Foil packets: smoked sausage, diced red onion, diced bell peppers, diced zucchini, black pepper and garlic powder. Seal up packets, bake at 400 for 20 mins. Can be pre-assembled. Best if cooked on cookie sheet in case moisture leaks out.

Sausage / white bean / dark greens soup. Brown spicy Italian (chicken / turkey) sausage. Remove from pot. Deglaze with white wine and chicken broth. Add white beans, small pasta, boil til pasta is cooked. Add sausage back in, add dark greens, serve with parmesan (if the sausage is pre-cooked and in the freezer, this meal takes about 15 minutes to make).

Greek pasta skillet: brown either ground beef or ground lamb in skillet, drain fat. Add can of diced tomatoes, two small cans tomato juice, one cup small pasta shells, cup of frozen green beans, cinnamon, chili powder, black pepper, salt, pepper. Cover and simmer until pasta is tender. Serve with crumbled feta.

1. Tacos

2. Spaghetti

3. Indian curry using these spice packs - http://www.amazon.com/Kitchens-India-Butter-Chicken-3-5-Ounce/dp/B000V17MLS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377799376&sr=8-1&keywords=kitchens+of+india+spice+pack

I make some palak paneer, rice and naan as well.

4. Thai red curry with tofu, veggies, and rice (sometimes I add some peanutbutter to the sauce).

5. red beans and rice

6. keilbasa and white bean stew with spinach and tomatos (serve with farro and crusty bread).

7. Stir fry of some sort with rice or noodles

8. Lettuce wraps with ground pork

I always do some veggie with these as well.

Any pan-grilled meats with sauted veggies. We often use the pre-trimmed chicken thighs from Costco seasons with eat Taco seasoning or south Asian "meat masala" - pan fries in 10-15 minutes. We also do the same with beef steaks or lamb chops.

While that's cooking, steam or saute up whatever greens are in the fridge - green beans, bock choy leafs. Dinner's ready in < 30 minutes.

When I have an extra 20 minutes, I oven roast brussel sprouts in olive oil and salt & pepper. Super tasty and DD loves it.

Buy a pressure cooker. Makes hands-off stews (filipino chicken adobo is a good one since it only has about 5 ingredients) and pulled chicken/pork in 45 minutes, and you can prepare dried beans without soaking. You also need less seasoning/broth since it doesn't escape as with other methods. No busy person should be without one.

Potato skillet with sausage, ground beef, or whatever kind of meat you have lying around. Cook meat first, then remove and cook potatoes and veggies (green pepper, onion, mushrooms, etc.) in the fat from the meat. At the end, I toss in a couple diced tomatoes (or a can) to make a sauce. Love one pot meals like this.

Buy a bag of frozen white fish filets -- flounder, tilapia, etc. Defrost, lightly salt. Brush with melted butter or olive oil. Mix equal parts panko bread crumbs and shredded parmesan. Coat filets, bake at 350 until lightly browned (depending on size of filets, but usually around 12-15 min. Served with mixed greens and a quick balsamic vinaigrette (1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 1TBS mustard - honey, spicy, etc., 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp dried garlic, salt pepper and about 1/2 cup olive oil.)

One of the things I use constantly and makes prep time much easier is dried garlic (from Costco). I use it in place of fresh garlic for cooking, sauteing, dressings. Works especially well for high heat cooking because the flavor is there without the garlic burning and turning bitter.

Beef Carnitas - regular rotation
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/beef-carnitas-10000001227902/

Stuffed Shells - regular rotation
(Wing it; stuff jumbo shells with filling to your desire and bake)

Pizzas (we alternate between french bread, naan, and pizza crust).

Stew. Easy and convenient. Hail crock pots.
Swiss steak. Sam advantage as the stew.

Homemade guacamole is a regular side item here.

Last night I made a very light roasted grape tomato "sauce" for spaghetti. I cut a pint of grape tomatoes in half and threw them in my Dutch oven. Glugged in some olive oil and white wine, an entire head of chopped garlic, half a Vidalia onion, chopped, and lots of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Put it in my oven at 400 for about an hour to roast- the tomatoes get soft and somewhat broken down. When it was done, I chopped up some fresh basil and threw it in to wilt down and added a little pasta water to thin it out. Served it over thin spaghetti with fresh grated parm on top. Delicious, light, and crazy easy.

-beans and rice (with sausage added for my husband)
-pan seared salmon, oven roasted potatoes, roasted vegetable (broccoli, asparagus, etc.)
-chicken soft tacos
-Spanish omelet (eggs, potatoes, yellow onion, rosemary) with salad
-shrimp creole over rice
-homemade pizza
-spaghetti with homemade chicken meatballs
-fish tacos with pico de gallo
-salmon burgers with homemade pasta salad

in addition to pasta, homemade pizza, tacos, rice n beans, turkey burgers, turkey meatballs, etc, I make crispy 'something' every week (chicken, fish, or turkey cutlets). Basically, you take your protein, coat it in egg/milk mixture and then cover it in breadcrumbs and parmesan and sautee in olive oil. get my kids to eat lots of fish this way (mild white fish). Serve with veggies and rice or pasta. I also do an easy chicken parmesan: chicken breasts with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top, bake about 35 minutes.

crispy kale is good too--toss kale with olive oil and sea salt, bake at 400 or so for about 15 minute until crispy.

peanut noodles--toss rice noodles or spaghetti with a mixture of sesame oil and peanut butter and a splash of soy sauce.

Anonymous wrote:I make a sausage, veg, and pasta dish once a week. I switch out the types of sausage, veg, and pasta, so it's not the same thing over and over again. I use this as my base recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/01/creamy-spinach-sausage-pasta/

So it could go something like this:
Week 1 - Italian Sausage + Spinach + Egg Noodles + Monterrey Jack
Week 2 - Chicken Sausage + Broccoli + Fusilli + White Chedder
Week 3 - Turkey Sausage + Kale + Broken Up Lasagna Noodles + Ricotta and Mozzarella
Week 4 - Veggie Sausage + Spinach + Bow Tie Pasta + Monterrey Jack

I made the linked recipe tonight and it is awesome! Can't wait to experiment! Thanks!

I'm a Pp and forgot to mention one of my all time faves- Eating Well's skillet gnocchi. Google it. Someone here posted about it a couple years ago and I've loved it ever since. Easy and quick, too!

And I've got some black beans going in my Crock Pot right now to put over rice tonight- a bag of black beans, 5 cups o water, lots of seasoning (salt, cumin, paprika, and an ancho chile herb blend) with an onion, 7 cloves of chopped garlic, a small can of green chiles and a handful of jalapeño slices. Will chop up tomato and avocado to go on top. Yum!

In the summer always BBQ. lot of grilled veges, mini burgers, chicken kebobs and sometimes steak.

Baked chicken with potatoes and a vegetable

A pasta with vegetables or a meat sauce

Paninis (bought a machine and its great)

Tacos and fajitas

Pasta with fresh vegetables and shrimp/chicken/sausage and a light oil/tomato sauce.