I know you’re busy…and maybe out of dinner ideas. (Feels like a constant battle, right?)
So I thought I’d keep it simple this week and do something I do for my private clients all the time: Pull a few recipes from my recipe stash and pass them along to you for inspiration.
They’re simple, take 30 minutes or less (except one, but it’s worth it!), and are full of fresh, spring ingredients likely to be at your local farmer’s market now.
(I’ve also shared my secret weapon for organizing the recipes I find online so they’re always at my fingertips – literally – when I need some inspiration of my own.)
Swing by the market on your way home tonight, and enjoy a new spring dish.
I’ve got you covered.
Main Dishes
For the first two recipes, substitute fava beans with frozen lima beans or peas if you don’t feel like dealing with work intensive favas. (They’re totally worth it if you have the extra time, though!)
Quinoa Paella with Spring Vegetables – Huffington Post (40 minutes)
This one makes great leftovers, so make sure to double – or triple! – the recipe. It only makes 2 servings.
Omelette with Spring Greens and Beans – Huffington Post (15 minutes)
Who says you can’t have eggs for dinner? Easiest thing in the world…and a great quick meal at any time of day. Oh, and by the way: Ignore the “omega-3” thing in this recipe. Use eggs. Plain and simple eggs. All of them have omega-3s in them, even if the package doesn’t scream it out. (Gotta love marketing. 😉
Herbed Fish in a Packet – Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites (about 30 minutes)
Versions of this recipe show up in a lot of the Moosewood cookbooks, including my favorite. Get creative with herbs and different veggies. You can really make this whatever you want with whatever you have on hand.
Sides
Fennel, Mango, and Walnut Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette – Dalch Wellness (10 minutes)
Had to put one of my own in here too. 🙂 It’s a great way to use one of my favorite spring veggies, fennel bulbs.
Sauteed Mustard Greens – SimplyRecipes.com (10 minutes)
Add some beans to make this one a full meal. Or just get your greens on as a side dish.
My Secret Recipe-Saving-and-Organizing Weapon
Evernote. A genius cloud application that let’s you clip things directly from your browser (or create text, photo, and audio notes on the go) and view them on any of your linked devices. Create a recipes “notebook,” use tags to add more details (like vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, asparagus, cookie, smoothie, etc.), and never be without a meal idea again. I use it for EVERYTHING, not just recipes. I can’t recommend it highly enough for organizing your life…and banishing those little scraps of notepaper forever.
Where do you find your best dinner ideas? Share your ideas in the comments.
xoxo,
