What are your easy and quick kid-friendly week day dinners?

[Anonymous]

What are your GO TO dinners that are quick (10 minutes or less prep), healthy (if possible!) and enjoyed by your kids? I am looking for more ideas.

Here's one of our standard weeklies:

Chicken stir fry with oriental frozen vegetables (already chopped - just throw right into wok). I defrost 2 frozen chicken breasts the night before and will use fresh veggies as time and fridge stock permits.

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

grilled chicken breast, pasta of some kind, and fresh veggies (cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli, baby spinach)

scrambled eggs and toast, fresh berries and/or chopped up apples, bananas and grapes

[Anonymous]

Pasta
Tortellini
Veggie burger

[Anonymous]

Quesadilla

[Anonymous]

This is zero prep. Frozen TJ's turkey meatballs cooked in a pan w/butter (put them in the pan still frozen), with added frozen vegetables after the meatballs are thawed; served with spaghetti and spaghetti sauce or noodles and butter. Both kids eat it every time.

[Anonymous]

I made fried rice last night with random stuff hanging around in the fridge. I sauteed chopped ham, cabbage, green onions, and an egg. Threw in some leftover rice and peas. Seasoned with soy sauce. Tasty.

I also like dinner fritattas. These are also great for a fridge clean out. You can basically throw in any veggie you've got - onions, zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, greens, mushroom, potatoes, you name it. I like to eat them just with veggies, but you can also add grated cheese and meat if you like. Mix with eggs and toss in the oven. 10 minutes or so and you are done.

Pasta fagioli, or quick minestrone soups are also good this time of year. Saute a bit of garlic, maybe some onion, throw in some crushed tomatoes and water, add beans (I like either cannelini or garbanzo), small pasta, and any veggies you may have lying around. Have an old parmesan rind? Toss that in too. 15-20 minutes later, you have a satisfying soup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is zero prep. Frozen TJ's turkey meatballs cooked in a pan w/butter (put them in the pan still frozen), with added frozen vegetables after the meatballs are thawed; served with spaghetti and spaghetti sauce or noodles and butter. Both kids eat it every time.

Trying this tonight

[Anonymous]

Quesadillas - spread refried beans on tortilla and melt cheese in the middle; add veggies if time/energy/availability/inclination ...

Veggie sausages wrapped in refrigerated crescent rolls w/baked beans.

[Anonymous]

baked chicken tenders( rolled in crushed cornflakes)
and steamed veggies( the ones that come in a microwaveable bag)

[Anonymous]

I used to make English Muffin pizzas a lot, esp. when we were eating spaghetti once a week and needed something to do with the leftover sp. sauce. I kept a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese on hand.

Split the English muffins and put them in a pan with some butter, on low. Put a tablespoon or two of spaghetti sauce on top, some cooked frozen spinach, and some chunks of leftover chicken or other meat. Top with a small handful of Mozzarella cheese, and cover the pan for just a few minutes, until the cheese is melted. This was a painless way for my DC to eat spinach and it takes literally ten minutes to make.

[Anonymous]

TJ's frozen pizza, salad.
Fresh pasta with prepared sauce.
Black bean burritos.

[Anonymous]

Chicken legs. Put a little salt on them and bake at 400 degrees for 15 min., then turn them and bake for another 20 min.

And couscous and a salad. Couscous cooks faster then rice.

The chicken takes long to bake, put prep is only about 2 min.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is zero prep. Frozen TJ's turkey meatballs cooked in a pan w/butter (put them in the pan still frozen), with added frozen vegetables after the meatballs are thawed; served with spaghetti and spaghetti sauce or noodles and butter. Both kids eat it every time.

Trying this tonight

I'm not either PP but tried this and it was a huge hit. Used buttered whole wheat pasta spirals and a bit of chicken broth in the meatball/veg mix since DC#2 won't eat tomato sauce. Will definitely make this again.

[Anonymous]

1) Noodle Soup Night:
Buckwheat soba noodles (high in fiber and protein) boiled in chicken broth. I usually throw a sliced green onion and a few slabs of fresh ginger root into the broth, along with random vegetables (peas, carrots, leftover fresh spinach). Occasionally I will break an egg into the pan and allow the egg to poach in the pot. Can also thrown in leftover tofu or bits of chicken.

2) Make your own burrito:
nuked black or refried beans
shredded cheese
greek yogurt
cooked chicken (if on hand)
sliced tomatoes
brown rice

[Anonymous]

Tortilla pizza (use tortilla for crust, bake only about 5 minutes)

Black bean tacos (just heat up the beans and add a few seasonings)

Veggie burgers.

Frozen Salmon and couscous.

Stir-fry (it's really easy if you prebuy a bunch of chicken, precut and freeze - all you do is defrost and dump).

And I try to keep a variety of frozen veggies around - both plain and some with sauces.