Easy Weeknight Dinner Ideas 😋

Back to the busy weeknights?

I wanted to share a few of my favorite weeknight dinner

recipes with you!

Spicy Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken

Ingredients

• ▢1/4 cup dijon mustard

• ▢1/4 cup plain yogurt, sour cream, or olive oil mayo

• ▢2 tablespoons honey

• ▢2 pounds boneless chicken tenders

• ▢2 cups finely crushed salted pretzel twists

• ▢1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder

• ▢1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• ▢1 teaspoon black pepper

• ▢extra virgin olive oil for brushing

• ▢ranch dressing for serving (optional)

Spicy Honey Sauce

• ▢1/4 cup honey

• ▢3 tablespoons salted butter

• ▢1 teaspoon cayenne pepper using more or less to your taste

• ▢1/2 teaspoon chili powder

• ▢1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• ▢kosher salt

Instructions

• 1. In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, yogurt, and honey. Add the chicken and toss well to coat.2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.3. Add the pretzel crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and a pinch of pepper to a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.4. Remove each piece of chicken from the honey mustard, and dredge through the crumbs, pressing gently to adhere. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken has been used. Make sure not to crowd your pan, if necessary use two baking sheets. Lightly brush/drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.5. Meanwhile, make the spicy honey sauce. Melt together the honey, butter, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, and a pinch of salt. 6. Serve the chicken topped with flaky salt and spicy honey sauce for dipping. I'd add a side of ranch too. Enjoy!

Tacos De Carnitas

Ingredients

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• 3 pounds pork shoulder, either butt or picnic

• 7 strips orange zest

• 5 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 large onion, chopped, plus finely chopped onion for garnish

• 1¼ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican canela

• 2 bay leaves

• 1½ teaspoons crushed dried oregano leaves, preferably Mexican

• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• 24 small corn tortillas, warmed, for serving

• Chopped cilantro for garnish

• Salsa for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

Trim any thick fat from surface of pork. Cut meat into 1-inch cubes, discarding any that are pure fat. Put pork in a large pot. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches, orange zest, garlic, chopped onion, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, 1½ teaspoons salt and the cloves.

Step 2

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any scum that forms on surface. Simmer uncovered for 1½ hours, until pork is very soft; add water if necessary to keep meat submerged. Season with salt, then continue to cook until water has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Cook a little longer to fry meat slightly; cook even longer if you prefer crisper meat. Stir often and add a bit of water if meat sticks or seems about to burn.

Step 3

Remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Spoon a few tablespoons of carnitas onto each tortilla. Top each taco with cilantro, finely chopped onion and salsa. Serve.

Tortelliini Italian Sausage Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 medium sweet onion, diced

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

• 1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated three cheese tortellini

• 1/2 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS:

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.

Stir in garlic, onion and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.

Gradually whisk in chicken stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in tortellini; cover and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Stir in kale until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and basil until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve immediately

Mississippi Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 1 (3-4 pounds) chuck roast

• 1 packet ranch dressing mix

• 1 packet au jus gravy mix

• 1/4 cup butter

• 4-5 pepperoncini peppers

Instructions

Place roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle the top with the ranch dressing mix and the au jus mix. Place peppers on top of the mixes, and add the butter.

Cook over low heat for 8 hours. Serve with noodles, rice or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

---

Looking to buy or sell soon?

Give me a call or text! 504-559-0614