After a long work day, believe it or not, cooking actually relaxes me. The process of putting together a meal takes my mind off my daily task lists, unanswered emails, and meetings for the next day. However, with a packed schedule, unfortunately, I only have about an hour to prep, chop and actually cook. So, these meals keep us fed on days when I need to avoid the In N Out Drive-thru and eat a decent dinner.
Chicken in Pita Pockets with Italian Salad
I would eat this meal every day if I could. I recreated this dinner a few months when I was craving one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants whose closest location is about 45 minutes away. Fast forward to today and I make this meal by getting the following ingredients at Trader Joe’s:
- For the pita pockets:
- Trader Joe’s Pita Pockets
- Trader Joe’s Garlic spread
- Trader Joe’s Peri peri sauce
- Rotisserie chicken (I buy this at Sprouts but you can get it at pretty much any grocery store…besides TJ’s *eye roll*)
- For the salad:
- Romaine lettuce
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Pitted olives
- Avocado
- Red onions
- Italian or Greek dressing (Sprouts also has a phenomenal dressing)
Ground turkey bulgogi bowls
After the pita pockets, this is my second favorite meal. It’s also the quickest meal on this list, after the pita which technically requires zero cooking. I originally found this recipe on Pinterest and then adapted it to include the ingredients below. The key to this meal is the POACHED eye and the TJ’s Soyaki. Mark my words, it will not taste the same without these two ingredients. So here’s what you’ll need to get during your next Trader Joe’s run:
- Ground turkey
- Soyaki – you’ll add this to the ground turkey once it’s almost done cooking
- Brown rice (you can do white if that’s your preference)
- Shredded carrots
- Spinach – you’ll sautee these
- Mushrooms – you’ll also sautee these
- Kimchi
- Avocado
- Eggs – definitely poach these
Honey Sriracha Chicken
You know the little chicken samples that they hand out at the mall food court that you never turn down? This recipe is that but homemade. Also, if you have an air fryer, bust it out immediately for this recipe.
I typically use chicken thighs for this meal since they tend to be moister than if you use breast. Brown rice and broccoli are also the perfect sides that keep this meal relatively healthy as well. I typically refer to this recipe, ditch the grill as recommended, and set my air fryer to 375 degrees. I then cook each side of the chicken for about 15 minutes.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken thighs or breasts(of course)
- Brown rice
- A green vegetable like broccoli or asparagus – I like to steam broccoli or roast asparagus in the oven and drizzle salt, pepper, and lemon on top once it’s done.
- For the sauce:
- Minced garlic
- Minced ginger
- Hoisin sauce
- Sriracha
- Honey
- Soy sauce
