I'm Looking for Some Fast Easy Recipes That Aren't the Same Old Stuff We Have

Hi S.,
I frequently go to Lets Dish and make meals. Then they are ready to cook in the freezer. There's a few other places in the cities that do the same thing.

C. E.

Every 2 months or so I go to MixItUp Meals (now Meals in a Bag) and prepare a bunch of entrees to store in the fridge. Then I alternate our normal fare like pizza, mac/cheese, and spaghetti with the more creative stuff from there. I also do crockpot meals when I know I will be getting home only moments before dinner needs to be served. I make sure my son gets a snack just before 5 o'clock. Then if he is still having trouble waiting for dinner to be on the table, I serve him an appetizer of frozen vegies (yes, still frozen as that is the only way he will eat veggies). I find that this way he eats vegies before all the other favorite foods on his plate are distracting him.

Here's of my favorite SUPER fast, easy, healthy recipes:

1 box whole wheat coucous
1 15-oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
2 15-oz cans tomatoes w/ garlic & onion
I like to add some extra seasonings such as: garlic powder, basil, & rosemary (or you can also just get flavored couscous and skip the extra seasonings)

Prepare couscous as directed. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Mix everything together and you're done!

We love meals in the crock pot, and have also tried the meal prep places--I like Get Cookin' and Let's Dish. But, if you're looking for a hot, healthy meal in less than 15 minutes, we do pesto pasta at least twice/month:
-Cook whole wheat pasta per directions (we use half a box at a time for my husband, 4 year-old, and me)
-While that's boiling, combine the following in a food processer or blender: 1 cup fresh basil leaves (I just use the entire pack of Dehn's you can buy in the produce section at Cub), 1 cup grated parmesan (can be fresh, or in a pinch the canned stuff works OK, too), 1/2 cup nuts (pine or walnuts are my favorite; I keep those little bags from the bakery section on hand, 1 quartered clove of garlic. Pulse until a paste forms, then slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil until well mixed and moist (add more if you need to).
-When the pasta is cooked, spoon pesto over individual portions. Sprinkle with more nuts and cheese if you want, and enjoy! The whole meal is prepared in the time it takes to heat the water & boil the pasta, about 15 minutes.

When you do have time to cook, make double and freeze for the next week. This works for spaghetti sauce (spiced up Ragu... I add 2Tbsp Garlic, 2Tbsp Sugar, 2Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, 1tsp Basil, 1-1/2tsp Oregano, 1/4tsp Red Pepper), lasagne, tater-tot hot dish, meatloaf, etc. Or if you're cooking up boneless checken breast, make double and freeze, then add the chicken to stir fry, chicken helper, rice-a-roni, or just add bbq sauce and serve on a bun. My biggest problem with this plan is you need to take the meal out of the freezer 2 days ahead of time to thaw in fridge. I've taken things out the morning I want to serve, come home from work and they're still frozen solid.

Hi Samanatha -

I ran into the same problem, so some of my easy, favorite, dinners are in the crockpot - you get a hot, home cooked meal. I just tried Lasagne and it was awesome (I was VERY surprised), and I also do roast and potatoes quite a bit, as well a wild rice or chicken tortilla soup. You can find some great recipes on-line. Happy cooking!
T.

You can put pork chops frozen or thawed in the crock pot before work and a can of cream mushroom soup and a half can of milk and let that cook all day and when you get home you can make some mashed potatoes.(use the gravy for the potatoes)

Another one is take chicken breasts put in crock pot put salsa over and let cook all day and shred when you get home and put sour cream in and some fresh salsa (leave old stuff in) let sit a little bit and then you use tortilla's and cheese and roll it up.

I think this is a great question cause I get the same way I feel like I make the same stuff over and over.

Hope that is some help

There are lots of recipes you can make in a crock pot/slow cooker. There are also many cookbooks made just for those recipes. I use mine at least twice a week. So many different things to make from pot roast to hotdishes.

T.

Hello S.,
I to was in that situation, my sister told me about this site, and now it's booked marked, if I know my week is going to be hecktic I will plan like 2 or 3 days ahead. check it out you'll love it. http://allrecipes.com
good luck

Rice Hotdish

1# ground beef
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 jar sliced mushrooms (optional)
3 C. Instant white rice
1/4 C. milk (optional, but makes it creamier)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Fry up the ground beef, drain the fat. To this add the soup, mushrooms, milk and soy sauce.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
* Perhaps leave out the sliced mushrooms with the young children. My grown children loved this and continue to love it!

