- 8 hours ago
Looking for lazy spring dinners that basically cook themselves? These 5 low-effort recipes bring big flavor with barely any prep — perfect for nights when you’re too tired to deal but still want something satisfying on the table. With quick assembly and hands-off cooking, this lineup proves you don’t need a ton of energy to make a great meal. From cozy sandwiches to creamy pasta and set-it-and-forget-it slow cooker favorites, Nicole’s got you covered: savory 5-Minute French Dips, a one-pan Garlic Parmesan Chicken, sweet-and-sticky Crockpot Honey Garlic Meatballs, a bright and creamy Lemon Shrimp “Alfredo,” and an easy Foil Packet Burger Dinner. Whether you’re feeding the family or just trying to get through the week, these dinners deliver maximum payoff for minimal effort.
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00:00Here are five lazy spring dinners that are simple,
00:03tasty, and perfect for nights
00:04when you don't feel like cooking.
00:06I'm starting with the laziest dinner of all,
00:08the five-minute French dip.
00:10This was a little viral sensation we put on TikTok,
00:15and I'm gonna show it to you.
00:16When you hear the word lazy,
00:18you know there are gonna be shortcuts involved,
00:19but this one, I'm telling you, you will not mind.
00:22Just grab a saucepan, and in goes one can of beef consomme
00:26and one can of French onion soup.
00:28And then I'm gonna add in some water.
00:30You gotta have plenty of the dip liquid with a French dip.
00:34Okay, so you get that heating up.
00:37Then we just use deli roast beef.
00:39This stuff is so good.
00:40As our liquid heats up,
00:42we're also gonna kinda gently heat the roast beef.
00:45Okay, and while this heats up for a few minutes,
00:47we're going to toast our buns and melt the cheese.
00:50So I'm gonna take the bread, wedge it open,
00:54and then you're gonna take some provolone cheese,
00:56and you're gonna put two halves on each half.
01:00So each hoagie roll gets two slices of cheese.
01:02You can make two, four, six, eight,
01:05whatever you're feeling.
01:06Recipe makes four.
01:07By the time the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted,
01:10our roast beef and our dip sauce will be warmed through.
01:15Pop this under the broiler.
01:16I like to do my broiler on low,
01:18because you just have a little more control.
01:21But if you go on high,
01:23this will only take like, you know, less than a minute.
01:27Toasty, cheesy, melty bread.
01:29I'm notorious for burning the bread.
01:32Everything's cooked, you're just heating things through.
01:34That's why this dinner takes no time.
01:36That French onion soup mixed with the beef consomme
01:39is the ultimate combo, I'm telling you.
01:40Okay, and then to round out the meal,
01:42just a little bag salad.
01:48I don't know that I ever eat a sandwich without chips.
01:51Okay, you know how to eat it, right?
01:54Swim in the sauce.
01:58Mm.
02:01Mm.
02:02You don't really want it to be that good,
02:04because it took you no time and zero effort,
02:07but it is that good.
02:08The flavor, like I said,
02:10of those two soups combined, it's perfection.
02:12I think it's what makes it taste less
02:14like just a simple canned soup,
02:17because we like combined flavors.
02:19The fun dinner your family will love,
02:21that could not be any easier,
02:23is the five-minute French dip.
02:25This next one might take longer than five minutes to cook,
02:28but it could be even easier than the French dip.
02:31This is my one-pan chicken dinner.
02:34I keep it kind of a blanket statement with that,
02:36because you can really change out the flavors
02:38however you want.
02:38This one's more of a cooking technique,
02:41and less of a recipe,
02:43but I'm gonna give you the recipe.
02:44For today, it's gonna be a one-pan Parmesan garlic chicken
02:48with potatoes and green beans.
02:51Just for ease, today I'm using these triple-washed,
02:55it says, gold potatoes that are kind of bite-sized.
03:00I am gonna cut some of these in half,
03:02just to make them even more bite-sized,
03:04and help them to cook a little more evenly.
03:06But what you will notice,
03:08is I'm not going to dirty one other thing, okay?
03:12Except this one pan,
03:14and that is what lazy dinners is all about.
03:17Okay, and then green beans, however many you want.
03:20It says four servings in here.
03:22It also says washed and ready to use,
03:25so you know what that means.
03:26I'm gonna take off any little stems I see,
03:29and I like to kind of break them in half
03:30into just more fork-friendly portions.
03:33So, like I said, this is a technique.
03:35So you could do sweet potatoes in here,
03:37you could do a different kind of potato,
03:38you could do no potato, and just different veggies.
03:41But what happens is kind of magical in this kind of dish.
