Everyone has one – an arsenal of dinner recipes. A list of meals in their back pocket, that they know they could make at the drop of a hat (and probably have all of the ingredients for on hand). Since it’s nice to break out of the mold once in awhile, I thought I’d share my dinner arsenal.
Below you’ll see two sections – crock pot and non-crock pot. After all, if you’re digging in your arsenal of recipes it’s most likely not 8am. It’s probably 5:15pm and you have everyone hovering in the kitchen waiting for dinner to be served.
Shrimp Chowder – probably one of our top ten favorites, I make this quite often. I love the ‘dump’ feature – dump everything in the crockpot and walk away until it’s time to add shrimp and rice. Easy.
Pasta Fagioli – another top ten. This one definitely requires more ingredients but since many are canned and we have this a few times a month I always make sure to have everything on hand.
Salsa Chicken – so easy, and can be made into a variety of things. Use the leftovers for the next recipe.
Chicken Tortilla Soup – yet another top ten, though anymore I just make the soup – I don’t make the home made tortilla crisps. If I don’t have the enchilada sauce or green chilis it’s easy to substitute with salsa, eight vegetable juice and spices.
Spaghetti Sauce – we eat spaghetti or some form of pasta every 10 days or so. If I haven’t put it in the crockpot in the morning, I will simmer on the stove in the afternoon adding ground beef, spices, and veggies (onions, mushrooms, peppers, and zucchini) to jarred spaghetti sauce.
Mulligatawny Soup – this is brand new to my arsenal, but made it there within a time or two of serving it for dinner. I think this is now my husband’s favorite soup recipe.
Italian Chicken Parmesan – a good old standby, plain and simple.
Sausage & Peppers Penne – although I don’t always have polka kielbasa or turkey summer sausage, this is definitely a recipe in the arsenal.
Crab Rangoon – my oldest makes this about once every 7-10 days.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken (or Tilapia) – a quick and easy oven meal, I’ve made this with both chicken and tilapia. Served with a side of veggies and rice and you’ve got a well balanced healthy tasty meal!
Pasta Bake – yet another of the pasta dishes in my arsenal.
Fish Tacos – this may seem weird as there are a few odd ingredients, but we make this pretty frequently.
Stir Fry – I always have shrimp, rice, and fresh veggies on hand. With soy sauce, rice vinegar, and ginger (ground or fresh), you’ve got a meal.
Pizza – yes, pizza. Be it home made from the crust up or with a pre-made crust, frozen or take and bake, I will admit that pizza is part of my arsenal.
As you can tell, I pretty much always keep my pantry and fridge stocked with these items. To add to that, I always have boneless skinless chicken breasts, tilapia filets, cooked and devienned shrimp, and certain cuts of beef in our freezer. I tried to be prepared for whatever meal I feel like making, but let’s face it – there are days when digging out of your arsenal is easiest.
