Tag Archives: easy dinner recipes

Easy Weeknight Dinners in 20 Minutes or Less

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On average, American women with children under age 18 spend about an hour on food preparation and clean up every day, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s an hour less time spent chatting with the kids or catching up with their spouse or even just relaxing and re-energizing. Instead of spending an hour on dinner and cleanup, why not cut it to 20 minutes, or less?  Replace the cleaning, mixing, and chopping, with time at the dinner table, savoring your food and catching up with the family.

Here are some great easy weeknight dinners ideas:

  • Slow cooker soups and stews: Really, the slow cooker is a godsend for any busy mom. You can get creative with your slow cooker by coupling a meaty dish with your favorite jam, making an apricot pork dish (hyperlink: http://www.foodonthetable.com/recipes/355007-slow-cooker-apricot-pork), for example. You can also cook a rotisserie chicken or lime and cilantro chicken in your crock pot for a tender, succulent and juicy chicken dinner dish. Load up your slow cooker in the morning, and come home to a fully prepared meal, just waiting to be devoured.
  • Grilled panini: Grill your sandwich with turkey, spinach, basil, and sun-dried tomato, and drizzle the sandwich with garlic olive oil for a Mediterranean dish that’s both filling and fast. All it takes is about 10 minutes for the contents of the panini to warm up and for the bread to brown. Cleanup is made easy, too: all you have to do is clean the panini residue of your panini grill or pan!
  • Quick and painless pizzas: All you need is single-serving pizza dough (which you can defrost ahead), tomatoes, pesto or olive paste, cheese (unless you want delicious white pizza), and salami to make mini-pizzas that each family member will love. You can even use pocketless pita bread to make these single-serving treats.  You can even make extra pizzas and freeze for another easy weeknight dinner.
  • Beef salsa: Cook beef ahead of time or defrost leftover beef from another day to make a filling southwest salsa. Mix beef with quartered cherry tomatoes, black beans, shredded carrots, green chile salsa, red onion, and cilantro to a dinner that will take you 10 minutes to assemble. Just throw your beef salsa into taco shells and garnish with lettuce. You can also try this salsa with salmon, if you prefer fish.
  • Burgers: Use your George Foreman grill or panini press to quickly grill up burgers for a dinner that should take you under 15 minutes. Broil hamburger buns with a bit of butter and garnish with ketchup and lettuce for the quintessential, American dinner.
  • Hearty salads: Get some more greens on the table by quickly tossing up a hearty, dinner salad. You can prepare a taco salad with beef or make a summer salad with grilled chicken breast. If you like to make your dressing from scratch, make the dressing ahead of time to cut down on cook time. Chicken, spinach, and raspberry salads are especially delicious in the warm, summer months.
  • Fruit salads for dessert: You don’t have to serve a decadent dessert. For weeknights, prepare a delicious, sweet fruit salad, which can last for a few days if you make it in bulk. Make your fruit salad using fruits that are in season and at their peak ripeness to get maximum flavor. You can even add 3/4 cup of marshmallow cream, coconut shavings, and whipped cream to really take a plain fruit salad into dessert territory. Make a fruit dip using marshmallow cream and orange juice. If you’re not a fan of marshmallow, simply serve your fruit salad with a couple of scoops of vanilla bean ice cream. Sometimes less really is more.

Now that you have some quick and painless recipe ideas at your disposal, time yourself to see how fast you can get dinner on the table. The less time cooking and cleaning, the more time you have to spend your way.

