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Plan a Quick Fix Meal Daily
One of the most frustrating parts of homemaking is the need to feed the family every day. It never stops. People need nourishment daily. The only way I have found to make it somewhat easier is to plan ahead and choose quick fix meals.
So, I put together a simple menu consisting of several easy meals that my family really enjoys, that I pull out during those times when I’m tired of cooking or there’s too much going on to take lots of time every evening for meal preparation. Maybe these meals will appeal to you and your family also? Here are a few of them you can check out.
Quick Fix Cobb Salad
Cobb Salad — This is absolutely one of my favorite meals ever, especially in the summertime. I buy a bag of mixed greens, some blue cheese crumbles, a ripe avocado, boneless skinless chicken strips, cherry or grape tomatoes, bacon, and eggs. I boil some eggs the previous evening and fry the bacon, which is cut in one inch pieces. I also simmer the chicken in chicken broth until done and then place it in the refrigerator.
The next day, I make a bed of lettuce on each plate. Then I add rows of avocado dices, chicken chunks, small tomatoes cut into two pieces, sliced eggs, and blue cheese crumbles. I pass around blue cheese dressing at the table. Everybody gets really serious about eating when this one is served.
Quick Fix Beef Vegetable Soup with Whole Grain Toast
Beef vegetable soup with whole-grain toast — This is especially good when the weather is cool and somber. For this one, I pick up really good whole grain bread for the toast, a small but thick round steak or some stew beef, some stew-type vegetables that look good, some canned tomatoes, and beef broth. Actually, you could even use ground beef in this recipe and it would be tasty.
If need be, cut the beef to stew size. Salt and pepper, then place in a pot with oil (I use olive oil) and brown for a few minutes. Next, add the beef broth and simmer for fifteen minutes. Prepare and add the vegetables, then season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about an hour, checking periodically to keep the liquids replenished if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve with toast. Very filling and yummy!
Quick Fix Chicken Stew with Dumplings
For the chicken stew with dumplings, I pick up some skinless boneless chicken breasts, some canned biscuits, a package or two of frozen mixed vegetables, and if I’m feeling totally unmotivated, I add a couple of jars of chicken gravy.
I start by simmering the chicken pieces in chicken broth until done. I set them aside on my meat-cutting board to cool and rinse out the pan for reuse. Then I add the frozen mixed vegetables and the necessary amount of water and cook the vegetables until done. I drain and set aside almost all the water off the vegetables.
Then I dice the chicken and add it to the pan with the vegetables. I stir in the gravy and bring the gravy to a light simmer. If it’s very thick, I add some of the vegetable-cooking water to thin the gravy out a bit, so it can cook for awhile longer.
I open the canned biscuits and cut each one in two. I bring the pan to a slow boil and then place the biscuit pieces on top of chicken pieces or large vegetable pieces, so they are supported at least partially out of the gravy. Put on a lid and time for ten minutes.
When the timer goes off, remove the lid and time for another ten minutes of a slight boil. Serve and enjoy.
Make Enough for Two Meals — That’s Quick Fix
Usually, I manage to make enough of these meals (or save enough of the ingredients for the salad and such) to recycle it for another meal that week. This allows me to do other things besides shop, cook, and clean the table for half of each day. I hope this helps you to escape your kitchen occasionally also! If you have any other easy recipes of this type, please let us hear about them in the comments!