Family Friendly Cincinnati

Cincinnati's Top Parenting Blog

Our Favorite Easy Dinner Recipes

By

School is back in session for many of us, and the extracurricular activities are eating up our evening time.  I’m not the only one feeling frazzled in the evenings am I?!?  So little time and so much to fit into those few precious hours between school & bedtime.  Since school has started I’ve been working very hard to be organized about dinner time.  I sit down each weekend and plan out our menu for the week taking into account our schedule for the week.  More and more I’m having to make “easy” dinners, something that does not require much of my time to get on the table in the evening.  Don’t get me wrong, I love making grand dinners that have 45 ingredients and require an hour or two of my time to make.  I really do.  I love cooking.  I just don’t have time for it.  So I’ve been using up all my “easy” recipes since school started.  I needed to find some new recipes to try, so I asked all of my cohorts at Family Friendly Cincinnati for their “Easy” dinner recipes, and thought I’d share all of our favorites with our readers.  Because like I said, I can’t be the only one frazzled in the evenings, right?!?!  So here’s a list of links to our favorite EASY dinners.  I hope you find some dinner-time inspiration from this post, and feel free to add your own favorite recipe links in the comments below!!!  The more the merrier!

Karen’s Favorite Easy Dinners ::

Patrick, my husband, is obsessed with Jamie Oliver – And hey! if it means the man will make me a birthday cake from scratch, then I’m ok with it.

 Anyhoo – here’s two recipes he’s asked me to make in the last few weeks and both are absolutely delicious!! (The only challenge is everything is measured in metrics, but I’m cool with that, and if in England a tin of tomatoes weighs 250 grams and ours is 235 grams, I say close enough!!)
Here’s one with chicken:  Everyday Crispy Chicken with Sweet Tomatoes
Both are super kid friendly and EASY to prepare!!

Shannan’s Favorite Easy Dinner ::

Shannan’s family loves Lentil Soup, and it’s so easy to make! This lentil soup recipe is very hearty and filling and with her family of 5, they had enough left over to have again later in the week or to take to work for lunch.

Michelle’s Favorite Easy Dinner ::

My go to recipe?  It’s new.  I just discovered it this weekend, but after finding out how much everyone loved it, I have a feeling I will be making it a lot this Fall.  Flavorful Southwestern Chili from Taste of Home.  The salsa I used was flavored with peach and mango and the tomatoes had chipotle in them.  I also used ground turkey.  This was so easy that it’s shameful it’s so delicious.  And, it’s fairly low fat and high in protein.  Enjoy!

Kandi’s Favorite Easy Dinner ::

We eat this on busy nights because it really is easy. My friend Nikki and her Mom’s group in Bloomington write this blog. There are many recipes I’ve tried and loved, but this one is the one most used in my house: Crockpot Taco Chicken.

Kristin’s Favorite Easy Dinner ::

Kristin’s Easy Peasy Pork Chops:
Pork chops dipped in fried onion strings:
– Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
– Get some pork chops – we like bone in ones that are slightly thicker
for this recipe
– Beat an egg and a little milk
– Get a can of fried onion straws – take out your aggression for the day
and *crush* those up
– Dip the pork chop in the egg wash
– Then cover the pork chop with the fried onion crushed mixture
– Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes
We usually serve this with a baked potato and a vegetable.

Katie’s Favorite Easy Dinners ::

I’m loving my slow cooker, and also a big fan of soups on these chilly autumn days.  Here’s a few of my family’s favorite meals that are quite easy to put together, some take a little more time than others, but they are all simple to put together:
Beef Goulash Soup with Grilled Cheese

Amy’s Favorite Easy Dinners ::

Here’s a couple from Amy Q, these seem perfect for a cool evening as well:  Creamy Mushroom Risotto and Creamy Potato and Leek Soup.
For more recipes to try be sure to check out the Family Friendly Cincinnati Pinterest Boards!  Or if you really just are not in the mood to cook, check out our “Kids Eat Free” post for all the deals around town for the munchkins.

Please leave us a comment below with your favorite easy recipe ideas!

When not blogging for Family Friendly Cincinnati, you can find Katie writing at her personal blog, www.thelittlethingsjournal.blogspot.com. 

Comments

  2. stress test heart says

    Wonderful work! This is the type of info that are supposed to be shared around the net.
    Shame on the seek engines for no longer positioning this publish higher!
    Come on over and talk over with my web site . Thanks =)

  3. water sound science experiment says

    Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles?
    I mean, what you say is important and all. However just imagine if you added some great photos or videos to give your posts more,
    “pop”! Your content is excellent but with pics and videos, this blog could certainly
    be one of the very best in its niche. Superb blog!

  4. Keith says

    My brother suggested I would possibly like this blog.

    He was entirely right. This put up actually made my day.
    You cann’t consider simply how so much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!

Editor’s Picks: