Need Dinner Ideas That Take Approx 20-30 Minutes to Cook.

Use that crock-pot girl!! That is the easiest way to have a good dinner ready when it is time. You can google crock-pot recipes on the web and find and endless assort. of recipes. Especially with Fall coming up I use mine for all sorts of stews and soups. It is so easy to throw everything in a pot in the morning and not have to think about it until dinner. I have cooked BBQ Boneless Ribs in mine by just throwing in the meat, BBQ and seasoning then I just get the sides ready at dinner. Vegetable soup is a good one with ground beef, whatever veggies you like, I add potatoes also and then I put a can of V8 and some water and seasonings. I have a friend whose family owns a company who makes ready made mixes sort of like Homemade Gourmet they are on the web at www.comfortfoods.com. They have a lot of soup mixes that are wonderful!!

We eat a lot of pasta dishes. You can make Chicken Parmesan ahead of time or just have pasta and Italian sausages. Shake and Bake is good occasionally for pork or chicken.

Casseroles are easy to make. The crockpot comes in handy but my family is not that crazy about crockpot meals. I make soups in the crockpot. Last night I made Chicken Piccata in less that 30 minutes, served with pasta and salad.

Best wishes.

Have you ever tried those Hamburger Helpers, they are really easy to make and so convenient. Chicken Quesadillas area also very easy to make and kids love it. Have a "Sandwich Day" during the week, even the easiest things can seem fancy depending on the way you serve it. I have a friend that serves already cooked tacos or pizza, just heats it up in the oven and it makes a great dinner. When you have so much on your hands YOU are allowed to make things easy on yourself, don't over work yourself, you have the rest of your life(*aka* when your kids are grown up and you have more time on your hands) to make a fancy meal, but for the mean time, make things simple "look" fancy.

HI N.
I am in the same situation as you. I was introduced to a book, which is on order, that is called "Don't Panic dinner is freezer" My friend turned me on to this book and I have tried a couple of recipes and it's great. Basically you pre-make the food and freeze it and you complete it in 15-20 min - usually cooking time only.
See if you can run into it - I think you'll enjoy it and it's easy.

N.,

check out www.kraftfoods.com and www.bettycrocker.com. they are GREAT and have so many super quick and super easy recipes. i use them ALL the time! rachel ray has her 30 minute meals, but they are not always super easy... and i bet not all kids would love them. they are fun for an "all adults" meal though. good luck!

p.s. congratulations on your 3rd baby! how exciting! do you know if you're having a boy or a girl? when was your 1 year old born? our daughter was born in october, and we are already being asked when we're having the 2nd one! i've always wanted to have kids close together, but the idea of being pregnant again within the next year is a little scary right now! haha! and my husband says he can't imagine being able to love another child as much as our little girl. he always says, "i just can't do that to emma!" is that normal? i mean, i know he would love the 2nd one... but he's so worried about it! :-)

anyway... have fun with your daughter's first year of school... i teach pre-k, and i can't imagine how hard it will be to drop her off that first day... but trust me, she will have SO much fun... she'll love it! :) good luck!