Struggling to feed your family quickly while still keeping your meals well balanced? Read on for five 30-minute balanced weeknight meal ideas using Alexia Foods.
Families are busier than ever these days, finding it difficult to get dinner to the table on a normal weeknight. It's even more challenging to serve a quick dinner that is well balanced. So many times are we tempted to quickly make a grilled cheese sandwich, hot dog or macaroni and cheese, throw it on a kids plate and call it a night. I'm here to encourage you that with just a few stocked Alexia products in your freezer, you can be ready with a more-creative, well-balanced meal for your family even on the busiest of weeknights.
Alexia Foods offer frozen potatoes, appetizers, breads and side dishes with minimal, but distinctive, real ingredients that serve-up exceptional taste. Each of their gourmet products is made with premium, natural ingredients and creative flavor combinations, making them the perfect complement to any meal.
I gathered together five total meal ideas, including this recipe for Roasted Root Vegetable and Hot Dog Skewers (full recipe at end of post). These are extremely kid-friendly, and create a fun way for your kids to eat their veggies. Did you know sweet potatoes are a root vegetable? Alexia Sweet Potato Fries with Sea Salt is the perfect accompaniment to these skewers! You can bake both the fries and the fresh veggies on the same baking sheet, at the same temperature, for the same amount of time. Easy clean up!
After just 20 minutes in the oven, let the veggies cool for a few minutes and then thread them on the skewers with cut-up cooked hot dogs. Serve each skewer on a plate with a side of sweet potato fries, and you have a well balanced meal!
Alexia challenged me to come up with five balanced meal ideas to share with my readers, using their products. So, I have four more ideas for you within this ONE post! All of these can be put together within 30 minutes and include vegetables and/or fruit, along with your protein and starch.
First, if you're anything like me, you often make shredded barbecue pork in your crock-pot and have enough to save and freeze for later. There are so many ways to put shredded pork to use in your meals. One way we eat it is as sandwiches. Last week, I had leftover pulled pork and homemade burger buns in the freezer, along with a bag of Alexia Seasoned Waffle Cut Fries. After quickly baking the fries and heating up the pork, I was able to plate a sandwich, grapes and fries to each member in my family. Now that's a happy meal!
The next day, using the same pork leftovers, I was able to whip up a batch of Barbecue Pork Nachos, topped with Alexia Onion Rings. Too fun! I baked the onion rings first, and then used the same pan to layer my chips, tomatoes, cheese, cilantro and other favorite nachos toppings. Then, placed the rings on top and drizzled with barbecue sauce. A quick bake in the oven for 5 minutes finished this one off! Ben LOVED this meal and the creative way of serving the nachos with onion rings. They added a nice crispy and oniony twist!
My Italian Meatloaf is one of my favorite meals, and I think Ben would say the same thing. Since this takes about an hour of baking time, it's not a 30-minute meal. But, it is exceptional as leftovers and reheated quickly. Serve with a side salad and Alexia Smart Classics Straight-cut Fries (or, really, any Alexia potatoes) for a fantastic leftovers meal.
Lastly, try breakfast for dinner. Eggs, bacon and potatoes with a side of fruit is always a quick meal option! I served my family "brinner" with a layer of Alexia Tri-cut potatoes topped with scrambled eggs, melty cheese, crumbled bacon with a side of avocado and raspberries. You can season your potatoes to your liking. Don't forget the OJ! 😉
There you have it. Five easy, quick and TASTY meal ideas for your busy weeknights! Want more recipe inspiration? I encourage you to sign up for the Alexia Club 350 Newsletter.
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Roasted Root Vegetable and Hot Dog Skewers with Alexia Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- Variety of root vegetables , peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 bag frozen Alexia Sweet Potato Fries with Sea Salt
- 4 all-beef hot dogs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place root vegetables onto a mound on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Use hands to toss evenly, then spread into a single layer covering just one half of the baking sheet.
- Spread frozen fries onto the other half of the baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the root vegetables are just fork tender. Remove baking sheet from the oven and let rest until cool enough to handle, about 3-5 minutes.
- While the vegetables and fries are cooking, prepare the hot dogs how you like. (I even heat in a microwave.) Let rest until cool enough to handle, then slice into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
- Thread the vegetables and hot dog pieces on individual wooden skewers and serve with the sweet potatoes fries on the side.
Alexia frozen sides are a delicious addition to any weeknight meal! They are that little something extra to help create a balanced meal with real ingredients and an exceptional taste!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Alexia Foods. The opinions and text are all mine.
