I am in serious need of some quick dinner recipies. The spring semester starts in a couple of weeks, and being in school makes it hard to cook during the week. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

soft tacos

gr beef
can of rotel diced tomatoes

brown and drain beef and combine with tomatoes--heat through

i serve on soft taco shells

+1 on the student-not-having-time-to-cook bit.

So consider this tagged so I can find it back for more ideas.



Lately I've been cooking a LOT on the weekends, and freezing leftovers for meals during the week.  Of course, I'm single and live by myself, so I don't have anyone else complaining about having to eat leftovers.

I can see how my sis and I had to have been royal pains in the ..... of mom & dad about having to eat leftovers.  Of course, a 7 year old doesn't exactly realize how much time it takes to cook.

I'll have to agree with the cooking on the weekend suggestion. Nothing beats just warming up meals during the week. A lot of times on Sunday I will make a big meal so that I don't have to cook a lot during the week. Make extra meat with every meal and then you will only have to make the side dishes, which are relatively quick. We also have pasta night once a week, which of course is the kids favorite night!

I also almost always have chili and/or stew in the freezer in single serving ziplock containers. When it runs out, I make a new pot.

ETA: My kids don't mind leftovers at all @ 7 and 4 - I guess it's whatever you get used to as routine. I started calling it "part 2" and "part 3" when I would use leftovers and they think it's "cool" now to have them.

Thanks for the suggestions. I do the leftover thing as much as I can, but hubby gets a little tired of leftovers.

www.campbellkitchen.com/index.asp

Stir fry's don't take that long.

Since I'm the cook in this house and enjoy experimenting here are some ideas (all one theme however):

- Buy packages of Yasobi in the supermarket, cooking only takes a few minutes and it comes with different types of sauce. I throw in some fresh or frozen veggies, pieces of cooked chicken, seafood (buy 1# of the phony frozen crabmeat, pre-cooked shrimp, pre-cooked mixed seafood, etc.) and season to taste.

- Same as above but with any kind of pasta and bottle of tomato sauce/marinara sauce.

Personally, when I make this, it usually amounts to 2 or 3 meals for the two of us and I LIKE the leftovers!

- Really on the run? Buy a box of frozen corndogs. Takes ~1.5 minutes in the microwave. Meal on a stick!

There are a few good cookbooks that I've seen that have the theme of "make a meal in 3 minutes". Might be worth the investment?

There are also cookbooks out there for 30 minute meals. I know Rachel Ray does a show on the cooking channel and has several cookbooks out. Yeah when the tv programming sucks I watch food network. Also crock pot meals are great,have it cook all day and come home to a meal allready done.

I'm a huge fan of quesadillas.   I throw all kinds of stuff in there, leftovers, etc.

but here's one of my stand by chicken recipes that I love.  Serve over rice or pasta.

1 lb.  boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-3 inch pieces.
rinse, and dredge in a mixture of flour , salt, and pepper.
Brown chicken in butter in a large skillet.
Once chicken is browned, pour one cup of water over chicken, 1/2 cup of white wine, 2 teaspoons lemon juice (or slice up a lemon and throw them in), and one package sliced mushrooms.  Cover the pan, and simmer until the chicken is done.
That's it!  Its' awesome, moist, and very flavorful, and takes about 20 minutes.
And vary the ingredients, I have a heavy hand with the wine, so experiment.  I also brown some garlic in the pan before throwing in the chicken to saute.

Quoted: Thanks for the suggestions. I do the leftover thing as much as I can, but hubby gets a little tired of leftovers.

The trick is to make it look like something different the next night to fool the man's visually stimulated mind.

Thirty Minute Meals--Food Network

Don't know if you've ever seen this, but you can go to this page and search the recipes--some are a little weird for me, but a lot sound great!!  One of my friends tried the chicken mug pies (like chicken pot pie but in your own little mug) and she says it is great!

OK, so I'm bored, and I'll throw a few more things out there.

Do you like Italian?  Chicken and broccoli alfredo is really easy to whip up, and it's really impressive looking and tastes out of this world.

I've used the Perdue packaged precooked chicken you can find in the packaged meat section, or
saute up some chicken tenders.
Add that to a jar of Four Brothers Alfredo Sauce, and heat on low in a saucepan.
Boil some fettucini.
Steam some broccoli.
Combine it in a big bowl, and serve with some grated parmesan cheese and a salad.  POOF!

I love one skillet meals, too.  I make a MOCK PAELLA which is so easy, it's ridiculous.

