Spring Meal Plan #6

Tested by real people, built for real weeknights

Every recipe we share with you has been cooked in a real kitchen, by a real person, on a real weeknight. Not a test kitchen, not a food stylist, not someone whose only job that day was to make dinner. That’s kind of the whole point here, we go first and only pass along the recipes that work for us, complete with tricks or tweaks we learned along the way. This week we’re leaning into one of our favorite tricks: making the carnitas early in the week which does the heavy lifting for a later day sheet pan nachos, so you’re only cooking once but eating well twice. Here’s what the week looks like.


DINNER #1: Thai Basil Chicken | Total time: 25 minutes | Serves: 2 | Take out vibes
This is one of those Pinterest Recipes that you stumble on and it just works. It’s flavorful and reminiscent of takeout, but it takes less than 30 minutes and you don’t have to leave your house. This version of thai basil chicken is fast and simple, and doesn’t leave you feeling lost like a lot of “better than takeout” recipes do. Make this one when you are craving Thai food, maybe even curl up on the couch with a show so it really gets the whole takeout vibe.

Notes:
Quantity: This recipe serves 2 because it calls for 8 oz of ground chicken. Even when I’m cooking for 2, I double the recipe for leftovers and use a pound of chicken.
Subs: You can use regular soy instead of dark and light. Regular basil works just fine if you don’t have Thai basil (I never do). I sub a jalapeño instead of a green and red chili because it’s what I usually have, but use whatever peppers you like or omit them all together.
Toppings: Use whatever you like, but Chase says the fried egg is amazing on it!