It’s back to school month and that means we’re having LOTS of easy dinners. August is full of adjustments, and I try to rely on easy meals plus ones I know everyone in our family eats well. This makes the whirlwind of back to school season a little easier! Here are a few sheet pan dinners we love and have relied on this month.
SHEET PAN SHRIMP BOIL This one is a favorite of everyone in our house!
To save a dish to clean, I roast the potatoes on the sheet pan with olive oil and salt and pepper for about 15 minutes. Then add all the other ingredients to the sheet pan and follow the cooking instructions from that point on.
I love to serve this with a salad, and either fruit or toasted sourdough for the kids. I also substitute coconut oil for the butter to keep it dairy free.
BALSAMIC CHICKEN Another winner! When we make this, I almost always plan to make it two nights in a row and change up the veggies the second night. The flavor is incredible and the skin on the chicken is crispy and delicious.
I think my sheet pan is smaller than what would be best for this recipe. So I use one pan for the chicken and one pan for the veggies. If I don’t, there doesn’t seem to be quite enough room and the juices from the chicken tend to make the veggies a little soggy.
SHEET PAN SAUSAGE GNOCCHI This recipe could not be easier. Chop everything and toss with marinara. So flavorful! It’s always delicious with a side of toasted sourdough to soak up the sauce. I like to find the mozzarella pearls to sprinkle on top to save a step. If you can’t find those, simply cutting fresh mozzarella into small pieces works just as well.
We shop almost exclusively at Kroger for groceries, and I’m a huge fan of the mymagazine we get in the mail from them. It’s always full of practical ideas for holidays, fun treats and recipes for kids, and lots of awesome dinner ideas, and most importantly, coupons selected for you based on your shopping! The two recipes below we adapted slightly from the magazine for our family.
SHEET PAN NACHOS
1lb ground beef
1 can black beans, drained
1 bag tortilla chips(I use gluten free for half the pan and grain free for the other half. Usually Siete or Late July brand)
8 ounces shredded cheese
- Preheat oven rack in center at 400 degrees.
- In a skillet, brown ground beef. Drain and return to pan. Season the beef with 1T taco seasoning and 1/3 cup water and simmer. I use THIS recipe for taco seasoning.
- Spread chips evenly over sheet pan. Toast in oven 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle half the cheese over the chips. Top with dollops of beef and sprinkle on black beans and remaining cheese.
- Bake until cheese is melted, 5-7 minutes.
Serve with salsa, guacamole, cilantro, lime juice, sour cream
FISH TACOS
1T chili powder
1t garlic powder
1t ground cumin
1/4t cayenne pepper
1/2t kosher salt
1 orange bell pepper cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper cut into strips
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
2 T olive oil
1 lb tilapia or redfish, cut into 1 inch strips
1/2 lime
- Preheat oven rack in center to 400 degrees. Line sheet pans with foil for easy clean up!
- In a small bowl, mix chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, and salt.
- On sheet pan, drizzle peppers and onion with 1T oil. Toss with half the spice mixture. Bake for 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, toss fish with remaining 1T oil and remaining spice mixture.
- The original recipe called to push the roasted vegetables to one half of the pan and add the fish on the other half. Instead, I used two sheet pans, one for the peppers and one for the fish. After the 15 minutes, I tossed the vegetables to prevent sticking.
- Return fish and vegetables to the oven and bake until fish is opaque, about 10 minutes. Squeeze lime over the pan.
- We served ours with sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, and guacamole. I like to use Siete brand almond flour tortillas for Tom and I.
