Sometimes I get tired of turkey burgers and taco meat.  I came across a recipe for Thai Coconut meatballs in the cookbook Make Ahead Paleo and decided I needed to get out of my turkey rut.

As usual, I tweaked the recipe to suit my needs.  I used what ingredients I had on hand and I know my family likes.  Everyone loved these, even my youngest who isn’t too fond of spicy.  I ate these over green beans, but it’s excellent over rice and noodles.  The sauce is so tasty and easy to make.

These 3 ingredients made the recipe really easy.  I love the jarred mince ginger–it’s really a time suck during the week to peel and mince ginger, even though I love the taste and health benefits!

In the cookbook, the author cooks the meatballs in the slow cooker.  I wanted them done fast, so I broiled them for only 12 minutes and just poured the sauce over the meatballs afterwards.  Super fast, tasty and easy!

It is very hard to get good seafood in a land locked state such as Arizona.  So when I see wild caught seafood on sale, I try to take advantage of it! Despite lack of good seafood, our whole family does love it, even our sons.  

This Sesame Ginger Ahi Tuna is really quick to make–you could even work it in as a weeknight meal!

I marinate the fish with a mixture of tamari, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, lime juice and ginger.  I just put the ingredients in my Ninja blending cup and put the fish and marinade in a ziploc bag.

You can let it sit for as little as 30 minutes, but we prefer a couple of hours or more.

Next, my husband grills this rare to medium rare. We do like sushi around here!  But if you are squeamish about this, feel free to grill longer, but I feel it takes away some of the flavor.  

While the ahi is marinating,  I prepared roasted broccoli and steamed brown rice.  I seasoned the broccoli with the same flavors as the...

I have experimented with several shredded chicken recipes in my slow cooker and this by far is the easiest.  This slow cooker green chile shredded chicken is a favorite of both my husband and kids.  It is so versatile, you can eat it in a burrito bowl, burrito, tacos, on a salad or just plain with a scoop of guacamole!  There are just 6 ingredients and the prep time literally takes 10 minutes, tops.

MCCORMICK MARINADE PACKETS FOR THE WIN!

I used bone in half chicken breasts.  I have found that this cut of chicken is by far the most inexpensive and because it’s bone in and skin on, turns out really tender and moist in the slow cooker.  The key to super flavorful and tender chicken is marinating it the night before. I love these McCormick marinade packets—we always have them on hand.  They are a must for grilling!

I mix the marinade directly in an extra large Ziploc bag.  I throw the marinade packet, the juice of two limes and about...

I recently discovered that my two boys love bok choy.  So I will take advantage of any opportunity for them to eat more vegetables!  This Asian ground turkey stir fry comes together in about 20 minutes.

Stir fries are a quick and easy way to pair lean protein and vegetables for an easy weeknight meal.  

The last time I was at Trader Joe’s I ran across washed baby bok choy and it immediately went into my cart.  Being pre washed saves down on prep time, which is always a plus in my book. I paired the bok choy with zucchini and onion along with a package of ground turkey breast I had in the fridge.

Store bought stir fry sauces are laden with preservatives, sodium and sugar.  Whipping one up at home really is simple.

I combined soy sauce, coconut aminos, chicken broth, Sambal Oelek, garlic, jarred minced ginger (another time saver), rice vinegar, Chinese 5 spice powder and corn starch in my Ninja blending cup, blended it for 30 seconds and I was done!...

If you have tried any of my recipes, you know our family has a thing for Mexican food.  Here in Arizona, we are so close to the Mexican border and are spoiled with amazing, authentic Mexican food.  My husband and I enjoy Baja style Mexican food the most, and this shrimp ceviche is a perfect example of fresh ingredients paired with seafood.  What’s even better is you don’t have turn on your oven to create this low calorie meal!

What we like best about Baja style Mexican food is it tends to be lighter and healthier.  Mexican food can get really heavy and calorie laden with rich sauces, oodles of cheese and high fat cuts of meat.  Baja style puts an emphasis on fresh vegetables and seafood.

I get to take a break from the kitchen with this recipe, as it’s my husband Dean’s specialty!  A lot of chopping of vegetables is required, so the whole family can get involved to make it go faster.

We like to eat this shrimp ceviche with corn...