Quick Family Dinner Ideas

Teach381

I'm trying to plan my menu for next week's dinners, and I'm so OVER all the things I always make. I work full-time, so by the time I get home I can't spend an hour and a half assembling dinner.

I need some go-to ideas.

wannagetfit02

Tonight we had tostadas shells with refried beans ( also added one can of black beans and some salsa). I just heat it on the stove and have lettuce, tomato and 2 % mexican cheese. I teach school and try to go to the gym everyday. My family loves this quick meal. I also use my crockpot a lot.

erisfreenici

My go to is chicken tacos:

The filling:

Cut up chicken breast into cubes and season with some paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt & pepper to taste. brown it in the pan with a little bit of olive oil. pour salsa over top of it and simmer until the chicken is cooked.

I usually serve it with soft corn or flour tortillas. Rice is a nice side dish, and maybe some sauteed peppers and onions on the side.

april_beth

Crockpot for sure OR how about a Sunday cook a thon and you'll have dinners made and ready to go?

learningtolove

casseroles. Baked noodle casseroles,or stovetop rice casserole. You can do a double batch and have supper for 2 nights. The only prep time is chopping some veggies and cooking your carb. Use tomato sauce as your base ( lowest cal sauce) and let the kids top their own bowls with cheese if your low for cals instead of mixing it right in. Get creative and add leftover chicken,hamburger meat or even canned tuna.

Poohsta0

Pound out two chicken breasts flat. Cover with a combination of chopped spinach, pine nuts, low fat cheese (feta or shredded anything really. Roll the whole mess up, brown in a skillet and finish in the oven.

joanneonline

If you like Mexican food, try this out. We call these "Turkey Joe's" - I just made the dish tonight and added it to the recipe builder to get the nutrition info:

Jennie O Turkey Store - Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast, 1 container (20 oz ea.)
Kroger - Diced Tomatoes - Fire Roasted (In Tomato Juice), 1 container (1 4/5 cups ea.)
Casa Mamita (Aldi) - Original Taco Seasoning Mix, 1 container (12 tsp ea.)

Total: 795 calories for the entire recipe which can feed 4 if you serve it on a whole-wheat bun, in a soft taco with lettuce & tomato or over rice etc. I vary the serving size (between 2-4) according to how hungry I am and which meal it is. It's really good. Just spray a non-stick pan lightly with cooking spray and brown the ground turkey. Then add the fire-roasted tomatoes and seasoning mix and let simmer 10 minutes.

It's simple, yummy, healthy and Easy!

CaeliAria

Tonight I tried a new recipe that I was able to get on the table in 20 minutes, so I was pretty pleased. And all four of my picky eaters were shoveling it in, so it must have been good. It was super simple too.
Just so you know, I did prep the raw chicken a few days ago while I was cooking something else to cut down on the prep time, if I hadn't it probably would have been an even 30 min. I am happy to share, it's called "Speedy Chicken Stir-fry" and I found it in one magazine or another a while ago, probably a Kraft magazine.

-1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
-8 oz dry angel hair pasta
-2 c broccoli florets (I just used some straight from the freezer, but I think they mean fresh, and you can use whatever veggies you want)
-1/2 c Kraft light asian sesame dressing
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-1/4 tsp each garlic powder, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes (I subbed chili powder to cut out any heat since my kids are little and it was just as tasty)
-1/3 c chopped peanuts, optional

Put the water on to boil for the pasta and preheat a large skillet to med-high, coat w/ cooking spray. Prepare the pasta as directed. Add the broccoli directly to the boiling pasta for the last 3 min of cooking time (if you use frozen like I did you should probably add a minute for the water to come back to a boil).

While the pasta is cooking, stir-fry the chicken for 5-6 min until done. Add the dressing, soy, and spices to the chicken and cook 1 min longer to heat through.

Drain the pasta & veggies and dump in a large serving dish. Add chicken mix and toss together. Sprinkle chopped nuts on each serving if desired.

**My boyfriend told me that this could be pad thai if you just scramble an egg in with the chicken. I'm taking his word on it since I've never had that dish.