Tools for Meal Planning on a Budget

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When we’re meal planning on a budget, we usually just try to find ways to buy sales items or resist going out to eat. However, there are plenty of other ways to save! All you need is a few tools around the kitchen to help you save big time on your grocery store bill:

  • Coupon box: store all of your coupons based on their category (food, beverages, toiletries, etc.) in a coupon box. Keep all of your coupons neat and tidy to optimize savings. We recommend keeping your coupons in a plastic filing box, which should cost you only about $5.00.
  • Cheap recipes: Tear budget-worthy recipes out of your favorite food magazines and copy inexpensive recipes out of budgeter’s cook book. Then, compile your recipes together in a binder. Next time you want to try something new, all you have to do is open up your custom-made budgeter’s cookbook and flip the pages to see what piques your interest. Use plastic protectors to file your recipes and add plastic dividers to organize your recipes according to category.
  • Meal planner with calendar: Always have a written calendar where you can plan an organize your meals. This will help you plan in advance and never skip a beat when it comes to meal planning. You can often find meal planner templates online or, if you prefer, you can make a meal planner out of a kitchen calendar.
  • Grocery store checklist: Never leave the house without a printable grocery list. You will be shocked at how much you can save when you actually stick to your list. Make sure to include a grocery shopping list on your fridge, somewhere where your kids or spouse can add things that the family needs. You can find printable grocery lists online, make one your own, or buy one at the store.
  • Vacuum sealer: Vacuum sealers or a “Seal-a-Meal,” is the best tool to package your food for the freezer. Freeze your food and use them for leftovers instead of throwing them out or letting them go to waste. Vacuum sealers could cost as little as $28.00, if you do some bargain shopping.  Make sure to date all of your food packages, too. Just don’t date your packages with a marker on the actual freezer back. The ink could run through and stain the food. Instead, write the date on the top of the freezer bag, where the ink won’t touch the food, or on a label.
  • Separate, outdoor freezer: You can always get an extra freezer for your garage if you can’t fit all of your leftovers and ice creams in your current freezer. A compact fridge could cost you as little as $100.00, while larger models will be a bit pricier.

Having tools around the house that help you save is a critical part of the budgeting process. At the very least, make sure you have meal planning tools and a coupon box to help you stay organized. Your investments will pay off!

Quick Easy Dinner Recipes That You, Your Family and Friends Will Love

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Some foods are just crowd pleasers, in spite of their simplicity. You could spend almost a hundred dollars on the perfect cut of smoked salmon for canapes, garnished divinely with crème fraiche, and your guests may not subsequently remark upon the dish. Often, people prefer a quick and easy dinner of simple, favorite elements and this can be far more memorable and much less expensive. The National Restaurant Association reported that, although the “culinary compass points mainly toward ethnic cuisines,” 66% of people just want a plain ol’ American dish, like a burger and fries. If you want to throw a dinner party that will keep people eating with delight all night long, your best bet is to stick to the classics and avoid “controversial” ingredients.

Easy Dinner Foods That Everyone Will Love

So what should we present at a dinner party that everyone will love? As the National Restaurant Association told us, the best way to go is with the classics. Try grilling up some juicy burgers and dressing them up with a homemade sauce, like horseradish or chili. You can never go wrong with a BBQ if you’re trying to impress your family and friends’ taste buds. Marinate your rack of baby back ribs in brown sugar, black pepper, onion powder, garlic, salt, and something spicy, like jalapenos and cayenne pepper. Chili, pizza, mac n’ cheese, and fried chicken are other classics that are bound to be a smash hit among family and friends. Keep in mind that certain ingredients also tend to be people-pleasers. Bread, garlic, butter, and cheese are all ingredients that people generally gravitate towards. The most successful ingredient of all? You guessed it: bacon. This food’s already incredible popularity has even increased by 26.5% since 2005, according to Mintel’s Menu Insights database. You can add bacon to basically anything and people will generally jump up and down with delight.

