Quick and Easy Supper Menus for Busy Days
by Charlotte Siems
Some days you look up and realize it’s 5:00 and you forgot to put something in the crock pot for supper. (That was a hint—crock pots can be a lifesaver for busy families). Yikes! Instead of panicking and loading the kids in the car while you pull your hair out with frustration, have a simple back-up plan ready for those family food emergencies.
On those crazy days when you don’t have time to thaw something and you can’t face another drive-thru hamburger, quick and easy meals come to the rescue. The key is to have basic ingredients on hand so you can put together a meal in a jiffy.
To start, here is a list of 10 Quick and Easy Supper Menus:
Pancakes or French Toast
Cereal or Oatmeal
Baked Potato Bar (microwave the potatoes)
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (with or without Tomato Soup)
Quesadillas (buttered tortillas with cheese and spices, grilled)
Rice Flavored with Spices and/or boullion, with or without sliced sausage
Fish sticks on buttered toast
Scrambled eggs and toast
Tuna Salad sandwiches
Refried Beans and chips or tortillas with cheese (add spices to make it tasty!)
And here is a grocery list of what you would need to prepare ALL of these meals (quantities vary by the size of your household—we need the Large Economy Size of everything!):
Pancake mix (or flour, eggs, baking powder, salt, etc. for homemade batter)
Whatever toppings you like on Pancakes or French Toast
Bread
Eggs
Cereal and/or Oatmeal
Milk
Potatoes
Grated cheese
Sour cream or yogurt
Tortillas
Rice
Link Sausage
Frozen fish sticks
Canned tuna
Mayonnaise, relish (and other ingredients for your favorite tuna salad)
Canned refried beans
Tortilla chips
Spices (such as chili powder, garlic powder, cumin)
That’s a short grocery list! Notice that several of the menu items overlap in ingredients. For instance, eggs, cheese and bread are used in several recipes. Buy once, use in several ways—that’s a secret to budget meals.
While you probably don’t want to live on frozen fish sticks, convenience foods can save the day occasionally. The cost savings as compared to takeout meals is considerable, plus you save on gas, time and stress. Getting everyone presentable to eat out, loading them in the car and waiting for your order with hungry, irritable children isn’t quite as convenient as it seems at first glance.
Don’t like anything on this quick and easy plan? No problem. Sit down and brainstorm your favorite go-to, easy, at-home meals. Buy the ingredients for several of the meals on your next grocery shopping trip.
The next time you get caught up in your to-do’s and supper time arrives unannounced, you’ll be ready to feed your family quickly without guilt or stress. A little thought and planning will help you stick to your grocery budget and create quick and easy meals on short notice!
Please leave a comment below!
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 Charlotte Siems is a home-maker, home manager, T-Tapp Trainer, teacher, speaker and author. Her story of losing over 100 pounds with T-Tapp has encouraged thousands of people all over the world. She specializes in making home management and T-Tapp "doable" for real people and real life. She is happy to be a wife and mother of twelve children whom she has successfully taught at home for 25 years. |
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