Quick And Easy Meals For Hectic Days

These ideas for quick and easy meals are ideal for those hectic days when you don’t have a lot of time to cook. These easy tips and ideas make it easier!

Quick And Easy Meals For Busy Days

Last night was one of those nights at Tawra’s house. She had one child’s teacher conference and right after it another one had a concert.

As soon as Tawra got in the door with the kids after school, she was in full gear trying to make dinner, get homework done, get everyone dressed and get out the door. Dad didn’t come home from work until just before they needed to leave.

It is important to have some quick and easy meals at your fingertips for these kinds of days.

Make a list of 5 quick and easy meals on a 3×5 card to keep in your recipe file. They should have all or most of these characteristics:

1. The meal can be made the day before or early in the day.
2. Quick and easy meals should have ingredients that can be kept in the pantry or freezer– ingredients that are always on hand.
3. It can be kept warm easily.
4. The meals are one pot dishes (Each menu is a whole meal in and of itself, not needing a lot of side dishes.)
5. The menus should be easily served to different people at different times.
6. The meals shouldn’t require a lot of pans to prepare or dishes in order to eat.

 

Here are some examples of quick and easy meals:

• Chili – Homemade chili can easily be made the day before or morning of the day you need it. All the ingredients are kept in the pantry and freezer. Homemade chili uses only one pot to prepare, one bowl to eat and can be kept warm to eat at different times should you need it sooner or later.
• Stew or vegetable soup – These have the same benefits as chili.
• Roast, Potatoes and Carrots – Roast can also be put in the oven or crockpot early in the day and slow cooked. Slow Cooked Roast can easily be kept warm in the crockpot or oven, needs only one plate to serve and roast, potatoes and carrots makes a full meal all by itself.
• Hamburger Casserole – Hamburger casserole is also quick and easy. You can really use any of your favorite casseroles as plan ahead quick and easy meals. Most casseroles seem like familiar dishes but there is nothing wrong with that. Did you know most families eat the same 10 meals over and over because they like the familiarity? Most families don’t really mind.

The main object is to have a meal already cooked that allows you to feed your family while creating very little mess in the kitchen from preparation and from dishes used for eating.

Of course, you can add things like a salad, a vegetable or some bread to the meal if you have time but the whole idea is, if you don’t have time, you don’t have to add anything at all.

For lots more quick and easy meals that you can make ahead of time, check out our Dining on a Dime cookbook. Dining on a Dime includes all of these recipes and hundreds more along with a bunch of other ideas to make it easier to put dinner on the table and get out of the kitchen!

Make your life easier – plan ahead.

-Jill