Bring Your Family to the Dinner Table: Shortcut Dinner Recipes

I come from a family that likes to eat (no kidding!), so it’s no wonder why I find that many of my favorite childhood memories involve food in some way or another. In fact, I thank food for bringing my family together. I don’t think we ever talked as much as we did when we all came together to have dinner. To this day, I value the tradition of having dinner as a family, no matter how busy everyone’s schedules may be.

Most of us lead busy lives, there’s no denying that, but just as work and play are important to us, making time for our families is just as important. According to various reports, families who eat together are more likely to have higher-quality relationships. Eating together can also help children build better relationships with food, which means a lesser chance of their developing eating disorders or becoming overweight. The USDA recommends making mealtime “family time” as part of having healthy eating habits, and gives some great tips here.

I know what it’s like to come home after a long day and not want to cook anything, so I can only imagine what it must be like for a whole family. The good news is, there are quick and easy solutions to getting dinner on the table without having to do a whole lot of work. And no, I’m not talking about expensive, mystery, “fast food.” I’m talking about taking some shortcuts, like frozen ingredients, to speed dinner up. Ever wondered how fresh those frozen ingredients really are? Check out this video:

Yep, frozen basically equals fresh. With frozen ingredients, and a few pantry staples, you can basically whip up dinner in no time. Here are a few recipes from us here in the Mr. Food Test Kitchen to help get you started:

Clockwise from top-left: Hawaiian Stuffed Pizza | Waffle Fry Chicken Bake | Taco Beef Pot Pie | Macaroni and Cheese Soup | Pierogi Chicken Bake

I also found some great ones on Pinterest:

Baked Ravioli – Amy Lynn (Only three ingredients!)

Sausage Tortellini – The Taylor House

California Blend Vegetable Casserole – Bitz & Giggles

And for those days when you really, really don’t have a minute to spare…well, there are always some healthy, frozen dinner entrees. Keep a few of your family’s favorites in the freezer for those emergency dinner nights. I personally love me some vegetable lasagna! (I think I may have mentioned that before…)

For even more ideas on creating fast and delicious meals for your family, check out Easy Home Meals.

How many nights a week do you have dinner with your family? What’s your favorite dinner-in-a-hurry dish?