Foods to Avoid

If you want to make a recipe that everyone will love, try to avoid these ingredients in your cooking:

  • Cilantro: Famous cilantrophobe Julia Child once said that she would never order something with cilantro and that she would “pick it out if [she] saw it and throw it on the floor.” Turns out, these rather strong opinions about the green herb have scientific grounds. According to the New York Times, “Flavor chemists have found that cilantro aroma is created by a half-dozen or so substances, and most of these are modified fragments of fat molecules called aldehydes. The same or similar aldehydes are also found in soaps and lotions and the bug family of insects.” As a result, many people find that cilantro tastes like soap.
  • Beets: Whether it’s their moderate-to-loud flavor, unusual slipperiness or surprising sweetness, some people don’t quite know what to make of beets. We recommend leaving this food out of your dinner party.
  • Oysters: Some people are disgusted by the slimy texture of oysters, which is a shame considering that they’re an excellent source of iron and B12.
  • Blue cheese: Some folks just can’t get past blue cheese’s distinct odor, which some accuse of smelling like “stinky feet.”
  • Tofu: Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, cooking teacher and author of The 30-Day Vegan Challenge, says people can be turned off by tofu’s occasionally slimy texture.
  • Cauliflower: Cauliflower acquires a sulfury taste when cooked too long, which has prompted many people to develop a fierce loathing for the vegetable.

So, blue cheese is out of the question, cilantro tastes like soap, tofu is too slimy and cauliflower is sulfurous! Knowing that the masses are disgusted by some foods, be careful when planning a menu for your dinner party. Whatever quick, easy recipe you decide on, avoid these ingredients (even if you love them).  To be sure to please – stick to the classics, like burgers, bacon, and pizza.

Kitchen Tools That Make Easy Family Dinner Recipes Even Easier

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You may have plenty of easy family dinner recipes up your sleeve, but what do you use to make them? Sure, you may already have your trusty tongs, your Dutch oven, and a great saute pan, but there are plenty of other kitchen tools that can help you churn out dinner in a flash. Here are some kitchen tools that could make dinner and dessert a whole lot less stressful:

  • Panini Press: The panini press can cook plenty of different easy dinner recipes, from chicken breast to vegetables. Clearly, the panini-maker’s strong suit is grilling sandwiches to perfection. If you’re in the mood for a low maintenance dinner, simply turn on your panini press, slice a baguette and some turkey, add cheese, and press, for a delightfully warm sandwich. You can also use your panini press for dozens of other dishes, including grilled chicken, vegetables, or even pancakes (if you invest in a griddle attachment). Make a dessert panini with hazelnut spread, bananas, and marshmallows on white bread for a wonderfully filling treat.
  • Food Processor: A powerful food processor can help you blend soups, chop veggies, make smoothies, whir breadcrumbs, or blend homemade ice cream. Best of all, it’s more compact than a huge blender, so it doesn’t take up much counter space.
  • Salad Spinner: Once you use a salad spinner, you’ll never go back. Spinners help you wash your greens and dry them to perfection, without wilting the leaves. Dry, yet clean, lettuce leaves are necessary if you want your vinaigrette to cling beautifully to the greenery.
  • Slow Cooker: A slow cooker is a must-have for any busy mom or pop. Simply throw your contents into the crock pot and let the magic happen on its own. Invest in a slow cooker with a timer, so that you don’t have to watch your soup or stew at all.
  • Mixer: Any cook or baker knows that you can’t live without a mixer. Make pie crust, knead bread dough, mix chocolate chip cookie dough, make frosting, or make mashed potatoes with this electric wonder.
  • Cookie scoops: Cookie scoops aren’t just for scoopin’ dough on to your cookie sheet. This kitchen tool is great for serving guacamole, making fried cheese balls, or simply serving up a beautiful scoop of ice cream.

Next time you’re perusing the cooking aisle of the grocery store, make sure you keep your eyes out for these six great kitchen tools. Even if you already have the kitchen essentials, you can always use more help from great kitchen utensils. Each one of these tools will help you prepare easy family dinner recipes in no time.

