MINUTE MENUS FOR BUSY MOMS
The perpetual question, what's for dinner tonight? Here are a few HEALTHY short cut recipes that make my life a little simpler when dinner needs to be on the table in a flash. Got a recipe that is a lifesaver for you? E-mail it to me and I'll post it for moms who are as desperate as we are!
TIMESAVERS:
Get a rice cooker- just put it on and it will never burn your rice, it's perfect all of the time and you can do other things while it's in the cooker.
Get a George Foreman Grill- cooks chicken breasts and thighs better than anything else, also super for grilling veggies because they won't fall through the grill like they do on the bbq! Excellent for cooking moist salmon, burgers and grilled cheeses or sandwiches.
Buy ground meats, and chicken breasts in bulk (clubpacks) and cook them up all at once, divide, and freeze so you can use them as needed. Meal prep is a lot faster when the meat is already done! You can also freeze uncooked meats for fast fry dishes, cut them up first though, I do this for chicken, steak and pork which can be used in fajitas or stir frys.
Get a slow cooker- what a great invention, you come home from work the house smells great and dinner is ready!
Keep a bag of frozen mixed veggies to throw into meals where there just isn't enough veggies to ease your motherly mind.
A little prep the night before makes a world of difference if you have to cook after you get home from work.
NEW RECIPE! SUPER QUICK PASTA-E- FAGIOLI SOUP
Inspired by the Olive Garden's soup that my kids gobbled up on a recent visit. Made it the other night in one pot! Yummy, quick, hearty enough for a dinner, and enough for two nights!
Ingredients:
2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on how garlicky you like it- I used 2)
1 med. onion (use 1/2 or whole, up to you- I used 1/2)
1-2 carrots, chopped into small pieces whatever vegetables you have on hand (I only used carrots the other night, but zucchini and celery would be great
1 can of whole plum tomatoes
1 tetra pack of sodium-reduced chicken broth
pepper
olive oil
1/2 package of lean ground beef
Soba noodles (or whatever pasta you like, small shells are good too)
1 can of bean medley- unseasoned (or you could open up individual cans of chick peas, kidney beans, white beans, romano beans)
Italian seasoning or basil and oregano
optional: parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Heat up a soup pot on the stove with a table spoon or two of olive oil in it, once heated, saute chopped garlic cloves, onion, carrots and celery. Once garlic and onions are browned a bit, add in ground beef (1/2 was more than enough!) and cook until no pink can be seen. Drain off fat.
In the same pot, add in can of tomatoes, can of beans and about 2/3 of the chicken stock. You may want to add another half can of beans if you want the soup to be hearty enough for two nights. (I just used one and it was fine.) Simmer until the soup is bubbling gently, add Soba noodles. The noodles are long like spaghetti, just break them up into smaller lengths about the size half your baby finger. Continue to simmer until carrots are tender and noodles are cooked (about 5 minutes). Taste test- add some water if too salty. Simmer for a few minutes if you added water. Use the left over stock to add to the soup the next day (it always thickens the next day).
Serve with a salad and some fresh bread and voila, dinner is done!
MOSTLY HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Canned soup is good in a pinch, but nothing is better than homemade chicken noodle soup. This basic recipe is delish and doesn't require a chicken carcass, and doesn't take all day to make. Best of all, you can control the salt and fat content.
Ingredients:
couple tablespoons of olive oil or cooking spray
Rib or two of celery, more if you like lots of veggies
2 carrots
1 small cooking onion or more if you like onions- I do!
2 or 3 pre-cooked chicken breasts (grill them on the George Foreman- trust me, it's worth the investment!)
1 tetra pack of chicken broth, reduced fat
1-2 cups of water
salt and pepper
parsley flakes
package of soba noodles (Japanese Buckwheat- very good for you, taste good, look kind of ugly though) or whatever pasta you like
Instructions:
Pre-heat a pot on medium-high with a tablespoon or two of olive oil (enough to coat the bottom likghtly) or cooking spray. Chop the onions, celery and carrots into bite sized pieces and saute for a 5-10 minutes until the veggies become tender. Once tender, pour in the chicken stock and simmer on medium heat. While the soup is simmering, pull bits of chicken off of the chicken breast (you can cut it into cubes if you want, but the meat becomes more tender if you pull it apart) and put them in the soup to simmer. Add a tablespoon or two of dried parsley flakes and allow the soup to continue simmering on low-medium heat.
