Midweek Meal Inspo; Taco Pasta, Chicken Strips, Stew and More

This week we have a bunch of new recipes, some not so new recipes, and some recipes that would be better if we tried them again with what we know! I really enjoyed the first one on this list, and want to have it again after being reminded of it here. We’ve also got some super easy recipes on this list too, for a quick midweek meal break. Hopefully you find some inspiration for your meals this week!

Taco Pasta

In our search for “new” and “tacos” we ended up with Taco Pasta this week, which was a very interesting meal. If you are American, think Hamburger helper, but like, homemade? This recipe had us frying up some beef, then draining it. Then in the same pot adding in a cans of chopped tomato, a can of water, and the pasta. All of this cooked down, along with a packet of your favorite taco seasoning. Once the pasta was cooked through, there wasn’t any liquid really left, and we stirred in some cheddar cheese. This really thickened it all up! Everyone enjoyed Taco Pasta, but felt it needed a creamy element; some avocado or sour cream on top would really cut through the richness! It’s something we are going to totally try again.

Chicken Strips and Fries

For a really easy mid-week meal, these chicken strips did a well! Our girls really enjoy breading stuff – no idea why. I cut some chicken breasts into stripes, and then dipped them in egg wash and some southern fried chicken breading. They were then fried in veggie oil and then baked off to finish. We served these with beets and then some BBQ seasoned fries (shake fries, cooked in the air fryer!) It was tasty and easy.

Beef Stew and Dinner Rolls

Beef stew is a really delicious, hearty, filling meal that actually doesn’t take much effort. We fried of the beef in olive oil, then set it aside. In the same pot, we added some more oil, a diced onion, some cut carrots and some potatoes, and grated garlic. Then we cooked that off for a bit before adding in a bunch of water, beef chunks and beef stock cubes, along with two bay leaves. This all cooked down, then right before serving we added some cornstarch slurry and peas before serving. I also made some bread rolls, which slightly over proofed, but were tasty!

Lasagna Soup

You’ve likely heard of Lasagna Soup before, as we’ve had it before! This is our take on lasagana soup; frying off a few of our favorite sausages and onions, then adding them to a crockpot. Then we add in a jar of our favorite tomato sauce, a jar of water, and a chicken stock cube and let this all cook together. When ready to serve, we mix up a bowl of mozzarella and ricotta with a bit of Italians seasoning. This gets topped on the soup and stirred in. We also cook up some pasta separately to add in to our bowls. It’s warm, filling, and delicious.

Duck with Orange Sauce

Now, I wasn’t 100 percent happy with our Duck with Orange Sauce dinner. Kai wanted duck, and though I’ve only cooked it once or twice, we went for it! Duck itself isn’t that challenging to cook, though the fat did lose color when I baked it for some reason. We had the duck with roasted potatoes, stuffing, and sprouts cooked with bacon. The orange sauce is where we really went not so great. The sauce was meant to be made with brown sugar, orange juice and soy, thickened with corn starch. This sauce just was bitter for some reason and not very good at all! I didn’t add any to my own plate.

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