Quick Easy Meal Ideas with Fish

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Every diet, nutrition, or health book will tell you the same thing: eat more fish! Studies show that those who consume more fish are less likely to have diabetes and heart disease, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. This is namely due to fish’s omega-3 fatty acids, which have been known to regulate your body’s inflammation. Luckily, fish dishes can be easy and extremely quick to make. Try out some of these quick easy meal ideas, which only take about 20 minutes a piece!

  • Tilapia in Garlic Butter: Garlic butter is delicious and can be great on any kind of fish, really. This butter tastes especially wonderful with tilapia, which doesn’t have an extremely fishy taste like many other fish. Brush your tilapia with garlic butter, along with other spices like garlic, pepper, salt, and paprika to extra taste. Bake for about 15 minutes and serve with a salad or some pasta for a delicious meal.
  • Pan-Seared Paprika Trout: While trout contains about 5 grams of fat, these fats all come from omega-3s, making them both delicious and healthy. Just one, 3 ounce filet carries about 19 g of protein, making it a great pick for those who need a hearty dose of protein in their diet. All you have to do to make a paprika trout is season fish on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Serve with broccoli and a spicy sauce for a great meal.

  • Soy and Ginger Broiled Salmon: Salmon is the reigning king of omega-3s and some studies have shown that this fish may even help with joint cartilage and insulin effectiveness. Luckily, a salmon dish only takes about 25 minutes to cook. Try a soy and ginger salmon, which can be made by simply throwing a marinated salmon in a broiler for about 8 minutes. Serve with peanut noodles and an Asian-style salad with ginger vinaigrette.
  • Pan-Seared Halibut with Tomatoes: Halibut only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and tastes great when seared in a large saute pan, prepped with grapeseed oil. Serve along with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and parsley on a bed of fresh greens.
  • Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry: Shrimp, like tilapia, is approachable and mild, and perfect for people that aren’t exactly fish fanatics. Shrimp tastes great in a stir fry with a sweet and sour sauce with lots of vegetables, like mushrooms, bean sprouts, broccoli, and scallions.

If you absolutely despise fish, we understand. Try taking a high quality fish oil supplement to get a good dose of your omega-3s. However, for you fish-lovers out there, next time you want to whip up a great quick easy meal try one of these recipes. The omega-3s in fish may make you feel better than ever!

Tips for Creating Great Sunday Supper Recipes

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We’ve all heard the benefits of eating with the family. One survey done by the Obesity Prevention Program at Harvard Medical School found that 9-14 year-olds who ate dinner with their families frequently ate more fruits and vegetables and less soda and fried foods. Additionally, researchers at Brigham Young University conducted a study of IBM workers and found that sitting down to a family meal helped working moms reduce the tension and strain of long hours at the office. While sitting down for dinner helps kids eat healthier and moms alleviate stress, family dinners are also fun and a great opportunity for the whole family to spend some time together and catch up. Instead of ordering in this Sunday, have a traditional Sunday supper. Here are some tips to create the perfect Sunday supper recipes:

  • Plan in advance. You don’t want Sunday to roll around and have no idea what you’re going to cook. Additionally, braving the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon can sometimes be a nightmare with frenzied mothers and children running amuck. Avoid the lines and grocery store and do your meal planning, recipe selecting, and grocery shopping beforehand.
  • Keep your Sunday supper classic and stick to recipes that everyone will love. Think of suppers that your mother or father used to serve you, like classic roast beef with home fries and gravy, lemon rotisserie chicken with fresh rolls and honey butter, or maple glazed pork roast with garlic potatoes. Once you find a menu you love, you can create your own family tradition.
  • Keep it simple. Don’t spend your entire Saturday and Sunday cooking and cleaning. Make as much as you can beforehand (like desserts, in particular) and try to save time by buying sauces at the grocery store rather than making them at home. Minimal cooking means minimal stress.
  • Get your family to lend a helping hand. This isn’t a one-woman show! Get everyone involved, from the chopping and peeling, to the cleaning. Normally, non-cookers get dish duty.
  • Pick a filling meat as the entree, like pork, beef, or chicken. These hearty meats are the anchor and soul to any Sunday supper.
  • Sneak in veggies if you have to and make it healthy. You don’t want to associate Sundays with pigging out and unhealthy eating. Instead, give your kids a positive example of what a meal should look like, with a balance of healthy carbohydrates, protein, and plenty of veggies. A side salad or grilled asparagus could add a little green to your supper recipes.
  • Make a dessert. Every supper recipe deserves a dessert for the special meal. Cheesecake, carrot cake, or even something as simple as Jello and some fruit are great complements for a Sunday supper. Try and prepare something that pairs well with your entree.
  • Pick a standard time to eat supper every week and stick to it. This will assure that everyone in the family keeps their schedules wide open for a wonderful, relaxed suppertime meal.

