Yet Another 5 Minute Dinner
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You may be wondering if another five minute dinner is possible, and I am here to tell you that it is! If you read last week’s 5 Minute Dinner, you read how this was possible because I planned ahead and prepped ingredients only one time. I made a menu plan for the week, and then used that plan to prepare on the weekend for easy meals during the week, including ingredients that were used twice for two totally different meals! This piece on How to Set Yourself Up for a Great Week is also full of tips for weeks that run smoothly.
Yesterday, I had a huge list of things that I needed to get done during nap time. It was going to be so great. I was going to have peace and quiet in which to cross a bunch of stuff off my list. One of these things was to go grocery shopping since we had next to NOTHING in the house.
But, as often happens, my plans for the afternoon went out the window when someone else in the family needed my help for something they were working on. It probably doesn’t surprise you to hear that this took all afternoon.
The next thing I knew, it was 6:00 and I had a bunch of hungry kids standing in the kitchen asking what was for dinner.
What was for dinner was pizza, which required me to go grocery shopping since I had no cheese, which is something I am rarely out of! But since there was no grocery shopping, I hadn’t a clue what was for dinner!
I will admit that I wallowed there in my frustration for just a minute, but the kids yipping at my heels brought me right back to the reality that I needed to magically make dinner appear – and quick.
After that momentary lapse, I regained my composure and walked to my freezer to see what was for dinner. Voila! Tacos. Tacos were for dinner.
When I wrote Freezer Staples for Stress Free Meals, I gave you the the secret to solving this problem. While that post is an invaluable tool for you on its own, this 5 minute meal is how the things I shared there play out in real life. Pantry Staples for Stress Free Meals is also filled with the same kind of info.
I grabbed the taco meat from my freezer, took it out of the bag, thawed it in the microwave for three minutes while I chopped lettuce and shredded cheese. Within five minutes, I had tacos ready for everyone to dive into.
I can honestly say that I think I would have had a complete mommy meltdown last night had I not had something ready for dinner in five minutes. I was stressed from the day not working out how I had planned it, overwhelmed by my list of things that weren’t done, and starving since I also had eaten NOTHING that day. Thank goodness I took the time to preplan and to prepare for times such as this.
Whether you can prepare a 5 Minute Dinner because you prepped ahead of time or because you have freezer staples on hand, a five minute dinner is possible! If I can feed my family of nine in five minutes, you can too!
Stay tuned tomorrow, and I will show you how I used the leftovers to morph them into a fresh and new five minute lunch. Yes, really. I guess I’m all about helping you feed your family on the fly these days!
Has there been a time when planning ahead has saved you from a mommy meltdown at mealtime?
