Quick Dinner Ideas

[tifftiff4]

So I'm a stay at home mom whom works nights 2-3x a week and need some quick dinner ideas I can make for me and my family. Any suggestions?!

[GF Lover]

So I'm a stay at home mom whom works nights 2-3x a week and need some quick dinner ideas I can make for me and my family. Any suggestions?!

 

Hi tiffiff4, and Welcome to the Forum.

 

You will find what others eat for dinner on this thread.  https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/75238-the-whats-for-dinner-tonight-chat/

 

Good Luck

 

Colleen

[LauraTX]

Welcome to the forum, tiff!  

 

How many people do you have to feed at each meal?  One of my favorite meals when I am busy for the day but want something to eat when I get home, that you may be able to put on when you go to sleep in the AM after work is crock pot beans.  I base it off this recipe:  Open Original Shared Link  and you can basically use any beans and any meat (or no meat and just add a little oil to develop flavor), I like to do ham and black eyed peas.  You just throw it in there and then make rice real quick before you serve it (if you want rice).

 

Other quick stuff that I like to make are nachos and/or tacos.  I make my own taco seasoning, https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/105450-homemade-taco-seasoning-recipes-w-big-batch-xmas-gifting-instructions/?hl=%2Btaco+%2Bseasoning  I have the recipe and a few other extras I posted there.  Make a big jar of it if you use it often enough, its cheaper and better than packets from the store.  Continuing on the mexican theme, quesadillas are really easy, too, and kids can really help out with those.  A great use for leftover chicken, or you can make chicken ahead of time and freeze it and microwave when you want to put it on the quesadillas.  I pop open a can of Bushs beans and season it a little and serve with that.

 

I have other illnesses that sometimes make me unable to get up and cook much, so one thing I do is make my own freezer meals.  Enchiladas(recipe in the post I linked above), pastas with sauce and meat, topped with cheese(any combination works really), Beans freeze well, Beef Stew, lasagna, and chicken broccoli rice casserole are things I have made and froze.  You can find foil pans 3/$1 at dollar stores and I assemble, freeze uncovered, then cover with foil and plastic wrap so it doesn't get all mashed up.  You can either put it straight in the oven from the freezer or thaw the day before.  

 

One of my most common meals I make is just a grilled meat and veggies. I have a george foreman grill but you can also sautee or broil stuff.  Either chicken breasts or pork chops with salt and pepper, cook them up really quick, and open a can or cook a steamer bag of veggies, and maybe some rice or potatoes on the side.  Mashed potatoes are really easy to make homemade and I like to make mashed sweet potatoes, too.

 

Lastly, one other thing that is super fast and easy to make is chicken stir fry.  Just cut up chicken, brown it in a skillet, and cook a steamer bag of veggies, serve with rice and gluten-free soy sauce.  San-j who makes gluten-free soy sauce also sells some things like gluten-free terikyaki sauce and usually a bottle of that lasts for a few meals so it is worth it to buy.  

 

Hope all my ideas help!

[glutenfreeliac]

My favorite fast dish is fried rice: leftover steamed rice (cold, and at least a day old), leftover meats, frozen or fresh veggies, soy sauce, fish sauce, and lots of heat. Fifteen minutes, start to finish if you count pouring yourself a glass of wine. Tacos are also great quick meals. I'm a huge proponent of cooking batches of foods and freezing them. You can make a great Bolognese sauce in advance, freeze it, and use it to have a good pasta dinner in about a half hour. And, yes, anything in a crock pot is good. 

[luvs2eat]

I used to open a can or two of good diced tomatoes and heat it in a pan w/ olive oil, garlic, and some sliced onions. Then I'd toss in some pine nuts or leftover diced chicken and serve it over pasta. The kids loved it and it was so quick and easy.

 

Another fun short cut we used was cleaning out one of the produce drawers and lining it w/ paper towels. I'd clean and super dry several heads of lettuce and just dump it in there! Whomever was on "salad duty" for supper would just fill a bowl w/ handfuls of lettuce and we'd add other veggies. All this lettuce lasted nearly a week! Ya can't put the other veggies in there w/ the lettuce tho cause it'll get slimy.