4 Easy Meal Ideas

White Chicken Chili topped with mozzarella cheese

White chicken chili is a tasty and easy one pot meal idea. Steps 1 and 2-5 match the instructions on the back of the White Chicken Chili seasoning mix that I like to use. The ingredients in steps 2 and 6-11 are optional.

Click here to see the ingredients I used if that helps.

1. Heat a large pot and add 1 tablespoon of oil.
2. Add 1/2 of a large white onion (diced). Saute the onions for a few minutes until they’re browned and take on a translucent sheen.
3. Add 5-6 generous strips of chicken tenderloin that has been cut into small pieces. Stir and cook with onions until browned.
4. Add 1 can of undrained cannellini beans (or other white beans of your choice) to the pot and stir.
5. Add 1 cup water. Turn up heat until it is boiling then lower the heat for a slower simmer.
6. Add diced celery to the pot and stir. I used 4 celery stalks this time but sometimes I use more.
7. Add 6 diced sweet peppers to the pot and stir.
8. Add potatoes cut into smaller pieces to ensure they do not take too long to cook. I used 12 small potatoes this time since that’s what I had on hand.
9. Add 1 diced roma tomato or 1/4 of a large beefsteak tomato to the pot.
10. Add a 12 oz bag of frozen corn, stir and wait until everything in the pot boils.
11. Lastly, add one package of the White Chicken Chili seasoning mix to the pot and stir to mix everything well. (If you prefer a stronger taste you may want to use another package of the seasoning mix especially if you added all of the above ingredients.) Continue cooking on a low simmer until the potatoes have softened. If it looks like a very chunky mixture that’s okay because it should become a little bit soupy from all of the additional vegetables simmering in the pot.
12. Serve alone or with rice, shredded mozzarella cheese and tortilla chips (we love these Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips). You can also serve it topped with slices of avocado which is how we ate the leftovers the next day.

Ham (Spam) Egg Drop Soup

My mom often made this soup with ham when we were growing up. Here are the simplified steps to a very simple type of egg drop soup if you’re pressed for time and want to put together a simple but enjoyable meal.

Click here to watch the steps on TikTok.

1. Bring 4 cups of water to boil. I am using a 2 1/2 quart pot.
2. Add the cubed ham (I used one 12 oz can of SPAM lite) and corn (I used one 12 oz package of frozen corn).
3. Once the contents of the pot come to a boil you can lower the heat to medium low.
4. Pour 3 beaten eggs very slowly into the pot while maintaining a constant stirring motion the entire time. The stirring motion and the gentle pour will create the ‘egg drops’. Again, it’s important to make sure that you’re using a lower heat setting as instructed in Step 3 or otherwise a strong boil will disrupt this step.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of corn starch in a bowl and mix with 1 cup of cold water. (Never add dry corn starch directly to hot soup as that will result in clumps.) Mix well and pour slowly into the pot while maintaining a stirring motion. You do not want the mixture to clump and it should thicken up the soup a bit. 
6. Add scallions (also known as green onions), salt, white and/or black pepper to taste. You can also add this afterwards if anyone in your household does not like scallions or if they’re sensitive to sodium or the slight heat from black pepper. I served the soup with some leftover rice which softened up nicely due to the freshly cooked soup.

Chicken Stir Fry with Sweet Peppers and French Beans

Steps

1. 1Cut 1 generous size chicken breast into thin pieces/strips. Click here to see the rest of the chicken that I cut and set aside for later use.
2. Wash, de-seed and cut 6 small sweet (red) peppers into strips.
3. Wash and cut 1/2 pound of french/string beans (or substitute with broccoli) and boil in water for 2-3 minutes. Drain immediately to ensure that they are not overcooked. Stir fry vegetables should remain crisp.
4. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a wok.
5. Add chicken and enough corn starch to coat the chicken lightly. Saute on high heat.
6. Add 4 cloves of minced garlic. Mix and saute with chicken until it’s cooked (not pink). It should take at least 5 minutes on high heat.
7. Add your vegetables to the wok. I added the sweet peppers first and mixed and sauteed for about another 2 minutes before I added the green beans which I also sauteed for 2 minutes.
8. Add salt and lite soy sauce to taste.

Click here to watch the steps 4-8 on TikTok.

Japanese Curry with beef made with S&B Golden Curry (mild)

If you miss curry served at Japanese restaurants S&B Curry makes my favorite curry mix. The first time I had this curry was when one of my college roommates made it for dinner and I’ve been hooked ever since. They even provide quick and easy preparation instructions on the back of the box and you can add as many or as little ingredients. I usually make it with beef stew meat, carrots, potatoes and onions but it tastes just as good with chicken, chicken wings, etc.

Cheesecake Factory Ice Cream

Cheesecake Factory launched their ice cream line in February and I was happy to come across them in the frozen aisle at Target ($4.99 for 14 oz). We only tried these birthday cake and cookies & cream flavors both of which were very creamy and satisfying.

Enjoy!