SEARCH: EASY DINNER IDEAS

The things I find either take 42 ingredients PLUS a prep cook to cut the stuff or they simply taste like ass. People, I have found a REAL solution.   It all started with the picture below…

I was joking with my Mom friends , but, I did have to get my kiddo from ballet to track within 60 minutes.  Yes, I had to drive her and her buddy home and then feed her and the rest of the jokers who live in my house.  Now, because our 4th grader was headed to track I felt ok throwing some mac – n- cheese out of a box her way.  I mean she was going runnnnnnnning afterall.  Carbs are good for runners, yes?

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE FAMILY?

The rest of us need a little more protein and an actual veggie could not hurt. So, I whpped up CHICKEN PICCATA … yes, the chicken piccata my Step Mom will pay $20 for in a restaurant.  How did I do that ?? I CHEATED – DUHHHH Thank You TRADERJOES.

 

Trader Joes sells these pre-made dinner packages that are good for about 10 days un-opened in the fridge. I keep them around for the insane weeknights I am driving carpool and responsible for dinner.  What I do is make them ( they are basically great chicken cutlets) and then put the sauce on for one of my kids, leave it off for the other. IT’S THAT EASY !!  And yes I can just throw some broccoli or other veggie on the side and boom we have a meal.

The other easy thing I have been doing is just keeping a few low or no calorie ” flavor enhancers” in the house.  It all started when I discovered the usefulness of smoked paprika due to my friend’s food blog. Kellie Hemmerly made this amazing chicken. https://thesuburbansoapbox.com/the-best-baked-chicken-breast-recipes/  I didn’t have time to do all the steps but I did have time for SMOKED PAPRIKA. The spice is not hot but it sure adds a ton of zip to the plain chicken and fish I was serving each night.

Kellie has also pointed in the direction of a few more … the one I am using on everything is the TRADER JOE’S everything bagel spice. It too works on chicken and veggies.  And of course my heart still belong to siracha hot sauce.

 

Finally, my biggest Mom short cut I have discovered is INSTACART https://www.instacart.com/store/wegmans/storefront  You can shop and have groceries delivered from any store within 2 hours.  If you start using it a lot I recommend you pay the $100 for free delivery for a year.  I no longer have to worry about packing a weeknight shopping trip in when I am working, driving kids to activities and trying to make those damn dinners. Instacart does the shopping for me.

So – good luck !! And don’t stress… dinner will get made no matter what you are doing recipe wise. And even if it’s just mac-n-cheese of a box I am sure the kids will love it !!

 

HERE’S AN Instacart PROMO CODE: YOU USE IT AND WE BOTH GET $10 BUCKS OFF

( every Instacart user gets one to share!!

https://inst.cr/t/vEQ7SUXZw