If you keep all of these tips in mind, you will surely prepare Sunday supper recipe to remember. Just beware: after one, your family will want a Sunday supper every week!

 

Quick Easy Dinners for the Perfect Dinner Party

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Turns out that hosting a dinner party is a lot more stressful than we all thought. A recent survey by After Eight found that 57% of people find entertaining friends for a meal more nerve-racking than commuting to work, while 25% of people said it was more stressful than a job interview. The greatest fear of hosts and hostesses? A dish will go wrong. While we may all get stressed out before the guests come over, dinner parties can still prove to be enjoyable and memorable evenings. And, even though you may feel like pulling off an exotic and delicious dish requires a feat of magic, there are some impressive dishes that can make you look like a culinary genius without herculean effort:

  • Lamb Chops with Basil Butter: Basil butter (or any kind of mixed butter, like honey butter or cinnamon butter) is an impressive condiment that’s easy as pie. All you do is combine butter, chopped basil leaves, lemon juice, and salt, then refrigerate for 2 hours. That’s it! Make the lamb chops in a heavy pan over high heat with vegetable oil (they should take about 2-3 minutes per side). Serve with basil butter and warm rolls. Total prep time? Only about 15 minutes. Trust us, the guests will love this dish.
  • Deep Fried Feta Cheese with Cranberry Puree: Fried cheeses are another finger food that the crowd goes wild for. Goat cheese also tastes great fried. Deep fried feta makes a great appetizer for any dinner party, especially when paired with a fruity sauce, like a cranberry sauce. All you have to do is cut the cheese into half inch chunks, bread them, then deep fry until golden.
  • Stuffed Chicken Breasts: Stuffed chicken breasts make for an entree that people adore, and they only take about 40 minutes. You can use pretty much anything to stuff chicken breasts but ingredients that work well are kale, spinach, garlic, pine nuts, raisins, or porcini, dried tomatoes, olives, and bread crumbs. Get creative and use ingredients that inspire you.
  • Shrimp Bruschetta with Lemon Fennel: Any bruschetta dish is beautiful, yet laughably easy to make. Serve as appetizers or “tapas” if you’re having a more unconventional dinner party. Try a lemon shrimp bruschetta, made with toasted bread (which can be browned on a griddle) dabbed with garlic. Fennel should be boiled for about 2-3 minutes until tender, then tossed with lemon, olive oil, and whatever other seasonings you can think up.
  • Scallops with Brussels Sprouts: Season scallops with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes on each side). Then, simply serve softened sprouts with orange slivers and lemon juice along side your scallops and you have an undeniably healthy, 10 minute meal for your guests to enjoy.

Next time you feel a little stressed about your next dinner party, just try and make some of these dishes and you’ll impress all of your guests with little to no effort. Who knew being the hostess with the mostess was so easy!

