What are some quick and easy meals for a single mother to cook?

Question

I am interested in learning how to cook better meals for my 20 month old daughter. She eats "regular" foods, I'm just so tired of serving spaghetti and chiken tenders... help!

Answer 1

You should get a crock pot. You can make real food but will a quarter of the effort. You can make pot roast, chicken or beef stew, cassaroles....etc. It saves so much time. And I'm sure you can appreciate extra time being a single mother.

Answer 2

The following recipe is easy to change one or more things to make it look different and taste different. I will put the items you can change at end, but be creative. And, it microwaves easily for leftovers and freezes well for future meals. You will notice this has a lot of veggies.

Brown hamburger 1 pounds or so (no exact measurement here) & drain
Add one large chopped onion
Add chopped up celery (cup is good)
Add one chopped up green pepper (red or yellow will do)
Add mushrooms (canned or chopped fresh)
Spices: garlic power, sage (be creative)

Add one cup of water and simmer until veggies are just done (don't overcook them)
Add two table spoons instant gravy
Service over rice or noodles (or stir them in)

Texas Variation: After the above is cooked
Add can tomatoes instead of adding water
Add 1/3 cup salsa (does not make it hot or spicey)
Add 1/4 cup frozen corn
Heat and serve on rice

Nevada Variation: Add sour cream and you have mock stroganoff

Utah Variation: Add any vegetable you can think like zuccini

See just changing a few things and you have a simple meal.

AND, how about making sloppy joes from scratch, want recipe email me at my name at yahoo.com

Answer 3

This is really easy and inexpensive:

Taco Macaroni

Prepare 1 package macaroni and cheese

Prepare taco meat according to taco seasoning packet directions

In casserole dish, layer macaroni and cheese, then taco meat; repeat layers
You can top with crushed tortilla chips if you want

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes

Answer 4

Check out Rachael Rays 365: No Repeats Cookbook, I have it and it's got a lot of quick, delicious recipes all broken up into categories, ie: Pasta, Burgers, ect I put a link to the Amazon page for it, if you want to know more.

Answer 5

lasagna, Chicken breasts smothered in cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, or broccoli/cheddar condensed soup over rice. Hotdogs with cheese wrapped in crescent rolls. I cook a lot of things that can be frozen in individual servings. My kids are 3,5,and 7 and they never all want the same thing for dinner. A really good site for you would be http://bettycrocker.com there are really good kid-friendly, easy to cook recipies that can be frozen.

Answer 6

Also try making meals in a slow cooker. You can put the meals on when you leave for work and when you come home your meals are ready for you to eat

Answer 7

CHICKEN MEAL

4 chicken breasts, split, boned & skinned
Salt & pepper to taste
6 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cranberry sauce
1/4 lb. melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

Place chicken in casserole dish and cover with cheese. Mix soup and cranberry sauce until smooth (no water). Pour over chicken. Mix together melted butter, soup and stuffing mix and sprinkle over top of mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Check several times so not to over cook.

ONE POT MEAL

1 lb. ground beef
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 c. tomatoes, diced
1 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. catsup
Salt & pepper to taste
2 c. mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/2 c. grated cheese

Brown meat and onions; place in casserole and add 1/4 cup catsup to meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add tomatoes and peas on top of meat. Mix beaten egg into mashed potatoes, spread over top of vegetables. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle top with cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until done. Can be placed under broiler if you wish top to be browner.

WESTERN MEAL IN ONE

1 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 can red beans, drained
2 1/2 c. tomatoes with juice, chopped
3/4 c. uncooked rice
3/4 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1/4 c. sliced black olives

Brown beef in vegetable oil with garlic. Add onion and green pepper, cook until onion is tender. Drain off fat. In a 2 quart casserole, combine the meat mixture, salt, chili powder, beans, rice and tomatoes. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese and olives. Bake 15 minutes more. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Answer 8

i used this to answer a different question the other day... sure it doesnt seem like a typical thing that someone would like, even at that young... but my mom's been making it for me since before i can remember... and i STILL love it... and i love making it myself.



curried chicken... it's so fast and easy to make... my problem is that i dont use any exact measurements... it's all done by taste...

pan cook cut up chicken breasts in one pan with a little bit of butter, curry powder, and garlic salt. sometimes, you may need to add a little bit of water to prevent drying.

heat up a few cans of campbells cream of mushroom soup in another pot over like medium[dont add the milk/water/whatever. a LITTLE bit of milk IS okay to make the sauce a little less thick...] and season with curry powder and garlic salt to taste. [SOMETIMES ill put cream of chicken soup in along with the mushroom soup... it all depends on how i'm feeling... usually at like a 1chicken:3mushroom ratio... but it really doesnt matter]


make rice in another pot



put rice and chicken on the plate and put the sauce on top. serve with coconut, raisins, sliced bananas, peanuts, apples, onion, ... go crazy! try different things and see what you like with it!


-------and i just sorta thought of this one too

another one is a tomato chicken dish...


put peices of chicken in a pan with some oil... bone can be in or out, it can be white or dark meat... i PERSONALLY cut up boneless chicken breasts and use them. they work the best, i think.... anyways, cook it in the pan until it is done. sometimes i add a little bit of garlic salt and pepper to get a little bit of flavor onto the chicken. then i add some water... about 2 cups usually [it really depends on how many you're cooking for... but it doesnt really matter. add tomato paste... usually 1 of the little cans for every 2 cups of water... add garlic, pepper, salt, and a dash of cinnimon. just season it to taste. you want it to have a nice flavor, not watered down. heat to almost a boil. then add about 2 cups of minute rice. reduce heat and let simmer for like 5 minutes or until rice is done. it's a very simple meal, easy to clean up, and i lLOVE it... kids like it too.



the second one is probably better for you daughter, but the curried one would be good too... just remember to tone down the seasonings a little bit for her... dont want anything too spicey!!

Answer 9

You might find this site useful with a young child.

http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/hp/hp_eval_meals.htm

Answer 10

mac n cheese
ramen soup
hotdogs
mashed potatoes
eggs
rice
boiled chicken
ravioli