I am a person who loves to cook and 10 months into the pandemic, I am dreading coming up with dinner every night. I can’t imagine the dread if I also didn’t enjoy cooking! Today on the blog I am sharing my Top 5 recipes for busy parents. Hopefully this might spark some inspiration for next week’s dinner rotation!

My Top 5 Recipes for Busy Parents

I. Chili

is a favorite in our house and it’s so simple because there are a million easy variations. I’ve used: ground beef, ground pork, and ground turkey…whatever I have on hand. I saute my meat of choice with diced onions to start and then add whatever I can find of the following:

• Three cans of beans
• Diced Celery
• Diced carrots
• Can of diced tomatoes
• Jar or can of tomato sauce
• Diced mushrooms
• Frozen Peas or Corn
• Spinach (frozen or fresh, added at the end)
• Diced peeled sweet potatoes
• Diced peeled butternut squash

Only have a few of these things? Doesn’t matter! Add some seasonings and it all tastes good!

II. Pizza

Those who follow me on Instagram know that we are a bit fanatical about pizza in this house. I plan to write a separate how-to post for pizza dough but pizza is a weekday staple here. If making dough is too overwhelming, fresh dough can be bought at the store, usually in the bakery/deli section. Pick up a couple balls on your weekly shop and you have an easy dinner that’s ready in ~20 minutes.

Tips:

• Grab parchment paper to bake it on top of for easy clean-up!
• Set your oven as close to 500 degrees as you can
• Avoid over-doing it with the toppings
• If using a pizza stone, pre-heat it with the oven for at least 30 minutes. Put it in and turn it on before you start doing anything else.

Favorite Toppings:

• Broccoli
• Sausage
• Tomato Sauce
• Pesto
• Leftover shredded chicken or pork
• Mushrooms and onions (saute or roast these first!)
• pepperoni
• eggplant (roast this first)
• sliced zucchini
• Corn
• Goat Cheese, Mozzarella, Feta Cheese, Fontina

III. This Korean Beef Bowl which we serve with rice and either broccoli, green beans, or pea pods.

IV. This One Pot Burrito Bowl which we usually serve with sliced avocado and plain greek yogurt

V. Smitten Kitchen’s Sweet Potato Tacos. The best thing about these is that all the ingredients can be made ahead of time if you’re pressed for time in the evenings. My kids don’t eat the pickled onions but I pile them on like they’re going out of style so don’t skip this topping! We usually serve with avocado and rice.

BONUS RECIPE

(This does not fall under the easy recipes for busy parents category)

If you want a weekend recipe that will cook all afternoon and fill your house with the most delicious smells, this is one of our family favorites.