Are you a teacher and need some quick and easy dinner ideas for busy weeknights?
Forget the takeaway! You can have delicious, healthy food, ready on the table for your family in no time at all!
Read here for some meal ideas for time-poor teachers…or anyone who’s really busy and discover the secret to making them super fast!!
Do you know this feeling? It’s at the end of a super-busy teaching day. You’re on the drive home or at home after a ridiculously draining day.
WHAT’S FOR DINNER? You hear your kids ask.
It’s the last thing you want to hear.
You’re TIRED! But in your mind, you have these grandiose ideas that you might actually have the energy to whip up a three-course gastronomy meal… BUT sadly, your body doesn’t want to oblige.
Need some quick and easy dinner ideas that will get the stamp of approval from your fussy kids?
This is where you can find help.
Teachers need to simplify their lives!
In some of my other posts, I explain how important it is for teachers to simplify their lives... this means making school AND home much more streamlined.
Meaning? Cooking the family meals!
Here’s my go-to advice for dinner ideas and THE MOST IMPORTANT KITCHEN TOOL you need in your life, to make your life much easier.
Related Article: 7 Super Easy Ways to Simplify Your Teacher Life
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Quick and easy dinner ideas – Most Important Kitchen Appliance (You wish you’d purchased years ago!)
To simplify cooking, you will NEED time-saving tools that will help you.
This is where the MULTIOCOOKER comes in.
This home appliance is probably the BEST item I’ve bought in a decade! Seriously!
It saves me stacks of time and I’ve been able to make the most beautiful home-cooked meals I’ve longed to whip up for years – WITHOUT all the effort.
I’ve added it here for you to purchase so that you can get your own too (I know I often lack the time to get to the shops and find what I’m looking for, so you could be the same).
Why not get your own Philips Multicooker HERE?
Because if you really want to get SERIOUS about saving time and getting organized, YOU NEED THIS ITEM in your kitchen!
The Philips Multicooker (which is the one I use), has so many functions:
- fry/saute
- slow-cooking
- pressure cooking (super-fast cooking)
- or- whatever you need it to do, but unfortunately not the ironing. LOL!
I use it to brown meats and make casseroles, curries, Bolognaise sauce, Nacho mince – anything you might do on the stovetop or in the oven and then they can be finished off in the pressure cooker for SUPER-FAST tasty meals when you’re tired.
I’ve included 8 of my quick and easy dinner ideas here, that you can cleverly cook even on a busy school night.
Hopefully, these ideas will also give you the INSPIRATION you need to keep your family happy AND to be able to sit and enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal with little fuss or effort on your part.
You could also try the Instant pot, which is super easy to use too and very popular too:
8 of my best quick and easy dinner ideas for crazy-busy teachers
Corned beef
Whatever country you’re in, I think corned beef should be a staple in ALL teachers’ kitchens.
It’s beautiful on a cold winter’s night with steamed vegetables and creamy cheesy sauce… or great eaten cold on a hot evening sliced and served with a healthy salad. Add corned beef to your menu.
But who knew it could be a done with little effort, as a weeknight meal?
I’ve been using my multicooker for this quick and easy dinner idea for a while now, as it ONLY takes 45 minutes in the pressure cooker function of the Multicooker. I know…AMAZING, right?
Here’s the RECIPE I’ve been using, to show you how it’s done.
Butter chicken
I was never much of a lover of Butter Chicken sauce from a jar, but that’s all I had the time for, when I came home from a long day at school…. until now…ENTER the awesome, delicious and also healthy recipe in the Pete Evans Family Food Cookbook. – One of my all-time favourites!
This recipe is flat out the most delicious Butter Chicken recipe I’ve ever discovered, with an amazing variety of herbs and spices the work together so well.
So, why don’t you make your own from scratch too with this recipe? It’s also easy-done in your multicooker! I’m sure you’ll love it because everyone who’s tried it at my house has become a raving fan!
TIP: Plan for this Butter Chicken recipe by adding the spices and other ingredients to your shopping list for your next grocery shop.
