Easy Recipes for the Busy Woman

I work extremely long hours, and in the vein of Danica's Half Marathon Training for the Busy Woman, I thought I would share my go-to recipes for dinner in a snap. All of these recipes can either be made in the crockpot, or in 20 minutes once you get home. I love cooking but I've learned that dinner will not get made during the week if it's going to take more than 20 minutes to cook. The below recipes are in bi-weekly, if not weekly rotation and make sure dinner is on the table and we aren't eating out every night.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Chicken Taco Bowls

Tomatillo Ranch Chicken

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken     

  BBQ Chicken Paninis  

                            Waffles

I've learned some shortcuts in the past couple years for cooking dinner faster:

1. Buy prepped vegetables.

Trader Joe's and Costco have so many options to choose from to help you save time. I love buying the  big bags of stir-fry vegetables and having them on hand anytime I need to make a quick stirfry.

2. Use your crockpot. 

This is a woman's best friend. Ten minutes of effort in the morning, and you have the perfect meal when you get home.

3. Make Breakfast one night.

One night a week I will make either breakfast sandwiches or waffles. As long as I stay away from cinnamon rolls, it's quick, delicious, and filling. Try adding your favorite breakfast meal to your weekly rotation. It will make a huge difference.

4. Buy precooked chicken.

The rotisserie chicken is a life saver. I buy the Costco rotisserie chicken because it is bigger and then I use it for lunches and dinners all throughout the week. Cooking meat is usually the time sucker of any meal so having pre cooked meat is key when you don't have a lot of time.

5. Make the salad your main entree.

Salads are great meals for when you are busy because you can basically add anything to them and still have a great meal. Skyler and I love the Pasta Caesar Salad mentioned above because the pasta makes it filling enough for my husband, but it still feels light enough for me not to feel like a heffalump.

6. Make all in one meals.

Save your fancy meals for the weekend. I try to cook meals that don't need sides and will still fill you up. If its mostly a meat entree I'll try to add a vegetable to the recipe to make it more well-rounded. Crockpot meals are great for this because they usually include meat, vegetables, and rice or potatoes. 

What are your favorite quick recipes?

XOXO,