If using noodles other than soba, cook in a separate pot, do not overcook the pasta, put it in the soup al dente (a bit firm). In my opinion, use the sobas, faster, one less pot and better for you!
Add salt and pepper to you liking, taste test for saltiness, add 1-2 cups of water if the soup is still too salty for you (last time I did this the soup wasn't salty enough, but that's okay, you can always add it at the table).
If using soba noodles, add once you have finished seasoning the soup. Just drop them in and they will cook in the hot soup very quickly. I would suggest breaking the noodles in half or smaller if you are feeding this to young children, otherwise it's like eating spaghetti soup and it gets a bit messy!
Serve with a piece or two of yummy fresh bread. Cut bread into quarters for easy dunking!
EASY PEASY APPLE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
Enough with all the fancy shmancy recipes, this one is basic, quick and just plain yummy! The apples really give the soup a sweet touch. This recipe makes enough to feed 4-6 adults and freezes well if you have left overs.
Ingredients:
1 large tetra pack of chicken broth, reduced sodium optional
1 small cooking onion or half to 3/4 of a medium onion depending on how much you like onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 peeled apples, whatever you have on hand
1 butternut squash
1% milk (or whatever you have, or opt out of the milk for a thicker soup)
Instructions:
Microwave the squash on a plate until you are able to cut it, probably 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the squash and your microwave's power- don't forget to pierce the squash with a fork or knife in several places so you don't have a squashy explosion! Cut the squash in to quarters or in half and continue cooking if necessary (sometimes the bulbous part cooks more quickly then the dense upper portion).
While the squash is cooking, chop the onions, garlic and apples. Apples should be cut to about 2 cm cubes. Pour a table spoon or two of olive oil into the bottom of a soup pot, heat then saute onions and garlic. Turn heat down and add apples for a few minutes. Add entire tetra pack of chicken broth and allow the mixture to simmer.
When the squash is done, remove it carefully from the microwave, allow it to cool a bit. Remove the seeds with a spoon. Scoop or cut out the squash flesh leaving the skin behind and put in the soup pot with the stuff you already added. Don't worry if you have a few firm bits of squash, they will cook up in the stock. Allow the ingredients to simmer for about 5-10 minutes, or at least until the apple chunks are softened. Cool the soup a bit, then transfer to a blender and puree.
Pour the pureed soup back into the pot and add seasoning, pepper to taste, and a couple of pinches of nutmeg. Thin the soup with some milk if desired, approximately a cup or two depending on how thick you like your soup!
Voila- easy peasy squash soup with nothing unnecessary added, low in fat, high in flavour and vitamins!
CHEATER MUFFINS
No time to spare in the morning? If you're like me, I need something to eat that is portable. I also give these to my daughter for breakfast, she loves them, they're healthy, yummy of course and fun to make together.
Instructions:
Buy a package of Quaker muffin mix, I like the low-fat Oatmeal and low-fat Bran mixes best, the others seem a bit rubbery. Follow the directions on the package but throw in these bits and pieces to give the muffins substance, otherwise they are very unsatisfying. Also, always mash up a banana or two and add it in to the mix, if you do this you may need to cut back on the water a bit, but you will have nice moist muffins.
Use these add ins for approximately half of the package:
a tablespoon or two of flax seeds for some omega action
1/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or frozen/ fresh blueberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/3 cup chocolate chips (skip if you like, but just a chip or two makes the muffin sing!)
When I don't have add ins I put a blob of jam on top of each muffin, it get's candied as it cooks, tasty with the oatmeal muffins
SO YUMMY CHICKEN BREAST SPAGHETTI
Everyone loves spaghetti, but this one is oh so yummy! I hate dry chicken breasts, but with this recipe, you'll have tasty tender chicken that the kids won't spit out!
