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3 Insanely Easy and Delicious Weeknight Meals

"What should I make for dinner?" This shouldn't be a stressful question, but more often than not, the weight of the day makes cooking an afterthought. My goal is to help make that question an easy and obvious one. Instead of ordering takeout, try one of the recipes in this video. These 3 recipes can all be made within 30 minutes, and they're deliciously satisfying.




Turkey Rice Bowl

1 lb ground turkey

1 head broccoli

2 medium carrots

2 tbsp light soy

2 tbsp mirin

3 tbsp dark soy

1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

Ground ginger

2 tbsp chili garlic paste or gochujang

Splash of sesame oil

1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water

1 cup cooked white rice


Heat a large pan with high sides over medium high heat (a Dutch oven works really well). Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and then add your ground turkey. Because of the water content in turkey, this will need some time to brown. Keep an eye on if it needs more oil as you go.


While that cooks, finely chop your broccoli, peel your carrots, and grate them on a box grater. If those pieces of carrot are too large, run your knife through them a few times to make them smaller. After your turkey has browned, add all of the veggies we just chopped. To the pot, add 1/3 cup of water to help pull up any brown bits and to aid in the cooking of the veggies. Let that cook over medium until the vegetables have softened.,


To make the sauce, add all of the soy sauce, mirin and oyster sauce. Stir in the ground ginger and spicy paste of your choosing. Add around 1/2 cup of water to make the sauce a little thinner, but don't worry about perfection because that can be easily adjusted.


Add your sauce to the cooked veggies and turkey then bring it up to a simmer. Turn down the heat and add 1 tbsp cornstarch that has been mixed with 2 tbsp water. This forms a slurry that can be used to thicken the sauce, but it needs to be brough back up to a simmer to fully see how thick it will be. Stir this until thickened and then judge if you need more water for a thinner sauce, or more cook time for a thicker sauce. Taste this for seasoning and add your sesame oil. Serve on top of white rice with some extra soy or chili oil.


Fajitas


Red Rice

1/4 white onion

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup white rice

2 cups water

Olive oil

Cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper


Beans

2 strips bacon

1/4 white onion

1 seeded jalapeño

2 cans pinto beans, drained

2/3 cup water w/ more to adjust

Cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper


Fajita Mix

1 lb chicken breast, butterflied

2 bell peppers

1/2 white onion

Cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper


Start on the rice first. Chop half an onion into a medium dice and then separate it into two piles, one for the rice and one for the beans. In a sauce pot for the rice, sauté one of the onion piles in some olive oil until translucent. Once softened, add all of your seasoning along with the tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste has turned a brick red color. Add 1 cup of white rice and cook for a minute or two just to toast it. Add 2 cups of water and bring it up to a simmer. Let this cook covered for 20 minutes on low. After the 20 minutes, you can turn the heat off and let this sit until ready to eat. When ready, fluff the rice up with a fork.


For the beans, we need to dice a seeded jalapeno to go along with the onion we cut earlier. Fry two strips of bacon in a pan until crispy, and then set them aside. Add the onion and jalapeno to the bacon fat left in the pan and then cook on medium heat until softened. Season this with salt. Add 2 cans of drained pinto beans to the bacon fat veggies. Season this with the seasonings above and add 2/3 cup of water. Chop your cooled bacon and add that as well. Bring this to a simmer then lower the heat to medium low and let that cook for 15 minutes (or as long as you have).


For the fajitas, slice 2 bell peppers along with 1/2 a while onion. Slice an avocado if you're into that and then cut a lime in half because you'll need it later. Place a large pan over medium high heat to cook the chicken and veggies in.


Butterfly your chicken breast by slicing into the side of it while it lays flat. Think of it like cutting into a book. Open your chicken and continue cutting until you have two halves that are half as thick as before. Season this with the above seasoning mix. Once the pan is hot, coat the pan with olive oil and then lay in your chicken pieces (probably in 2 batches depending on your pan size). Cook these for 4 minutes aside (8 minutes total) and then remove them from the pan. Add your sliced veggies to the fat and oil left in the pan. Cook these on medium high until browned, but not completely softened. Season these generously with salt and pepper, and lower the heat to low so they can stay warm.


Warm your tortillas however you like, and then slice your fajita chicken into pieces that can fit into the tortillas. Add the chicken along with any juices to the pan with the veggies and mix them together. Squeeze over some lime juice and serve in the tortillas alongside the beans and rice.


Salmon Salad (for 2)

1lb salmon fillet

1 bunch green kale

1/4 red onion

1 avocado

Rice wine vinegar, liquid aminos, sesame oil (no measurements here, go off taste)

Roasted veg of your choosing


Prep your salad by pulling the hard woody stems out of the kale pieces. Wash the kale thoroughly and then slice it into small pieces for the salad. To break down the bitter intensity of the kale, add a pinch of salt to the bowl with the kale and squeeze it with your hands. Continue squeezing until the kale has been softened. Slice your red onion and cut your avocado into cubes for the salad. Season the salmon how you prefer (salt, pepper, garlic, lemon are all classics). Heat a skillet over medium heat until nice and hot, then add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Place your salmon skin side down, and cook it about 60% of the way on the first side. You'll be able to tell by looking at the color change up the side of the salmon. Flip it and continue cooking until you just start to see the white fat start to pool on the sides (this will be around medium cook on the salmon, so go further if you want it to be completely solid). You can also just peak into the center to confirm.


To finish the salad, shake an equal amount of rice vinegar and liquid aminos onto the kale and give it a taste. Add a few drops of sesame oil and then add your sliced onion and avocado. Mix this together and taste again for final seasoning. Serve this alongside your salmon and any other roasted veggies you like.

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Hey, I'm Cameron, and I'm glad you're here. I post new recipes every week, all intended to build your confidence in the kitchen, each one with video tutorials to help. Craving something specific? Drop me a note in my contact form! 

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