It’s December, the most wonderful time of the year and also the busiest time of year for most of us. Coming home from work and realizing you still have to spend time cooking dinner may be the least exciting part of your day. You think about how you want to get in as many healthy meals as possible when you can because you know you are going to splurge on those holiday meals and treats, but you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. Well, don’t worry because this year I have you covered. I decided to put together a few of my favorite week night meals that will keep you feeling healthy and save you time in the kitchen.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts

• 2 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 package Frozen Pepper Medley

• 2 cans Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis

• 1 jar Salsa Verde

• Optional for toppings: avocado, shredded cheese, greek yogurt, cilantro

How to Make:

1. Place all of the ingredients into a crockpot and set on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours

2. Just before you are ready to eat, take out the chicken breasts and shred them

3. Add the shredded chicken back into the crockpot and stir together.

4. Serve it up and add your toppings such as greek yogurt, shredded cheese, avocado, and cilantro.

Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes and Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts

• 1 box Banza Chickpea Pasta

• 2-3 tbsp Pesto Sauce

• 1 cup Cherry tomatoes, diced

• Optional: fresh parmesan cheese for topping

How to Make:

1. Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta as instructed on the box.

2. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper the cook. I love to cook chicken in our air fryer (380 degrees for about 15 minutes), but if you do not have an air fryer you can cook it on the stove top in a pan, bake it in the oven, or grill it.

3. While those cook, cut the cherry tomatoes.

4. Once the pasta and chicken are cooked it is time to assemble your dish.

5. In a large bowl mix the pasta and the pesto sauce until it is covered completely. Then cut the chicken breasts and place on top. finally put the cherry tomatoes around your dish and it is ready to eat.

6. Optional: top with fresh parmesan cheese.

Dill Salad

Ingredients:

• Premixed Salad Dill-icious (I bought this mix from Target)

• 2 Dill Pickles, cut into small cubes

• 1/2 cup Banana Peppers, diced

• 1/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, diced

• 1 Cucumber, diced

• 1 Tomato, diced

• 1/2 cup Salad Topper (this is a mixture of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries, I bought this at Costco but you can also find it on Amazon)

• 1/2 block of Pepper Jack Cheese, cubed

• 2 cups Turkey (I used leftover Thanksgiving turkey for mine, but you can use roasted turkey or chicken breasts, whichever is easier and on hand)

How to Make:

1. Mix the premixed salad with the provided bag of croutons.

2. Add in the pickles, banana peppers, sun-died tomatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, pepper jack cheese and salad topper.

3. Next, add the Turkey.

4. Stir all of this together and then lastly add in about 1/2 of the provided Dill Ranch Dressing from the premixed salad bag.

Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Lean Ground Turkey

• 1 Poblano Pepper, diced

• 1 Yellow Onion, diced

• 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

• 1 28oz can Diced Tomatoes

• 32 oz Chicken Broth, low sodium

• 2 cloves Garlic, minced

• 1 can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 can White Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 6oz can Tomato Paste

• 3 tbsp Cumin

• 3 tbsp Chili Powder

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• Optional for serving: avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro, greek yogurt, jalapeno

How to Make:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over high heat.

2. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, poblano pepper, red bell pepper, and ground turkey

3. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized and the turkey is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

4. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute

5. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper

6. Add all of the beans, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes

7. Pour in the chicken broth, add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil

8. Cover and reduce the heat to low

9. Cook 20 minutes minimum before serving

10. Optional toppings for serving: cilantro, avocado, shredded cheese, jalapeno, greek yogurt.