3 Delicious Recipes from Farmhouse Weeknights by Melissa Bahen

There’s a special kind of magic in a cookbook that feels like it was written for your life—the busy weeknights, the half-hour windows before homework or practice, the craving for something homemade without the hassle. In Farmhouse Weeknights: Quick and Wholesome Recipes for Dinner, Melissa Bahen captures that balance beautifully. Known for her modern take on comfort cooking, Bahen brings together more than 80 recipes that are hearty, nourishing, and refreshingly doable. Each dish promises dinner on the table in under an hour, blending fresh ingredients with clever shortcuts that make weeknight cooking feel less like a chore and more like a joy.

Bahen, the voice behind the blog Lulu the Baker, has spent years celebrating the beauty of simple, intentional living, one home-cooked meal at a time. Her previous books, Scandinavian Gatherings and Farmhouse Weekends, invited readers to slow down and savor the seasons. With Farmhouse Weeknights, she turns her attention to everyday cooking, offering realistic inspiration for families who want comfort and connection around the table, even on the busiest days. It’s a book that proves delicious doesn’t have to be complicated and that a well-loved kitchen can be the heart of every home.

And now, enjoy these 3 delicious recipes from Farmhouse Weeknights: Quick and Wholesome Recipes for Dinner:

Meatball Subs

Meatball subs are a Top 5 dinner at our house. They are very easy to make and everyone adores them. They’re basically perfect for everything from busy weeknights to big, family dinners to special occasions like birthdays.

Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 25 minutes | Total: 30 minutes | Makes 4 sandwiches

4 hoagie rolls

Softened butter

Garlic bread seasoning, optional

4 to 8 slices provolone cheese, halved

24 frozen meatballs

16 ounces marinara sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. If the hoagie rolls aren’t already split, halve them. Lay them open-side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread the cut surfaces with butter and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning, if desired.
2. While the oven is preheating, combine the meatballs and marinara sauce in a medium saucepan, cover, and cook over medium heat until the sauce is simmering and the meatballs are heated through, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Once the oven is preheated and the meatballs are ready, toast the rolls for about 4 minutes, until the butter has melted. Place 2 to 4 half slices of provolone on each bun and continue baking until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
4. Put the meatballs on the cheesy, toasted hoagie rolls and enjoy immediately!

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Pre-sliced provolone cheese
• Our favorite store-bought marinara is Rao’s.

S’mores Bars

I started making these when my kids were little, and over the years, we’ve gone through many eras where we make them once a week for months. It took me a couple of tries to get the recipe just right (which absolutely nobody minded), and it is safe to say that they are just about perfect. They capture all the best things about summer s’mores in every gooey bite: crispy, sweet graham crackers, melty milk chocolate, and fluffy bits of sugary marshmallow.

Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes | Total: 20 minutes | Makes 24 bars

10 cups graham cereal (almost a whole 18.9-ounce “Family Size” box)

1 (12-ounce) bag milk chocolate chips

2 (10-ounce) bags mini marshmallows

10 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A big pinch of kosher salt

1. Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Put the graham cereal in a very large bowl. Crush it gently with your hands or with the bottom of a cup (hands work better). You don’t need to crush it all to dust, just make the pieces smaller. Add the milk chocolate chips and stir gently to combine.
3. Measure out 2 cups of mini marshmallows and set them aside.
4. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the rest of the marshmallows to the butter. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth, about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
6. Pour the marshmallow mixture over the cereal and chocolate chips and stir until evenly coated. Add the reserved 2 cups of mini marshmallows and stir until they are evenly distributed.
7. Pour the gooey cereal mixture into the prepared pan, scraping as much as possible out of the bowl with a spatula.
8. Spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray. Make sure you get in between your fingers, too! Use your hands to press the cereal mixture firmly into the pan. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Harvest Salad with Creamy Herb-Dijon Vinaigrette

I love this hearty salad so much that I eat it regularly for lunch. It reminds me of a French Niçoise salad thanks to the tomatoes, green beans, and hard-boiled eggs, and it has a delicious, herby, homemade vinaigrette dressing that has just a hint of sweetness.

Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 5 minutes | Total: 20 minutes | Serves 6

FOR THE DRESSING

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon natural or unseasoned rice vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SALAD

1 (10-ounce) container mixed greens

12 ounces green beans, steamed or roasted (see below)

1 pound chopped grilled chicken (see below)

6 ounces white cheddar, cut into small cubes

1 (10-ounce) bag frozen sweet corn, cooked according to package directions and cooled

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

3 to 6 hard-boiled eggs, halved

1. To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a blender or small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Run the blender or vigorously shake the jar until the ingredients are well combined, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
2. To make the salad, layer all of the salad ingredients either in one large serving dish or on six individual plates. Top with the dressing and serve.

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Frozen, steam-in-the-bag whole green beans
• Your favorite already-cooked chicken (Rotisserie chicken works, and Costco has some grilled

chicken bites that we love.)

• Pre-cubed white cheddar
• Store-bought hard-boiled eggs
• If you only have seasoned rice vinegar (which is flavored with sugar and salt), you can substitute it for the natural rice vinegar. Just omit the honey from the recipe and add salt to taste. The dressing will be a little sweeter than usual.

Bonus Recipe! One of our favorite ways to cook green beans is in the oven with lots of garlic. Snap the ends off fresh green beans, toss with extra-virgin olive oil and 1 or 2 cloves of minced fresh garlic, and season with kosher salt, garlic salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Toss with your hands or a pair of tongs until evenly coated. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet in a 425°F oven until tender, about 15 minutes. My brother and sister-in-law make these green beans all the time and we all love them. The people and the green beans!

Bonus Recipe! I have a couple of go-to marinades for grilled chicken. The first is this Honey-Dijon- Ranch Marinade: Whisk 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/3 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 (1-ounce) packet ranch dressing mix in a large bowl until combined. Add about 1 1/2 pounds uncooked chicken, toss gently to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Place the chicken on a preheated grill, season with salt and pepper, and cook with the cover down until the chicken is cooked through, turning as necessary. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then slice and serve.

Bonus Recipe! The second is Soy & Citrus Marinade: Combine 1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 3/4 cup lemon-lime soda, 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped, and 3 garlic cloves, minced, in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 pounds uncooked chicken, toss gently to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Place the chicken on a preheated grill, season with salt and pepper, and cook with the cover down until the chicken is cooked through, turning as necessary. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then slice and serve.

You can find Farmhouse Weeknights: Quick and Wholesome Recipes For Dinner by Melissa Bahen at Indigo.

Recipes excerpted from Farmhouse Weeknights: Quick and Wholesome Recipes For Dinner by Melissa Bahen. Photographs by Melissa Bahen. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.