Shepherd Pie – Cottage Pie
There’s nothing more satisfying and filling than a delicious serve of steaming hot Shepherds Pie; also sometimes called Cottage Pie.
Shepherds Pie is a beautiful savoury-style mince with smooth and creamy mashed potato on the top (and if you love decadence, add grated cheese). Try this RECIPE. (My alteration: I prefer to use beef mince instead of lamb)
Shepherds Pie was one of THOSE recipes that I could only make on the weekends because of how long it takes, BUT with my multicooker… I can make it in less than HALF the time.
It only takes about 15mins for the mince and vegetables to cook together in the pressure cooker, and while that is bubbling away you can boil your potatoes.
Follow this recipe here and then place the dish in the oven for approx 20 minutes, to melt the cheese until golden.
Yum! You’ll be lucky if there’s anything leftover for lunches the next day!
Budget Bolognaise & Noodles
Spaghetti Bolognaise is another great go-to quick and easy dinner idea you should have on your weeknight menu.
Choose your favourite Italian mince bolognese recipe or try this one and for a quick and easy option, firstly fry off the mince and the flavourings on the saute function, and then finish in the pressure cooker – 15 minutes and you’re done!
While the mince is cooking, boil your favourite noodles, spaghetti or any other addition (we love zoodles (zuccini noodles) or low-carb noodles in our house), and it’ll be all finished off together and ready to eat.
Delicious with some fresh grated cheese or Parmesan on top!
Beef and Cashew Stir Fry
Stir-fries are a must-have stand-by meal in my household and I recommend them because they’re so quick and easy… plus very HEALTHY!
This is the one I make on a regular basis. Try this recipe HERE.
We personally don’t add rice, but just enjoy it on it’s own. Delicious however you have it!
Turkey or Chicken San Choy Bau
Another recipe I must thank Pete Evans for, also from his Family favourites Cookbook, is Chicken San Chou Bau.
If you’ve never tried San Choy Bau, it’s an Asian-style mince and vegetables eaten in lettuce cups. It’s so full of flavour and very quick and easy to make.
Check out the recipe in the cookbook HERE. I personally prefer using turkey mince (because it’s a more robust meat), but the recipe uses chicken. Whatever you decide – they’re both equally terrific meats to use for this dinner idea.
Spanish Chicken and Vegetable Bake
Another of my EASY go-to family meals is Spanish Chicken and Vegetable Bake, because it’s all done in ONE PAN in the oven.
If you enjoy Spanish-style meals you’re going to love this one – with chicken thighs, capsicum, zucchini, red onion and black olives.
If you like quick and easy dinner ideas, this RECIPE is definitely for you! – (this one is one of my absolute favourites).
Nachos
Who doesn’t love a big serve of delicious Nachos?
Mexican food it one of my families favourite meal choices. I find many Mexican recipes, particularly Nachos, such a tasty and easy option on a weeknight or weekend because it can be whipped up and on the table in no time.
My tip to make Nachos more healthy is to have a huge variety of salad options sliced up ready to serve with the mince, corn chips, cheese and sour cream. Things like; lettuce, cucumber, tomato and avocado.
And, if you’re really keen, you can make your own fresh guacamole with the avocado, as well as some delicious and tangy tomato salsa; made with chopped tomatoes, red onion and fresh coriander. Yummy, as well as low-fuss.
To Finish – Quick and easy dinner ideas for busy teachers
You might be wondering why I’m suggesting cooking and recipes when I write about teacher wellbeing and self-care. But, the reason is that I know the teaching life is tough. It can take all of your energy if you let it. So, I realised long ago that teachers must streamline their lives, to take the pressure off your day… and that includes at home too.
What else could more important for your wellbeing than good food!
Anyway, I hope you love these quick and easy dinner ideas and also get the most out of the brilliant multi-cooker for yourself – It will make a HUGE difference to your life – TRUST ME!
Michelle x
RELATED ARTICLES
- The Secret to Easy Meal Planning for Busy Teachers
- 10 Easy Working From Home Tips to Save Your Sanity
- 7 Tips to Thrive as a Teacher Through the Whole Year
- How to Start a Self-Care Routine for Busy Teachers Today!
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