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Would you mind sharing your quick and easy dinner recipes?

If they are healthy and kid-friendly, even better!  I know I'm a sahm, but my 2 year is very clingy especially in the late afternoon, which makes cooking dinner a challenge.  So quick and easy is key right now.  Thanks so much!

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Re: Would you mind sharing your quick and easy dinner recipes?

  • frozen steam in bag veggies are a staple in our house. steam them in the microwave, put them in a bowl when they are done and add your own quick seasoning (breadcrumbs, cheese, butter, garlic, etc.)

    my mom makes a really good pasta- the high fiber pasta, im forgetting the name now. she grills onions and adds a few cans of dark kidney beans to the onions, add seasoning (adobo, oregano) and lets it cook down a bit, then adds it on top of the pasta with grated cheese. easy fast way to get protein in without cooking meat.

    tacos- you can buy all premade fixings: holy guacamole, fresh salsa/pico de gallo, shredded cheese. all you have to do is make the chop meat.

    crockpot pulled pork, and buy ready made cole slaw to top it with.

  • skinnytaste.com has a ton of great healthy recipes- some are more complicated, but others are so easy!

    chicken/shrimp fried rice is really easy and you can make it healthy too-

    pepper steak, chili, quick pastas, tacos, crockpot meals- 

    Kristen(formerly kristen8/16/03, but the nest stinks and I had to change my name)Wife to Mike, Mommy to Kieran 7/25/06 and Michael 7/14/10
    The Journey of Me
    Vacation, 2011
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  • mine are mostly made with a meat alternative (like faux chicken, recipe crumbles or whatever)

    a few recent meat crock pot dishe's i've done. are runningmamacooks pot roast/and her beef straganoff BIG hits in my house with my daughter

    im making melbrides sausage and peppers which seems pretty easy

    perogies are a super quick meal

    chilli in the crockpot (although my dd doesn't like it)

    pastas and you can sautee up some chicken and throw it in

     

  • Turkey meatloaf-

    1 package Jenny O lean or extra lean ground turkey

    1/4 cup light sour cream

    1/2 cup marinara sauce

    1/4 cup fresh or shredded mozzerella

    splash of skim milk

    1 egg

    1 cup italian bread crumbs

    I put everything but the meat and breadcrumbs in the blender. I put the meat in a big bowl, blend up the wet stuff, pour it on the meat mix it up, put in the breadcrumbs, mix, then press it into a loaf pan that I put olive oil in the bottom. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Sometimes in the last 10 min I throw some shredded cheese on top.

  • imagemelbride2005:

    lots here to browse through - and also take a look at my crockpot recipes

     http://iwasborntocook.blogspot.com/search/label/QuickAndEasy

    Mel, I'm still scared of the crockpot since I have one that cooks faster than most of the recipes call for and it always seems to dries things out.

    I will check out your quick and easy recipes for sure, though.  Thanks.

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  • Thanks ladies!  These are great!  I was so tired of cooking the same things over and over again.
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  • imagetpquinn72:
    imagemelbride2005:

    lots here to browse through - and also take a look at my crockpot recipes

     http://iwasborntocook.blogspot.com/search/label/QuickAndEasy

    Mel, I'm still scared of the crockpot since I have one that cooks faster than most of the recipes call for and it always seems to dries things out.

    I will check out your quick and easy recipes for sure, though.  Thanks.

    if your home can you keep an eye on it. mine i have a timer and it switches to warm.  the two recipes i gave you have so much liquid and stuff you'll be good.

  • imagetpquinn72:
    imagemelbride2005:

    lots here to browse through - and also take a look at my crockpot recipes

     http://iwasborntocook.blogspot.com/search/label/QuickAndEasy

    Mel, I'm still scared of the crockpot since I have one that cooks faster than most of the recipes call for and it always seems to dries things out.

    I will check out your quick and easy recipes for sure, though.  Thanks.

    is it a 6 quart?  if so, I could probably tell you how long to cook whatever it is...that's what I have. 

  • This is awesome! I'm thinking about making it tonight.

     

    http://annies-eats.com/2009/11/04/herb-rubbed-grilled-chicken-with-creamy-orzo-2/

    I usually use light cream to make it a little healthier :-)

  • meatballs - i usually make them over the weekend and freeze in batches when i can. then it's easy to defrost in the fridge overnight and put in a pot to simmer on the stovetop while i boil water and cook pasta for 20 minutes. the reheating/assembling dinner then can be one-handed since i don't have to make the meatballs from scratch. easy to add a steamed veggie.

