making the entire meal really quickly can be a challenge, but making a part of a meal in an instant, can be easier & so helpful… we tried this shortcut last night for dinner: corn on the cob, unshucked in the microwave for 3 minutes.

there’s a new cookbook out: “Gluten-Free in 5 Minutes”, by using the microwave, you can cook potato salad, stuffed mushrooms, sandwich bread, hamburger & hot dog buns, corn bread, rolls, pizza crust…

for children try making them a muffin tin meal: http://www.michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/

Keeping my fridge stocked with fresh fruit and veggies, especially this time of year, is a huge time saver for me. Those are always my first go-to’s when I’m in a hurry. If I can put together the main part of the meal and then add either a salad or the fresh fruit/veggies plus bread/rolls on a really busy night, I’m a happy mom. Besides some of the other shortcuts already mentioned, I like to have Minute Rice on hand. It’s something I can dress up and pair with baked or grilled fish or make a quick skillet meal out of. Not to mention I’ve been known to be half-way through a stir-fry and realize I haven’t put the rice on yet. And now that I think about it, fish is a huge time saver too since it thaws quickly and has such a short cooking time. I buy the frozen portions at Aldi and they’re pretty affordable. I also like to stock up during the Lenten sales.

My insta-food is to make almost any casserole a skillet meal by cooking the meat while microwaving the veggies and mixing it all together with saucey stuff.  Who has time for 30-60 minutes in the oven?  Microwaving real potatoes for 5-8 minutes has them soft enough to slice and serve as a base for a quick veg/meat/gravy mix (That’s my quick version of shepherd’s pie too since my husband complains like I’m feeding him arsenic when I used instant potatoes once)

Last night a made a chicken and corn casserole: Presliced frozen chicken breast, 2 cups frozen stock, 2 cups frozen chickpeas, frozen corn, 1 teaspoon chopped garlic out of a jar, 1 onion chopped, potatoes, cubed. Chuck them all in a casserole dish and microwave. I also added a cup of frozen mashed pumpkin for extra veges. I took about 5 minutes to put together and about 20 minutes to cook. I stirred it a couple of times. I had made and frozen the stock, chickpeas and pumpkin in the amounts I usually use. so the only preparation is cutting up the onion and potato, and cooking some pasta or rice.

I make grilled sandwiches.  I get out my grill, put a bunch of deli meat on it, with some bread or rolls.  Once the meat is hot, I put it and a slice of cheese on the bread and toast it a little longer.  Add fruit, chips, yogurt and you have yourself a meal.

couscous is a quick favorite—chicken with a pan sauce, microwaved vegetables. mix couscous and water and microwave for two minutes then let it sit for five—done! I also like a quick pasta: 1. angel hair drained over chopped bell pepper and cherry tomatoes, tossed with feta, olives, parsley OR 2. corn and salsa with pasta twists: small shaped pasta, drained, then add salsa, canned (drained) or frozen corn, canned chopped green chiles, little dried oregano, top with a little grated cheese. A summer favorite for us is store-bought hummus and pita with raw carrots and fruit. We were surprised, though, to realize that there’s more protein in the pita than in the hummus!

If I didn’t have frozen dinner, I have instant rice noodles and add a hot dog to it, maybe some sliced onions.

Another is hot dog casserole-canned baked beans (homemade is better), throw in hot dog (or ham), sliced onion, mustard and relish, top with tater tots (or equiv) and nuke for 2.5 minutes, mix, nuke for 30 seconds.

Dice Polenta, sliced onion-red or sweet, from the pantry-sun dried tomatoes, roasted bell pepper, Kalamera olives, roasted garlic (lots and lots of garlic), butter. Nuke for five minutes or until flavors are combined.