dinner inspiration, January 2024

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I am always up for some dinner inspiration, and I wonder if you would feel the same this week? Here's a compilation of things that we've eaten in the last few weeks. I hope this inspires you! 

On New Year's day, I made a pot of white chicken chili and cornbread. It was delicious! I used some chicken that was leftover that I shredded, and to that I added a couple of cans of corn, some green chilis, and pinto beans with chicken stock and a mixture of milk and cream. I think I used cumin powder as well, but it was amazing! I loosely followed a recipe that I saw on Pinterest, and changed it up according to what I had in my pantry. The recipe called for cannelloni beans, for instance, but I had pinto beans on hand. 

For my mom's cornbread recipe, I use two cups of white cornmeal mix, two tablespoons of flour, some salt and pepper, one egg, and milk (I keep slowly pouring until it's the consistency of thick pancake batter). To my skillet, I added a tablespoon of olive oil and heated it in the oven at 450 until it was bubbling; when I pour the cornbread mixture into it, it sizzles, which is what gives it that crispy crust. I baked it until it was golden brown. 

One night recently, we had smoked sausage cooked in the air fryer, tortilla chips, cheese cubes, and shrimp cocktail that we bought from Costco. I love to buy that from Costco; it's delicious and something we both love either on its own or with something like this. 

On another night we had these bratwursts that I cooked according to the package instructions, spinach squares, and bell pepper and onions tossed with low sodium soy sauce and cooked in the air fryer. The spinach squares are another recipe that I found on Pinterest and loosely followed. Todd loved this night of dinner and had it two nights in a row, he enjoyed it so much. 

Last week I made this chicken tortilla soup, and another night I made taco soup. Click the link for the tortilla soup recipe, but for the thousandth time, I'll share this taco soup recipe again, because it's a huge crowd pleaser. I've modified it over the years to make it a bit healthier, and here's what I do.

I either brown a pound of ground beef, or I use leftover taco meat. To the cooked meat, I add a packet of taco seasoning, a packet of ranch dressing seasoning, and one container of the lower sodium beef broth. I let that come to a simmer, then I add a can of corn, a can of black beans, two cans of kidney beans, and a can of Rotel tomatoes. I let it simmer for 30 minutes, then we eat it with tortilla chips. It's so good, and the longer it sits, the better it tastes. I also like to drain and rinse all the beans, and adding in one extra can of Rotel tomatoes kicks up the spice and makes it even better. I usually add in a tablespoon of cottage cheese to mine as I put it in a bowl, for some added protein and creaminess. 

And lastly, this is what we had for dinner last night, which is a new favorite. I add six chicken breasts to my crockpot, two packets of ranch dressing seasoning, and two packs of the less fat cream cheese. I let it cook on high all day long, then I either shred it or break it into big chunks, but at the end, we sprinkle bacon bits on top, and it is to die for! It's great with either roasted potatoes or rice, and last night we added green beans. Todd loves this meal and it's great as leftovers. I don't have an actual name for this, but I think it's something like King Ranch chicken or something similar. 

What are you eating for dinner this week? I'd love to hear about it and be inspired for next week! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!