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Healthy Made Easy: Simple, Nourishing Solutions to Healthy Eating and Living

One Pan Dinners

Lazy Huevos Rancheros with Black Beans

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I get it. You want a hearty, delicious breakfast that’s going to keep you going all morning, but you don’t want to spend lot of time making it.

Maybe it’s the weekend, and it’s your only chance to have a chill morning at home. You don’t want to spend forty five minutes making breakfast.

Or, maybe you have a little time to sit and enjoy breakfast on a weekday morning, but you don’t have the wiggle room to play gourmet chef.

I got you covered with this lazy version of huevos rancheros.

In this version, you don’t need to chop anything (unless you feel a pressing need to chop the cilantro). You don’t need to make your own fresh salsa.

And guess what? Even with all of the shortcuts, it still tastes like a decadent brunch dish you would have ordered had you gone out. But you didn’t, you smart cookie! You stayed home in your pjs, saved yourself some money (because, brunch prices, ugh!), and enjoyed this quick and easy breakfast right there in your own kitchen. Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back for being a financially responsible adult who knows how to live the good life on a budget. Way to start the day!

Kitchen tip: I use a 10-inch skillet to make this meal.

Print Recipe
 Lazy Huevos Rancheros with Black Beans
Course Breakfast, Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Heat skillet to medium (I used a 10-inch skillet). Add oil to skillet.
  2. Throw in a small handful of greens if you like (I had some massaged kale leftover from a dinner salad a couple of days ago).
  3. Add salsa to skillet.
  4. Add drained, rinsed black beans.
  5. Let salsa and bean mixture simmer gently for a couple of minutes
  6. Crack four eggs into skillet (arrange as artfully as you like).
  7. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons (a.k.a. 1/4 cup) shredded cheese.
  8. Season with salt and spices (I used salt, cumin, ground coriander, and chipotle powder).
  9. Cover with lid and cook a couple of minutes more until eggs are set.

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

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Let’s be honest. Who wants to slave away in the kitchen at dinnertime every night? Nobody! That’s why I love these Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas. They are so easy to make, it barely counts as cooking, for reals. It’s the perfect meal to feed a crowd, whether that’s just the fam, or if you’re doing some entertaining. It’s easy to double, or even triple, and you can serve it with a variety of sides to meet everyone’s taste and dietary preferences. My kids love to have these with tortillas, while I like to stick with a slow-burning carb like black beans. Roasted sweet potatoes are great with this, too. It would also work on rice or even cauliflower rice for those who need to avoid legumes and grains.

Serve with avocado, sour cream, and cilantro, and I guarantee that all of your fajita dreams will come true.

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, served bowl style

Here are a few tips to make this dinner even easier . . .

JUMP START

Here are some ways to jump start your prep ahead of time, which will make this dinner come together even more quickly.

  • Mix fajita spices and oil ahead of time. Even better, have one of your kids or your spouse do this step for you! Outsourcing is key for successful meal prep.
  • Slice chicken and place in a container or ziplock back with the spices and oil and store in the refrigerator. This can be done a couple of days in advance.
  • Prep the beans and rice on your meal prep day at the beginning of the week.

If you follow these jump start steps, all you need to do the evening you cook this meal is slice up the onions and peppers, add them to a sheet pan with the chicken, and bake in the oven. Simply reheat your prepped beans and rice.

NOW & LATER

Leverage your time and efforts in the kitchen with simple, easy strategies that leave you with dinner tonight AND extras to get you through other meals this week:

  • Consider doubling this recipe. A double batch will fit on two sheet pans. This will give you enough extras to use for lunches like fajita tacos or fajita bowls.
  • If you end up with leftover fajita veggies, they’re great tossed into a frittata. Fajita Frittata! Say that three times fast, I dare ya.
  • If you make extra beans and rice, you can easily use that in other meals throughout the week. If you have leftovers you’re not going to use in time, just pop them in your freezer for another week. I like to preportion out my grains like rice before freezing, that way I can easily grab exactly what I need to quickly add to a lunch now and then.
Print Recipe
 Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Course Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Combine spices and olive oil in a small bowl.
  3. Combine chicken strips and veggie strips in a large bowl. Pour the spice mixture over the chicken and veggies, and stir to coat completely.
  4. Place the chicken and veggie mixture on a large, rimmed baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring halfway. Cook until chicken internal temperature has reached 165
  6. Serve with following options: canned black beans (drained and rinsed), sour cream, ripe avocado, chopped cilantro, soft tortillas or brown rice.

Sheet Pan Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

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One-pan magic: Sheet Pan Sausage, Peppers, and Onions. This was so easy, so delicious, and the whole fam loved it. And less clean up, too. A check in the “win” column, no?

I used Trader Joe’s sweet Italian style sausage, and sliced onions and peppers tossed in a little bit of olive oil. I sprinkled the veggies with a little bit of salt and pepper, and sprinkled the whole pan with a smidge of Italian seasoning. I cooked at 400F for about 25 minutes*. Served it all with brown basmati rice, and some fresh fruit for dessert. Busting out of our Taco Tuesday rut here, I tell ya.

* I used sausages that were already cooked. If you’re cooking with uncooked meat, make sure you cook chicken sausages to an internal temp of 165F, pork to 160F.

And when life gives you leftover sheet pan sausage, peppers, & onions, you take advantage and dump it into a frittata for an easy peasy Thursday night dinner.  Along with the frittata, we had meal prep roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

Making real food meals a regular part of your life doesn’t have to mean a lot of time and fuss in the kitchen. If you start your week with a few prepped staples, it makes it so much easier to throw meals together throughout the week, especially if you capitalize on leftovers, too.

These shortcuts are so helpful, especially by Thursday night when I’m all about sweatpants & slippers and counting down the minutes ’til Friday. You, too??


Print Recipe


Sheet Pan Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

Course Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Italian

Servings


Ingredients

Course Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Italian

Servings


Ingredients


Instructions
  1. Directly on sheet pan, toss onions and peppers with salt and pepper, italian seasoning, and a little bit of olive oil. Add sausage to mixture, and spread evenly on pan.

  2. Cook at 400F for about 25 minutes. (I used sausages that were already cooked. If you're cooking with uncooked meat, make sure you cook chicken sausages to an internal temp of 165F, pork to 160F.)

One-Pan Garlic & Ginger Ground Pork Stir Fry

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As the week drags on, let’s admit it – getting dinner on the table becomes even *more* of a pain. Yes, the eating part is fun, but oh, lordy, the prepping sure ain’t no fun when you’re too tired for anything but fuzzy slippers and binge watching your Netflix faves. And you so badly want it to hurry up and be Friday already. That’s when I rely on fast dinners like this One Pan Garlic & Ginger Ground Pork Stir Fry to get me through.

Print Recipe
 One-Pan Garlic & Ginger Ground Pork Stir Fry
Course Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Asian
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dishes, One Pan Dinners
Cuisine Asian
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add ½ tsp avocado oil.
  2. Add pork to skillet, and cook until browned.
  3. Remove pork from pan, and place to the side in a bowl.
  4. Reduce heat to medium, add remaining 1/2 tsp of oil, and add garlic and ginger. Stir, and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Do not let garlic brown (reduce heat if necessary).
  5. Add remaining vegetables, and cook at medium to medium-high heat until softened a bit, but not mushy.
  6. Reduce heat to low, add cooked pork to pan and 1 cup of black beans. Stir gently.
  7. Remove pan from heat, drizzle with soy sauce and sesame oil, and then stir to combine. Serve over rice and enjoy!