Healthy affordable weeknight meal ideas

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Even while we advocate for spending money on high-quality spices, we also recognize the value of inexpensive weeknight meals. When they get home from work or need something quick, everyone enjoys a quick, healthy dinner! One of the best things about high-quality spices and herbs is that they enhance the food's flavour without adding calories or extra effort. Here are a few suggestions for tasty, quick and affordable evening meals that use spices.

Recipe 1: Spaghetti & Chicken Meatballs with No-Cook Tomato Sauce

8 ounces Spaghetti 

4 cups of ripe Tomatoes (chopped)

1 cup chopped fresh Basil, plus more for garnish

3 Minced Cloves & Garlic 

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

16 fully cooked refrigerated Chicken Meatballs

¼ cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Follow the directions on the packaging to cook the spaghetti.

Step 2

In the meanitime, mix Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic and 2 tablespoons of oil together in a medium bowl.

Step 3

In a big pan over medium heat, warm the last tablespoon of oil. Add the meatballs and cook, stirring periodically, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they start to brown. Add the tomato mixture and turn off the heat. Remove from the fire and stir in the tomato mixture. Serve the Spaghetti topped with Parmesan and accompanied by the meatballs and sauce. If desired, add extra Basil as a garnish.

Recipe 2: Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients 

1 ½ pounds fresh or frozen large Shrimp

6 ounces whole-wheat or plain linguine

1 tablespoon Olive oil

3 Minced Cloves & Garlic

2 tablespoons dry White Wine 

1 tablespoon Butter

⅛ teaspoon Salt

1 tablespoon Chopped Parsley

Step 1

If frozen, warm the shrimp. If preferred, leave the tails on while peeling and deveining the shrimp. Shrimp should be cleaned and dried with paper towels.

Step 2

Linguine should be prepared as directed on the packaging. Warm up after draining.

Step 3

A 12-inch pan with medium-high heat should be heating oil meanwhile. After adding the garlic, stir-fry for 15 seconds. Put shrimp in. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes stirring constantly, or until shrimp turn opaque. Using a slotted spoon, move shrimp to a serving dish.

Step 4

Simmer the pan with the wine, butter and salt. To get rid of any browned parts and melt butter, mix and cook over medium heat. Sprinkle shrimp with the butter mixture. Add chives on top.

Recipe 3: Rainbow Veggie Wraps

4 Multigrain Tortillas (8 inch)

1 cup prepared Olive Hummus 

2 ounces of thinly sliced Cheddar Cheese 

1 ⅓ cups Baby Spinach

1 cup sliced red Bell Pepper

1 cup Broccoli Sprouts

1 cup thinly shredded red Cabbage

1 cup julienned Carrots

How to make;

Step 1

Spread each Tortilla with 1/4 cup hummus. Sprouts, cabbage, carrots, spinach, bell pepper and one-fourth of the Cheddar should be sprinkled on top of each.

Step 2

Slice the Multigrain Tortillas into 1-inch rounds. 

Recipe 4: Chicken Cutlets with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients; 

1 pound Chicken cutlets

¼ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Pepper Powder

½ cup slivered oil-packed sun-dried Tomatoes, plus 1 tablespoon oil from the jar

½ cup finely chopped Shallots

½ cup dry White Wine

½ cup Heavy Cream

2 tablespoons chopped Fresh Parsley

How to make; 

Step 1

Add salt and pepper to chicken with a 1/8 teaspoon each. In a big skillet, warm up the sun-dried tomato oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring once, for about 6 minutes, or until it is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reaches 165°F. Place on a platter.  

Step 2

Add onions and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. Cook for one minute while stirring. Add wine and turn the heat up to high. Cook for approximately 2 minutes, scraping off any browned parts, or until the liquid has mostly evaporated. The remaining 1/8 teaspoon of salt and pepper, the cream, and any residual chicken juices are added while the heat is reduced to medium. Simmer for 2 minutes. Turn the chicken over in the pan once more to evenly distribute the sauce. Serve the sauce- and parsley-topped chicken.

Recipe 5: Two Ingredient Margherita Pizza 

Ingredients for the dough;

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

3/4 cups Yoghurt

Ingredients for the Sauce;

400g tin chopped Tomatoes

1 tsp Dried Oregano

1 Minced Garlic & Clove

200g fresh Mozzarella torn into pieces

1 punnet of fresh Tomatoes (cut into halves)

For the topping, Fresh Basil

Salt and freshly Black Pepper Powder 

How to make; 

Steps

1. Set the oven to 200 °C.
2. To make the sauce, combine the Tomatoes, Garlic and Oregano in a pot and simmer for 10 minutes, or until it thickens. Remove from the heat. Then leave to cool.
3. Combine Flour, Baking Powder and salt in a bowl to make the dough. Yogurt should be added and combined by stirring. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly dusted work surface once it forms a rough dough and kneads to produce a smooth ball.
4. Roll out the dough in rings after dividing it into two pieces. one cm thick is enough. With the sauce and mozzarella, season with black pepper, scatter a little amount of herbs on top, and then put it back in the oven.
5. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the bases are crisp. 
6. Add more fresh Basil and fresh baby Tomatoes to your dish.

Recipe 6: Spicy Salmon Cakes

Ingredients for Patties 

One and a half cups flaked cooked salmon 

½ cup diced Red Pepper

1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced

1 tbsp olive oil

¾ cup panko-style breadcrumbs

1 large egg

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp hot Chili Powder

½ tsp Kosher Salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

Ingredients for Yogurt Dill Sauce 

1 cup whole milk yogurt

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Minced Dill

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Pinch of Salt

How to make 

Steps;

1. Chopped Onions, Red Pepper and Jalapeno Pepper should be added to a large skillet with Olive Oil and Salt at the beginning.
2. Vegetables should be sautéed for 4-5 minutes at medium heat to soften but not brown them. Remove from heat and allow it to cool just a little.
3. Place the sautéed vegetables in a big pan. Add breadcrumbs, an egg, and half of the Red Salmon. Salt, Chili Powder and Garlic Powder are combined after being added. 
4. Then, add the remaining Red Salmon and fold it in so that the cakes have lovely bits of Salmon in them.
5. 5 In a big solid pan with medium-high heat, warm 1/4 cup of oil. Divide the salmon mixture into parts of 1/4 cup. Cakes can be shaped with your hands and tightly packed to ensure that they maintain their shape.
6. Depending on how you plan to serve them, feel free to make slightly larger or smaller cakes, but don't make them any thicker than 1/2 inch.
7. The salmon cakes should be added to the hot oil in the skillet and fried for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown, on each side. So that they don't disassemble, only flip once. Repeat until all of the salmon cake mixture has been utilised, adding extra oil if the skillet is dry.

We hope that this has been beneficial to you all. Feel free to try these delectable recipes.

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