This chunky tomato soup comes together in 15 minutes–and it’s better than anything you’d find in a can. Easy, bursting with flavor and a favorite for kids. Can’t get better than that! What you need to make chunky tomato soup 2 onions 1/2 cup butter (one stick) 2 26-ounce cans of tomatoes (any kind) Salt…
30-Minute Lemon Chicken with Tomatoes & Kale
This 30-minute chicken dinner is packed with flavor — and healthy ingredients! Use kale, spinach, baby spinach or mustard greens. Anything works. Serve it over a bed of spaghetti and you’ll have a dinner everyone asks to make on repeat. Yes, cook the herbs first. I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they’re full of…
Easy Shrimp Pasta
This easy shrimp pasta comes together in 15 minutes! All you need is pasta, large shrimp, a handful of cherry tomatoes, garlic and butter. Toss on a few herbs and dinner is served in less time than it takes for Wendy Williams to dish out the Hot Topics. Plus, our easy shrimp pasta got a…
10-Minute Buttery Chicken with Zucchini & Herbs
The fastest chicken dinner I’ve ever made started yesterday at 4pm, when we finally rolled through the door. A sweaty group of kids fussing at each other. You know, the basic after-school mode. And on Wednesdays — hooray! — there’s an extra hurdle to leap over: gymnastics starts at 5pm. I don’t even have to…
A One-Pot Dinner That’s the Best of 2 Favorite Dinners: Chili-Roni!
I’ve made this easy one-pot meal twice in the last two weeks. Because I love Chili-Roni. And so do the kids. If you’re looking for a fast and easy meal your whole family will love, add Chili-Roni to your list. Because: One pot! That means the smallest amount of cleanup possible. It’s fast. The whole…
Simple sausage and peppers sliders: A wholesome 15-minute dinner kids love
I discovered these simple sausage and pepper sliders a few months ago when I was at the grocery store with two of my girls. They’re five and seven and this was a slow moving day. Unfortunately it turned out to be the kind where you suddenly notice that your kids’ hair isn’t really brushed until you’re…
10 Fast Weeknight Dinner Ideas Your Kids Will (Really) Love: This Working Mom of 4 Tested Them All
What do you make for dinner when you’re in a hurry after work? For every busy parent, it’s hard to beat a few easy weeknight dinner ideas your kids will really, truly, love. And boy do I know it because I just started a giant new consulting job that actually requires me to go to…
Taco Soup: a Fresh Take on a Family Favorite, Done in 20 Minutes
Here comes another fast dinner idea! In just 20 minutes you’ll have a fresh spin on the one dinner nearly every family loves (no, we’re not talking about you, pizza, so please calm down): This is taco soup. Taco soup has all the yummy flavors of tacos served in a refreshing new way AND there are…
Dairy-Free Creamy Tomato Soup with a Surprising Source of Protein: White Beans!
You’ll never guess the hard-working ingredient in our creamy tomato soup…white beans. Yep, a simple can of white beans brings protein to a meal that you wouldn’t usually call hearty. And since there’s no dairy, you might not guess creamy. But that’s what this soup is. It’s also delicious. My first grader sure thinks so. I…
Your Secret Weapon for an Instant Dinner: DIY Rotisserie Chicken Sandwiches
Sometimes a dinner is so fast it makes itself. That’s the case with one of our favorite ways to use rotisserie chicken: DIY rotisserie chicken sandwiches served along with raw veggies. And for that last part, we like to make things interesting. But still it is not like the one we get in the popular…
The 3-Ingredient Pesto Naan Bread Pizza Our Kids Can’t Stop Asking For
This pesto naan bread pizza taught me two things: Kids love pesto. I’m not nearly as clever as I think. It’s part of our What to Make for Dinner When You’re in a Hurry After Work series that I’m calling Dinner in a Flash. This instant pesto pizza was recommended by a lawyer mom whose girls go to school…
2 Minutes to Gooey & Amazing: Why You’ll Want To Make Apple-Jack Sandwiches for Dinner Tonight
A few weeks ago I asked you guys, “What do you make for dinner when you’re in a hurry after work?” Here’s what one smart mom said: Apple-Jack Sandwiches. A fast, easy, satisfying dinner with a deliciously new combination of flavors. (Flavors our kids already know, only not in this formation. Horizons, prepare to be broadened.) And…
Amazingly Quick & Easy Broccoli Soup that Starts with a Bag of Frozen Broccoli
I’ve tried making broccoli soup for my kids before. With tons of cheese. And love. It took a ton of love to grate all that cheese alone, and guess what? They hated it. The soup. I’m assuming (for my own mental health) they’re into the love. This time I went simpler. MUCH simpler. There’s no milk…
Cod with Lemon Orzo & Peas: A 15-Minute, One-Pot Dinner
Two people in my house love fish. Two people in my house think they don’t like fish, then try it. Then decide they love fish. They are preschoolers and do this every time. One person may never love fish. Hint: He shaves. When it comes to seafood, my husband is in the same camp as Jim…
one-pot homemade mac & cheese
I THOUGHT I NAILED IT with our 15-minute homemade mac & cheese. Then I heard something mind-blowing. You can make one-pot pasta. With almost anything. Now I just walk around saying, “Wait, what?!? WHY haven’t we been doing this all along? Why have I been washing all these pans? Is this some sort of joint conspiracy…
Toasted Turkey, Salami & Cheese Sandwiches: Homemade Mini-Grinders
THERE WERE TWO STOPLIGHTS in the town where I grew up. And in between them was Rome Pizza. I told you about how much I loved their Hawaiian pizza when I was a kid but they also made something so mouthwatering I still remember it, all these years later. Grinders. But here’s the thing: I only…
Shortcut Swedish Meatballs: Ready in 30 Minutes
“IF YOU GUYS WILL TRY COUS COUS TONIGHT,” I heard myself bargaining, “I’ll make you pumpkin muffins for breakfast.” And with three nods we had a deal. I was desperate. I already had this delicious pot of Shortcut Swedish Meatballs simmering on the stove when I realized I’d need something to serve with them, something…
Let’s Make Mark Bittman’s Pasta with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Wine
Pasta with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Wine Excerpted with permission from HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING FAST Time: Faster (30 minutes or less) Makes: 4 to 6 servings Use red wine and this dish is hearty for the fall or winter; use white and it becomes lighter for spring or summer. You won’t go wrong either way….
Mark Bittman’s Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Bacon
This recipe is excerpted with permission from “How to Cook Everything Fast” by Mark Bittman. This soup has it all: It’s sweet, colorful, and creamy and even features the smoky crunch of bacon on top. The most time-consuming thing about preparing squash is peeling and seeding it. INGREDIENTS 8 slices bacon 1 medium butternut squash…
15-Minute Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
OBVIOUS CONFESSION COMING… I’M TOTALLY OVERWHELMED. Have I mentioned that before? It turns out that managing four kids under the age of six is hard, especially when you don’t get to sleep at night. I know you know that. The silly thing is, I didn’t know that. Or, I guess somehow I thought it wouldn’t be….