dinner ideas quick and easy dinner recipes

Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes

Is having dinner at home with all the family a dying tradition? A discussion about that, and a few yummy recipes to get you started.

With the hectic pace with which we live these days, it leaves little time for eating the family dinners that were such an integral part of life in the past. So much so, that cooking and sharing dinner together as a family is becoming a lost art. Getting together as a family can be a great way to bond together, and to slow down and savor food. In fact, according to studies, it has been found that families that get together and communicate with each other have children that are better balanced, have better social skills, perform better academically, have better self-esteem, and remain substance free. As for the conversation, knowing how hard it can be sometimes to get preteens and above to talk about themselves or anything going on in their lives, the best thing is to keep it natural. You could set the ball rolling by talking about the latest baseball game, or some movie, or perhaps about a celebrity making news. Something usually will click, sooner or later. The point is to not make it seem forced. Lemon and Mustard Chicken
  • 2 chicken breasts, boneless
  • 2 tablespoons, mustard (any of your favorite)
  • ⅓ cup, cooking wine
  • ⅓ cup, olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon, thyme leaves (dried)
Combine the wine, mustard, olive oil, and thyme in a shallow dish. Put the chicken into this mix, and coat well by turning the chicken. Cover the dish and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, in order to marinate the chicken. Remove from the refrigerator and drain the chicken, reserving the marinade. Heat a skillet on medium heat. Cook the chicken in it until tender, basting it with the marinade, about five minutes on each side. Stir-Fried Beef With Broccoli
  • 1 lb sirloin steak (frozen slightly and cut into thin strips)
  • 2 cups, broccoli Florets (fresh)
  • 1 red bell pepper (sliced into strips)
  • 1 green bell pepper (sliced into strips)
  • 2 tablespoons, oil
  • 2 tablespoons, cooking wine
  • 1 garlic clove (minced)
  • Rice (cooked and hot)
For the Sauce:
  • ½ cup, beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons, cooking wine
  • 1 tablespoon, soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon, cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon, sugar
Combine all the ingredients of the sauce in a small bowl; mix them well, and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok, and stir-fry the broccoli, red pepper, and green pepper for about a minute. Add two tablespoons of cooking wine, cover and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the wok. Then, heat the remaining oil, and add the meat and garlic. Stir-fry until the meat gets brown. Then, add the sauce to the meat, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens, stirring often. Add the vegetables and cook until they are hot. Serve this over the hot rice. Meat Loaf With Piquant Tomato Sauce
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ bread crumbs (dried)
  • ¼ cup, chopped onion
  • 1 can, stewed tomatoes (16 oz.)
  • 1 can, tomato sauce (8 oz.)
  • ¼ cup, rice vinegar (seasoned)
  • 1 tablespoon, brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon, salt
  • ¼ teaspoon, pepper
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 ºF. Chop the stewed tomatoes coarsely. In a small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and brown sugar. Take a large bowl and crumble the beef in it, then, add half cup of the tomato mixture, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, salt, and pepper, and mix them all together. Take an 8x8'' baking dish and shape the meat mixture into a loaf in it. Bake for 45-50 minutes. In the meantime, heat the remaining tomato mixture, allowing it to simmer, until it thickens. During the last 10 minutes of the baking, spread ¼ cup of the thickened tomato sauce over the meat. Serve the rest of the sauce with the meat loaf, sliced. Quick And Easy Spaghetti
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 12 oz. spaghetti
  • 1 onion, chopped fine
  • 1½ tablespoons, tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • ¼ teaspoon, turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon, salt
  • ⅔ cup, water
Heat the oil in a skillet, add the chopped onions, and stir-fry until translucent. Then, add the ground beef, and cook until it gets brown. Put in the turmeric and salt, and stir. Dilute the tomato paste with the ⅔ cup of water and pour it on the beef mixture. Cook for half an hour over medium heat. Cook the spaghetti in a large bowl of salted, boiling water according to the directions given on the package. Drain it well. Combine the spaghetti and beef in a large bowl. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

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