Sunday Meal Planning {Quick Dinner Recipes}

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In this week’s Sunday Meal Planning Series we are featuring a quick solution for a weekday dinner. With this series we hope to help you find a few great meals that you can cook for your family. Be sure to check back on Sundays for more meal planning ideas.  

Blue Cheese Ritz Cracker Chicken and Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries recipes are my go-tos for weekday meals, especially when we need food quickly.

photo - chicken - realI was introduced to the simple Blue Cheese Ritz Cracker Chicken recipe by a friend whose mother used to make it every Sunday growing up. The deliciousness comes from Ritz crackers and blue cheese dressing – so if you are a fan of blue cheese dressing, this recipe is for you!

blue cheese chicken ingredients - realBlue Cheese Ritz Cracker Chicken
1 jar of blue cheese dressing (I use Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese)
2 rolls of Ritz crackers
4 raw chicken breasts – thinly sliced

Take an unopened roll sleeve of Ritz crackers and crush gently with hands. Open the sleeve and pour crackers into a bowl. Repeat with the second roll of Ritz crackers.

Pour the entire jar of blue cheese dressing into another mixing bowl.

Clean chicken breasts, removing any excess fat. Drench each breast into blue cheese dressing, and then roll them in the crushed Ritz crackers. Place the chicken on a greased glass baking pan. Bake uncovered for 30 min at 350 degrees. Enjoy! 

 

brussel sprouts end-realFor the record, I am typically Not.A.Fan. of Brussels sprouts. However, this recipe is our shameless attempt at replicating the culinary brussel sprout delight side dish that my husband and I enjoyed at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Las Vegas last year – and I could devour the whole pan! The prep takes less than 10 minutes, but tastes like you spent an hour in the kitchen.

brussel sprout ingredientsRoasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries
1 bag of shaved Brussels sprouts (available at Trader Joe’s)
2 – 3 strips of turkey or regular bacon (cooked and crumbled)
Handful of dried cranberries
Handful of shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Garlic powder (just a few sprinkles)
Salt & pepper (to taste)

Pre-heat oven to Broil. Pour the bag of shaved Brussels sprouts into a foil-lined pan. Sprinkle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to coat lightly, and mix. Place in oven and roast for 10-15 min, stirring halfway. The Brussels sprouts should have a little roasted black char on top – just a bit, not too much – when you remove them from the oven.

Cook bacon using package directions and crumble into pieces. Add to roasted Brussels sprouts and mix in some cranberries. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder and top off with a little shredded Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Be sure and check out the other recipes in our Sunday Meal Planning series!