NO FANCY INGREDIENTS: 7 EASY MEALS FOR BUSY MOMS

As a busy mom, it can be exhausting trying to come up with meal ideas night after night after night…It doesn’t matter if you work outside the home, have a home-based business, are a SAHM or a single mom. I think we can all relate to feeling incredibly overwhelmed at times and running out of easy meal ideas. 

Just the other day, after a particularly challenging afternoon with work and the kids, I was way too exhausted to come up with an idea for supper. I had not planned anything. Nothing was defrosted. I just gave up. The kids had cereal, I had popcorn and my husband had beef sticks. Not my best mom moment but it is what it is. It happens.

I do find it much easier when I take some time on Sunday afternoon to meal plan. Even if I don’t stick to it completely, having a few ideas jotted down that I can turn to for the week takes away the stress when things get hectic.

I have also learned to make extra of our favorites so we can eat leftovers. I usually serve them a couple of days after we eat them the first time to break up the monotony.

I thought I would share a few recipes with y’all today. These are quick and easy and you are likely to have many of the ingredients on hand. By the way, I love collecting easy, family friendly recipes. I would love for you to share your favorites in the comments. 

TIKTOK TOMATO FETA PASTA

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INGREDEINTS

1-1.5 pints of cherry tomatoes

4oz garlic & herb feta cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Olive oil (2tbsp)

Minced garlic (1tbsp)

Bragg seasoning (1tbsp)

Shredded parmesan cheese

Pasta of your choice (8-12oz)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Add cherry tomatoes to a casserole dish. 

Sprinkle feta cheese on tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Cook the tomatoes and feta in the oven for 40 minutes. 

While the tomatoes and feta cheese are cooking in the oven, boil the noodles and set aside.

Take the casserole dish out of the oven and immediately start to mash the cherry tomatoes and cheese together in the dish. Stir in parmesan cheese, Bragg seasoning, minced garlic, and then the pasta. Continue stirring until everything is incorporated. Enjoy!

SOUTHERN CHICKEN & DUMPLINS

INGREDIENTS

Annie’s Frozen Dumpling Strips

1 lb Chicken Breasts

1tbsp Minced Garlic

2 stalks Celery, diced

½ Onion, diced

2 tbsp Butter

10 c Chicken Broth

Salt & Pepper to taste

Bag of Frozen Peas & Carrots

INSTRUCTIONS

Add Chicken to Pot, cover with broth

Boil Chicken

Use a hand mixer to shred the chicken in the broth

Add diced celery, diced onion and minced garlic

Bring to roaring boil and start to add Annie’s dumpling strips per instructions

Add butter, salt & pepper

Add Frozen Peas & Carrots

Reduce heat

The dumplings eat broth so you might need to add more…

Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes before serving.

BIG MAC BOWL (190 calories!)

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Tastes JUST like a Big Mac with a fraction of the calories!!

INGREDIENTS

5oz of ground beef or turkey

1.4 oz of shredded Cheese

1 dill pickle spear chopped

2tbsp Thousand Island Dressing

2 cups shredded lettuce

½ c diced tomatoes

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

1 c Duke’s Mayo

½ c Ketchup

1 c Sweet Relish

Pinch of Salt & Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown meat over medium high heat. Drain grease. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!

VEGGIE BEEF SOUP (crock pot)

INGREDIENTS

Stewed Beef cut into bite size pieces 

8 c Beef Broth

2 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, diced or chopped

1tbsp Minced Garlic

1 can Diced Tomatoes

2 Yukon Gold Potatoes, chopped (optional)

1tbsp Bragg Seasoning

Salt & Pepper to taste

Bag of frozen mixed Vegetables

INSTRUCTIONS

Add all ingredients but frozen veggies to the crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours. 

Add frozen veggies with 20 minutes left.

*You can brown/sear the meat or skip it. I usually skip it to avoid dirtying another pan.

CARRINGTON’S ENGLISH MUFFIN PIZZA

This is a great one for your kids to make!

INGREDIENTS

English Muffins

Pizza Sauce

Italian Seasoning

Pizza Cheese Mix or Mozzarella 

Pepperoni (or other topping)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400

To avoid soggy muffins you have 2 options- put the baking sheet in oven with the muffins to toast for a few minutes or use your toaster 

Lay English Muffin Halves on baking sheet 

Cover with pizza sauce

Sprinkle with cheese and Italian seasoning

Add Meat or Veggie of your choice

Cook for 10 minutes or until cheese melted. Bon Appetit!

HAMBURGER VEGGIE SOUP (crock pot)

I love this one because it is basically 2 meals in one.

INGREDIENTS

1lb Ground Beef 

8 c Beef Broth

2 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, diced or chopped

2 Carrots, diced or chopped

1 can Cut Green Beans

1 can Crispy Corn

1tbsp Minced Garlic

1 can Diced Chili Tomatoes

8oz Macaroni

1tbsp Bragg Seasoning

1tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1tbsp Tomato Paste

Salt & Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown ground beef. Drain. Add to crock pot. Add all ingredients except green beans, corn and pasta. Cook on low for 8 hours. With 30 minutes remaining, add uncooked pasta. With 10 minutes remaining, add green beans and corn.

HAMBURGER VEGGIE CHEESY CASSEROLE (repurpose the soup!)

Super easy!! Take your leftover soup from above…when I make it, I never have enough broth left to serve it as soup again… So you have a couple of options. Add more broth for soup OR do the following:

Preheat Oven to 350

Put leftovers in a casserole dish (you only need about 2 cups of broth)

Add 1/2 cup of milk

Add 3/4 of a bag of Shredded Sharp Cheese and mix in

Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with a side of Sour Cream. Enjoy!

I hope these recipes can help you on busy days when you are at your wits end and have no idea what to throw together for supper. And like I said earlier, I love collecting recipes. Drop your favorites in the comments.