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Welcome to back-to-school season! Isn’t it great? Ah, breathe it in; you can practically smell the high blood pressure. And do you hear that? Listen closely; it’s the meditation app playing from the car behind you in the morning drop-off lane at school. With keeping up with after-school activities and making time to help the kiddos with homework the second you get home from your full-time job, carving out hours of your day to make a complicated meal every weeknight for the family is damn near impossible. But with the help of Ina Garten’s easy weeknight dinner recipes, you can crank out a meal in 30 to 45 minutes and it’ll taste great.
Garten, for those who may not know, is the Food Network queen. She’s equal parts bubbly and resourceful, and she has — hands down — the best recipes, ranging from quick-and-easy yet flavorful dishes to more advanced recipes that’ll impress even the pickiest of guests. Garten is so popular, in fact, that even celebrities like Jennifer Garner, Meghan Markle and Taylor Swift are mega-fans.
She may be a fancy Hampton’s gal, but practical, delicious meals are the Barefoot Contessa’s forte. Some of Ina Garten’s weeknight dinner recipes include:
- 15-Minute Meals: puff pastry hot dogs
- One-Pan Meals: corn chowder
- Low-Calorie Meals: turkey meatloaf
- High-Protein Dishes: parmesan chicken
- Veggie-Packed Recipes: cherry tomato pasta
So, don’t even break a sweat over what you’ll cook for dinner on weeknights this school year. Instead, turn to these quick-and-easy Ina Garten recipes.
Parmesan Chicken
If you’ve been wanting to break out of your chicken nugget rut, try making Ina Garten’s parmesan chicken instead. It’s crispy, cheesy, and close enough to nuggets to be kid-friendly, while still tasting a whole lot better for the grown-ups’ sake.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Hot Dogs in Puff Pastry
Leave it to the Barefoot Contessa to put a spin on hot dogs that will make the adults in the house as excited about tube steaks for dinner as the kids. Store-bought puff pastry does the heavy lifting here.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Chicken Ramen Noodle Soup
You can feel good about serving ramen for dinner when you ditch the overly-salty seasoning packet and add the instant noodles to a simple homemade chicken soup that’s got a few extra veggies added. You can make Garten’s recipe even easier by using rotisserie chicken instead of baking your own.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Fresh Cherry Tomato Pasta
If your kids are anything like ours, they seem to think cherry tomatoes are just as worthy of devouring as blueberries and grapes are. Ina Garten’s no-cook cherry tomato sauce is perfect for tomato-loving kids, and the angel hair pasta it’s tossed with cooks up in just minutes.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Turkey Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a classic for a reason — everyone likes it. Savory, tender, and lighter than beef meatloaf, Ina Garten’s easy turkey meatloaf recipe is bound to become a family favorite.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Smashburgers with Onions
Smashburgers are delicious, but you can save big money by making them at home rather than ordering them from your local smashburger place. If your kids don’t like onions, you can leave them off, but Garten’s caramelized red onions are surprisingly mild and sweet.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Chicken Pot Pie
Ina Garten’s chicken pot pie recipe already uses one time-saving hack — it has a crust made from store-bought frozen puff pastry. But you can make the recipe even easier by using rotisserie chicken meat instead of roasting it yourself.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Cheddar Corn Chowder
Corn seems to be one of those vegetables that pretty much every kid likes, and who can say no to cheddar cheese? This family-friendly cheesy corn chowder recipe is a great way for your kids to practice their soup spoon slurping skills, and the crumbled bacon on top of each bowl will convince even picky eaters to have “just a taste.”
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Lemon Capellini
Behold, the 15-minute recipe that’ll save you on your busiest weeknight: lemon capellini. Sure, it looks unassuming and flavorless, but the kids — and you — will be pleasantly surprised. They’re buttery, lemony, and perfect for kids who can’t get enough spaghetti.
Get the recipe from Food Network.
Mac N Cheese
Making mac ‘n’ cheese from scratch may seem intimidating, but use Garten’s fan-favorite recipe, and you’ll be surprised at how simple it actually is. Once you’ve mixed your cooked pasta with the cheese sauce, you can serve it as-is for the kids, or add sliced tomatoes and butter-drenched bread crumbs atop. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, and voilà! You’ve officially leveled up.
Get the recipe from Food Network.
Roasted Salmon Tacos
These salmon tacos from Ina Garten’s Cooking for Jeffrey are an incredibly easy way to give the kiddos what they want (tacos for dinner), but with a more sophisticated and healthy spin. If your kids already like fish sticks and tuna sandwiches, this is a great next step.
Get the recipe from Food Network.
Weeknight Bolognese
Garten found a way to make an easy bolognese recipe that doesn’t take all day to cook. This 30-minute dinner wil be loved by the whole fam, and if the kids start to fuss over “bolognese,” just tell ’em it’s “meat sauce.”
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Lemon Chicken Breasts
The kitchen will never smell better than after you’ve baked juicy chicken breasts for 30 to 40 minutes in a mixture of zesty lemon juice, white wine, minced garlic and herbs, like dried oregano and fresh thyme leaves.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Broccoli with Bow Ties & Peas
This broccoli with bow ties and peas dish may look simple and effortless — and that’s because it is. But when it comes to taste, it’ll exceed expectations. In just over 35 minutes, you’ll have heaping bowls of equal parts broccoli and bow tie pasta, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Get the recipe from Barefoot Contessa.
Spicy Turkey Meatballs & Spaghetti
Who doesn’t love spaghetti for dinner? In true Garten fashion, though, this isn’t your average spaghetti-and-meatballs dish. You can adjust the spice of the turkey meatballs up or down depending on your family’s preferences, and any extra meatballs freeze beautifully.
Get the recipe from Food Network.
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