I’m back with another round of recipes that can be on the table in 20 minutes (#20tothetable)! This time I’m featuring 3 meals that don’t require an oven in those 20 minutes – and they all use similar ingredients which makes grocery shopping a little easier for you.
Here are three 20 minute meals that I’ve made in the last two weeks!
1: Deluxe Chicken Salads
Prep Required: Preheat the oven to 375. Place bone-in chicken breasts in a roasting pan or dish and drizzle olive oil on the skin. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and Italian seasoning. Roast until cooked through, about an hour. After the chicken cools, remove from the bone and chop the meat into bite sized pieces.
Store 1 cup portions in the fridge or in freezer bags. This makes the best chicken for almost any recipe, but you can always use pre-cooked chicken from the deli section! If you like hard boiled eggs, you can also meal prep those on the weekend for this salad.
20 Minutes Before: Chop up all the veggies you want in your salad – I used cucumber, avocado and tomatoes. In large bowls or plates, layer the lettuce, chicken, veggies and toppings. Add the dressing and you’re done! This is such a refreshing supper on hot days.
Options for Leftovers: See the next recipe!
2: Chicken Quesadillas
Prep Required: You’ll need cooked chicken from the recipe above, or pre-cooked chicken from the deli section. I like Aldi’s Southwest Grilled Chicken for this recipe if I don’t have any cooked chicken on hand.
20 Minutes Before: Pull the ingredients out of the fridge: tortillas, chicken and shredded cheese. Set a large skillet on medium heat and spray with Pam. Assemble the quesadillas right in the pan and cook a couple minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are golden.
While the quesadillas are cooking, prep the toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, avocado/guac, sour cream or whatever else you like. For summer meals I serve these with chips & salsa and fresh fruit.
Options for Leftovers: We never have leftover quesadillas, but they can be reheated for lunches!
3: Steak and Baked Potatoes
Prep Required: The night before, scrub baking potatoes and store in the fridge. Set out foil and your slow cooker. In the morning, wrap the potatoes in foil, pierce on both sides and place in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours. They’ll be fully cooked by supper (and probably earlier than that – you can keep them warm in the slow cooker until you need them). Optional – marinate steak in a ziplock bag in your fridge.
20 Minutes Before: Pull the steaks out of the fridge. Gather everything your grill master needs and send him out to do his magic. Make salads – you can keep this really simple with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, good croutons and a sprinkle of shaved parmesan cheese. Get the potatoes ready and set out butter/sour cream/cheese toppings.
Thank your grill master for standing out in the heat and enjoy your steaks!
You might consider this one “cheating” because it includes my husband doing the grilling while I prep everything else in the kitchen. If you’re doing this one on your own, it might take a little longer so I recommend using a salad kit or chopping the salad ingredients in the morning. Good luck! 🙂
Options for Leftovers: Again, we never have leftover steak…but if you do, you could easily swap the steak for the chicken in the first two recipes.
I’m very excited to be collaborating with my favorite blogger – my Mom has two “swimmingly” delicious 20 minute supper ideas on her blog today, too! Click here to see the “reel” good recipes she’s sharing. 🙂
If you have some great 20 minute meals, I ‘d love to hear about them! Use the hashtag #20tothetable on Instagram and I’ll share your ideas here next month. Let’s eat! 🙂
Come Home For Comfort 
My favorite meal option for leftover steak (we often have some left if we purposely grill extra) is fajitas! So quick and yummy! Saute some sweet onion and a couple varieties of peppers in olive oil with half a packet or so of taco or fajita seasoning. When it is caramelized and tender, throw in the leftover steak, sliced thinly – it only takes a couple minutes to heat through the steak because it’s already cooked. Serve on flour tortillas with sour cream and salsa!
LikeLike
Yes!! That sounds delicious!
LikeLike
My family just requested quesadillas so I need to put them on the menu next week. I love that you can make such quick dinners if you take the time to prep the meat in advance. I’ve got to give that crock pot potato trick a try. I need to use my crock pot more often than I do to keep the kitchen cool in the Summer.
LikeLike
I use my crock pot often in the summer, especially when I’m home all day. It really helps to keep the kitchen cool!
LikeLike
All three of these recipes are some of my favorite types of food! It’s been along time since I’ve done potatoes in the crockpot; I’m going to have to do that again this summer! Your puns were hook line and sinker! 😉
LikeLike
You can’t go wrong with steak, Mexican and good salads! 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve got to try doing the baked potatoes in the crock pot! What a great idea! And I love that you called the salad “delux”. Let’s us know it’s a dinner in and of itself! 😁
LikeLike
Crock pot potatoes are also great for homemade potato soup, in the winter. 🙂 My husband loves deluxe salads, even though he’s a major meat eater. If I load his up with hard boiled eggs, chicken and bacon, he’s a happy camper. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person