Even though I tend to spend more time in the kitchen this time of year, full meals of home-cooked food dont have to take forever. On Friday night I was able to put meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans on the table in 30 minutes!
The recipes I used are linked in the menu plan below, but there are a couple things that helped it come together so quickly.
- Cut distractions: Turning off Netflix, setting down my phone and staying focused helped me get the meatloaves in the oven with about 5 minutes of prep time.
- Take Shortcuts: My instant mashed potato hack saves so much time!
- Think Small: a full meatloaf doesnt cook in 20 minutes, but mini meatloaves do! I scooped them out using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, making sure they were uniform in size but also small enough to cook quickly.
- Work Smart:I started on the thing that took the most time to cook and worked from there. Once the meatloaves were in the oven, I put the green beans on and then went to the potatoes.
Heres the rest of the menu from last week. We had two cold, rainy days that were perfect for soup!
On The Menu
Breakfast:
- Breakfast Burritos from the freezer
- Oatmeal
- Biscuits w/Apple Butter
Lunch:
- Leftovers
- Avocado Toast
Supper:
- Mini Meatloaves/Southern Green Beans/Mashed Potatoes (30 minute meal, see above)
- Crab Cakes for Frugal Crab Cake Lovers/Baked Potatoes/Caesar Salads
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Simply Delicious Chicken Noodle Soup (I use egg noodles instead of rice & added fresh spinach)
- Steaks on the Grill/Mac & Cheese/Caesar Salads (Paul cooked this meal!)
- Open Faced Turkey Cheddar Sandwiches/Fruit
- Date Night
Snacks: I took this apple dip to a work meeting last week it was delicious! I made it the night before, and the flavors really combined in the fridge. This is such a simple recipe that is perfect for taking to a party! I put the dip into plastic containers (from Dollar General) so that I could quickly make everyone a plate before the meeting.
Happy Menu Monday!