03:44We're gonna place our meat on top,
03:46which today is gonna be chicken thighs,
03:48but you could also do a pork tenderloin here,
03:50pork chops, and as that meat cooks,
03:52the juices that render from it
03:54are gonna flavor all the veggies underneath.
03:56Now, I like to kind of build it in layers,
03:59so I'm gonna take a little olive oil, salt and pepper,
04:02toss that, and then I'm gonna take
04:05bone-in skin on chicken thighs,
04:07because to me this is the ultimate flavor.
04:08Just place them right on top,
04:10and I like doing it in this kind of pan
04:13instead of a sheet pan,
04:15because you're gonna get way more sauciness in there.
04:17So, you could stop here,
04:19you're gonna get a perfectly flavorful dish,
04:21and it was three ingredients.
04:22Or you can add a fourth ingredient,
04:23which is whatever sauce you want.
04:25It could just be Italian dressing,
04:27it could be ranch dressing,
04:28it could be barbecue sauce.
04:29I'm gonna do this Parmesan garlic wing sauce,
04:32and a little bit goes a long way.
04:34I'm just gonna put a little kind of on top of the chicken,
04:37because it'll blend with the chicken juices
04:39and create the sauce.
04:40This sauce also has that Parmesan cheese in it,
04:42so it's gonna kind of help with some caramelization on the top.
04:45I'm telling you, when this mixes with the juices,
04:50it's liquid gold.
04:51Then this goes into the oven.
04:53This one's gonna take close to an hour.
04:55What you're gonna wanna do, if you peek at it,
04:58and some of these veggies are sticking out,
05:00and they look, you know, undercooked,
05:01you can give them a little zhuzh under the chicken,
05:04about halfway through, and just rotate the pan.
05:07But other than that, kick your feet up,
05:10you go for a walk, enjoy the beautiful spring weather.
05:15Come on, roasted chicken goodness.
05:18You can see the juices bubbling underneath.
05:22These green beans are tender, potatoes are good and tender.
05:25This is why you wanna kind of give it a little zhuzh,
05:29about halfway through, just to be sure all those potatoes
05:33can get submerged a little bit.
05:35Otherwise, you're gonna have some on the top
05:37that aren't gonna be cooked as much.
05:38But I mean, look at that, perfectly roasted potato,
05:43because this is the vessel that absorbs
05:44the flavorful liquid.
05:45So you've got your meat and your two sides in one pan,
05:49that took roughly zero effort.
05:52Three ingredients, zero effort, one pan,
05:56Parmesan garlic chicken.
05:58That was a good dinner.
05:59If you think going through a drive-through
06:01is easier than this, you're wrong.
06:04Let's show you the chicken.
06:06It doesn't get any juicier than that.
06:13Immediately melts in your mouth.
06:14There's a lot of flavor in that sauce,
06:17but remember, you can play around
06:18with the flavors of the sauce,
06:19because this one does have a kick.
06:20So if your family is not big on spicy,
06:24you might want to choose something else.
06:26Perfect bite of the veggies.
06:31The potato is unmatched,
06:34and you don't even have to put a sauce.
06:36I promise you it's gonna taste just as good.
06:37The way it absorbs that savory chicken
06:40as it's cooked, 15 out of 10.
06:44For this meal, we are making honey garlic meatballs.
06:47I'm gonna serve this with broccoli and rice, minimal effort.
06:51And what's good about this,
06:52as the weather's getting warmer in the spring and summer,
06:55you don't have to heat up the kitchen.
06:56So I'm gonna start by creating the sauce
06:58directly into the slow cooker,
07:00because there is no need to dirty a bowl.
07:02We're doing just a simple sweet and savory sauce.
07:04The base is a little bit of ketchup,
07:06but don't be scared, it works.
07:08A little bit of soy sauce.
07:09I like to double what the recipe calls for,
07:12because I like it a little more salty.
07:14Honey, because honey, garlic.
07:16And also a little brown sugar.
07:18So that's some sweet stuff, but we're gonna kick it up and give it a little bite with some fresh
07:23garlic.
07:24And then chili garlic sauce.
07:25This has a little bit of a bite, but it's not too, too spicy, but it's got great depth of
07:29flavor.
07:30This is just a good thing to have on hand.
07:32It's very affordable, and you can add it to other things,
07:35like marinades or scrambled eggs or whatever you want.
07:39The recipe calls for some Chinese five spice, but I'm gonna leave that out.
07:42And I'm gonna add in a little bit of onion.
07:44That's just because I want it.
07:46Not in the recipe, but it's gonna kind of add a little flavor and a little more moisture to the
07:51sauce.
