I love cooking. I love being creative in the kitchen but I also love following tried and true recipes. I love providing beautiful meals for my family! Here is the thing though: on an average day I usually do not have the time, energy, capacity or even the desire to play and experiment in the kitchen. I need quick, healthy meals my husband will enjoy with me and my kids will actually eat. Our boys are fairly good eaters (which I greatly attribute to the Baby Led Weaning method we loosely followed when they were infants) but they can still turn their nose up at new things. So I try to integrate something new into our routine as often as I can.

Today though, I want to share some of our favorite tried and true recipes we come back to again and again. They are quick, simple, healthy and kid-approved. Doesn’t get much better than that!

If you give them a try , be sure to let me know what you think! Tag me on Instagram @marissaceci or shoot me an email!

1. Fish Tacos: before you write this off because of your kids, hear me out. White flaky fish that is well seasoned doesn’t taste fishy. My kids LOVE IT. We do them in the air fryer but you could certainly do them in the oven as well. Anytime we do tacos my kids do usually want them deconstructed, so they get fish, cole slaw, a tortilla and feta cheese and they go to town! The first time I made this I didn’t think the tacos would be enough so I made rice and beans to go with it and it was totally unnecessary. Something about this delicious slaw gives it just enough oomph to make it super filling. We do usually have chips and salsa on the side too.

2. Thai Red Curry: this is a meal that my kids legit gobble up. It’s not too spicy (and the level of spice is totally within your control as you add in the red curry paste) and its loaded with veggies. We serve over rice and the leftovers are maybe even better than the original thing. Cookie and Kate is my favorite food blogger and I just love her cookbook Love Real Food.

3. Vegetarian “Hoppin’ John” : I credit my friend Brittany Fine for coming up with this dish! She made it while I was at her house one summer and I just could not get enough of it. When I make the recipe I add black eyed peas, you can absolutely add in some leftover ham or bacon (add once fully cooked at the end to warm) and I serve over rice. Cornbread is the perfect side dish to round it out! It is a very cozy and hearty meal but the tomatoes and okra make it very enjoyable in the summertime. Also amazing leftover. I can eat it for lunch every day for a week.

4. Grilled Cheese and Homemade Tomato Soup: this was one of the first meals I learned to cook on my own when I was probably in middle school. Of course that version included Campbell’s in a can with skim milk added and Velveeta squares on wonder bread. My version now looks a bit different to bring a homemade twist to the soup and elevate the quality of a few of the ingredients which makes a huge difference! I love Kate’s tomato soup recipe so much, my Dad even once said it was the best tomato soup he had ever had! As for the grilled cheese, I do my own thing but the linked recipe is about the same. I use homemade sourdough, generous salted butter and a combination of sharp white cheddar and gouda cheeses in the middle. I also cook mine in a cast iron skillet for that nice crispy exterior.

5. One Pan Mexican Quinoa: I just love this dish as a base that you can add to as desired, especially because it includes quinoa for a Mexican dish which is a nice change of pace from rice. We eat a lot of rice. Of course you can totally add the meat of your choosing as a topping if the veggie version isn’t filling enough for you. A few things I add: feta cheese to the toppings and toastadas to go on the side. For the tostadas: spray flour or corn tortillas on both sides with cooking oil (recommend avocado) and lay flat on cookie sheet. Toast in oven at 400 F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. They get crispy and are a nice crunch to go with the quinoa bowl.