Ingredients: (serves 4 large portions with leftovers!)
3-4 precooked chicken breasts, pull apart into medium shreds (TIP: I like to buy them in a clubpack, usually cheapest at Costco, throw them all on the George Foreman Grill with a little Cajun, Montreal Chicken or Mrs. Dash seasoning and freeze them for recipes like this one, it is much better for you than buying pre-cooked frozen breasts which always come out rubbery and or loaded with salt)
1 jar of Roasted Red Pepper Spaghetti Sauce (PC, or Classico) - don't cheat on this, otherwise you'll lose some of the yum!
1 can of whole plum tomatoes
couple of pinches of Italian seasoning to taste, a bit ground pepper to taste - forget the salt, nobody needs it...
about half of each- diced or sliced red, orange, green peppers
chopped carrots (1-2), celery (1-2) and onion (half)
garlic- as much as you like, I usually use 1-2 cloves
1 small diced zucchini
Optional: brocolli florets- a cup or so
whole wheat spaghetti (I prefer Italpasta, I find some of the others too grainy) or Soba noodles (soba is Japanese buckwheat, just had these the other day in soup- my next recipe, and they were so yum without the graininess of whole wheat and they cook in a flash!)
Instructions:
1. If using whole wheat noodles boil water then add noodles. I find ww noodles take a bit longer to cook. If using soba noodles- wait- they cook at turbo speed! A note about Soba noodles- they are kind of ugly in colour, so if you've got picky eaters they may be a hard sell.
2. Use cooking spray or a bit of olive oil to coat a skillet- let it heat up on med-high, throw in the onions and garlic for a minute or two then add the carrots and celery (broccoli too if you are using it). Saute, stirring frequently until veggies start to get tender. Add in zucchini once you feel the carrots and celery are softening up.
3. Pour in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and can of tomatoes, squash the whole tomatoes- watch out they squirt!
4. Put a few pinches of Italian seasoning and freshly ground pepper to taste.
5. Throw in the shredded chicken.
6. Let everything simmer together for about 10 minutes. Cook noodles while the sauce is simmering- remember, soba noodles cook very quickly, like 2 minutes!
7. Serve sauce on top of noodles and sprinkle with some parmesan cheese.
HONEY GARLIC MEATBALLS- 2 WAYS
Love this dinner- simple, tasty, has decent nutritional value, best of all, 20 minutes!
Ingredients: (serves 2 and a pint sized kid)
1 bottle of Honey Garlic Diana Sauce
1 box of President's Choice Meatballs- I like the Blue Menu Italian ones, low in fat, but they have a few different kinds including chicken ones. They are precooked- my meatball making days are over! Depending on the size of your family you can usually get 2-3 meals out of one box. A bargain at about $7.
1 small cooking onion
assorted peppers, green, red, yellow, orange
1 small zuchinni
optional- pineapple, fresh or canned chunks
2-4 cups of rice depending on how big your family is
Instructions:
1. Put the rice on. I highly recommend a rice cooker, totally worth the $30 to get one at Loblaws. You put the rice in, it never burns, it's always perfect and it's done by the time you finish doing everything else.
2. Spray a saucepan with a bit of cooking spray or olive oil, chop onion, peppers and zucchini into bite sized wedges, saute until tender. Remove to a separate bowl when finished. While veggies are cooking, defrost meatballs in microwave.
3. Put meatballs in saucepan and simmer in the Diana sauce, I usually cook about 15 meatballs at a time and use about half of the bottle. Simmer meatballs on their own until you think they have been heated right through to the centre, add in the veggies, simmer for a few more minutes, add in pineapple if you like it.
4. Serve meatballs and veggies over rice- PRESTO, you're done and you hit all the food groups if you serve it with a glass of milk!
Variation:
Do everything the same but serve the meatballs on some nice multigrain French stick- yum! Add cheese if you like. Also makes a great lunch if you have leftovers from the night before.
MORE RECIPES ON THE WAY!