Kids need to eat. Three meals a day, every day. All moms know how important it is to have an arsenal of quick meals handy. You never know when you'll have to put healthy food on the table in a hurry, or when you need ideas so dad can help.
Dunk It: Lucky for us, kids love dip. Cut some fresh cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, celery, and bell peppers and serve them with ranch dressing. Even finicky veggie-haters will eat their veggies with dressing on them.
Sandwich Building 101: Your child will love experimenting with whatever you have on hand to build a sandwich. Use buns, waffles, bagels, English muffins, or dinner rolls to begin with, or anything you have on hand. Now you can start adding peanut butter, fruit, meat slices, vegetables, cheese, hummus, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, or hard boiled eggs, or whatever jumps out of the refrigerator at you. Let your child give it a try and remember, it is a work in progress.
Plenty O' Noodles: Noodles often are the launching point for a faster-than-fast meal. Start by cooking up your noodles while you dig in your pantry for items to add. How about some leftover chicken, some chick peas, cut up celery, and a drizzle of Italian dressing and you have a salad. Just melting some butter into your hot noodles and adding some Parmesan cheese gives you a wonderful Pasta a'la Parmesana. I'm also fond of adding some fire roasted tomatoes or spaghetti sauce to buttered noodles, topping with some shredded cheese, and warming it on the stove just long enough to melt the cheese.
Roll 'Em: Tortillas make a great go-to meal when you're running out of time for dinner planning. If you have any leftover meat, chicken, fish, or vegetables, black beans, pinto beans, or cheese, you've got the makings for a very fast burrito. The ingredients are endless; as endless as your leftovers!
Spuds from Heaven: Potatoes are a meal waiting to happen. Microwave a potato, pile on cheese of any sort (cheddar, mozzarella, cottage cheese) and some meat, veggies, or even salsa or sunflower seeds, and you have a delicious dinner.
Simply Soup: When you have leftovers, you can make a soup that will please everyone. Start with some broth, add some onion, garlic, and celery and bring it to a boil. Now turn it to a simmer and start adding your bounty. Leftover potatoes, rice, or noodles are a good start. If you have leftover spaghetti sauce with noodles, add those and you'll have the start of a minestrone.
Turn the Day Upside Down: You can have breakfast any time. Cereal, eggs & bacon, waffles, and pancakes are all so much more delicious when they're unexpected. Breakfast is always better at night.
If your meal planning took a turn for the worse today, take note of these quick and easy dinnertime solutions and your table will be ready for your family in the blink of an eye.
Dunk It: Lucky for us, kids love dip. Cut some fresh cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, celery, and bell peppers and serve them with ranch dressing. Even finicky veggie-haters will eat their veggies with dressing on them.
Sandwich Building 101: Your child will love experimenting with whatever you have on hand to build a sandwich. Use buns, waffles, bagels, English muffins, or dinner rolls to begin with, or anything you have on hand. Now you can start adding peanut butter, fruit, meat slices, vegetables, cheese, hummus, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, or hard boiled eggs, or whatever jumps out of the refrigerator at you. Let your child give it a try and remember, it is a work in progress.
Plenty O' Noodles: Noodles often are the launching point for a faster-than-fast meal. Start by cooking up your noodles while you dig in your pantry for items to add. How about some leftover chicken, some chick peas, cut up celery, and a drizzle of Italian dressing and you have a salad. Just melting some butter into your hot noodles and adding some Parmesan cheese gives you a wonderful Pasta a'la Parmesana. I'm also fond of adding some fire roasted tomatoes or spaghetti sauce to buttered noodles, topping with some shredded cheese, and warming it on the stove just long enough to melt the cheese.
Roll 'Em: Tortillas make a great go-to meal when you're running out of time for dinner planning. If you have any leftover meat, chicken, fish, or vegetables, black beans, pinto beans, or cheese, you've got the makings for a very fast burrito. The ingredients are endless; as endless as your leftovers!
Spuds from Heaven: Potatoes are a meal waiting to happen. Microwave a potato, pile on cheese of any sort (cheddar, mozzarella, cottage cheese) and some meat, veggies, or even salsa or sunflower seeds, and you have a delicious dinner.
Simply Soup: When you have leftovers, you can make a soup that will please everyone. Start with some broth, add some onion, garlic, and celery and bring it to a boil. Now turn it to a simmer and start adding your bounty. Leftover potatoes, rice, or noodles are a good start. If you have leftover spaghetti sauce with noodles, add those and you'll have the start of a minestrone.
Turn the Day Upside Down: You can have breakfast any time. Cereal, eggs & bacon, waffles, and pancakes are all so much more delicious when they're unexpected. Breakfast is always better at night.
If your meal planning took a turn for the worse today, take note of these quick and easy dinnertime solutions and your table will be ready for your family in the blink of an eye.
About the Author:
Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom and owner of ShowMomtheMoney.com - a fun and informative site to help moms achieve success working from home. She invites you to learn more ways to save money in her Frugal Moms section. Be sure to sign up for her free tutorial for work at home moms.
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