S.,

I get most of my recipes from Cooking Light -- the magazine or the website, www.cookinglight.com. The magazine has a quick recipe section and you can search for quick recipes on the website under "Enhanced Search." The recipes rarely disappoint and they are healthy!

L.

I hate cooking and pretty much only have one recipe that I do on a regular basis: Garlic Lover's Chicken. I like it becaue it's good and easy to make.

For 4 Thawed Boneless Chicken Breasts:
Put about a cup of breadcrumbs in a Gallon ZipLoc Bag (for breadcrubms I usually toast 2 pieces of bread and crumble them in the bag.
Dump some Parmesean cheese in the bag. I'm not sure how much but it's probably 1/2 cup - 2/3 cup.
Dunk each breast in some milk and toss them all in the bag to coat with crubms and cheese.
Lay the breasts in a greased corex or other pan.
I usually use whatever breadcrums and cheese that's left in the bag and press into the breasts. The more bread cunks the better it tastes. Heat up some butter and chopped garlic in a pan on the stove and then dump the butter/garlic mixture on the breasts. Then toss in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the chicken juice runs clear and the bread is tosty brown. I usually serve with microwave baked potatoes and some kind of vegetable. Takes about 35 minutes total and everyone likes it.

If you have extra time, brine the breasts first. Take 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup sugar and disolve in warm water in a gal ziploc bag and place the chicekn breasts in there. Leave in the fridge for about 1/2 hour before doing the rest of the recipe. The breasts come out extra jucy and flavorful - if you have the time:)

Hi S.,

I have not tried this out yet, but this menu planning site was highly recommended to me. You get shopping & grocery lists in advance with tips on how to have stuff prepped so dinners are quick and easy. Sign-up is free. Here's the link: http://www.menus4moms.com/index.php

Maybe this will work for you.

A.

Great question S. - I think alot of busy parents are in the same boat.

Here's a few ideas:
When I buy ground beef, I always buy the largest size, then brown it, season it and freeze it in 1-2 pound containers. Then when we want tacos, sloppy joes or meat added to spaghetti, I don't have to brown it - defrost in microwave if needed.
Last night we had spaghetti - very easy, just have to warm up the sauce and cook the noodles. I used elbow noodles last night for something different. Ground turkey in spaghetti sauce is good.

Baked potatoes- get one decent sized potato for everyone, microwave them until done. Let the kids add their own toppings - butter, sour cream, leftovers (chili, taco meat), bacon (you can buy precooked), ham, broccoli, cheese, etc. Great meal, very easy.

When the kids were little I often bought frozen chicken fingers or fish. Get the oven going right away, they don't take too long.

One of my kids loves potstickers -so we have those once in awhile (frozen, the good ones are Ling Ling).

I buy frozen Green Giant "create a meal" stir fry, our favorite is Lo-mein. I add chicken - sometimes I have to cook the chicken with the meal, but you could add leftover cooked chicken or pork to this meal.

Chili, sloppy joes, tacos, grilled cheese & tomato soup, hamburgers on the grill, chicken sandwiches, wraps, pancakes, waffles, eggs, omelets, etc.

Turkey breast does well in the crockpot too - yum! Cover it with cream of ___ soup (whatever you prefer) and you'll get a nice gravy to go with it.

I also cook chicken breast in the crockpot to use for shredded or chopped chicken in a meal - just cover with chicken broth and some flavorings.

Here's an easy appetizer - use a soft tortilla, sprinkle cheese on, melt cheese in microwave, roll up and cut into small pieces, dip in taco sauce. We've eaten these as meals too (cheese chilito).

Put out some grapes or other fruit or carrots & celery to munch on. Maybe the kids could help in the kitchen too. Or maybe a small bowl of cereal would tide them over and allow you more time to cook.
I'm trying the chicken breast recipe that someone posted tonite - love a recipe where I have all the ingredients on hand!

I don't know how healthy they are- I guess it depends on what you pick- but I like http://www.kraftfoods.com/easyrecipes. You can search for recipes a number of ways. Of course they promote their products,but you can sub your favorite or something cheaper. The recipes are at least a great way to get started. We "doctor" them up a lot adding different spices or other things to make them more flavorful (some have been somewhat bland). Take a look, you might find something you like. And you can save the recipes in an online recipe box, it helps you make a grocerie list for each recipe, etc.