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Wow, you must be one busy Mom ! Many people have suggested a crock pot in previous posts and I agree. When you purchase one it will come with a cookbook and lots and lots of ideas. I think they are well worth the investment. When you come home your dinner is ready. We are in the habit of always having a big green salad, picked up from my dear Italian friend, never have a meal without a salad. Make it interesting by adding crumbled cheese or chopped nuts along with chopped carrots or even chopped apple , pears or chopped dried cranberries. Another handy appliance is a rice cooker. You can find one for not too much $$ . I never used one until we had company from Japan and oh my goodness, it cooks the rice in no time with no fuss. It will even hold rice all day and still be delicious ! Just as a side, we always celebrate Friday, not by going out to dinner but by doing an ethnic dinner like tacos, spaghetti or not ethnic but easy ,breakfast for dinner with pancakes or waffles.

Enjoy you Mother's Day and good luck with you meal planning!

Thank you. I will try these ideas. 

Hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day as well.

Here are a couple of my faster go-to recipes:

PORK TENDERLOIN DIANE   Printed from COOKS.COM

 (I serve this with green salad and a quick pasta-roni or rice-a-roni)

• 2 pounds pork tenderloin


• 2 tsp. lemon pepper


• 2 tbsp. butter


• 2 tbsp. lemon juice


• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce


• 1 tsp. Dijon style mustard


• 1 tbsp. minced parsley or chives [I prefer chives]
  

1. Slice the tenderloin into medallions.  (recipe says to cut then to 1” thick but I cut them less than 1/2 inch so they cook faster.)


2. Sprinkle surfaces of medallions with lemon pepper.


3. Heat butter in heavy skillet, cook tenderloin medallions 3 to 4 minutes on each side.


4. Remove medallions to serving platter, keep warm.


5. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and mustard to skillet.


6. Cook, stirring with pan juices, until heated through.


7. Pour sauce over medallions, sprinkle with parsley or chives and serve.

 Serves 4 - 6

Eemma's Poppy Seed Noodles

This is one of my made up as you go recipes.  It is easy to make and can be adjusted to fit the number of people you are serving. 

• 1 pound of egg noodles (I like the wide or extra wide for this recipe)


• 2 Tablespoons of butter or margerine


• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese


• 1/4 cup of milk (more or less)


• 2 heaping tablespoons Poppy seeds


• Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the noodles as directed on the package.  Drain them and add the butter and cream cheese, stirring to coat the noodles.  Add enough of the milk to make the "sauce" the right consistancy.  Add salt, pepper to taste.  Add the poppy seeds and stir together. 

This was enough to use as a side dish for the six of us when we were still six of us.

Welcome to the Community!

The recipes here in the recipe lists can be sorted by "quickest" so you can check out to see if there is anything htere your family will like.  I used to make a lot of casseroles using pasta for my family when I was working as well as cook extra on the weekends so I had some leftovers for later. One of my old stand-by recipes was Tuna Noodle Casserole made with peas and egg noodles, macaroni or shaped pasta. 

One of Rachel Ray's tricks is to prep all her veggies as soon as she gets them home.  They are washed and made ready for her recipes.

The Kraft site has quick (15, 20 and 30 minute) meals.  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/dinner/easy-recipes/main.aspx

It may take you a little longer to get the meals ready until you are good at them but they won't take as nuch time as a "regular" recipe. 

Good luck!

Eemma

Another of my favorites -

Meanwhile, melt butter in 12-inch skillet until sizzling; add chicken and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center (8 to 10 minutes). Add cooked pasta.

Combine pumpkin, chicken broth, whipping cream, sage and salt in medium bowl. Pour over pasta mixture; gently toss to coat. Cook over medium heat until heated through (3 to 5 minutes). Sprinkle with pecans.

Yield: 6 servings

Hi priley!

I make Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwiches as a quick entree.  I use breaded chicken breast patties (Schwans makes a great one), deli-style sliced ham, sliced swiss cheese, dijon mustard, and buns.  Bake the patties according to directions and add the cheese and ham slices and bake for a couple more minutes.  Serve on buns spread with dijon mustard to taste.  Serve with a vegetable such as broccoli or green beans.  If plain broccoli scares you try the Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese sauce in the steamer bag.  Tasty.  Have a great day!

Hi priley:

Welcome!

Here are a couple threads/areas that I thought would be helpful for you.

Sometimes the easiest meals are also cheapest.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/community/forums/30/2670

Have your read through this category? Plenty of great gems in here:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/community/forums/7

Also, if you haven't yet I would sign up for the weekly Dinner Made Easy Newsletter:

https://www.bettycrocker.com/betty-crocker-newsletters

Sincerely, Cate

Thank you for the great ideas.  I will try them.

We're glad we helped priley:

If you have a chance, we would love to know your results. Until then, happy cooking!

Sincerely, Cate

I think that my most valued appliance is my electric food steamer (it is a 2-tiered steamer w/ a plastic dish for reheating other foods). I make asparagus & potatoes (red or white) all the time in it. Add a salad & some meat or go veggie & add legumes. Crock Pot is also an invaluable tool in my kitchen.

Here's one of my fav's that's super easy!

Bacon-Cheeseburger Rollup

1lb Ground beef

4 slices of bacon, cut into bits (easiest to do with scissors)

1/2 lb velveeta or 2 cups of shredded cheese of your choice

1 (13.8 oz) pizza crust (thin curst works best

-Preheat oven to 400 and brown the beef then drain.

-Fry bacon and unroll dough onto a greased cookie sheet

-Layer ground beef, cheese and bacon onto pizza crust

-Roll the crust into a tube and bake, seam-side down, for 20-25 minutes

I have a very picky husband so I have to come up with ways to make the same things but change them so I don't go crazy eating the same things - my take on taco fixings

1 lb ground beef - browned and drained

1 package taco seasoning – I use the one marked “mild”

1 can refried beans – I warmed mine slightly since the casserole is only in long enough to cook biscuits

Shredded Cheese – ½ to ¾ cup

1 can biscuits – will probably only take about 4-5 biscuits depending on your casserole dish

1 sm bag corn chips

Optional:

Salsa or pico de gallo

Sour Cream

Lettuce

Cook the ground beef and drain.  Add in the taco seasoning package and the amount of water required per the package.  Cook as instructed.  Add ½ more cup of water and mix in.  Transfer Ground beef mixture to a 1 ½ quart casserole dish.  Top with the refried beans and cheese.  Flatten biscuits and put on top.  Crush the corn chips and sprinkle on top of the biscuits.  Bake at 350 degrees until biscuits are done.   When I served mine I scooped out a biscuit and turned it over on the plate and then topped with the meat/bean mixture.  Now you can top with all your favorite taco toppings.

*22easy pizza!

2 tubes cresent rolls

2-4cups meats of choice (leftover work great!)

2-4cups veggis of choice (a bag of frozen beppers and onions is a good choice)

2 cups mozzo/pizza blend cheese.

1/2 -1 cup pizza or bbq sauce.

*spray 2 13 x 9 pans with non stick. then unroll the cesents into the pans and flatten them out so the bottoms are covered.

*add the sauce as thick as you like onto the cresent. then top with the meats and veggies.

*you can store this until ready to use, cook from room temp about 15 mins at 325-350, top with cheese then cook until cheese is melted and cresent is golden brown, (5 mins or so.)

*cut straight out oven, cool and serve.