5 Meals for your Family Table... Week 4

It's our 4th week of sharing meals for your family table! 

This week I am sharing my kids' most requested meal.... Almond Crusted Chicken. We also have a better for you Mexican casserole and an easy pizza bar for this week! If you missed the first few, you can catch up here.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

one

Cauliflower Fried Rice Bowls with Roasted Shrimp. This is such a great (and much healthier) alternative to Chinese take out! With a little chopping on your prep day, you can have this meal on the table in no time! Find the recipe here.

two

Almond Crusted Chicken with Smashed Baby Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts. This is my kids' all time favorite meal. This is the one they request for any occasion... yes my kiddos LOVE brussel sprouts. You can grab the recipe for the sides here. And this chicken?? Oh my gosh... so good! Now I will tell you...I have only made this recipe with organic chicken breasts. It's not in our grocery budget to buy everything organic, but I make a dent where I can. Organic chicken tastes so much better.... I will never go back!

For the chicken, use 1 lb of boneless chicken breasts and pound each until they are about 1/4" thick. (I also cut each in halflengthwise before I pound, so I have 6 pieces). Set up two large, shallow bowls or pie plates work well too. In one place 3 egg whites & 2 TBSP of water and whisk. In the other place 1 cup almond flour, zest of 1 lemon and 1 TSP salt and 1/2 TSP pepper. Heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan over medium- high heat. Dip each piece in the egg, then the flour and put in the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, transfer to a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. I top mine with a very simple lemon dijon sauce , that I have shared before . Take 6oz plain Greek yogurt, 1-2 TBSP dijon mustard, juice of half a lemon and salt & pepper to taste. Mix together and add a little water to thin it out. It's a perfect topping for seafood or chicken and without all the additives of a pre-made sauce.

three

Mexican quinoa pasta bake. I told you I was trying to make some comfort casseroles a little better for you. This is like a taco bake and my crew loved it! Top it with a little Greek yogurt, salsa and avocado and scoop it up with some chips! You can grab the recipe here.

four

How about a twist on a traditional comfort meal like meatloaf? This Sundried Tomato & Feta Meatloaf with Greek Salad is so good. I use this recipe from Giada, except I substitute oats for the breadcrumbs. We make a quick salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives & feta to go along with it.

five

It's the end of the week and we all need something easy!  How about a make your own pizza & salad bar?? I mentioned before, kiddos love to build their own dinner! Grab some whole wheat or whole grain naan or flatbreads for your crust. Lay out lots of topping options and bake at 425 for about 5-7 minutes. While the pizzas are cooking, build your salads. Be sure to put out veggies in lots of great colors! I really like Mid's pizza sauce & shred my own mozarella from a block. It melts so much better and doesn't have the caking agent that the pre- shredded cheese has.

What to prep to make these meals easier....

Chop the veggies for your stir fry & rice your cauliflower.

Chop your brussel sprouts, you can prepare the potatoes up until the step of putting them in the oven. You can do the same for the chicken.

The Mexican Quiona Bake can be made a few days ahead... just bake it the night you are eating.

Have your veggies chopped & ready for your salad nights.

The turkey meatloaf can be made a few days ahead too & just bake the night you are eating.

I know the meal prepping task can seem daunting, but it makes life so much easier! I take about 30-60 minutes on my prep day and it saves so much stress during the week. This is pretty much what I do each week...

One hour or less of chopping, prepping and bagging goes a long way! As a mom working full time, I can't tell you how much this helps! You can check out my meal planning tips here.

I hope some of these meals make it to your family's table this week! See you tomorrow for our weekend wrap up.....there's always room for one more at our family table!

xoxo

Genevieve

ps- coming up next month we will be doing a "Cook once, Eat twice" concept. Using the meat you cook for one dinner and turning it into a yummy salad another night!