Easy Meal Ideas on Busy Nights

At 5pm do you panic because you have no idea what you're going to make for dinner?  After a long day of work, school, sports practices, housekeeping, and errands, the last thing you want to do is spend several hours at the grocery store and in the kitchen making dinner.  The solution is to keep a few favorite meal recipes and ingredients to have on hand for

Easy Meal Ideas to Get Dinner on the Table Fast!

Keeping a few ingredients on hand for family favorite dinners has saved my sanity so many times.  I love being able to grab some things out of the pantry or fridge and throw a quick dinner together on busy nights.  Our family has several favorite meals that we eat over and over again.  They are our tried and true recipes that guarantee us a meal on the table fast on busy nights!

Quick and Easy Meal Ideas for Busy Nights

None of these meals require specialized ingredients.  My pantry is usually stocked with almost all of the ingredients for the following meals so I am able to whip up a quick dinner on busy nights!

Mac and Cheese

An easy family favorite in my house is Mac and Cheese.  Everyone eats it, it's not expensive and super simple. I always keep the basic ingredients in my pantry and fridge.  I use a recipe very similar to  Easy Mac and Cheese

Ham and Cheese Quiche with Hashbrown crust

This is another great dish since it uses very basic ingredients that I always have in my fridge.  I sometimes add steamed veggies as well.  Recipe for Quiche with hashbrown crust.  I usually double the amount of eggs and milk and make the quiche in a 9 x 13 pan.

Calzones

Calzones is another family favorite meal.  You can either use pre made pizza crust, frozen bread dough, or make it in the bread maker, the way I do.  I roll out pieces of dough for each member of our family.  Then they add toppings like pizza sauce, mozzerella cheese, sliced olives, sliced mushrooms, pepperoni and chopped ham to 1/2 of the dough, leaving about an inch open from the edge.   The dough is then folded over the top of the toppings, and sealed by pressing the edges together.  I usually give it an egg wash or milk wash and sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese.  

Baked Potato Soup

I find myself making baked potato soup during all seasons of the year.  It's so easy to whip up.  To make it even easier, I bake the potatoes in the microwave.  I can have this soup done start to finish in about 15 minutes.  Recipe for Loaded Baked Potato soup.  We top the soup with shredded cheese and bacon bits and serve it with rolls or bread.  Yum!

Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken and rice soup has become a staple in our house.  It's so filling and flavorful.  It's another soup that I make all year.  Yum!  The recipe calls for basic ingredients so you can whip up this soup without a lot of pre-planning and shopping!  Recipe for Chicken and Rice Soup

Parmesan Garlic Noodles

his is probably our most favorite thing to eat of all in this list.  I probably make it at least once a week since the ingredients list is so very simple.  I usually add grilled chicken breast and green beans or peas.  Recipe for Parmesan Garlic Noodles.

The meals on this list are so delicious and easy to make, any time of year.  So the next time you are super busy, you don't have to dread the 5pm what's for dinner thought, because you'll be prepared with these Easy Meal Ideas for Busy Nights.




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