Quick Dinner Ideas

As you've probably noticed, I'm not very good at photography. So please believe me when I say that the above dish did indeed taste much better than it now looks! Yesterday was one of those crazy days when I was away from home and running from one thing to the next. Actually, I rarely have days like that but yesterday was one of them. And in spite of my high hopes, I never quite managed to get dinner in the crockpot before heading out the door in the morning. I have this thing about remembering to remove meat from the freezer to thaw overnight. I'm usually frantically trying to water-thaw my meats in the morning in order to cook them in the afternoon or evening!

So yesterday I found myself at Wal-Mart at about 5:30pm and wondering what to fix for dinner. (Don't you hate that?!) I'm really trying to avoid fast food and overly pre-packaged foods. (Hey, it happens sometimes and that's ok!) I finally decided to grab a rotisserie chicken (those things are so yummy) and 2 boxes of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (chicken flavor). It worked out great. While the kids unloaded groceries and Drew scarfed down a banana, I put the rice on to cook (15 minutes, tops) and began deboning the chicken. It came off the bones very easily. I piled it in a large glass serving dish and stirred in the finished rice. The kids were happy with it, and I was pleased to have a healthier alternative to frozen pizza (which, by the way, would have taken the same amount of time or more to prepare). There was plenty for our family of 5, and leftovers to boot. I served it with all-natural applesauce, as well.

Another last-minute-throw-it-together meal comes to mind: Bean tortillas. Spread refried beans over flour tortillas, lay flat on a baking sheet, sprinkle shredded cheese on top, and broil lightly until warm and melty. You can serve as is (my kids love to either roll them up or just tear pieces off the tortilla as they eat) or add a variety of toppings such as salsa and sour cream. If I have cooked, seasoned, leftover hamburger I add that, too.

If you have any quick meal ideas I'd love to hear them!