{Make This}: 10 Go To Easy Weeknight Meals.

Most days during the week we play the "what's for dinner" game. It is so easy to not plan ahead and then at the last minute just go grab something to eat out. We've really been working to avoid that "easy way out" that ends up hurting your wallet and waistline in the long run. If you're in the same situation, here are a few of our favorite "go-to easy meals" for weeknights. They aren't fancy, they aren't gourmet, but they don't take much time and they are pretty delicious!

1) Some variety of a couscous bowl. We make this with chicken and then whatever toppings we want or have on hand that night:

Mexico City Couscous

Pesto Couscous Chicken

2) We love making "fake out" stir fry:

Fake Out Easy Stir Fry

3) Another easy meal involves taking flour tortillas and creating a "pizza" in a use-what-you-have mentality.

Flour Tortilla Pizzas

4) Tacos are great because they don't take long and don't require too many ingredients:

Easy Weeknight Tacos

5) We make these burrito bowls all the time with all sorts of different variations depending on what we have or need to use up. Take cilantro-lime rice and go from there... black beans, chicken, etc.

Fake Out Chipotle Burrito Bowl

6) Spaghetti is always a good go-to when you're craving something that reminds you of home. Here's my favorite 3 ingredient recipe:

Poor Man's 3 Ingredient Spaghetti Sauce

7) Soup is always a good option for colder weekday nights. I've got a couple recipes that don't take too long and hit the spot:

Taco Soup

3 Ingredient WW Potato Soup

8) Dress up some mac and cheese. Now I know M&C is not healthy. And so this can't be an every week thing. But sometimes fancy mac is just downright easy and delicious. We've made cheeseburger mac with boxed Velveeta mac and cheese, ground beef, and rotel tomatoes.

Rotel Mac

9) I love Real Simple's recipes for weeknight meals. Here's one that we should probably make again. I loved it when we made it:

Roasted Sausage and Broccoli Rigatoni

10) Another easy go-to Chinese-esqe meal here - fake out fried rice and hibachi chicken. It's calorie laden at the restaurant but you can control the portion size and butter use at home:

Fake Out Hibachi and Fried Rice

And there you have it! Hopefully there were some ideas you can add to your recipe arsenal for when the easiest thing seems to be picking up take out. Do you have any favorite weeknight meals? Link them in the comments!

In finding recipes that don't take forever and cost a fortune...