2 links hot and/or sweet Italian sausage (about 6 ounces total)
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup Arborio or other medium-grain rice or converted rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped coarse
1 1/2 cups water


Preheat oven to 400°F.
Squeeze sausage meat from casings into a 10-inch heavy ovenproof skillet and add bell peppers, onion, and oil. Cook mixture over moderately high heat, breaking up sausage with a fork and stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to brown. Add rice and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and water and bring to a boil, stirring to loosen brown bits. Transfer skillet to oven and bake, uncovered, 25 minutes, or until most liquid is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.

get a crock pot.
most new ones have timers and you can set them to cook for 4-8 hrs and they will go to warm mode so you get a hot meal any time a day.
great for soup and roast.  
you can make an easy chicken soup by throwing a chicken and onion, celery, carrots in the crock pot for 8 hrs when you go to bed.  In the morning check the water level and add some bullion.
When you’re ready to eat drop some macaroni in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes, strain and put in a bowel.  Add the broth and chicken and you got soup.
Works great for chili,

Chicken and cheese.
Thinly slice onion, chicken bell pepper and fresh tomato
Heat a pan over high heat melt one pat of butter.
Add chicken and sear it.  
Add onion and pepper and reduce the heat when the onion begins to brown.
When the onion turns clear add tomato, mushrooms,  cilantro, and a little water and simmer until the chicken is cooked.
Reduce heat to medium low and add one to two big handfuls of cheese.
To make the cheese thinner add heavy cream or milk  

Serve on warm tortillas.      

Quoted: get a crock pot. most new ones have timers and you can set them to cook for 4-8 hrs and they will go to warm mode so you get a hot meal any time a day. great for soup and roast.   you can make an easy chicken soup by throwing a chicken and onion, celery, carrots in the crock pot for 8 hrs when you go to bed.  In the morning check the water level and add some bullion. When you’re ready to eat drop some macaroni in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes, strain and put in a BOWL.  Add the broth and chicken and you got soup. Works great for chili, Chicken and cheese. Thinly slice onion, chicken bell pepper and fresh tomato Heat a pan over high heat melt one pat of butter. Add chicken and sear it.   Add onion and pepper and reduce the heat when the onion begins to brown. When the onion turns clear add tomato, mushrooms,  cilantro, and a little water and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Reduce heat to medium low and add one to two big handfuls of cheese. To make the cheese thinner add heavy cream or milk   Serve on warm tortillas.

eesh!  fixed that one for ya.  Didn't sound too tempting the other way.
lol

Hi,
I have some spinal trouble, so I make almost all my meals in under thirty minutes. I can't stand very long.
So here's a few,...hope they help!

Spagetti....
while the noodles are boiling, I drop raw seasoned hamburger,...crumbled into the pot of noodles!
When both are done, in about 12 minutes, I drain thru a colander,and slide it all into a bowl. Then I add either add jarred sauce, or sauce I have made on the weekend. I know,..it sounds wierd,...boiled meat! But it is very good! [While it boils, I make a salad and we are done! About 15-20 mins in all.

french toast is a nice change once in awhile for dinner and very fast. You can even scramble some eggs and put with them and fruit.

I love the crock pot idea,---thanks I will have to dig ours out!

Boil up some chicken, breasts or whole, on the weekends. Stick it in the freezer in bags. Pull it out on weeknights and use it for fast tacos,or add to top ramen with frozen vegies and bouillon for a great soup,
or make chicken salad sandwiches on whole wheat with fruit. Same can be done with left over roast from the weekend shredded for tacos or barbque beef sandwiches.
 
I do make some things that take longer. But the my personal time is less than 10-15 mins. So I do other things while it is cooking. Like...
Chicken breasts thrown in the oven with jarred spagetti sauce, garlic, onion, and a bit of parmensean cheese and monterey jack cheese. While they cook, I sit and correct papers[homeschooler], and then I make salad or left over spagetti noodles with it. Quick italian chicken. and I didnt' invest much time.

Have a good school season!!!
Joyce

Quoted: Quoted: get a crock pot. most new ones have timers and you can set them to cook for 4-8 hrs and they will go to warm mode so you get a hot meal any time a day. great for soup and roast.   you can make an easy chicken soup by throwing a chicken and onion, celery, carrots in the crock pot for 8 hrs when you go to bed.  In the morning check the water level and add some bullion. When you’re ready to eat drop some macaroni in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes, strain and put in a BOWL.  Add the broth and chicken and you got soup. Works great for chili, Chicken and cheese. Thinly slice onion, chicken bell pepper and fresh tomato Heat a pan over high heat melt one pat of butter. Add chicken and sear it.   Add onion and pepper and reduce the heat when the onion begins to brown. When the onion turns clear add tomato, mushrooms,  cilantro, and a little water and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Reduce heat to medium low and add one to two big handfuls of cheese. To make the cheese thinner add heavy cream or milk   Serve on warm tortillas.       eesh!  fixed that one for ya.  Didn't sound too tempting the other way. lol

what did i do?

Thanks everyone, and I will try the foods, and websites you've suggested. I will also dig out the crock pot and give it a whirl. I use to cook in our crock pot on a more regular basis, but lately I have just forgotten about it!

I subscribe to a magazine called Quick Cooking,Quick Cooking, Taste of Home. It can usually be found in grocery stores. It has tons of good recipes, including pictures of the food, which is always a plus....I like to see what it looks like before making it!
I just don't have time to go thru all of the magazines to line up my grocery list. But I do put sticky notes on those I want to try someday!