Freezable Easy Dinner Recipes for Families That Won’t Disappoint

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Freezing as a means of preserving food has been around for thousands of years, dating back to Greek and Roman times, where people stored food with compressed snow in insulated cellars. Now, we can thank the ancient peoples who innovated and developed this tactic of food preservation for making dinnertime a little less hectic. Not only is freezing foods easy, but its the best way to preserve nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. “While canned vegetables tend to lose a lot of nutrients during the preservation process (notable exceptions include tomatoes and pumpkin), frozen vegetables may be even more healthful than some of the fresh produce sold in supermarkets,” says Gene Lester, Ph.D., a plant physiologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco, Texas. Why? Lester explains, “Fruits and vegetables chosen for freezing tend to be processed at their peak ripeness, a time when—as a general rule—they are most nutrient-packed.” Food that’s quick to prepare, easy, and nutritious? That’s impressive.

Great Freezable Foods

Yes, you can buy frozen veggies in the store, throw them in a crock pot with a cut of meat and make magic happen for a quick and completely fail-proof dinner, but there are some foods that freeze better than others. Not all frozen foods are created equal! Here are some foods that can help you make easy dinner recipes that will delight the whole family.

Meats:

  • Steak: Steak freezes surprisingly well and can be chopped up and paired with a piece of ciabatta bread, cheese, and mushrooms for your family’s own take on the Philly cheesesteak. Mmm, that’s good.
  • Ground meat: If you’re making a taco salad or burgers, store your seasoned meat so you can enjoy a quick dinner weeks later. You can also brown your ground meat with celery, onions, and peppers to have the perfect base for any casserole or spaghetti sauce, ready to go.

Veggies and Herbs:

  • Broccoli Casserole: Preserve the nutrients in your broccoli by freezing up a make-ahead broccoli casserole. Just grill some chicken breast, defrost your broccoli casserole, and serve for a great meal.
  • Fresh garden pesto: All it takes is basil, parsley, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, salt and olive oil to make your own pesto, which goes perfectly on anything from pesto garlic bread to spaghetti. Freeze your pesto and thaw it for use when you need to prepare a last-minute dinner recipe. Combined with some pasta, this pesto will delight the whole family.

Prepared Meals:

  • Chicken pot pie: Invest in some individual-sized ramekins, line each with dough, then fill with a carrot, onion, fennel, chicken, and chicken filling, cooked in milk and broth. Simply bake crusts until golden brown, let cool, cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then store them in your freezer for up to 3 months. These individual and ready-to-serve pot pies will taste and look great even after being frozen.
  • Beef Casserole: Casseroles are notoriously easy to freeze and serve, preserving their taste and depth even after a month in the fridge. You can even freeze separate dishes together to make a freezer casserole. For example, try freezing beans with rice, braised veggies, and braised meat. This could make for a quick and complete meal later on down the road.
  • Mushroom Bolognese: Porcini mushrooms, onions, garlic, tomatoes and whole-wheat spaghetti, topped off with some parmesan cheese makes a great make-ahead meal that only takes about an hour to prepare in full. Just defrost your bolognese and top with some parsley and additional parmesan for a great, make-ahead meal.

Easy dinner recipes don’t have to be snore-worthy or unsatisfying. Simply put your leftover casseroles, steak, and ground meat in the freezer to make the base for meals that are practically ready to go.

5 Delicious Easy Dinner Recipes for Family with 5 Ingredients

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We always see cookbooks with names like “Easy Recipes” or “Simple Cooking.” What makes a recipe easy, exactly? Is there a recipe for making an easy recipe? The truth is, it’s not only time but the amount of ingredients that go into a meal that makes the meal “easy” or “simple” to prepare and serve. Not only can you make a meal with a small amount of items in the pantry, but you don’t have to juggle scores of ingredients, either. At least that’s what Claire Robinson of the show “5 Ingredient Fix” says, explaining, “People get angry when they see 27 ingredients in a recipe and they’re trying to learn to cook,” the TV chef says. “I don’t have 27 ingredients in my kitchen right now and I’m a chef!” Instead of juggling huge numbers of ingredients, minimize the amount of ingredients you use in each meal to maximize your cooking time.

