Easy Weeknight Dinner – Chicken Tamales, Beans and Roasted Cauliflower

Happy Summer everybody! I hope you’re all enjoying the warm weather, sitting by the pool and getting gardens ready for harvest.  One of the things I look forward to is gardening. I’ve lived in a townhouse for the last two years and am getting ready to build a house and I’m going to have a veggie garden in the back yard. I miss that so very much.  If you have a busy summer like most of us, you’re probably looking for some easy weeknight dinner ideas. I have one for you today. Starts with Costco chicken tamales and pairs them with black beans and roasted cauliflower for a complete dinner.

I buy a lot of groceries at Costco in bulk. Some of their frozen items, like these tamales, are great in a pinch when you don’t have time to make them from scratch, or don’t have  a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.  I like the chicken variety and they are so full of flavor and pack just enough heat for me. I have an old time Tupperware steamer I bought probably back in the late 1980’s. It’s that mauve pink that was popular back then.  Anyway, four of the tamales fit perfectly in it and they whip up in the microwave perfectly without getting that hard edge some tamales would get.

For the beans, I just seasoned them with Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning while they soaked. Of course canned works but I like purchasing dry beans and soaking them overnight. There is less sodium then canned and I season them my way. This time, I added some pre-cooked bacon for more flavor, plus hubby loves bacon in everything.

I think the jewel of this dinner was the roasted cauliflower.  I cut up one head of the veggie, sprinkled my Southwest Sedona seasoning on it. I love this seasoning. It goes with everything and it’s not a “hot spicy” seasoning, it’s just so flavorful. You can purchase it online from Two Snooty Chefs.  I then cut up half of a green onion and sprinkled that on top too. Give it a good spritz with olive oil cooking spray,then pop it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. You’ll have cauliflower even your pickiest little eaters will enjoy.

So here is an easy weeknight dinner that takes very little prep time (unless you’re a bean soaker like I am) and is quite delicious.  What’s your go-to item when you’re in a hurry to put a good meal on the table? Let me know.

For more side dish ideas for your easy weeknight dinner, follow my Pinterest Board.

Follow Lori’s Culinary’s board Veggies & Sides on Pinterest.