Hassle-Free Meal Ideas for Your Busy Family

Hassle-Free Meal Ideas For Your Busy Family by Merissa Alink

It’s beginning to warm up outside and that means that busier days and less time spent inside are on the horizon.But a family still must eat! So just how do we feed our family when we just want to be outside and we would rathernot spend extra on our air conditioning costs as we heat up the oven to cook?

There are a few great solutions to this problem. Here are some simple ideas on how to handle too-hotto-cook summer days. These meals and ideas are perfect for the days when you don’t want to heat up your home during the day by turning on the oven.

The Beautiful Slow Cooker One good option is slow cooker meals. You won’t heat up your kitchen and you still will get a great filling meal. The only downside to this solution is the meal will be a hot dish so if you are already warm you may not feel like eating a hot meal, but it’s a great option for those busy days.

Some favorite slow cooker meals are:

• Steak

• Meatballs

• Taco Meat

• Any variety of soup made with fresh garden vegetables

• Pulled pork, BBQ shredded beef, or anything that can be easily added to a sandwich

Make It Now, Eat It Later Another option is to make up some freezer meals. Even though you do have to heat up the oven to make most of those meals, you could try and make as many of them as possible at night when it is a little cooler in the house or when you can open the windows and let in some cooler air while you are cooking.

We love doing make ahead meals at our house (especially for things like sides, breads, and snacks. Favorites in our home are:

Homemade Sausage Patties Use at least 2-3 pounds of ground beef or turkey and combine it with your family’s favorite spices and herbs. For ground turkey, add a little salt, garlic powder, basil, oregano, marjoram, and onion powder. For beef, add a little salt, garlic and onion powder. Form into patties and fry on the stovetop until cooked through. Place in the freezer and reheat to enjoy as needed.

Easy Refried Beans (made in the slow cooker with the extras frozen)

Soak a large bowl full of pinto beans overnight (with double the amount of water than of beans added). Rinse, and then place in the slow cooker the next day with water to just cover the beans. Add garlic, or other spices as desired. Cook on low for at least 8 hours in the slow cooker, stirring occasionally until the beans are soft and can be mashed. Mash up the beans and let them cool before placing in freezer bags. Pull them out of the freezer and thaw before enjoying in your favorite burrito meal or simply warm them up in the microwave with some shredded chicken and cheese for an easy, filling lunch.

Slice and Bake Cookies Make your favorite cookie recipe for any kind of drop (not cut out) cookie. Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it up into a log shape about 2 inches wide using plastic wrap. Freeze the cookie log. When you are ready to bake, simply slice the cookies off of the log, place on a greased cookie sheet, and bake for a few minutes longer than you would the regular cookie recipe. Bake only the number of cookies that you need so that you can enjoy fresh cookies anytime without the effort of mixing up the dough each time.

A Few More No-Bake Meal Ideas

• Taco Salad – with cold refried beans and salsa

• Cold Pasta (make the evening before when it’s not hot and refrigerate) – with a sharp or aged cheese and fresh veggies mixed in, topped with a vinegar based dressing.

• Tacos – with cold refried black beans and fresh garden veggies

• Anything Grilled!

• Chef Salad

And of course, there is plenty of fresh garden produce this time of year to feast on! Be sure and make frequent stops at the Black Hills Farmer’s Market on the days that they are open to be able to indulge in the freshest in-season produce.

Hopefully you’ve been able to find some great inspiration in this article for when it’s just too hot or busy to turn on the oven during the day and put in much effort in the kitchen. BHW