Left Continue shopping
Your Order

You have no items in your cart

MARKETPLACE
Locally made products from friends of TRGL
This Week’s Menu – Nowhere to Go and Yet No Time To Cook

This Week’s Menu – Nowhere to Go and Yet No Time To Cook

Not sure about you guys, but somehow life moved to warp speed this week. Even though we are all trapped at home, trying to do some sort of school for the girls while working myself (and trying to keep us all quiet enough for the husband’s conference calls and picked up enough that we don’t get lost under an avalanche of all-the-things) is taking all of my effort. There’s no time left to cook!

So here are four (and a half) recipes to help get you through the craziness of next week. Try to find some time this weekend (or don’t… weekends are for doing absolutely nothing now) to chop some veggies and all the meals should come together in a snap.

[[ recipeID=recipe-8lcjdido3, title=Stacked Veggie Enchiladas ]]

[[ recipeID=recipe-8lcjfenij, title=Instant Pot Shredded Chicken (and Condiment Potatoes) ]]

[[ recipeID=recipe-8lcjg53y1, title=CONDIMENT POTATOES ]]

[[ recipeID=recipe-8lcjg9dd7, title=Hearty Weeknight Instant Pot Spaghetti ]]

[[ recipeID=recipe-8lcjghq7h, title=The Best Chocolate Brownie Recipe ]]

If you are so inspired, spend a couple of hours prepping for next week and things will come together in a flash. Start the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken and Condiment Potatoes for the first night’s dinner.

While the Instant Pot is working its magic, chop the veggies for the other two recipes this week. Also, go ahead and make the Best Chocolate Brownies right now. (Pro-tip: do this after the kids go to bed and keep them in the way back of the fridge. We’ll never tell!)

From there, you can prep the Hearty Instant Pot Spaghetti in all of 10 minutes the next time. Finally, whenever you have a free 30 minutes, prep the Stacked Roasted Veggie Enchiladas. Besides the roasting time, they come together in a snap. Keep the casserole in the fridge for up to three days or store in the freezer for a real-time crunch emergency.

Posted on January 05, 2023
Older Post  
Back to Recipes
Newer Post

Stacked Veggie Enchiladas

This entrée gives you all the great flavor of delicious enchiladas with half the work – no futzy rolling up here. (With that, you only use about half the tortillas you would with traditional enchiladas, so great for my carb counters, too!)


I love roasting ALL the veggies I can find to make this casserole, but you pick your favorites of what’s on hand.


Take a few shortcuts on the way to enchilada night with this layered version filled with nutritious and delicious veggies.

Servings: 6

Keywords:

  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 1 red pepper chopped
  • 1 zucchini chopped
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped
  • 1 jalapeño minced and seeds removed
  • 2 cups red enchilada sauce
  • 6 flour tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the peppers, zucchini, and onions on large baking sheets. Drizzle with oil and toss until veggies are coated. Roast veggies for 20-25 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove veggies and let cool slightly.
  2. In a large bowl, combine roasted veggies, black beans, cumin, chili powder, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro. Stir and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Spread enchilada sauce on the bottom of a greased 9X9 square pan to cover. Add a layer of tortillas. Top with a large scoop of veggies, enchilada sauce and cheese. Repeat all layers, then finish with a layer just tortillas, sauce and cheese. Cover pan with foil.
  4. Bake enchiladas for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are bubbling. Remove enchiladas from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.

Notes

Let’s talk enchilada sauce – the amount in this recipe is kind of hit or miss. If you get canned sauce (which I totally suggest!) you’re going to have more than what the recipe calls for. Go ahead and use it all up if you want a saucier dish. If not, it freezes decently.

Speaking of sauce – like I said, canned is the name of the game in my opinion. That said, if you don’t have it on hand, you might be able to recreate this version with what you have in the pantry. I recently tried it with tomato and basil pasta sauce because that was the only tomato-based thing I had on hand. It actually was great! Chili powder covers all ills.

 

MAKE AHEAD

This casserole can be prepared in advance. After wrapping in foil, also wrap in plastic. If eating within 48 hours, keep in the fridge. If more, store in the freezer and remove to thaw 24 hours before the meal. It might make take more time in the oven to cook through.

 

MEAT LOVERS

Shredded chicken, pork or beef would be a great addition! Consider adding two cups of meat and then move up to a 9X13 pan. You’ll need more sauce with this version.

 

GLUTEN-FREE

I’m sure this would be just as tasty with corn tortillas. Watch your enchilada sauce to make sure it doesn’t have flour.

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken (and Condiment Potatoes)

A staple recipe when you're prepping for the whole week! Makes enough shredded chicken for two meals for four.

