Favorite five easy dinner recipes

With the wedding in less than a month, things are crazy – both financially and time-wise. We are trying to eat at home more, and save money instead of eating out as often.  In light of that, I would love to share my five favorite easy dinner recipes with you! This post is going to be light on photos though, because pictures of food are difficult to make look good/appetizing.

1. Crockpot chicken chili

This is definitely one of my favorite things to make for dinner. Justin and I like to eat it with tortilla chips, like you would saltines in traditional chili.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs chicken breat
• 1 can of sweet corn
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 block of 1/3 fat cream cheese
• 1 packet ranch seasoning
• 1 TBLS ground cumin
• 1 TBLS chili powder
• 1 TBLS onion powder
• 1 TBLS garlic powder

Place chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Open can of corn and pour directly over chicken, juice and all. Open can of beans, strain and rinse before dumping into crock pot. Add in all seasonings and ranch packet. Place cream cheese on top. Cook on high for about 3-4 hours. If chicken is frozen, you may want to cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir together and shred chicken. Let cook for additional 30 minutes on low.

2. Enchiladas

This is just the way my mom made enchiladas, and it’s so simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1.5 lbs chicken breast (I like to use the tenders for this one because they are easier to cut)
• 2 cups of shredded cheese
• 6 soft taco tortilla shells (use these because the size works the best in the pan I use)
• 1 can of mild red enchilada sauce
• 1 TBLS ground cumin
• 1 TBLS chili powder
• 1 TBLS onion powder
• 1 TBLS garlic powder
• 1 TBLS olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut up chicken breast into cubes. Put in skillet with spices and olive oil to cook. When finished, place in mixing bowl with 1.5 cups of cheese. Open can of enchilada sauce and put some in the bottom of a baking dish (we use one that is smaller than 9×13, but I don’t know the size). Spoon meat and cheese into tortilla and roll, placing at edge of dish. Continue with other five tortillas. For us, the 6 we make fills the dish, and I have to squeeze that sixth one in there. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on rolled up tortillas. Top with the rest of the cheese and bake for approximately 15 minutes.

3. Crockpot sausage and potatoes

Justin loves this meal, and it is definitely easy to throw together.

Ingredients:

• 4 baking potatoes, peeled
• 2 lbs sausage (we use skinless, either Polska kielbasa or beef.)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 TBLS cajun seasoning

Cube peeled potatoes and cut up sausage. Toss into crock pot with can of soup and seasoning. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3.5 hours. Viola! Dinner is ready. 🙂

4. Homemade pizzas

This one is really simple, and doesn’t exactly require a recipe. We buy pre-made crusts, load them up with sauce and toppings, and then bake according to the directions for the crust. I have a feeling that this will change after we come back from Italy. One of our excursions on our honeymoon is to learn how to make pizza and gelato from scratch.

5. Jambalaya

Not complicated, just a bit time consuming, but my all-time favorite. 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs chicken (I like to use the tenders for this one because they are easier to cut)
• 1 lbs sausage (we use skinless, either Polska kielbasa or beef.)
• 2 cups brown rice
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 2 TBLS cajun seasoning
• 1 TBLS olive oil

Cut up chicken, sausage, and peppers. Place all in skillet with lid. Add in rice, water, olive oil and seasoning. Cook on high until boiling. Reduce to simmer and place lid on, stirring occasionally for 25 minutes. When we have this for dinner, I also make Jiffy Corn Bread muffins. For those, I just follow the directions on the box. I will mix them up after the jambalaya is simmering, and they are usually done pretty close together. 🙂

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If you’d like to book your session or wedding, you can contact me at kelsey(at)kelseyalumbaugh(dot)com. Check out my Instagram @kelseyalumbaugh ! I’ve been working curating my feed, so let me know if you see the pattern! And like me on Facebook to see the latest blog posts and wedding updates. 🙂 If you’re curious about the investment, you can check that info out here, but please feel free to reach out so we can better address your photography needs.

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