One of the biggest challenges facing working moms is what to eat for dinner every night. When you add in school responsibilities, time becomes even more scarce.

Here are several quick and easy dinner ideas that will keep you from stopping by the fast food window on the way home from work.

1)    Barbeque chicken

Ingredients: skinless chicken pieces (any type- breast, leg, thigh, etc.) and bottled barbeque sauce

Directions: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the chicken in a baking dish. Pour enough barbeque sauce over the chicken to cover all surfaces. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how thick the pieces are. 

Serving idea: Corn on the cob. Put corn cobs (husks and silks removed) in a small microwave safe dish. Put in a couple of tablespoons water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for about 2 minutes per cob. If cooking more than 2 cobs, check progress after 4-5 minutes to make sure they aren’t overcooked. Serve with butter, salt and pepper to taste.

2)    Spaghetti

Ingredients

Required: spaghetti noodles, bottled spaghetti sauce

Optional: 1 lb ground beef, 8 oz pre-sliced mushrooms, 1 medium onion, chopped

Directions: Brown the ground beef along with the mushrooms and chopped onion. Add in the spaghetti sauce and heat. Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti according to package directions. Serve with sauce.

3)    Steak and baked potatoes

Ingredients: Decent quality steaks such as NY Strip or ribeye, McCormick’s Montreal seasoning, baking potatoes, butter, sour cream, green onions, cheddar cheese

Directions: Prick potatoes all over and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 1.5 hours. Cut in half and serve with butter, sour cream, sliced green onions and shredded cheddar cheese.

Sprinkle seasoning on steaks and grill or broil until desired doneness.

4)    Tacos

Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef, taco seasoning, tomato, onion, cheddar cheese, sour cream, taco shells

Directions, brown ground beef and cook with seasoning according to package directions. Serve with shells with chopped tomato, chopped onion, shredded cheese and sour cream as optional toppings.

5)    Barbeque shrimp

Ingredients: 1 lb peeled shrimp, 1 stick butter, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper, rice

Directions: Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until shrimp are pink, 3-5 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.

Note: Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Johnny Earles’ “Barbequed Shrimp”, Fish

6)    Breakfast for dinner

Ingredients: eggs, cheddar cheese, bacon or sausage, toast

Cube the cheese and mix with lightly beaten eggs. Cook 3-6 minutes in skillet until eggs are cooked and cheese melted. Serve with cooked bacon or sausage along with toast.

Other idea: get a frozen breakfast meal such as Jimmy Dean’s Breakfast Skillets. All you have to do is cook in a skillet (directly from the freezer) and add lightly beaten eggs and cheese if desired.