Brown rice with kimchi and a fried egg
Breakfast sandwich (egg, cheese, spinach or tomato, toast) with side of fruit
Pasta with jar sauce, frozen chopped spinach, and canned white beans
Anything from trader Joe's frozen section (seafood paella is a favorite)

This is for 2 adults and 2 preschoolers

Ground chicken keema with peas, cucumber-tomatoes-onion salad, mung daal, rice. 20 minutes tops from scratch.

Tacos (the middle American kind with the taco seasoning and the boxed shells)

Pasta with garlic and broccoli

Rather than feel guilty, I choose to feel like a fun mom who feeds kids things they like.

Our super-fast meals are:
pasta carbonara (cooks in the time it takes to make the pasta)
pasta amatriciana
broiled salmon and steamed or roasted veggies
quinoa with diced tomatoes, dill, feta, and whatever bell peppers/cucumbers/green onions, etc., we have around.

Meatballs on baguette

Tteokbokki with ground pork and broccolini. Make a quick sauce with hoisin, gochujang, and tahini. Takes about 20 mins or less from start to finish. So tasty.

I don’t feel bad about much, but

Scrambled eggs and toast and fruit
Prepackaged soup from sam’s with toast
Pasta and jar sauce
Cereal

Those are just off the top of my head

Bag of everything salad mix and just bare chicken nuggets. Cook nuggets, combine salad mix ngredients, add nuggets.

Anonymous wrote:I go to the grocery store and get a rotisserie chicken, a bag of salad, another container of plain greens (or whatever veg my kids will actually eat - snap peas, baby carrots, etc), and a loaf of crusty bread. Sometimes I'll also grab a hunk of brie. My kids LOVE this and say it's one of their favorite meals. I also do this exact same meal when I've committed to a Meal Train and have run out of time to actually make a meal....

Forgot to add that I do the extra container of plain greens for DH and I to mix with the bagged salad (always has so much extra dressing) or to make a plain EVOO/Vin dressing for the kids.

Other favorite no-brainer meals:

Bean and cheese quesadillas or tacos. I try to keep tortillas and cheese in the freezer and buy 2 cans of black beans every time I go to the grocery store.

Pasta + Rao's sauce

Sausage/Veg bake - throw cut up veggies plus sausage (pre-cooked, uncooked, whatever, but we prefer brats) on a sheet pan and toss with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika. roast at 425-450 until browned to the level you like. Serve with crusty bread, couscous, or nothing. Uses up whatever random veg I have in the fridge. If I really don't want to deal, I pick up pre-cut veg at the grocery store and use that. Note that this is more time-intensive than the other ideas, but it's something my non-cooking husband can easily make without any direction from me.

I go to the grocery store and get a rotisserie chicken, a bag of salad, another container of plain greens (or whatever veg my kids will actually eat - snap peas, baby carrots, etc), and a loaf of crusty bread. Sometimes I'll also grab a hunk of brie. My kids LOVE this and say it's one of their favorite meals. I also do this exact same meal when I've committed to a Meal Train and have run out of time to actually make a meal....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicken strips, boxed deluxe Mac and cheese, canned veggies, roll
Scrambled eggs, sausage, hash brown, toast
Frozen pizza
Penne/spaghetti, Rao’s sauce, frozen meatballs, bag salad, Texas toast

How come you have two carbs for each meal? I’ve never seen that before.

I’m the PP-my basic dinner formula is meat/poultry/seafood, vegetable, starch, and a small bit of bread for the kids. The breakfast meal is an exception to that rule. Are you asking because of the bread?

Perdue chicken patties, pasta plus spaghetti (angel hair boils only 4 min) and Raos sauce. It has been my go to when I get home too late to cook. DH melts a slice of provolone on top. i eat mine with arugula.

Blender protein pancakes plus fruit or fruit smoothie—each pancake is 1 egg, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1/4 cup oats (or AP flour if you want),1/4 teaspoon baking powder, splash of vanilla. If you use oats I like to add cinnamon.

Cauliflower pizza loaded with veggies. No gluten,. 20 minutes.

Anonymous wrote:Chicken strips, boxed deluxe Mac and cheese, canned veggies, roll
Scrambled eggs, sausage, hash brown, toast
Frozen pizza
Penne/spaghetti, Rao’s sauce, frozen meatballs, bag salad, Texas toast

How come you have two carbs for each meal? I’ve never seen that before.