Anonymous wrote:Everyone keeps saying frozen veggies and I would love to start doing that, but how to best cook them? Steaming and then a dressing? I know roasting doesn't work.

Definitely stick with steaming frozen veggies but I don’t think it’s necessary to add a dressing.

And the texture is quite different with some veggies steamed from frozen vs fresh so experiment and figure out which veggies your family likes just fine from frozen and which are worth the extra money/effort to buy and prepare from fresh. For example, my kids love fresh broccoli steamed or roasted, but they don’t care for frozen broccoli. Frozen peas and green beans are totally fine, though.

Nothing I make takes more than 20 mins lol. Most things take 10.
Baked salmon marinated in pesto, rice or potato in microwave and veggie of choice

Cheese tortellini with Raos sauce

We eat lots of raw veggies. My kid doesn’t like salad so we’ll have bagged salad and she’ll have tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots etc.

Everyone keeps saying frozen veggies and I would love to start doing that, but how to best cook them? Steaming and then a dressing? I know roasting doesn't work.

Three of my go-tos:

- Baked salmon + minute rice + frozen veggies or salad

- onions, peppers and chicken or beef fajitas (cooked on stove) + tortillas/sour cream/salsa

- scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies with toast

Can get these all on the table in under 20 min, start to finish.

Pork chop in a simple pan sauce with herbs and butter and mustard or white wine, garlic, etc whatever is available. Plus whatever roasted chopped vegetable is in the fridge like cauliflower, Broccoli, asparagus, etc.

Sauté, not sauce - in the first sentence.

Get an instant pot. Cubed chicken breasts, sauce for 3-4 minutes, throw in a wegmans jar (any of the flavors) of the Asian sauces, and pressure cook for 5 minutes, then let sit for 10, and thicken with 2 tbsp of corn starch. Rice in a rice cooker and steamed veggies.

It seems like a lot but it’s very little actual work, and done in less than 30 min. Plus the variety of sauces helps it feel like a different meal each time.

Easy pantry meal is canned salmon cooked in a skillet with onions and seasoning over rice. You can roast veggies while the rice cooks.

I feel like for us dinner many nights of the summer is some protein on the grill (chicken, fish, burgers, steak). I put rice in the Instant Pot and it’s done in 15 minutes by the time the protein is grilled. Frozen veggies in the microwave which I shake in the bag with a little butter, salt, and pepper (delicious).

Dinner comes together quite nicely each night in about 15 or so minutes. I just thaw the next day’s protein from frozen the night or two nights before.

Get an instant pot or rice cooker. You can throw rice or another grain in - set it and it will be done and warm when dinner is. We mostly have with sheetpan veg and protein combo, or with a stew.

Can also make mujadara in the instant pot nearly as easily (https://www.feastingathome.com/instant-pot-mujadara/) for a complete meal. Serve with some fresh veg like cucumber or tomato if you like.

Lemon asparagus pasta and 10 minute white bean soup

Omelette

Fried rice

Rotisserie chicken, cottage cheese, cheese topping. Done.

If you are looking for last minute, forgot to think about dinner quick, pasta with lemon, garlic, and shrimp is my go to. I always have frozen shrimp on hand and it thaws in a bowl of water in like 10 minutes.
If you can plan ahead, the. It is grilled chicken or teriyaki baked salmon. The chicken I pound and marinate, then grill while rice cooks. Depending on season I throw asparagus on the grill, too, or sauté Brussels sprouts on the stovetop. Salmon I bake while rice cooks, and make a green veggie. 30 minutes start to finish.

Grill chicken kabobs (5 min prep, 15min cook)
Cous cous with olive oil (5 min)
Steamed broccoli (3 min in microwave)

Total time: 15 min.
Do everything while chicken is on the grill.

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