One of the hardest things about being an outdoor family photographer is that my husband and I are often like ships passing in the night. Most of my outdoor photo sessions take place during golden hour, that last hour of beautiful, soft light before sunset. This means that anytime I have a photo session, my husband rushes home from work and I then rush out the door. This doesn’t leave a lot of time for dinner prep! This year, on a whim, I sent out an email to my mailing list with my top 5 weeknight recipes. It was one of the most well-received emails I have ever sent! Without further adieu, here are those 5 favorite weeknight meals that even my kids love.

5 Favorite Weeknight Meals

tortellini vegetable soup

There are so many variations of tortellini soup out in the world. I usually don’t use a recipe, but here’s a similar one. I always have a package of fresh tortellini in my freezer for this easy meal. Pair it with whatever veggies you have on hand, a couple cans of beans, and some ground turkey. We have also made this with ground beef and ground pork, if your family has a preference. We love using gigante or cannelini beans but have also used kidney or black eyed peas.

sheet pan chicken pitas

My kids (and I!) are obsessed with this dinner! Throw some peppers, onions, and chicken on a sheet pan. Stuff into pitas and serve with tzatziki (we love the trader joe’s one). I usually throw another sheet pan of cauliflower in to roast at the same time for the side dish. The best part of this, aside from the taste, is that the clean-up is literally only 1-2 sheet pans. It doesn’t get better than that!

Sheet Pan Pizza

Grab a dough from the store (you’ll usually find this either in the deli/bakery area or in the freezer section) and this can be topped with literally anything left in your fridge. Our favorite toppings: pesto, goat cheese, pepperoni, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, sausage, etc. Set your oven on 400-450 and bake for around 15 minutes…until it looks brown and bubbly. Here’s a basic recipe.

Crockpot Carnitas

This recipe takes a little pre-planning but if you have 10 minutes to throw this into the crockpot, the hands on time before dinner is short. We serve with rice, lime wedges, cilantro, pico, and a vegetable of your choice. My kids love asparagus, which can be thrown onto a sheet pan and cooked at the same time that you’re finishing off the pork. I always try to use the oven for everything if I am cooking in it anyways!

Meatballs

While I don’t usually use a recipe to make my homemade meatballs, this one is very close to what I throw together. Oven meatballs take ~20 minutes to be done and about 3-5 minutes to throw together in a bowl. Pair with spaghetti and a favorite vegetable the first night. I always make a double batch and we do meatball subs with oven fries and another vegetable the following night!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our 5 favorite weeknight meals. You’ll have to come back and let me know if you try one!