What a weird time we are living in right now, right? Staying in my house, back yard, and neighborhood sidewalks is becoming my normal and no longer feeling weird because we’re a month + in at this point. Zoom hangouts with life groups and mom groups is becoming my norm. Streaming church on Sunday is starting to not feel unusual. That doesn’t mean it’s all easy and I’m not ready for things to go back to normal, but it’s just not feeling so constantly bizarre like it was.
All we can do is try and make the best of our personal situations and try and enjoy all the extra family time. My friend sent me a quote the other day, and it really stuck with me:
“The year is 2036. I’m in an eerily quiet house. Both kids are grown and have moved out. I’d do anything to be quarantined with my 5 and 2 year old and hear the sounds of their tiny feet running all over the house.”
I often times dislike reading things like this because it makes me feel a little shamed, like I’m not allowed to struggle through parenthood at all – anything other than appreciating every tiny moment with my kids is taking them and their littleness for granted. And, if you’re a parent out there reading this (especially a stay at home parent), you know VERY WELL that it’s impossible to appreciate and enjoy every moment. But still – this quote hit me in a positive way, and it’s made me take a step back and try to appreciate the sweetness of this strange period of time we’re in.
Even though we have MORE time together right now since we don’t have plans with people/groups or errands to run, the days seem to actually feel a little more chaotic. And I know after a long, chaotic day, making a complicated dinner is the LAST thing you want to do. I scoured the blog and found THE best recipes for this shelter at home stage we are in right now. ALL of them are one pot, most of them have only a handful of ingredients, and lots of them are done in half an hour or less. But they are all super simple and so easy. But also delish ❤️. Let’s get started!
1. One Pot Coconut Lemon Chicken
- 3 ingredients
- 20 minutes
- SO insanely delicious, healthy and made with whole foods, absolutely WONDERFUL when served over rice with tons of sauce spooned over top! This is one of my favorite recipes, and it couldn’t be any easier.
- 25 minutes
- 8 base ingredients + a few optional extras (most ingredients are pantry or freezer stable and things you may already have)
- The title says it all – you literally dump everything into your pot, simmer for 15 minutes, and top with anything you want (just like a taco!). So easy and good!
- 5 ingredients (not including olive oil)
- This one has a longer cook and prep time – 1 hour and 15 minutes total, but other than the prep, everything goes down on a sheet pan in the oven, and you can just walk away and forget about it.
- You finish it off by dumping the whole thing in the blender + some olive oil and blending until smooth. Seriously SO EASY. And so good. Pair it with a simple grilled cheese if you want to kick it up a notch!
4. Lemon Garlic Salmon and Asparagus Packs
- 7 ingredients, most of which you might already have. The only things you’d probably need to get is salmon, lemons, and asparagus.
- 30 minutes
- Your salmon and veggies get wrapped up in a foil packet and roasted in the oven for 20 minutes – couldn’t get any easier! And SO, so much flavor.
- 5 ingredients
- 35 minutes
- This recipe is as simple as dicing up your veggies and dumping them in a pot + some curry powder and coconut milk and letting the whole thing simmer for 25 minutes before pureeing. Seriously so simple but also SO flavorful and satisfying!
6. World’s Easiest Instant Pot Frozen Shrimp
- 3 ingredients
- 3 minute prep + cook time (does not account for the time the IP will take to come to pressure, which will probably take about 20 minutes)
- This is one of the top 3 easiest recipes I’ve posted on the blog. You dump the shrimp, water, lemon juice, and old bay into your IP and let it work its magic – done! Make sure you use LARGE, frozen, shell on shrimp or this won’t work right. It’s such a hit!
7. 3 Ingredient Pimento Mac and Cheese
- 3 ingredients
- 15 minutes
- Here’s how this works: boil pasta, add pimento cheese and milk, stir until melty and combined. And that’s literally it – SO EASY and so good!
8. 20 Minute Korean Ground Turkey Bowls
- 6 ingredients (not including oil and optional garnish), many of which you probably already have!
- 20 minutes
- Serve this over rice for a full meal. Such a no fuss, simple dinner. And so much flavor!
9. Instant Pot Green Chili Chicken
- 3 ingredients
- 15 minutes (not including the time it’ll take to come to pressure – probably 15-20 mins)
- This is a dump and go recipe, and I make it all the time – couldn’t be any easier! You can make this chicken and then use it on tons of different stuff. Plain over rice, in burrito bowls, in tacos, on nachos – so many possibilities!
- 5 ingredients
- The cook time here is obviously long because it’s a crock pot recipe, but it’s a leave-it-and-forget-about-it situation! SO good – you can eat it plain with sides or have it on a BBQ sandwich!
And that’s all I’ve got for you today! I hope some of these can make your meal planning less stressful and your evenings a little easier! Let me know anything else I can do to help you during this time – more easy recipe ideas, crock pot recipes, suggestions to stay sane with toddlers + quarantine 😉, anything!
I really love these, Thanks for the recipe.
My family will love this.