I love dinner in a bowl. It follows such a basic formula: easy to cook protein + quick cooking carb + veggies you can sautee + some sort of fat based topping. There are a million ways you can interpret it, and many of them fall under what I like to call “lazy girl cooking” where you can use mostly premade ingredients, toss them in a bowl and be done with minimal effort.
Scroll for the recipes of some of my favorite combos using Italian, Asian, Indian flavors and more! I’ve also included tips on how to make them even even easier with some #lazygirlcooking modifications.
Italian: Cheesy Chicken Pasta with Red Sauce
makes: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 box banza rotini (8oz dry pasta)
2 small onions, diced
2 cups mushrooms, diced
2 tsp garlic salt
1 ¼ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup nutritional yeast
16 oz cooked chicken thighs
1 T olive oil
Optional toppings:
Goat cheese
Broccoli sprouts
Instructions:
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, saute the veggies with the olive oil, garlic salt, and tomato sauce in a large pan until the mushrooms brown and onions are translucent.
- Add in the pasta and chicken thighs and mix thoroughly.
- Top with goat cheese and sprouts and enjoy!
Make it #lazygirlcooking: purchase a rotisserie chicken or pre cooked chicken breast.
Breakfast for Dinner: Sausage Potato Veggie Bowl
makes: 4 servings
Ingredients:
2-3 large sweet potatoes
4-6 pre-cooked sausage links (I like Trader Joes Chicken Apple Sausage)
4 cups baby kale
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 tsp garlic salt
1 T avocado oil
Optional: fry an egg and put it on top!
Instructions:
- Cube the sweet potatoes and toss them in half the oil. Roast them in the oven on 400 for 40 minutes, mixing halfway through.
- Slice the sausage into equal sized pieces and add it in with the potatoes at the 20 minute mark. Try to make the sausage pieces similar size to the potatoes (large chunks).
- Sautee baby kale in the other half of the oil until wilted. Add cherry tomatoes in at the end to heat up.
- Remove potatoes and sausage from the oven and add them to the sautee pan to mix everything together for 1-2 minutes.
- Optional: fry an egg to add on top of each bowl!
Make it #lazygirlcooking: buy pre-cooked sweet potato, microwave the sausage and veggies and add it all together in two minutes!
Asian: Pork and Bok Choy Rice Bowls
makes: 3 servings
Ingredients:
1 red onion, small dice
3 large carrots, shredded (I just used the peeler to shred them)
2 radishes sliced thin
Large handful of bok choy or other greens, shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce or coconut aminos
1.5 cups cooked rice
12 ounces cooked, shredded pork (I used a slow cooker for this)
3 eggs
Instructions:
- Saute the onions in a large pan with olive oil until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the radish and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add the carrots in and stir while pouring the soy sauce/aminos over the mixture. Cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the greens and rice, stirring the mixture until well combined.
- Stir in your pork
- Crack your eggs into the mix and stir until the egg goes from runny and clear to a scrambled egg texture.
Make it #lazygirlcooking: buy precooked and preshredded pork and prechopped carrots and onion.
Mexican: Steak Burrito Bowls
makes: 1 serving
(I bulk prep this stuff so multiply it by 4-5 for however many days you wanna eat it) or however many members of your family there are!)
Ingredients:
Bowl:
1/2 cup black beans (I used a crockpot to cook from dry)
1/2 cup precooked brown rice (I used a rice cooker)
1 cup chopped peppers and onions
3 oz cooked steak
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp avocado oil
Toppings:
1/2 avocado
Garlic, salt, and pepper
Jarred or homemade salsa
Instructions:
- Sautee the peppers and onions in the oil on medium heat for 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once they are cooked (they appear softer, onions translucent) add in the rice, beans, spices and stir. Cook 2-3 minutes, covered.
- While it’s cooking, mash the avocado with the garlic, salt, and pepper to make some quick homemade guac.
- Spoon your rice mixture into a bowl and top with guacamole, salsa, and beef if you desire. If you’re not a big meat eater, no problem: beans + rice make a complete protein!
Make it #lazygirlcooking: use minute rice and canned black beans.
Indian: Coconut Chickpea Curry
makes: 6 servings
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, diced
5 cups spinach
1 can coconut milk
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 T olive oil
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic
2 cups cooked rice (I used jasmine because we had it on hand)
Instructions:
- Cook rice separately in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to package instructions.
- Sautee the onions in olive oil over medium heat 1-2 minutes. Add in frozen vegetables (do not microwave, just add them frozen!) and sautee until onions are clear and vegetables appear cooked through.
- Add the chickpeas, coconut milk, and spices and stir thoroughly.
- Allow mixture to simmer on low for about 20 minutes
- Add rice in, mix well and enjoy! This recipe makes about 3-4 servings for me.
Make it #lazygirlcooking: use minute rice and buy pre chopped onions.
