THINGS TO EAT

I love to cook, but I still find it so hard sometimes to just decide.what.to.make.for.dinner.

It’s such an easy task, really…I mean, it’s just food and recipes and just pick something and go with it already, woman! But sometimes it’s hard to decide…or is it just me?? I’m always shooting for a balance between having those well-loved meals (burrito bowls! soup + bread! meatballs + veg!) and branching out to try something new. I typically try to menu plan at least a few days in advance, because I’m a list-making-plan-loving-type-A kind of person. If I’m doing really good, I do a whole week at time, but that generally doesn’t quite happen. We live fifteen minutes from the nearest grocery store, so I can’t be running into town every day to pick up ingredients for dinner. And plus, planning out what we’ll be having helps me be efficient and mindful when I do go into town for groceries, instead of just throwing a bunch of things into the cart and hoping to use them up somehow. I’m a chronic over-shopper in the grocery store, so a set menu list and plan is pretty essential for me if I don’t want to end up spending our life savings at Wegman’s or Aldi’s or Trader Joes. #foodie

Lately, I’ve been challenging myself to make a wider variety of things, and it’s been fun. I’ve actually found that the more I try out new things, the easier it is to be creative and cook with variety. A few things we’ve had lately that have been major winners are these Indian-spiced chicken burgers, these braised short ribs, and these chicken lettuce wraps. All of these are recipes worthy of being cooked again and again!

Here are some other meal ideas to spark your creativity::

+ Chopped Chicken Sesame Noodle Bowl – asian food will have my heart always + forever

+ Asiago Stuffed Chicken Breast – chicken + cheese are such a perfect pairing

+ Sweet Potato Gnocchi – i’m not a huge italian fan actually, but i had some house-made gnocchi at a fancy restaurant a few months ago and it has haunted me ever since…it’s so pillowy!

+ Farmer’s Breakfast Skillet – we like having variations of this meal for dinner

+ Chicken & Wild Rice Bake – a perfect winter evening meal…

+ Greek Braised Green Beans – …with this on the side

+ Penne Pasta with Peppers & Bacon – another pasta dish because it looks super yum

What about you: do you menu plan or wing it? What are some of your favorite well-loved meals?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!