Easy Weeknight Dinners

Who doesn't love a peek into someone else's kitchen?

It's easy to get in a cooking rut, and often it just takes a little photo inspiration to lace up your apron again with gusto!

I've mentioned a dozen times that Ian and I eat pretty healthy during the weeknights (but don't you dare judge me on how much cheesy pizza I consume on Friday nights in my yoga pants).  Here are two very easy weeknight dinners that I put together recently that were quick and healthy.

Baked Mediterranean Tilapia with Sauteed Mushrooms and Salad
I like serving fish on Monday nights -- such a light way to start the week after our weekend splurging.  I picked up our fish from Earthfare.  Their prices aren't much higher (if at all, especially during sales) than a typical grocery store, but the quality is great.

For the salad, I tossed arugula with diced avocado, sliced white onion, walnuts, and feta cheese.  I swirled together a simple vinaigrette in a small mason jar (clean baby food jars work great, too) using red wine vinegar, blood orange olive oil, a little sea salt, and fresh pepper.



To make the fish, I just sprayed an 8x8 glass dish with cooking spray, laid down the fish, and then topped the fish with sliced black olives, artichoke hearts, a drizzle of olive oil, oregano, and cannelini beans.  I baked it until the fish flaked easily with a fork -- maybe 20-25 minutes.

I sauteed the mushrooms (cremini taste SO much better than normal white mushrooms -- worth the small extra cost) with olive oil, fresh rosemary, and sea salt.

Finished off with a lemon wedge, this meal was ready to go!

We loved every bit of it.  This type of meal is a staple for us.

Grilled Steak with Mashed White Beans and Strawberry Salad
Man, I love it when we do grilled steak, grilled chicken, grilled anything -- it's a chance for me to kick back inside and just focus on the sides while Ian does the heavy lifting. 

We like to keep our steaks simple - a little S&P and olive oil rubdown before going on a hot grill.

The salad was an easy mix of spring greens, white onion, sliced strawberries, and goat cheese with balsamic vinaigrette.  I made the vinaigrette using the small mason jar technique above (if you can even call it a technique -- so simple!) and mixed olive oil with balsamic vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and a little squirt of dijon mustard.

Mashed white beans may be no substitute in your eyes for mashed potatoes, but I'll go so far as to say that I prefer them to their potato counterpart!  I cook my cannelini beans a right long time, drain them, add back in some olive oil, and mash well.  This time I added in some white onion and rosemary before mashing, and the result was heavenly.

Two very simple dinner ideas.  If you like seeing these ideas, I'll post more!