So, even though I am working full time, I still like to feel like I'm the mom and can still get dinner on the table every once in awhile... but when I don't get home until after 6 pm after driving in horrendous Vegas traffic, sometimes the last thing I want to do is cook. I'm imagining that there are others like me out there, so I am putting a few of my fast recipe ideas online. If anyone else has a quick dinner idea, please post it here.
I try to use the same ingredients in more than one meal, set up a slow cooker, and use advanced planning to help create dinners on busy weekdays. I also like to make meals that I can freeze and use again in a week or two.
So, for all you busy mom's out there, here are some ideas (these are not necessarily kid friendly, so you might have to make some adjustments). The three main meals are:
Night 1: Mini Pizzas
Night 2: Quesadillas
Night 3: Calzones
Main ingredients:
Pre-cooked chicken (like Tyson grilled chicken strips)
Tortillas
Salsa
Pizza dough (store bought or recipe below)
Shredded mozzarella
Pizza toppings
Tomato sauce with spices or ready-made spaghetti sauce (make enough for two meals)
To prep for night 1, make the dough recipe in advance if you can:
Breadstick/Pizza Dough
1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
1 ½ c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
3 T. oil
3-4 c. flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Sir and add in flour, salt and oil. Knead and shape with more flour until not sticky. Let rise, then punch down. Split dough in half and save one half for recipe the next night.
Night 1: Roll dough out flat and cut out circles for mini pizzas - load up with pizza sauce, cheese and toppings and bake at 350 until slightly browned. Wrap up leftovers for lunches.
Night 2: Use chicken, cheese and tortillas to make quesadillas. Serve with salsa, or add in sour cream and avacados. Cut into triangles with a pizza cutter.
Night 3: Use second half of pizza dough - roll out into two circles and add chicken, cheese and other pizza toppings; fold over half of circle to make calzone. Crimp edges with a fork to seal in ingredients. Brush outside with an egg white. Bake at 350 until golden brown.
I will try to post other ideas next week - I tried to start a recipe club with my family and a few friends last year and then I got pregnant and lost my mind. So maybe this can be a replacement for that idea.
4 comments:
Take a (can be frozen) chicken breast and slap it on a piece of aluminum foil--enough to wrap the chicken loosely in. Slather on some light mayo and sprinkle with season salt. Wrap loosely, but seal the aluminum, and bake on a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes, or until meat isn't pink, at 350. Make boxed couscous (takes 5 minutes) and steam some broccoli and you've got a great, super fast meal. It's my back-up and everyone loves it.
Thanks for the meal ideas. I am always looking for different things to make and lately have felt in such a rut with cooking so thanks.
Heres a really easy recipes that is really good!
It's called Cheez it Chicken
4 to 6 Chicken breast (thawed)
Box of cheez it crackers
Sour cream
1/2 cube of butter
Salt and pepper
Put cheez its in a large zip lock bag and crush.
Take your chicken and dip both sides in the sour cream, then both sides in the cheez its, place in pan. Melt butter and pour over top, then salt and pepper.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
It is all about the crockpot Shill. It will save your life. This last semester when I was teaching and would get home after 9pm, so I used the crockpot each week. It should take care of you at least once a week and most things that go in there are pretty healthy. I heart the crockpot!
Definitely the Crockpot. One of the best wedding gifts we got was a Crockpot and a copy of "Fix it and Forget it." You put all these simple ingredients in (seriously, all you do is just dump them in the pot) turn in on, and when you get home your dinner is waiting for you.
If you do start some kind of recipe exchange/club I want in. I've already copied the one you posted as well as the two above.
Have a great time at Firefly. When we get back to town we'll have to have a once a month date night there. Have one of those bacon-date things for me :)
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