Being a mother is hard. I’ve done the working mother route. I’ve done the stay-at-home mother route. And both of them have their challenges. For me, the biggest challenge is dinner. In both roles, 5:00 somehow comes around much quicker than I anticipated, and I am left in the lurch trying to feed my family of five. Much to my dismay, just because a recipe shows up on google when you search for “quick dinners”, that does not mean that it is actually a quick meal. If I don’t have time to defrost meat, why on earth would I have time to sear both sides, Pinterest?!
To make a long story short, I’ve had to redefine my expectations for dinner. Each night does not need to be a full-course meal or culinary experience for my family. In doing this, I’ve actually gotten a lot more enjoyment out of cooking when I want to make a nicer meal.
Each quarter of the year, my husband and I also participate in what we call a “fiscal fast” where we try to spend as little as possible for an entire month to help build up our nest egg or pay off lingering debt. I find that these meal ideas are what we lean on during our fiscal fasts because they are cheap yet satisfying.
Are they culinary masterpieces? Heavens no. But they aren’t cold cereal either (which is totally valid, mama!) Chef Gordon Ramsey is probably tossing and turning in cold sweats at the thought of me actually feeding my children this, but sometimes reality is just that: reality.
So, here are 20 quick meal ideas for when you are in the throes of motherhood and you haven’t even thought about defrosting meat for dinner.
- French Dip Sandwiches: hoagie rolls, roast beef pack from Costco, and pre-sliced provolone cheese. We add mayonnaise to ours because we are certified Idahoan. Pop them in the oven until the cheese melts. Dip in au jus or eat plain. For au jus, my family boils 2 cups of water with 3 beef bouillon cubes because we are just that fancy.
- Tuna Melts: tuna, cheese, bread, all heated in your oven until the cheese melts.
- Taco soup: I use a few cans of pre-made chili (Nalley Original, if you’re wondering), and dump it into a pot alongside diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, shredded cheese, and sour cream. Literally open the cans, dump, and bring to a boil. Serve with tortilla chips if you have them. Serve with saltines if you don’t – my kids actually prefer the saltines.
- Quesadillas: black beans, cheese, and cumin, all wrapped up and cooked in a tortilla on the stovetop. If we have a can of refried beans, some corn, or diced tomatoes, I add that in, too. Dip into sour cream mixed with salsa if you want to go the extra mile.
- Homemade Pizzas: hear me out, okay? This one may take a bit longer depending on the route you want to go. Premade crust? Hello! Super-fast personal size pizzas? Buy flat pita bread and use that as your premade crusts. Or buy a box of Jiffy Pizza Crust mix and attempt your best pizza tosses. These boxes are literally 60 cents at Winco and make a medium-sized pizza per crust. I add Italian seasoning into the crust for extra flavor. I always forget to do the prebake and our pizzas turn out just fine. We do this every Friday as a family ‘date night’ activity. Another rendition of this is to make garlic bread pizzas, where you cut up garlic bread (I literally buy garlic bread for this meal) and that becomes the crust of your new personal pizza. We keep things super simple by way of toppings: tomato sauce, pepperoni, and cheese.
- Breakfast for Dinner: scrambled eggs, pancakes, and hash browns if you feel like taking the time. Cut up some fruit if you have it. My kids beg for breakfast for dinner.
- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup: another staple of our family. Make your tomato soup with milk for a creamier taste.
- Winger’s Knock-Off Salad: buy a bag of ready-to-make Caesar salad and some microwavable chicken tenders (or tenders from the store deli). Cut up the cooked chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces (I use kitchen shears to make this quick) and then toss in Winger’s Sauce, which is available at Costco. If you don’t have Winger’s Sauce, try your favorite barbecue sauce. Add the cut-up tenders back to your salad and enjoy! One of my mommy-lunch staples!
- Vegetarian Spaghetti: If you don’t have time to defrost meat, spaghetti noodles and sauce is still pretty darn tasty for that approaching 7 pm meal. For a side, I will make homemade garlic toast – buttered bread with garlic powder, broiled or toasted depending on time.
- Porridge: take a can of cream of chicken soup and pour it into a pot. Add the can’s worth of milk, and then add a can’s worth of minute rice. Cook all of this on your stovetop with whatever seasonings you deem necessary until the rice is cooked through. Top with cheese and serve! My husband and I like to add curry powder to our porridge for extra flavor.
- Chili Dogs: another fiscal fast staple. I slice each hotdog in half and then microwave until they are cooked through. I also open up two or so cans of our trusted Nalley chili and cook that in the microwave (or on the stovetop) separately. Cut up the hotdogs into bite-sized pieces for the kids and serve both hotdog and chili on top of a plain piece of bread.
- Loaded Potatoes: did you know that you can cook a baked potato in the microwave? If you don’t have time to cook potatoes in the oven, cut your potato in half and then prick it all over with a fork. Cook a few potatoes at a time in the microwave for 5 minutes. If it still needs more cook time, I recommend doing a minute or so at a time. Again, cook up some cans of Nalley’s chili. #notasponsor! Serve the chili on your potatoes with cheese, sour cream, and whatever other toppings you have at your disposal.
- Tuna Mac or Chili Mac: prepare your box of mac n cheese as normal, but when you drain the noodles and add in your milk, butter, and powdered cheese, also add in either a drained can (or two) of tuna, or a can of chili, and cook for an extra minute or two. This is a weirdly satisfying meal.
- Tuna Casserole: we’ve fully entered white-girl territory here and I know it. Cook noodles until they are tender and then combine with cream of mushroom soup, corn, and/or peas. Add in tuna and top with cheese. Bake until the cheese melts. If you’ve got an onion, chop it and add that in. As always, add your favorite seasonings to help.
- Ramen: this one is a given, but to elevate it and add in some protein, we crack an egg into our noodles as they are cooking. You can also add in any stir-fry type veggies if you have them during the noodle-cooking process. Ramen is literally ten cents a pack, making this a fiscal fast savior.
- Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: cook up black beans and onions in taco seasoning while you’re cooking your sweet potatoes. They can be microwaved! Serve your sweet potatoes stuffed with your black beans, sour cream, and avocado if you want to splurge.
- Broccoli Alfredo: while boiling your noodles, add in cut broccoli about halfway through so that they don’t turn to mush. Add in a can of your favorite premade alfredo sauce or get fancy and make your own basic white sauce with flour, milk, cheese, and sour cream. If we have a can of chunk chicken or tuna fish, we will add this in for extra protein.
- Stuffed Shells: which can also be made with macaroni or your noodle of choice. Cook your noodles and either stuff or cover them with pasta sauce, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese. Add in chopped spinach if you have it.
- “Loaded” Nachos: drain a can of black beans and quickly cook them on the stovetop or in the microwave. Combine with refried beans, diced tomatoes, corn, sliced avocado, shredded lettuce, cheese, and any other nacho staples. Serve over tortilla chips.
- Quesadilla Wraps: with small children, we always have chicken nuggets on hand. Pop them in the microwave and then snip them into strips with kitchen shears. Put some ranch dressing, lettuce, and cheese into your wrap alongside your chicken nuggets. Hot sauce, such as Franks, is a yummy addition.
And there you have it! 20 super quick meal ideas that can come in handy when you’ve got carpooling, piano lessons, and practice, or you need to budget more aggressively.
Whatever the case, I hope these serve you well on those nights you simply don’t have time to play culinary master and mom!
Want more meal planning tips, tricks, and ideas? Read this post about meal planning your dinners for an easier, stress-free week!
