Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just can’t figure out what to make for dinner? As I’ve said before, I like to let the store circulars and coupons inspire some meal choices and that often helps me build a weekly menu. This week though, I just kept striking out. None of the proteins on sale sounded good, and none of my usual recipes we’re calling to me. It was time to try something new.
Yet…experimenting with a new recipe on a weeknight can be somewhat of a struggle. It can be awfully time consuming to come up with a recipe idea, grocery shop, and cook after a long work day. So I did what any girl would do…I went to google and typed in “easy weeknight dinners”.
I feared that I would find the usual list of fatty casseroles, unappetizing pasta bakes, or other recipes with canned soups that I personally can’t stomach. To my surprise, one of the first links in my search was for the site Eating Well.
After reading their recipe for Southwestern Corn & Black Bean Salad I was totally inspired! The ingredient list was short and simple. Additionally, I made a few other swaps based on ingredient availability and personal preferences. My changes are in red.
Ingredients:
• 3 large ears of corn, husked (1.5 cups of frozen corn)
• 1/3 cup pine nuts (1/4 cup of roasted sunflower seeds)
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (omit or lessen if your sunflower seeds are salted)
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage (I used green and it was pre-shredded, and more than 2 cups, probably 3 or 3.5)
• 1 large tomato, diced (I used a handful or two of grape tomatoes sliced in half)
• 1/2 cup minced red onion (I used 4 medium scallions diced, I prefer the milder flavor)
• I added diced avocado on top!
How To:
• Juice the limes, chop the cilantro, and add both to a large bowl with the salt. Whisk in the 2 Tbsp. of olive oil
• Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to coat in the dressing.
• Cover and let sit in the fridge until ready to serve
With the salad I also made chicken quesadillas. These were very easy too, and my own recipe.
I sautéed diced chicken breast in olive oil until no-longer pink (about 6-7 min).
I added 1 diced bell pepper, 1 seeded jalapeno, and 3 chopped scallions. I seasoned with a few dashes of salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of cumin and chili powder.
Once the veggies were tender but still crisp, I mixed in about 1/3 cup of salsa.
To assemble the quesadillas, toast a tortilla in a pan, add some filling and cheese on top and then another tortilla. (I made myself an assembly line before starting)
Flip over and brown the other side of the tortilla and allow the cheese to fully melt.
Serve with more salsa and sour cream or Greek yogurt.
This meal was really a hit and it was very easy for a weeknight. The leftovers were also wonderful!
How do you escape your recipe rut?
What are your favorite quick weeknight meals?
check out http://www.allrecipes.com – type in your ingredients, the things you won’t use…amazing what it comes up with…….
Thanks for the tip! I have used that site but never that feature- sounds like a cool concept!
I am a big fan of Mexican food and this quesadilla looks absolutely delicious. I’m going to have to try your recipe!
Yes, definetly try it- it’s so easy. Let me know if you like it!
What a delicious meal! That looks amazing.
I always make tacos for an easy meal..in fact we had tacos on Tuesday and Wednesday. So easy and delicious!
Another go-to easy meal is breakfast for dinner.
I love tacos too! They come together so fast! This salad would be a good side dish for tacos too.
Oh and breakfast for dinner is always a winner! Joe isn’t a big fan though- so I usually make that when I’m flying solo!
I love crock pot meals. My favorite is turkey and three bean chilli. Easy, yummy, and healthy. I also like roasting boneless and skinless chicken thighs and then serving with squash. Or easy whole wheat cappelini with organic vegetable spaghetti sauce and meatless meatballs.
Crockpot meals are such a winner! I love coming home and dinner is already done!
I definitely think I face that weeknight meal rut basically every week. This looks really good!
It’s tough! And usually I don’t mind keeping our favorites on heavy rotation! This is going to become a new staple in the house. I can’t get enough of that salad.
That dish sounds really good! It’s been so long since I’ve had a quesadilla
Same here- it had been way too long! I liked making them at home and controlling the ingredients. Much healthier that way!
I’m in a food rut now so perusing blogs and sites like Eating Well, Cooking.com, etc can often spark an idea even if it’s not the recipe listed. My go to recipes is BBQ Chicken Naan Pizza. The Mr tells me he’d pay for it at a restaurant it’s so good and that’s a pretty good compliment!
That sounds like an awesome recipe! Can you share the link?
looks delcious!!! sounds like a great mexican dinner
I love the Eating Well website! I probably go there at least once a day! I currently looking at all their Thanksgiving recipes!
I feel like I’m always in a recipe rut, especially at the moment. Nothing that we usually make sounds that great. We like looking at stashed away recipes that we’ve always wanted to make but haven’t or try a new seasonal recipe to break out of the rut!
That bean and corn dish looks really good to me!
[...] I also got dinner ingredients. Tonight I’m making turkey tacos and Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Salad on the [...]
[...] tacos with a side of Southwestern Black Bean & Corn Salad and some chips for dipping. If you haven’t tried this salad yet, I highly recommend you do! [...]