This post may contain affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can find my full disclosure page here.
Trying to balance freelancing with the numerous demands of motherhood and life can be a challenge. I totally get the pressures!
To help lighten the load of freelancing mompreneurs everywhere, I’m sharing seven of our tried and true (and simple) dinner recipes. When you’re not busy thinking about dinner, you can hustle more to grow your business!
Simple Foods
Putting meals on the table for ten people every day takes time. In order to cut precious minutes out of meal prep, we’re learning to love simple foods.
I no longer feel guilty serving a simple meal. Everyday food does not need to be fancy. We can save that for the holidays like Thanksgiving.
However, our meals should be real, nutritious, and tasty. These seven dinners fit the bill. They are easy to prepare, kid-friendly, and delicious. Most contain protein, vegetables, and carbs all in one easy to serve meal.
Feel free to add additional fruits/veggies as simple sides.
You can click on each option to find the original recipe when appropriate. There, you’ll also see beautiful pictures of each meal.
Let’s dive right in!
Stir Fry
We LOVE stir fry, and make it often. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover meat and veggies. To save time, you can use frozen vegetables. They’re all prepped for you!
A favorite combination of ours uses leftover steak (cut into thin strips) and a bag of oriental stir fry frozen vegetables.
For the sauce you can keep it simple like the recipe I linked to, or you can doctor it up. I’ve added:
- ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger for a sweet and sour version
- sriracha to heat it up a bit
- Oyster sauce
and several combinations of the above!
Baked Potato Bar
Though potatoes take some time to bake, they are really hands off and perfect for a busy night. About an hour and a half before you want to eat, scrub a potato for everyone.
Prick each one with a fork, and put them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (You can wrap each with aluminum foil, but I don’t usually).
Then get back to writing. Or chilling with the kids. Maybe milking cows. Or whatever. You have time.
About ten minutes before dinner, mix up a simple cheese sauce. Heat up some frozen broccoli at the same time.
Drain the broccoli, and set the potatoes out of the oven.
Bring out the sour cream, butter, and any other toppings you can think of. Everyone can then build their own potato for dinner.
Taco Salad
This meal comes together so quickly! While a pound of hamburger is browning, chop and wash your lettuce and tomato, open a can of beans, and mix up your dressing.
Plate the salad, add some beans, cheese, meat, and anything else you like. We like to add tortilla chips on top for crunch!
Dutch Puff Pancake
We love breakfast for dinner! This recipe is hands off, and simple. Simply melt butter in a baking pan while the oven heats. Mix eggs, milk, and flour in a blender for a minute or two.
When the butter is melted, carefully pull the hot pan out and pour in the simple batter you just made. Put it back in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes.
It puffs up and looks beautiful!
You can add blueberries and syrup for a sweet version, or diced ham and cheese for a savory meal.
With some fruit on the side, you’ve got a complete meal.
Fried Rice
Since we often eat rice with lunch, I make sure to make an extra large batch when fried rice is on the dinner menu. That way the rice cools beforehand. It really does taste better!
You can also make rice in large batches and freeze if desired.
The recipe I linked to is meatless. We almost always add diced ham, or chicken strips. We like meat.
Creamed Tuna and Peas Over Toast
This is comfort food around here! Especially if I decide to boil potatoes and mash them instead of ladling this on toast. But toast is faster (make a large batch in the oven so you don’t have to keep putting two pieces in the toaster…).
One thing to note. I don’t use canned peas. They smell gross and look gross. We use a bag of frozen peas. I think it’s much nicer that way.
Sloppy Joes
One of my kids’ favorite quick meals!
I serve it on homemade bread slices, or store-bought hamburger buns depending on the type of day we’re having.
We usually eat coleslaw or a simple salad with this one.
What are your favorite quick meals for busy days?
What’s your go to recipe for busy days? I’d love for you to share.
Lisa Tanner is a former teacher turned homeschooling mom with 11 kids. She's also a successful freelance writer. Lisa enjoys helping other busy moms find time to start and grow a side hustle of their own.
Hi Lisa! Thanks for sharing my fried rice. It’s one of our favorites too (with chicken = yum!). By the way, did you know you can cook potatoes in a slow cooker? Prick, wrap in foil, cook on low 6-8 hours. BAM. Dinner’s ready when you are! 🙂
Thanks Tiffany, I’ll have to try potatoes in the crockpot!