Episode 34

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Published on:

25th Aug 2026

A Guide to Easy Weeknight Dinners

In this episode of Everyday Cooks Recipe Club, Stephanie and Kelly talk about easy weeknight dinners. Back to school season is here and that means busier schedules. We did some research to make your life easier. We outline four core requirements every meal must meet to make your dinner easy, delicious and stress free, not to mention tasty! We also have links below for 20 recipe ideas for easy weeknight dinners.

In this episode, we talk about:

  • Planning is the first step to successful weeknight dinners
  • Figure out your desired meals, see what is in your pantry and make your grocery list
  • Splurge for grocery delivery - you are worth it!
  • For the day of, make sure you have all the ingredients ready for your meal, including your defrosted meat
  • Are there shortcuts you can utilize like canned or jarred foods or dried spices
  • Start the longest to cook parts of the meal first so everything is ready at the same time
  • See if you can you ingredient prep over the weekend to help weeknight meals come together quicker
  • The “Winning Formula” - 4 components that make meals quick and easy
  • Crispy Pork Noodles (pound of ground pork, ramen noodles)
  • Smashed Meatball Subs (meatball mixture spread on bread, sauce and cheese)
  • Shrimp and zucchini dish (A Stephanie original recipe)
  • Ground turkey, asparagus and pasta (A Stephanie original recipe)

Resources & Links

AllRecipes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWqYFp8rf2Y

Healthy Elizabeth

15 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvkQeww3KjY

30 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32C2Y8hKzZE

Other ideas

https://youtube.com/shorts/dPrr47droD4?is=fe5qBUjkKeg4F_gE

https://youtube.com/shorts/H1Pi1OjQlgg?is=nLiqgJ_VSJPaXDwv

https://youtube.com/shorts/_SaMoo7auQ0?is=lkgJlx44tmhp3x6q

https://youtube.com/shorts/RoENgvU6GkQ?is=2q6T5l_M_mETr3-v

Previous Episode

Homemade Meatballs vs Store Bought Meatballs

https://everyday-cooks-recipe.captivate.fm/episode/meatballs-homemade-vs-store-bought

Stephanie’s Recipes

Shrimp, zucchini and pasta

  • 2 lbs of frozen raw shrimp
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Butter
  • Whole zucchini chopped into bite size pieces
  • Asparagus chopped into bite size pieces
  • ½ cup of mushrooms (optional)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Fresh garlic or garlic powder
  • ¼ cup grated parm cheese
  • Goodles Noodles shells

Boil shrimp, but under cook

Boil Goodles Noodles 8 ounce

In a pan add all veggies and then garlic, salt and pepper

Mix shrimp into pan

Add parmesan cheese

Add pasta

Garnish with red pepper flakes, panko w/ butter, parsley, green onions

Ground turkey with asparagus and pasta

Boil water to cook pasta

Put ground turkey in a skillet cook. Once done, put aside

Cook asparagus in a pan with butter and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Add ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Add pasta back into dish mix and serve

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Disclaimer

Everyday Cooks Recipe Club is a podcast for home cooks who love exploring new recipes and sharing the experience. We feature recipes from talented chefs, cookbook authors, and food creators, always giving full credit to the original source. We do not claim ownership of these recipes, and we encourage listeners to support the chefs by purchasing their cookbooks or visiting their websites or social channels. For copyright reasons, we do not share full recipes in our show notes. Instead, we talk about our own cooking experiences, tips, and takeaways.

Credit

Original Music by Matthew J. Smith

Recipe Testers are Matt, Ryan, Matt and Cameron

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About the Podcast

Everyday Cooks Recipe Club
Welcome to Everyday Cooks Recipe Club—a fun, no-pressure cooking podcast for home cooks of all levels who love discovering easy recipes, helpful kitchen tips, and the occasional hilarious cooking mishap. We’re Kelly and Stephanie, two friends who started a cooking club to make our dinners more exciting and now we’re inviting you to pull up a chair and join us.

Here’s the deal: Every month, one of us picks a recipe. It could be a cozy family favorite, a new dish we’ve never tried, or something that pushes us out of our comfort zone. We each make it in our own kitchens, navigating grocery shopping adventures, ingredient swaps, and plenty of “learning moments” along the way.

Then we get together to dish on:
~Why we chose it
~How the shopping went
~The steps that made us cheer, laugh, or groan
~The tweaks we’d try next time
~Whether it’s destined to become a weeknight staple or a one-time experiment

That’s our main monthly episode, a recipe deep dive with real talk about what worked and what didn’t. The rest of the month, you’ll get short and snackable episodes filled with quick meal ideas, time-saving cooking tips, kitchen gadget finds, and simple recipes you can make anytime. Think of them as the side dishes to our main course.

If you’re looking for a home cooking podcast that feels more like chatting with friends in the kitchen than watching a polished cooking show, you’re in the right place. We believe great food doesn’t have to be complicated, mistakes make the best stories, and every home cook deserves a little club of their own.

So grab your spatula, pour yourself something tasty, and hit play. Welcome to Everyday Cooks Recipe Club where we’re sharing recipes, tips, and laughs one month at a time, with plenty of delicious detours along the way.

About your host

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Kelly Smith