[WombToBloom]

You're short on time...the family needs to eat...and everyone needs to scramble to various activities. What to do???

What is your favorite meal to serve if it has to be prepared, cooked, and on the table in 30 minutes?

Oh...to make it interesting...no frozen instant meals or takeout menus allowed!

[septembermom]

Morning mix-up. It's nice to have breakfast at night for dinner. Just cook come hash brown potatoes and bacon or sausage. Then mix up some scrambled eggs and pour over the cooked hashbrowns as they are on low heat. Add in the meat and shredded cheese, allow to cook together for a minute and you're done. It's delicious.

[Jodi Mercier]

I got one!
Chicken and Rice.
I use:
4 small chicken breasts
1 cup uncle bens Fast and Natural Whole Grain Rice
1 can (14 oz) of chicken broth
2 Tbls. cream cheese OR 1 can cream of mushroom soup

Season the chicken breasts to taste. I like just adding garlic salt.
Saute on med heat 6 minutes per side, remove from pan.
Add Rice and chicken broth to pan (and cream of mushroom soup if using it)
Slice the chicken breasts up and add to mixture. This lets all the goodness of the sauce into the chicken. It is okay if the chicken is not fully cooked when slicing. It will finish as you cook the rice. You could also opt to cut up before cooking, but the chicken will not be as tender.
Cook 10 minutes or until broth is absorbed into the rice. If using the cream cheese, add at this point.

Sorry for the all the crazy instructions. I make it different all the time..but these are the 2 versions I use most. You could also saute mushrooms up after the chicken for added mushroom flavor.

[Jodi Mercier]

I just thought of another...

I grill up chicken and sliced red peppers and onion on the grill. I crush fresh garlic and sprinkle it on the chicken with some olive oil before grilling. It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 15 to grill. We then roll them up in tortillas with a touch of cheese if you like. My kids LOVE rollups, as they call them.

[WombToBloom]

These are awesome...going right in the ol' idea box for next week. Keep 'em coming!

[iambarefoot]

I make mashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream ahead of time and freeze them. (I make a whole bag of potatoes at a time and put them in small sized containers) and then I just pull them out earlier in the day to thaw, grill up some chicken and add a veggie. Voila!

[Kadi]

One of my favorite easy meals are fish tacos. I make fish sticks, shove them into corn tortillas, top with queso fresco, pico de gallo cabbage and yogurt sauce (lime juice, plain yogurt and garlic salt.)

Stats:

Start to finish: 15 minutes!
Kid Approved: YES! But some kids do not like the pico de gallo so they omit it.
Healthy: Pretty healthy. We bake the fish sticks.
Cost Effectiveness: Very. Omit the cheese for extra savings! Under $2.00 per person to make.

[Steph]

Spaghetti is always my go-to meal. Cook up some frozen veggies and toast garlic bread.

There's also stir-fry... Cut up some chicken and cook in the skillet, add a bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables or chopped fresh vegetables, cook and add some garlic powder, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and whatever else sounds good, and serve over rice.

Keep these coming, I love new recipe ideas.

[johniori]

i uses vegetables daily containing vitamins and calcium........

[ABSea]

Anything that goes in the crock pot! Hubby or I will set out the ingredients the night before, right on the counter next to the CP. In the morning while we are making school lunches and breakfast, I throw everything in the CP and set it. By dinner time we just scoop and serve!