Monday, May 22, 2023

7 of THE Easiest Lazy Girl Dinner Ideas (Perfect for ADHD Parents!)



I have not been quiet about my disdain for all things meal planning, groceries, and endless dinner making. Whoopsie. I am trying to be a bit more intentional and mindful about the whole process, but one thing truly saving me is working in some of the fastest and easiest ideas ever.


We all know about tacos. And basically anything you can make out of ground meats goes fast. But what I find fascinating is the random combinations different households put together that I never would have thought of, and sometimes they're genius! Let's share those little nuggets, ya know? (Sometimes literal nuggets!)




So, look, these aren't pretty or gourmet or farm to table organic. But they're fast and easy, and that's really what we all need. You can make any of these in 30 minutes or less - some of them a lot less - and most of the time is just waiting for your oven to do the work. That's what I'm talking about.

Grab your menus, friends!





Grilled Chicken Breast, Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli & Crescent Rolls

The hardest part is remembering to marinate your chicken, but...do that. About an hour before dinner, poke a few fork holes in your potatoes and pop them on a sheet pan at 375. Grill the chicken 20-30 mins before dinner, and when when you have 10-15 minutes to go, chop up your broccoli and steam it (I often take the extreme lazy route and use the microwave with a ceramic bowl), and pop your crescents in the oven. So, so simple.





Chicken Tender Sandwiches with Kettle Chips & Fruit

So simple, but good! Preheat your oven, get your choice of chicken tenders in there (I like antibiotic free chicken breast tenders), and cut up your choice of fruit while it cooks. When the chicken comes out, just place them on a bun with your fav toppings (I like pickles & Chick-fil-a sauce, but bbq sauce and slaw, or Franks & blue cheese are also amazing!), toss some kettle chips and fruit on your plate and you're done!






Rotisserie Chicken w/ Trader Joe's seasoning, Green Beans & Fruit

Even easier - grab a rotisserie from the grocery store and slice/shred it however you like. You can make it such an exciting thing with just a few shakes of basically any seasoning blend from Trader Joe's! I really like the Chili Lime, Elote, Citrus Garlic...browse their spice aisle and pick something that sounds exciting to you! Then just chop and steam your green beans, cup up your fruit, and it's dinner time.






Chicken Caesar Wrap & Fries

Yeah I know it's a lot of chicken...we eat mostly chicken here, but stick with me because this one is the ultimate in simplicity. Get a Caesar Salad kit from the store (2 if you're feeding a whole fam), a rotisserie chicken, and then just shred up your chicken and mix up your salad. Put some of each inside a tortilla and roll it up. It's really that easy! Stick a bag of frozen fries in the oven before you start putting these together, and then you've got it all set to plate up.






Turkey Kielbasa, Pierogies, Roasted Cauliflower & Kraut

This one might be a little bit regional, but we are v Polish in this fam, so these are staples. That doesn't mean we always have the good authentic stuff, though. I often just go for the inexpensive frozen pierogies because my kids will eat them and turkey kielbasa (I don't like pork, and turkey is better for you). I chop up and season some cauliflower for the oven about 20-30 mins before I cook the rest of dinner, then slice up the kielbasa and brown them on the same large skillet where I cook the pierogies in butter, toss some saurkraut in a sauce pan to warm up, and that's it. So yummy, so easy.







Turkey Hot Dogs, Mac and Cheese, Broccoli & Fruit Salad

You can use regular hot dogs, of course, but again...I don't like pork, and turkey is better for you. I also picked having mac & cheese rather than a bun for my hot dog and a half, but you can make the opposite choice, of course! You can even cut and mix up the fruit salad a little while before dinner and have it chilling in the fridge for you.






Tropical Salmon Bowl (rice, roasted salmon, mango salsa)

This is the most work intensive one of the list, but I promise - still very easy! I like to start with putting my salmon in a roasting pan with some lemon juice, salt, and pepper so that it gives it a little bit of marinating time. Then I make my mango salsa by juicing and zesting a lime (you can make it even easier just using bottled lime juice - I have before) and mixing in some cumin, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make a dressing. Then I cut up about 1/2 of a red pepper into small pieces, dice 1-2 mangos, and mix those in with the dressing. Right before dinner is ready, dice an avocado and add that to the salsa. Add a bit of butter to the top of the salmon and pop it into the oven to roast for 20-25 mins, make your rice on the stovetop (which also takes 20-25 mins), and that's it! When everything is done, just mix some of it all into a bowl and it's sooooo worth it! This is one of my favorite dinners, and also just at the threshold of easiness so it's a summer staple around here. I've also added steamed green beans to this before and it's super yummy!


Ugh, now I want that salmon bowl tonight but it's not what I have planned! Going on the menu for the week though, for sure.

Do you have any other insanely simple meal ideas for me? Sound off in the comments if you do - I need them!



Pin these ideas for future meal plans!












2 comments:

  1. I love stir fry’s-just pick your protein, I use a stir fry sauce (bottled or easy homemade) and either fresh or frozen veggies. Top on rice or ramen noodles. I do the same for pasta primavera-usually Angel hair pasta, chicken & veggies with garlic, parm cheese. Nice and easy and ingredients I usually have in the home. Love your salmon bowl! And the chicken sandwiches. Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thank you for sharing, also!! I never think to just do a simple stir fry, I don't know why! Good idea!!

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