Scrumptious, Simple Dinners

You can easily make a delicious dinner for you and your family with five ingredients or less. Just take a glimpse at these six recipes:

  • Crock pot recipes: If you don’t have a crock pot, get one! This inexpensive cooking tool can save you tons of time and the energy it takes to hover over a stove, boil water, cut and trim, etc. Then, you can create simple crock pot dishes with less than 5 ingredients, like this 4 ingredient crockpot chicken recipe
  • Baked Herbed Salmon with Summer Squash: All it takes is a two pound salmon, sage leaves, cayenne pepper, and summer squash with a squeeze of lemon to make a refreshingly good easy baked herbed salmon dinner.
  •  Burgers: Burgers are satisfying and easy, especially if you like spending time out by the grill. All you need is lean ground beef, chipotle chile pepper, monterey jack cheese, hamburger buns, and salsa for an irresistible southern burger.
  •  Brisket sliders: Get a BBQ spice blend, ground coffee, brown sugar, black pepper, and dinner rolls and have a BBQ on a hot summer day. The bitterness of coffee mixed with the sweet brown sugar combines to make the perfect BBQ rub.
  •  Mac n’ Cheese: Everyone loves mac n’ cheese and all you need to make this dish is just five ingredients: macaroni, dijon mustard, onion, sour cream, cheese.  That’s one gourmet serving of easy mac n cheese.
  •  Sausage and Cheese Casserole: With a little bit of creativity, you can cook a great casserole with only five ingredients. Try a sausage and cheese casserole with ground pork sausage, cheddar cheese, white bread, eggs, and milk for an easy dinner recipe that the whole family will enjoy.

See? Whipping up delicious, easy dinner recipes for your family is a piece of cake and only takes about 5 ingredients. Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, try and prepare dinner with 5 ingredients to minimize your stress in the kitchen.

Family Meals on a Budget: Meatless Mondays

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A vegetarian diet can be beneficial for everyone, including omnivores. Not only is eating vegetarian better for the environment, but there are a number of studies that claim that eating less meat could reduce cancer risk. In fact, large studies in England and Germany showed that vegetarians were about 40% less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters.

While the health and environmental perks are great, having a vegetarian meal every once in a while can also help you cut a pretty penny out of your meal budget fast. Without the need for pricey meats, your grocery store budget will plummet. Even if you only partake in something like “Meatless Mondays,” you could end up saving a ton in the long run. Here are some great ideas for vegetarian family meals on a budget:

  • Vegetarian chili: Vegetarian chili is inexpensive and delicious. Make it in bulk and have some friends over to help you enjoy it. All you need is kidney beans (or black beans and chickpeas) as a base and dried chili peppers, corn, onions and tomatoes.
  • Ravioli with Arugula: You can “jazz up” ravioli with minced garlic, shallots, and arugula. Ravioli is a great budget-friendly vegetarian meal that is perfect for when you really don’t feel like cooking.
  • Stir Fry: Rice is extremely inexpensive, as are bagged frozen vegetables and both ingredients can be used to make a great stir fry. Buy the generic brand of frozen veggies and stock up when they’re on sale to whip up a great stir fry. Use peanuts as a base for your sauce to give your stir fry a bit of protein. Get your nuts wholesale at a warehouse club for the best buy.
  • Bean Burgers: Instead of having meaty burgers, cook up some bean burgers, which can be garnished to taste just as good with some guacamole and a buttered hamburger bun. Bean burgers, made with quinoa, pinto beans, and cornmeal, can be made for $3 or less.
  • Sweet Potato Fritters: Get creative with your veggies by making them into crispy fritters. You can make sweet potato, zucchini, or even cauliflower fritters.

Eating vegetarian meals isn’t just great for your health, it’s great for your budget, as well! Try planning a “Meatless Monday” where you can prepare vegetarian family meals on a budget.