Having to help my husband with our business along with caring for our children and my blind father, deciding what to have for dinner was always a challenge for me. However, I believe I have mastered it.
I started writing down quick and easy to prepare meals and each time I came up with another, I added it to the list. I kept the list on my computer and made a copy that I kept in my purse so that I could access it anytime or anywhere.
Over time, the list became a lifesaver for me. However, I learned to prepare some things in advance, such as chopped peppers and onions. Once every few weeks, I would chop bags full and store them in the freezer so that I could just reach into the bag, pinch off what I needed, and toss it into the pot.
There are also a lot of time savers you can take advantage of like packaged hamburger patties. It may cost a few cents more but if you're like me and you're in a hurry, you're happy to pay a little extra to buy the time.
Dinner #1:
The meeting with my daughter's teacher had taken longer than I had anticipated. It was getting late and my husband wanted me to accompany him to his partner's house right after dinner that evening. When I got to my car, I took out the dinner list and decided what to have. We'd had hot dogs the night before so it had to be something more nutritious.
I swung by the supermarket and picked up a fully cooked rotisserie chicken, a can of cream of chicken soup, two cans of green beans, a pack of garlic bread, and a pint of coleslaw. When I got home, I peeled and diced two potatoes, covered them with extra water and put them on to boil. I cut the chicken up, covered it with the soup, covered it and slid it into the preheated oven (350 degrees).
Then I opened the green beans, dumped them into a pot, added butter and put it on the stove to boil. The potatoes were done by then and I drained the water off into a large dish. With the hand mixer, I creamed the potatoes right in the pot. Then with a whisk, I used the stock from the potatoes and whipped up a bowl of instant potatoes then folded the real potatoes in with it. (It works!)
Within forty-five minutes of getting home, I had dinner on the table and it looked and tasted as if I'd spent two hours preparing it. We sat down to a nice home cooked meal.
* Creamy chicken
* Buttery green beans
* "Real " mashed potatoes
* Cole slaw
* Garlic bread
Dinner #2
It was the same type of situation. I needed a quick, easy dinner and had nothing prepared. I glanced over my list and headed to the market where I got a pack of fresh ground beef (already molded into patties), a pack of Velveeta Cheese slices, large hamburger buns, a large can of Bush Baked Beans, and a bag of crinkle-cut frozen fries.
When I got home, I switched on my deep fryer, which I always kept filled with canola oil, preheated the oven, put the patties in a long baking pan and sprinkled them with salt & pepper. I reached into the freezer and pinched off a handful of onions and peppers and scattered them over the patties, covered it with foil and slid it into the oven.
Then I emptied the beans into a pot, put it on the stove and went to set the table. When I got back, I filled the fryer basket with fries and dropped them into the hot oil. So again, within forty-five minutes, I had a home cooked meal on the table.
*Hamburgers, smothered in onions and peppers.
* Crispy French Fries
* Baked Beans
Dinner #3
I honestly thought this meal would be really generic, but actually, it was very good. I stopped at the market and picked up a pack of breaded veal (or chicken) patties, a small jar of spaghetti sauce, a pack of grated mozzarella cheese, and a small container of Parmesan cheese. Grabbing a loaf of Italian bread, I perused the noodle section and found a garlic butter noodle mix. That'll work, I thought, tossing it into the cart and headed for the veggies. I grabbed a bag of ready-made garden salad, a pint of cherry tomatoes, and a bag of frozen corn on the cob.
When I got home, I set the oven at 350 degrees, laid the patties out on a baking pan, ladled spaghetti sauce over them, sprinkled them with the mozzarella and Parmesan then slid it into the oven. I followed the directions on the pack of noodles, which was simply boil the water, dump the contents and simmer.
In a large bowl, I poured in the bag of salad, tossed in some cherry tomatoes, and went to set the table. Again, within forty-five minutes, we sat down to a nice meal.
* Veal (or chicken) Parmesan
* Garlic butter noodles
* Corn on the cob
* Tossed garden salad
* garlic bread
Dinner #4
It was pouring rain and I got caught in a long traffic backup. By the time I got to the store, I had less than an hour before my husband would be home. Dashing into the store out of the rain, I knew what I was going after and went straight to the meat counter where I got a pack of pork shoulder steaks and headed for the soup and rice.
I got a box of minute rice and a can of pork gravy, chicken broth, Glory turnip greens (they are perfectly seasoned), then swung by the deli section for a pint of carrot salad, then the bakery section for a pack of corn muffins.
When I got home, I sprinkled the steaks with garlic salt, browned them in a skillet then covered them with the pork gravy and let it simmer. I made the rice in the chicken broth. (If you've never tried it, it's good) emptied the greens into a pot, the carrot salad into a bowl, slid the muffins onto a pan and into the oven then I went to set the table.
And once more, I had dinner on the table within forty-five minutes of getting home.
* Pork Steaks smothered in gravy
* Rice
* Seasoned turnip Greens
* Carrot Salad
* Corn muffins
Dinner # 5
At my house, we rarely ever had anything for breakfast other than a quick bowl of cereal, or a toasted bagel and we hardly ever had eggs or breakfast meat. However, for dinner, a breakfast meal is nutritious and fast.
Fast was what I needed when I hurried into the store and snatched up some eggs, bacon, ham, frozen hash brown patties, a cantaloupe and two cans of Hungry Jack biscuits.
When I got home, I slid the biscuits into the oven, scrambled the eggs while the bacon and ham sizzled in the skillet, dropped the frozen hash brown patties into the deep fryer then I set the table and cooked the eggs. So once more, I had dinner on the table within forty-five minutes of getting home.
* Scrambled eggs
* Hash browns
* Bacon
* Ham
* Biscuits
* sliced cantaloupe
Keep a list of quick and easy dinner recipes and ideas. They will be a blessing to you for years to come. Don't think that you can remember because when we're pressed for time and stressed out, our mind doesn't function as well.
Do yourself and your family a favor and make a list. You'll be glad you did.