FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

I need some help. We eat out/take out WAY WAY too often.

I have 2 toddlers and I'm 17wks pg with my 3rd. By the time I get home I'm done.

What are you/ your kids favorites?

I'm also looking to cut down on processed/convenience foods.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Lasagna
Burgers on grill
Leftover chicken cutlets as chicken sandwiches
English muffin pizzas
Breakfast for dinner

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

homemade pizza with whole wheat dough and fresh mozz
homemade calzones
tacos (make my own seasoning - better than the package!!)
quesadillas with cheese / taco meat / beans / chicken
breakfast food (eggs and pancakes)
mixed frozen veggies
quiche
ravioli
gnochhi
grilled cheese
sliders
fish with lemon and evoo
shrimp scampi


the biggest time saver is my slowcooker!!! dinner is ready when i come home it truly is a lifesaver. you can make anything in it, stews, chili, roasted chicken, soups, potatoes....its great.

i also will make baked chicken cutlets on a sunday or mac n cheese and then make extra for leftovers during the week.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Turkey Meatloaf.. I prepare it and freeze it.. then,, defrost overnight and pop in the oven.

I make chicken and tureky burgers and freeze those as well.

tureky Tacos

baked chicken cutlets...


these are my goto meals everyweek.. thank goodness my husband doesn't care about variety.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

I work 4 days a week and when I get home I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old crawling up my legs. I make a fast dinner for them, then DH cooks for us when he gets home. My quick dinners include:

-grilled cheese

-Dr. Praegers spinach pancakes or fish sticks

-turkey meatballs (quick to prepare, but takes about 45 mins to cook, but the whole family can eat them or they can be put in freezer)

-turkey/cheese sandwiches

-breakfast for dinner (oatmeal/yogurt/pancakes/scrambled eggs)

They get much better home cooked meals the days I don't work. I have to get better about preparing ahead or having the crockpot all set for the nanny to just turn on midday.

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

I make a big pot of sauce like once a month and freeze it so I defrost the sauce the night before and make:
-pasta with bolognese sauce (just add ground beef)
-chicken parm
-chicken cacciatore
-baked ziti

all easy once you have sauce already made.

I also make a pot of soup too so I just add some rice or tortellini and I am good to go.

Also some fast dinners for me are:
-tacos
-salmon
-pasta with broccoli, garlic, EVOO
-tortellini alfredo

I also get one of those rotisserie chicken and use the leftover chicken on salads and soups during the week.

Message edited 4/2/2013 1:06:03 PM.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

this is going to be an awesome thread!

I agree slow cooker kicks ass

chicken burgers/baked zucchini fries
roasted chicken (from fairway when I am being extra lazy)
skinnytaste anything- but I love their zucchini enchiladas
pasta with sauce- I make big batches of pesto and red sauce and freeze them in smaller portions and just take them out, put them in warm water and dinner in 20 minutes

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

I do 3 nights of make ahead dinners on Sunday and one night that's a crockpot meal. Some of my make ahead meals are pasta bakes, sauce and turkey meatballs (that I freeze for later use too) roasted chicken, pot roast, roast pork loin, pesto chicken, roasted veggies. For all these things I have them in pans that can go in the oven or containers for microwave.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

turkey burgers, corn on the cob, baked beans
crockpot meals are great!!! I love putting a whole chicken in there. I serve it with shredded cabbage with oilve oil and vinegar and mixed brown rice with red pigeon peas.

Dole makes great salad kits.

Chile is easy.
Can't go wrong with grilled meat with some steamed veggies

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Sliders
Quesadillas
Home made pizzas
Stir fry
Lasagna roll ups
Meatloaf
Chili
Meatballs
Spaghetti with bolognese
Grilled Cheese
BLT's with avocado
Pasta
Anything with shrimp
Baked salmon

I love the slow cooker, but I also do a lot of bulk and freezer cooking and portion things off. This way, I have home made meals ready to go and all I have to do is heat it up or do minimal cooking. I also do some breakfast items this way for us to grab in the morning.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

I usually cook on Sunday, eat leftovers Monday

I make sauce and meatballs in slow cooke

Stir fry- prep everything the night before and cook when I get home

Taco nite

Meatloaf- I make on Sunday and just have to bake

Casseroles- again I prep the night before and stick in the oven and play while it cooks

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Tacos
Baked thin chicken cutlets in italian dressing or BBQ sauce
Chicken pot pie - I usually prepare the night before

Think bite sized things - they cook quicker then big things like a roast.
Make friends with your crock pot

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Notebooking this!

I make a double batch of sauce and meatballs and freeze in single dinners.

Split ckn breasts or whole ckn salt/pepper/garlic I make extra so the next night we can have a big salad with ckn on it

Ckn baked with diced tomatoes spinach and mozz cheese

Turkey meatloaf
Taco salad
Home made pizza with veggies/meatballs

Dh is really good and will grill a lot too. We will just throw together a salad and call it a day!