Servings: 8

Keywords:

  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 1 lb potatoes diced
  • ¼ cup condiment
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425. Cover a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Clean and dice your potatoes. In a large bowl or on your baking sheet, combine all ingredients and spread evenly on the sheet.
  3. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

Don’t worry about getting exactly 2.5lbs of chicken. The recipe works for anything between 2 and 3 lbs.

Condiment Potatoes

What are you in the mood for? Pesto? Salsa? French onion dip? Use whatever condiments you need to finish off for this quick side dish.

Servings: 4

Keywords:

  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 1 lb potatoes diced
  • ¼ cup condiment
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425. Cover a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Clean and dice your potatoes. In a large bowl or on your baking sheet, combine all ingredients and spread evenly on the sheet.
  3. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

- If your condiment already has oil in it (ex. pesto), then don’t add any more. If you’re using salsa or something without oil, then mix it in.

- Please note that the nutritional info is off on this one since I don’t know what condiment you’re using.

Hearty Weeknight Instant Pot Spaghetti

- This quick and easy recipe will be a revelation for your weeknight dinners. Chop some veggies, layer everything in the pot and walk away! A warm and comforting bowl of din-din will be ready in no time.

- Use this Instant Pot recipe as a base to create your family's favorite version of spaghetti night. Pick your veggies and pasta shape. It will all work great!

Servings: 6

Keywords:

  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 cups chopped veggies
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp oinion powder
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cups water divided
  • 24 oz tomato sauce
  • 8 oz spaghetti
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese grated
  • 2 tbsp pesto (optional)

Instructions

  1. Turn an Instant Pot on to sauté. Once heated, add the beef. Break the beef up into large pieces with a wooden spoon and season with the salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add the veggies. Cook, stirring and breaking the beef into smaller and smaller pieces, until cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
  2. Turn off the sauté function and add ½ cup of the water to the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck-on bits. Add the sauce and stir to combine well.
  3. Break the spaghetti strands in half and spread them in one or two layers over the ground beef mixture. Do not stir from this point on.
  4. Rinse the pasta sauce jar with the remaining 1½ cups water (pour the water into the jar, twist on the lid, and shake gently) and then pour the water over the pasta. Remember — no stirring here.
  5. Seal the Instant Pot and set to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
  6. Open the pressure release valve (quick release) as soon as the 8 minutes cook time is up. Open the Instant Pot and stir the spaghetti into the sauce. Turn off the Instant Pot and remove the insert from the pressure cooker. Stir in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and the optional pesto sauce. Serve with extra parm on top.

Notes

- This recipe makes a lot of sauce for how much pasta is included. I wouldn’t add more pasta to the pot though. If you really like noodles, consider making a separate pot with extra.

- Pro-tip within a pro-tip: Noodles can be frozen for future use. Toss with a little olive oil before freezing to keep them separated.

- Use your favorite veggies for this dish. I like my standards – peppers, onions, and carrots. Mushrooms would be great. I have used broccoli in this dish, but it gives the whole thing a very broccoli-y taste. Just be sure to chop into equally sized pieces.

 

VEGETARIAN

Skip the meat and add about two more cups of veggies. See the note about what kind of veggies to use above.

 

MEAT LOVERS

A mix of ground pork or Italian sausage could be a fun change up.

 

GLUTEN-FREE

I think your gluten-free noodles would die a slow, mushy death in this recipe. Instead, what about skipping the noodles (and the water) and instead putting the spaghetti sauce over fresh zoodles or even a baked potato?

 

DAIRY-FREE

Skip the parm. It’s sad, but you’ll still have a delicious dinner.

The Best Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Look no further for the recipe you'll turn to for every celebration, bad day, or moment in between. It's the perfect brownie recipe for any occasion.

I wish I could take more credit for this recipe, but 95% of it comes from the Food Network goddess, Ms. Rachel Ray. Enjoy!

Servings: 12

Keywords:

  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 8" square baking pan with parchment. Coat the parchment with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar, vanilla, salt, (optional) almond extract, and (optional) coffee grounds. Whisk until creamy, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between additions. Add the cocoa powder and flour; stir with a spoon or spatula until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour mixture into the pan.
  4. Bake the brownies for about 42-47 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool in the pan set on a wire rack.
  5. If time allows, chill in the fridge before serving. This makes the brownies really fudgy!

Notes

This is a great recipe to dress up however you see fit. Frost the brownies. Add in different kinds of chips. “Frost” with marshmallow cream and set under the broiler for a hot second. Pretty much can’t go wrong.