Mastering the kitchen: Simple ideas

by Crystal Paine

Simple breakfast ideas (pick two or three for your one-week menu plan):

Cold cereal and milk
Oatmeal with brown sugar, butter, and milk
Toast and eggs
Toast and fruit
Muffins (make the night before or make a big batch on the weekend and freeze to use throughout the week)

Simple lunches (pick two or three for your one-week menu plan):

Peanut butter and jelly, fruit
Open-faced tuna fish with pickles and a slice of cheese - broil for a few minutes, carrot sticks
Grilled cheese and tomato soup (canned)
Turkey and cheese, sliced cucumbers and peppers
Mixed salad greens topped with shredded cheese and a little shredded meat, fresh bread (made in the bread machine)

Simple suppers:

-Roast beef, potatoes, carrots (Put in the crockpot in the afternoon with some water, salt, pepper, garlic salt and simmer for 5 hours), salad

-Spaghetti (Brown some ground beef with onions, pour in a jar os spaghetti sauce and diced italian tomatoes, simmer, boil spaghetti noodles), salad, bread

-Homemade pizza (Not hard to do and I can whip up this entire dinner in 45 minutes or less - You can even use a pizza dough mix from the store to make it easier. Top with about a fourth cup spaghetti or pizza sauce, pepperoni, chicken, or ground beef, a veggie or two (if you'd like) and cheese. Bake.), salad

-Waffles or pancakes or french toast, eggs, and sausage or bacon

-Southwest Roll-ups (Mix 2 Tbsp. salsa, 1 can refried beans, and 1 cup chicken - cooked and cubed. Spoon mixture onto tortillas, place seam side down in 9 x13 pan, Bake 350 for 20-30 minutes, sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.), salad

-Italian chicken (Saute 2 chicken breasts in 1 tsp. oil with 1 clove garlic or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, with salt and peper, parsley, oregano, basil. Remove chicken and cut up. Add 1 chopped onion to the pan and saute onions. Add chicken and 1 cans diced Italian tomatoes.) served over rice or noodles, salad, can of green beans

-Pasta salad (Cook 8 oz of pasta and drain. Add 1 can black loives, 2 tomatoes diced, 1/2 cup frozen peas, 3/4-1 cup Italian dressing, 2 cups chicken. Toss and refrigerate until serving. You could also add red or yellow peppers, cubed cheese, etc.)

Some tips to speeding up dinner preparation:

-Look at your menu plan in the morning and try to do ahead anything you can. I have a short time allotment in my schedule in the morning that is for dinner preparation. Pull frozen meat out, chop up anything you can, put the ingredients into the bread machine for fresh bread, etc. Waiting until the last minute to prepare dinner always makes it harder. Believe me, I know.

-When you arrive home from the store, do all the food prep you can while putting your groceries away. Wash and chop veggies, cook the chicken breasts, chop, and freeze in 1-2 cup portions, wash all your lettuce and tear it so that you can have fresh lettuce for salads all week long.

-Double up. If you like to have bread with your dinners, don't just make enough for one dinner. Bake bread once or twice a week and plan to use it for multiple dinners.