This Week's 30 Minute Meals

Busy Week

So here are some recipes I've used for busy weeknight dinners, all made in 30 minutes or less.

CLAM CHOWDER

I know you can open a can, and its not bad, but its not homemade.

1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
2 cups sliced potatoes (my shortcut is to use hash brown already frozen potatoes, then just thrown them in -
   no peeling, dicing makes me happy in a hurry)
2 small cans clams (drain the juice and pour it on top of the vegetables in the pan)
Water (take the pan of veggies and juice and add water until the veggies are all covered)

Heat to a boil, then lower and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until veggies are soft

While that is simmering, make an easy green salad. (takes about 5 minutes or less)
Then in another pan,
melt 3/4 cup butter.
Sprinkle in 3/4 cup flour
With a wooden spoon, blend well, then add
1 quart half and half (light, full or fat-free, its up to you)
Stir until thickened.

By this point, the veggies should be soft.
Add in the liquid buttery broth.
Stir until all combined.
Add 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 T. red wine vinegar

Mmmmmmmm! And soup is so good on a cold windy day. Not as low calorie as the rest of the week, but still so very good.


LOW FAT STROGANOFF

Brown 1 lb. ground turkey with
1/2 diced onion until onion is tender

Add 1 T. butter
Pour 2 T. flour over the melted butter and meat mixture. Stir well
Add 2 small cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2  cup water
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup light sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Stir until warm throughout. Add more water or sour cream depending on the amount of liquid you want.
Turn heat to warm and make instant mashed potatoes.
I LOVE the Honest Earth brand. They totally taste like potatoes and are ready to eat in 5 minutes.
Serve with a vegetable (I'll usually microwave a frozen one in a steamer package while the potatoes are cooking)

TACOS

Doesn't everyone make these? This is a fast dinner with helpers.

Tomorrow we're having Orange Chicken, Rice, and Stir-Fried Vegetables. While the rice is cooking for 20 minutes I'll be cooking up some chicken and adding a little orange juice sauce and slicing and adding veggies. This usually takes me a little over 20 minutes and by 30 minutes we can be at the table ready to eat. (I really miss Trader Joe's Orange Chicken already cooked and only 8 minutes to heat up, but this is still doable.)

SPAGHETTI or PASTA with marinara sauce and spinach salad. I often use ground turkey or diced chicken breasts in place of hamburger. Last week I added just a 1/2 cup of low fat ground sausage and it was delicious!

TILAPIA/ SALMON/ ORANGE ROUGHY - I love baking fish. Only 10 minutes per inch of fish. Cover your baking pan with foil for an easy clean-up. Sprinkle the fish with lemon pepper seasoning and slices of fresh lemon. Serve with Sweet Potatoes, a green vegetable, and a little tartar sauce. Yum! LittleBuddy is happiest when I add bread to any meal. I recently found frozen french bread loaves at Coscto, for 10 for $10. Take them out for 15 minutes, then bake them directly on your oven rack for about 10 minutes. Love these too!

5 easy weeknight dinners. Variety, healthy for the most part, and fast.