Midweek Meal Inspo; Orange Chicken, Chili, Teriyaki Salmon & more

I am really enjoying this midweek meal post, as it’s been great to share the variety of food we eat in our home and showcase what we all really enjoy. It’s also been great for inspiration in our own house and to show what we all really enjoy together! It’s been another block of time, so I have put together all of the meals that we have had recently! We do tend to have a variety of different meats during the week, and this week includes a vegetarian meal that we often have!

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Breaded Chicken

This pasta dish feels like summer, I believe, because of the lemon in it. It’s a cheesy, easy to make pasta dish with a lot of flavor. We started off by slicing a chicken breast, as if to butterfly it, but completely into two slices. We then breaded the chicken breast in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. We baked these chicken breasts in the oven, until fully done. While it’s baking, we put on a pot of water to get the pasta going, then started the sauce in a new pan. First, you’ll want to chop asparagus into fourths and cook them in butter until they are nearly done, then add the sauce ingredients. This sauce is double cream, pepper, garlic powder, hard mozzarella, parmesan, lots of black pepper, and the juice of a lemon. Let this all get cheesy and melty, then add in your pasta and toss. We then chop the chicken and put it on top. It’s filling and not too cheesy like a mac n cheese.

Chili with Corn Bread Muffins

Chili is one of those crockpot meals that I feel is always super easy to put together and wait for. We took an onion and a few bell peppers, chopped them up, and added them to our crockpot. Then we added in three different cans of beans – rinsed of course – as well as two cans of chopped tomatoes, two cans of water, and a packed of chili seasoning mix. We then let this go on low for the whole day, and then at the end added a few handfuls of cheese, a spoonful of brown sugar as it was a bit spicy, and some paprika. We also made some cornbread muffins to go with this, which is cornflour, flour, baking soda, eggs, milk and sugar, which Robin made and scooped super well into our greased muffin tins!

Orange Chicken with Egg Fried Rice

Orange Chicken is one of Amelia’s favorite dinners to request. It’s been a constant lately, with her asking for it at least once a week. It’s a bit of a time consuming recipe, but it’s well worth it. We cut up a bunch of chicken breasts, then dip them in scrambled eggs and then a 50/50 mix of flour and cornstarch to coat. Then, we fry them in batches in vegetable oil, placing the golden brown ones on a tray with a paper towel, in the oven, at low heat. This is so that they stay warm, as we always make a lot of chicken for this recipe which takes a lot of time. Once the chicken is basically all done, we make the orange sauce. In a pan, we add in some olive oil, then grated garlic and ginger. We add in a cup of orange juice, a fourth cup of soy sauce, a half cup of brown sugar, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a teaspoon of sesame oil, a half cup of water, two tablespoons of corn starch, and two tablespoons of rice vinegar. This will all cook down and become a sauce, which we then toss the chicken in, before topping it with sesame seeds. With this main, we cooked up some tender steam broccoli in sesame oil and garlic. We also made egg fried rice by scrambling an egg in a wok, adding in a few tablespoons of soy, adding in a handful of frozen, mixed vegetables and a bunch of cooked rice. It’s a really good side dish!

Burgers with Curley Fries and Beets

Burgers are another really easy mean – and I feel like everyone has burgers from time to time! We made some smash burgers with mince beef, sliced cheese on top with tomatoes, pickles and lettuce for everyone to add on as they’d like. We served this with curly fries cooked in the air fryer, which take no time at all, and some beets as everyone always loves beets. Burgers are always a quick mean, but one that everyone enjoys. Sometimes we bring out tons of fun sauces too, to go with it!

Teriyaki Salmon with Rice and Vegetables

Robin’s favorite meal that I cook is Teriyaki Salmon. It’s another staple in our house – and is super easy to make. Dann makes tons of teriyaki sauce, but you can totally purchase store made ones if you’d like. We basically dump the teriyaki sauce over the salmon and bake it in the oven, as per the instructions on the package. As a side, I make buttered rice with spinach stirred into it. I also often cut up an onion, courgettis and bell pepper, and pan fry them in olive oil with seasonings.

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