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Well, I am not FTWM but I do have a 23 month old and a 1 week old so all of our meals are very easy and quick for now.
homemade pizza
whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce (I usually have homemade in the freezer)
meatloaf
ravioli
chicken tacos
veggie stir fry with rice
homemade mac and cheese
chicken cutlets with couscous or rice and a veggie
now that the weather is getting nice- steak or chicken on the grill
turkey burgers with sweet potato fries & a veggie
chicken & cheese quesadillas

If it is a particularly hectic day, DH will pick up take out for the 2 of us on his way home from work, and I will give DS Annie's mac & cheese mixed with peas or carrots, a waffle with applesauce, hummus with bread & a yogurt with some fresh fruit, pastina, or grilled cheese with spinach.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

My go meals are:

chicken (on the bone) - just add some seasonings, roast for 45 minutes

fish - takes less than 10 minutes in a pan

shrimp - very quick - last night I made shrimp "fried" rice. So easy and delicious.

pasta - with veggies or sauce

burgers - homemade

All with fresh veggies on the side and usually salad or brown rice or quinoa. I will make it "different" each time by using different seasonings or toppings etc.

We (I really mean DH, thank God he LOVES to cook) also will make large batches of meals on the weekends and freeze portions such as chili, soups, meatballs & sauce, black bean burgers, falalfel burgers etc.

We've really gotten into the freezing thing. This website and facebook page are good to check out for frozen ideas.
Once a Month Mom

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Crock pot, chicken so I can make tacos, pulled chicken sammies, or ranch chicken. I check out ideas on pintrest. frozen meatballs in the crock pot, meatball parm heros or swedish style and put over egg noodles. Anything panini or quesadilla. Make rice the night before and cut veggies so I have a fried rice or stir fry. Any pasta with veggies. I use jarred sauce or olive oil and garlic and throw in shirmp or chicken, in a pinch I buy a rotisserie chicken. The night before in a glass dish Ill put chicken breast or pork chops, cut up potatoes and a veggie-grean beans or asparagus season and wrap up in fridge so when I get home I throw the whole thing in the oven.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

When I am good, I make a menu for a week or 2 at a time. I have a list of dinners and ingredients making shopping easier (dork). But here is what my week sort of looks like.

Monday - chicken dish (pesto pasta w/chicken, cordon bleu, cutlets, or baked thighs or something).

Tuesday - Try to do a meat or pork (meat loaf, steak, etc)

Wednesday - Pizza night

Thursday - crock pot receipe

Friday - Left overs

Saturday - Take out

Sunday - Pasta dish (lasagna, ziti, ckn parm etc)

Obviously, it doesn't always work out, but when it does, it makes life much easier.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

i'm not a FTWM and I'm only pregnant with my first so no kids yet, BUT these are some of my quick go to meals, maybe it will help inspire!

Anything with shrimp, I buy the frozen raw peeled and deveined shrimp in a bag that defrost in cold water in a few minutes or leave the bag in fridge overnight. I make baked shrimp scampi or shrimp fried rice with fully cooked microwavable brown rice and edamame and an egg—so quick and easy.

pork loin a million ways, seasoned with herbs, slathered with brown sugar and mustard. It's not super quick but super easy just plop in the oven while you do whatever else.

Baked salmon, coated with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sherry and chili paste and topped with breadcrumbs. 12 mins in 500 deg oven i make a double batch. Paired with microwavable brown rice and maybe some edamame or brocoli or a salad

Chicken cutlets

grilled chicken burritos with brown rice, black beans and sauteed peppers. I have a big cast iron grill pan.

Fettucine alfredo, not the healthiest but quick and delicious and i serve it with a salad usually arugula. Fettucine cooked, drained reserving a bit of liquid. then add butter, shredded parmesan and a bit of milk or cream to come together over very low heat to thicken and add reserved pasta water if you need to

turkey burgers

make a big batch of meatballs, use them twice—once with pasta, once on sandwiches

porkchops sauteed, then i add chicken stock and mustard to make pan sauce

homemade pizza

you can buy jarred all natural marinara sauce, more expensive but no preservatives

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

I try to make something on the weekend that can be eaten again during the week. I keep my freezer stocked with leftovers that can easily be re-heated - meatof, sauce, meatballs, sausages, baked chicken, lasagna, soups, etc.

Re: FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

Thank you all!!!

Here are my quick meals for this week:

-Monday was Easter leftovers at my mom's (DH was at the Mets game)

-Tuesday was kielbasa, sauerkraut, pierogies and beans

-Wednesday- Pot roast in the crock pot (since last night was more of a heat and eat night- I pre chopped all the veggies so I could throw them in the pot this morning)

-Thursday- Egg Sandwiches (fried egg, cheddar cheese, bacon on a roll) with some sort of veggie

-Friday- DH and I have an event to go to- kids will get leftovers

-Saturday- baked Chicken Tenders with some sort of vegetables and rice.

-Sunday- ????

Message edited 4/3/2013 1:45:44 PM.

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

My new love (for DH, Im a vegetarian) is the bag of frozen tilapia from Costco. They defrost in 20 minutes and I throw them in a pan with lemon juice, pepper, garlic and oregano. I serve with a veggie and quinoa or sweet potato.

FTWM- What are your go-to QUICK dinners?

One more favorite:
Mix cooked quinoa, 1 can black beans and 1/2 jar salsa. Scoop into tortilla wrap and top with shredded cheese. Microwave for 1 minute. If you want to get fancy, top with avacado or sour cream.