Hi Ladies,
I recently returned to work after having a five month break. I used to get off work at 4:30 and now I do not get off until 5:00. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 month old. I need some ideas for quick dinners. I have been doing most of the prepoaring of the meal the night before and this has helped tremendously but I am not a great cook so I have not ventured very far when it comes to courses. I would really appreciate some personal ideas/recipes you ladies may use that take 20 minutes or less or giving me a website you may use. I now only live five minutes away from work so I get home shortly after 5:00 and ideally I would like to be sitting at the table eating by 5:30. Thanks Ladies!
Martha Stewarts website it great for this.
She also has an "Everyday Food" recipe magazine or it is online.
I cook in bulk 2-3 times a week and freeze part of the meal for busier days. For example, a couple days ago I browned 21/2 pounds of ground turkey, used 1 pound for spaghetti and froze the rest in a ziplock bag. I can make tacos or burritos quickly by reheating some meat, adding spices, placing in or on a tortilla or corn taco shell, throwing on some shredded cheddar (also frozen in a ziploc), lettuce and tomatoes. Tomorrow I'm making meatballs. Half will be used for swedish meatballs with gravy and mashed potatoes, the other half goes into the freezer for albondigas soup, on top of pasta or rice with some tomato sauce.
I also use my crockpot when I'm out all day. There are alot of recipes online. My favorite easy crockpot recipe is to throw a brisket in there with a head of cabbage, quartered, a little salt and pepper. I cook it all day, slice and serve over rice.
We are often so busy in the evenings with sports, guitar, etc. It's not uncommon for us to have to eat at 8pm! Obviously, I don't have time to cook a nice meal, starting at 8! ARGH!! :)
I use www.allrecipes.com a lot!!! It has a tab that I think, is labeled quick and easy. This site is great, because it has ratings. The reviewers also give tips and suggestions, like "Don't use that much lemon." Stuff like that.
I would also suggest a crockpot. I use it ALL the time, especially in the winter,fall, spring- When it's a little too cold to grill. Although, you are in CA, so you may be a whole lot warmer. I would put in a frozen beef roast. Since it's frozen, it comes out juicier. (I think) YOu can eat it like a roast, with taters, carrots, etc. OR, you can put some Mexican seasoning in it, like cumin, chili, etc and use it for taco meat. You can put BBQ sauce in and you'll have yummy BBQ beef sandwiches. You can do pretty much the same with pork or chicken. You can add noodles (or cook them seperately) and have chicken and noodles.
Also, you can put all sorts of things in wraps-whatever your kids will eat. I can fill a wrap with bacon, avocado, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, fish, beans, turkey or ham, etc.
I will get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and use the meat for tacos, enchiladas, etc. It will keep in your fridge, until you come home-pop it in the oven on 300, to get it warmed up and ta-da!!
Good luck and happy eating!
Use your crock pot and make something like, a whole chicken, pork loin or a turkey breast. You can put the whole thing in there, fill it a little less than 1/2 way with water and season it up, set it for 8-10 hours and it will be good to go with you get home. Make sure you put the water in or the meat will be DRY. Line with a crockpot bag for super easy clean up. You can even toss potatoes in there with the meat to cook.
Turkey Taco Salad....cut up veggies the night before (tomatoe, onion and lettuce) and you could even cook the meat (just add taco seasoning) the night before. When get home, toss it all together, add some cheese and serve with salsa or ranch. Yummy and healthy.
Get some boxes of 5 min rice, cook, then heat and pour a couple of cans of cambell's sirloin and vegetables (or can of your choice) over it. Done.For vegetable soup....you can buy all the frozen vegetables you need in one bag at Kroger's just need to add tomatoes and chicken/beef/turkey. Marinate cut up chicken in teriyaki sauce overnight, then add salt, pepper,garlic powder,pineapple,bell pepper, onion, and some halved cherry tomatoes in a wok and cook till done. Can add some duck sauce to that also....yum.happy fast cooking : )
www.weelicious.com has over a thousand fast, fresh and easy recipes geared towards the entire family loving!
Hey L.,
There are a lot of great suggestions here. I would highly recommend the crock pot idea. There are several crock pot recipes on line. Here are a few website I enjoy: southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm
www.crock-pot.com/Recipes.aspx
Another idea is on the weekends prepare a large batch of some of your favorite meals and freeze them. I make homemade spaghetti sauce, soup, cook and shred chicken or beef (so I just pop it in a pot with broth and veggies, etc.) Also, prechopping your meals the night before is a huge time saver if you are wanting fresh food.
Most recipes for most meals have a way you can cheat by preparing meat ahead of time, prechopping veggies (or buying frozen), etc.
Preparing ahead of time is a great idea. Chop veggies the night before (lettuce, spinach, cabbage, zucchini) and put meat in the crock-pot the morning before work. You can make rice (have the water in the pan with the lid on it before you leave for work) and serve the meat over rice with some cheese and add the chopped veggies. Spaghetti is pretty quick and easy and you can do the sauce in the crock-pot. Taco's is another quick meal, just do the toppings ahead of time and cook the meat, rice and get ready taco shells and salsa.
I use Dinner Studio. There are similar other places I'm sure... they do all the prep for you, and most of the time you can either use a crock pot or the oven to cook the meals...
If you don't want to use them, It's still a great place to browse and see what they are serving that month and make your own version.
you could also get all scheduled and one night a week have tacos/taco salad / burritos; another night meatball sandwiches/pasta and meatballs; another night soup and salad, soup and sandwich, or sandwich and salad; another night go adventurous, etc. that way if the adventurous dosen't work out - it's just one night a week that the family might not like.
Use a crock pot and prepare it the night before and before you leave for work, take the the pot out of the fridge and insert into your crock pot. Or, frozen pizza's are always quick!! :)
I have a friend who is a Tastefully Simple rep. I'll bet she could help you. Her name is Rosalie Meyer ###-###-####. They have lots of easy and yummy dinners that can be made within minutes. You can order from her website and they will ship to you. If you call her she will recommend some things to suit your family.