07:51I don't always cook with frozen meatballs, but when I do, it's because I'm lazy.
07:56I like to get these smaller bite-sized meatballs,
07:58because it's gonna be easier to serve my dinner this way.
08:01In they go, toss it all together, set it, and forget it.
08:06And of course, everything's cooked in here,
08:08so it's just a matter of everything heating through and coming together.
08:11So I'm just gonna go low for about four to six hours.
08:13All right, let's take a look at our meatballs.
08:15They're smelling amazing.
08:17To round out the meal, I'm gonna go in with some broccoli for about the last 20, 30 minutes.
08:23Got it in a small florette so that it cooks pretty fast.
08:26You could just steam this on the side and add it later when it's time to serve,
08:31but since it's already hot in here, this shouldn't take that long to cook.
08:34I'm gonna crank it up, let it go high for just a little bit
08:36until that broccoli is a little bit crisp, tender.
08:39It just takes about 15 more minutes on high, and our broccoli's become tender.
08:44To me, I like this sauce.
08:46It's not really thick, but if you want to thicken it, you can add a little cornstarch slurry.
08:51And then all you have to do is microwave a little rice and dish it up.
08:56There's lots of this good sauce under here, so don't be shy.
09:00Then you can finish it with some fresh green onion.
09:03A little sprinkle of sesame seeds, if you please.
09:06Minimal effort, few ingredients, and I'm pretty sure this is gonna have tons of flavor.
09:15Mmm, I was right.
09:18Lots of flavor, both sweet and spicy.
09:21The meatball kind of acts as a sponge to soak up all the flavor.
09:25The crock pot can become the MVP when it comes to lazy dinners.
09:29We didn't have to do hardly anything to this dinner, and there is so much flavor in one pot.
09:34Next up, I'm doing a quick and easy Alfredo with shrimp.
09:39Springtime weather calls for more springtime grocery items.
09:44This is when I start getting into the seafood.
09:46The only thing you have to prep, and this is also optional, is a little shallot.
09:50You could also just do some onion, green onion, just to kind of give some flavor to our sauce.
09:55So this is a quick and easy Alfredo because it just kind of takes the guesswork out of all of
10:01it
10:01by using cream cheese as the base of this Alfredo instead of a bunch of heavy cream.
10:09A shortcut to making dinners lazier to get your shrimp already peeled and deveined.
10:14Keep clean up easy.
10:16I'm just gonna open it right on the packaging that came in and season it.
10:19I'm gonna kind of, you know, springify this Alfredo with a little lemon flavor.
10:24So I'm gonna add in some lemon pepper to season these.
10:27It already has salt and pepper in it, so that should be good.
10:31And the time it takes to cook our pasta, we'll have the whole dinner completely ready.
10:35Let me show you.
10:36All right, I've got a pot of boiling water and then the pan that you're gonna cook your Alfredo in.
10:40Go in at the same time.
10:42So bring some water to a boil, and then you want to season it well.
10:45We're also going to use our pasta water to help our sauce.
10:49It's a little two-for-one special.
10:51No oil in our pasta water.
10:53Just drop it, give it a little stir, and it'll be just fine.
10:56I'm gonna saute my shrimp very briefly and then finish cooking it later,
11:00but I'm gonna kind of get the base flavor of our sauce going first.
11:03Make sure it's good and hot because I just want to get some color on it without cooking it all
11:06the
11:06way through just to kind of set a tone for the rest of the dinner.
11:09Get it in a single layer and let it go for just a couple minutes.
11:12What makes this a lazy dinner is the fact that we're using a little shortcut in the cream cheese.
11:18It's not as lazy as pouring already-made Alfredo sauce, but this one is going to taste better,
11:24but also the fact that it comes together so fast.
11:27So just gonna give them a little flip and then pull them out.
11:30This kind of just sets the seasoning on the shrimp.
11:34Just gives them better flavor than stirring it in raw.
11:38To those drippings, your shallot or your onion and the cream cheese.
11:42This adds a tanginess that you might not get in normal Alfredo because
11:46you're just using heavy cream.
11:48So I think it goes really well with that shrimp and there are spring vibes.
11:51Set it in, let it melt with the help of a little milk,
11:55and the cream cheese just kind of helps create a more stable sauce
11:59so it's not going to break.
12:00And then just stir it till all that melts and it's good and thick and creamy.
12:04I'm also going to add in a little garlic powder.
12:06A block of cream cheese is cheaper than a jar of Alfredo sauce.
12:12I am because you might already have that on hand along with milk and cheese.
12:16This could be a dinner that you only have to buy the shrimp.
12:19I think that this week's worth of dinners would be great to cook.