    i'm making london broil in the crockpot today from stepahnie cook's blog - it should be super soft, like a brisket, when done. never made it before, but i bet my kids would try it. it took 10 min hands on to trim the meat and add the two cans of soup and pack of onion soup mix. i also added some penzey's minced garlic and a few handfuls of baby carrots. later, i'll clean some fingerling potatoes and roast them with oil and garlic. while this is cooking for 8 hrs and the potatoes will roast 45 min, hands on time was small

    i've also sliced apple chicken sausage and sauteed while i cooked bow tie pasta in another pot. then i add some chicken broth and garlic to the pan with the chicken sausage, a splash of sherry, and you can add broccoli or peas or cauliflower, cover for a few minutes....put pasta in huge bowl and cover with chicken and veggies and sauce. this is a 25 min meal for me

    last night, i seasoned chicken drumsticks with salt, pepper and italian seasoning (meant to grab herbes de provence instead, but this was good too) and sauteed on a few sides in a frying pan, added minced garlic, chopped carrots, chicken broth and sherry and covered and cooked in the oven while a baked "mac" and cheese quinoa cooked too. the carrots and chicken were great - flavorful and soft. but most nights, especially week nights, would have been an easier less involved side dish. lately, i've been buying stop & shop's premade mac and cheese or mashed potatoes. kids and husband love it - i double up on veggies instead.

     

     

  • I am making this tonight.  It's actually a weight watchers recipe but you would never know it.  My kids love it!

     Mongolian Beef

    1 lb flank steak, trimmed
    1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
    1/2 cup water
    1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
    1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
    1 Tbsp Canola oil
    3 cloves of garlic, minced
    1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
    1/4 cup chopped green onions

    1. Cut steak into thin slices. Combine steak and cornstarch in a bowl to coat.
    2. Combine water, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a bowl.
    3. Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and ginger, sautee for 2-3 minutes.
    4. Add steak and cook until brown on the outsides (about 3 minutes).
    5. Add brown sugar mixture and cook for 4-6 minutes on medium high heat until sauce thickens.
    6. Add green onions.

    Serving is 2/3 cup meat mixture for 6pts. 1/2 cup brown rice for another 2pts.

    I add broccoli to make it more like beef with broccoli! SOOO good! You can also make it with chicken.

    I just use one of those Bird's Eye steamables broccoli florets and mix it in. I also add water chestnuts sometimes. To make it spicy, add crushed red pepper flakes! 

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  • http://juliannseasyeats.blogspot.com/

    almost everything I make is pretty quick and easy. My kids eat their fair share of things but I also deconstruct many meals so they eat some of what I am cooking. I also take some good short cuts. I buy frozen mashed potatoes, I will roast a whole chicken and then use the leftovers for dinner the next night. I also use a lot of rotisserie chicken shredded into my meals. I have a bunch of great ones I need to blog but my whole house is sick and I cant focus with my head so stuffed 

  • Try some casseroles too. You can prep them maybe while he's napping. Later on you just throw it in the oven. 
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  • Hamburger Strogranoff  (it's a family recipe, not Hamburger Helper :-) )

    1 lb of ground beef

    1 can of cream of chicken soup

    1 small container of sour cream - 8 oz I think!

    wide egg noodles

    butter

     

    In a skillet, brown the ground beef, drain, then add in  the soup. Stir around. Add in seasonings to taste -- I usually throw in some dashes of minced onions, garlic powder, salt & pepper. While this is going, make the noodles, drain, then butter them up in a large bowl. When you are ready to eat. Turn heat off skillet, dump in sour cream and give it a quick stir. Serve a scoop of noodles with a scoop of the meat/soup/sour cream mixture on top. Garnish with parsley. Yum!! I usually make a side of frozen veggies to go with.

  • I use my George Foreman grill a LOT!  Tonight I grilled sweet chicken sausage while I roasted cauliflower & onions in the oven then served with salad.  Some nights that's all I have in me - meat, starch & green.

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  • turkey sausage, peppers, onions and polenta

    cut sausage into coins and cook in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. while sausage is cooking, slice peppers, onions, 2 cloves of garlic, and chop a tomato.  once sausage is cooked through, add peppers, onions and galic to pan until cooked down a bit.  add salt, pepper and oregano to taste.  then add chopped tomato and a splash of water.  scrape bottom of pan and stir all together to make a little sauce. 

    polenta - 2 cups milk, water or combo of both.  bring to boil.  add 1 cup polenta while stirring liquid.  stir contstantly until all lumps are gone and remove from heat.  serve sausage mixture over polenta.

  • Thanks everyone!  These are great and really helpful.
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  • This is super easy, filling and fast:

    Chicken Sausage, Roasted Tomatoes and Pasta.

    I roast Campari or Roma tomatoes in the oven for about 20-25 mins (until soft) at 350- cut in 1/2 and drizzled with EVOO and seasonings. I use TS's seasoned salt, but you can use whatever.

    Meanwhile, take the chicken sausage out of the casing (I use Stop & Shop's Nature's Promise brand), break it up and brown it in a skillet. Remove from heat when done.

    Make whatever past you choose according to package directions (I use either Dreamfield's or Barilla Whole Wheat), drain.

    Once the tomatoes are done, combine them in the skillet with the browned sausage and 'mash' the tomatoes so the juices run and they turn somewhat 'saucy'. Then throw in the pasts and mix it all up. Serve immediately.

    It's soooo good, easy and fast.

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