted potatoes/tater tots. I’ll use the potatoes during the week in breakfast wraps.
Just going to list mine here!! cookie & Kate’s Pasta Alla Norma (pasta + eggplant!), the NYT chicken and rice soup with celery, parsley, and lemon, Just One Cookbook Soborodon (Japanese chicken and egg bowl), and the NYT slow cooker salsa verde chicken are ones I make on the regular that work for my whole fam!! Also
I love this bowl- so good & easy! It is even good left over if you keep the chickpeas on the side.
https://pin.it/1WVVrIB
I make an insanely easy, all frozen items from TJs, shrimp stir fry. It’s all in the sauce! I do their vegetable stir fry rice, shrimp and mix in fish sauce, oyster sauce, red chili pepper paste, garlic and ginger. Add in an egg for extra protein on days I ate like crap and need to make up for poor decisions.
xo Jessica
an indigo day
I do this too! Sometimes with frozen cauli rice blend that comes with peas/carrots/etc already in it if I’m really trying to lighten it up.
I’m obsessed with the Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Damn Delicious. So easy, healthy and super tasty.
https://damndelicious.net/2014/05/30/pf-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps/
Smitten kitchen: salted chocolate chip cookies & quick, essential stovetop Mac & cheese!
I can pretty much do HBH pesto/cauliflower pasta as well as Ina’s Parmesan Chicken by heart now! I also loveee using Berry Maple’s Beef Bulgogi recipe and serving it as lettuce wraps! Perfect PF Changs copy!
What’s Gaby Cooking’s Chicken Tortilla Soup is so good and so easy! Makes great leftovers too. I’ll have to try these other recipes out. 🙂
You might like this Spicy Zucchini Soup from Simply Recipes. It’s my go-to when I want something simple and healthy. I leave out the bread (it’s thick enough with just the veggies) and sub basil for mint usually.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spicy_zucchini_soup/
For easier then Julia’s Buffalo chicken just throw chicken breasts or thighs with buffalo in the crockpot for buffalo pulled chicken. Can do this with bbq sauce too!
I find myself making Skinnytaste turkey burgers with zucchini — so juicy, so versatile with different toppings, & so easy!
I’m obsessed with the Skinnytaste Lightened Up Loaded Potato Soup! I’m also a big soup girl and loooove a creamy potato soup, but this one uses cauliflower (steamed and blended) to make a creamy base with way less dairy needed. I’ve swapped the little bit of milk with almond milk and couldn’t tell the difference. Still indulgent – I mean, bacon, cheddar, sour cream toppings?! – but I don’t feel nearly as bleh after eating it.
I like anything that uses a rotisserie chicken… We eat these baked taquitos all the time, and they’re easily adaptable to use beans instead of chicken when we have my vegetarian parents over. Super tasty, great reheated, fast. They check all the boxes!
https://www.seededatthetable.com/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos/
Agree! I can usually stretch a rotisserie chicken to 3 meals. Great in tacos, salad, sandwiches. Or I’ll cook some frozen chicken breasts in the instant pot, and again use in tacos, salad, etc.
Sooo many. Everything from Pinch of Yum’s recent SOS series, Pinch of Yum 5-ingredient pork (though I like it best with chicken tenderloins!), Damn Delicious’ Korean Beef bowls, anything out of Melissa Clark’s “Dinner” cookbook!!! I also love to throw chicken breasts / thighs in the slow cooker with BBQ sauce and from there can eat the shredded chicken on pizza, in quesadillas, tacos, nachos, salad…. I am a big fan of no recipe cooking but these are all great to have in your back pocket!
I make pasta and flatbreads a lot when I’m in a rut or I just want to zone out when cooking. I feel like you can use any sort of seasonal ingredients and really amp up the veggies too. Some favorites are roasted broccoli tossed with penne, lemon juice, olive oil and goat cheese; whole wheat flatbread with charred corn, mozz, zucchini and topped with arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon. Need to try the Goop soup – almost soup season!
Can I share my own blog post with my recipe? A friend shared this spinach pesto recipe with me and it is SO easy and delish and my go to when I can’t decide what else I want to eat. https://theheatherreport.com/2021/01/an-easy-work-from-home-lunch.html
Grace do you own the cookbook “Six Seasons,” which is all about cooking veggies? I think you would love it. From that book I make the mushroom sausage pasta & the pine nut vinaigrette (which you can eat on pretty much anything) all the time. Other favorites are Alison Roman’s cauliflower pasta & NYT Cooking’s gnocchi with Brussels sprouts (I always sub TJ’s frozen cauliflower gnocchi & it’s delicious!) Also if I’m going to a party & have to bring something, I am absolutely taking the caramelized onion dip from What’s Gaby Cooking cause a better appetizer does not exist!