12:22You know, y'all could cook this whole week's worth
12:24because it gives you variety, different meat options.
12:26They're all affordable.
12:28It's not chicken every night, which is what my son says all the time.
12:31Mom, chicken again.
12:33It's thick and creamy.
12:35I'm going to finish it off with some grated parm.
12:38And now I'm going to toss the pasta in and the shrimp.
12:41And if it tightens up too much, you use some of that pasta water.
12:44Olga, pasta in, shrimp in,
12:47and then brighten it up for spring with a little lemon zest and juice.
12:54And then just toss to coat.
12:57It'll thicken up pretty easily.
12:58So that's when you can grab some of that pasta water.
13:01Just loosen it up just a little bit.
13:03This is one of those dishes that looks anything but lazy.
13:06A little pinch of pepper.
13:08Taste your food.
13:12It's delicious.
13:14This just screams spring.
13:16So creamy.
13:17Something about this cream cheese Alfredo is just,
13:20it's a little something different.
13:22Finish it with a little more cheese.
13:24And this is the green for this dish.
13:28Some fresh parsley.
13:29Lazy lemon shrimp Alfredo.
13:31It doesn't look lazy.
13:35Mmm.
13:37That lemon.
13:38This is just a good crowd pleaser.
13:41Your family will love it.
13:43It kind of feels a little more special.
13:45And it's customizable.
13:46Because you can do it with chicken.
13:48You could do it with no meat.
13:50But whatever you serve it with, it is definitely quick and easy.
13:53We're just hitting them all out of the park if you ask me.
13:55For my final trick, I'm doing something I haven't done in forever.
13:59It just feels a little lazy.
14:00And it also feels very springy.
14:02Because you can make this in the oven, over the campfire, or on a grill.
14:06This is going to be a southwestern style burger.
14:11It's going to have all the essentials in here.
14:14Your meat and your veggies in one pouch.
14:16So I'm starting with a little bit of sweet potato.
14:19I like that sweet kind of flavor with the smoky kind of spicy flavors of the southwest.
14:25I'm going to cut these kind of small because it's not going to cook for that long.
14:29You could add onion in here if you want.
14:31I'm going to add in a can of fiesta corn.
14:34And a can of black beans.
14:36Drain and rinse.
14:37And now we're just going to flavor this up.
14:39A little olive oil.
14:40Of course, some salt and pepper.
14:42A little chili powder.
14:43I like the smokiness with a little tad bit of heat to go with that sweet potato.
14:47And a little garlic and onion powder.
14:49This is really whatever goes, you know.
14:51Veggies down.
14:52And like when we did the one pan chicken bake.
14:54As the meat cooks, it's going to flavor these veggies too.
14:57Now you can make this even lazier if you get the pre-made burger patties.
15:01Shape them.
15:02Place them down.
15:04Okay, we'll season that too.
15:05Just put a little salt and pepper on these.
15:07A little flavor shortcut here.
15:09Some salsa.
15:11And then some pre-shredded cheese.
15:13Fold them up.
15:14You just want to be sure they fold up so the liquid doesn't drip out.
15:17I think anything that doesn't involve you having to stand over the stove is
15:21perfect for lazy.
15:23So these are ready for you.
15:24You could build these ahead of time then hand them off to your husband to
15:27hit the grill, you know.
15:29But I'm going to do them in the oven.
15:30These cook at 400 degrees for just about 40 minutes.
15:33Let's see what we got.
15:37I love like a surprise.
15:39It's like opening a little present.
15:40This is kind of a fun thing to do for some spring and summer outdoor entertaining.
15:46You can hand everybody one and then you can top it how you would,
15:49you know, your tacos or your burgers or both.
15:53Be careful guys.
15:54It's hot in here.
15:56Dewey melty cheese, salsa, burger.
15:59This looks better than I thought it was going to look.
16:01So you can build almost like a little burger bowl.
16:04See, it's like a little
16:06Southwestern hash in there.
16:08Place our little burger on top.
16:11I'm going to top it kind of like I would my tacos.
16:13This is a lot of flavor for not having to do a lot of work.
16:16A little hot sauce and some cilantro.
16:20I can see all the perfect bites going on right here.
16:23Can't you?
16:25Yes, I can, Nicole.
16:27A little bit of everything.
16:33It's like a burger and a taco had a baby.
16:36All these little veggies on the side make for the perfect little bite.
16:40Potatoes and everything cooked perfectly.
16:42Perfect for a fun spring weekend dinner.
16:46I think I have just shown you that being lazy is not always a bad thing.
16:50Five delicious dinners perfect for springtime are right here.
16:53I hope you'll try them.
16:54Good.
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