When a long day of work is over, the last thing you want is to spend hours in the kitchen figuring out dinner. Almost as bad is the alternative approach of stopping for fast food or dinner out before coming home. Dinner doesn’t have to be the most difficult time of the day. Simple preparation tips done in advance of the work day can reduce the amount of time needed to put a meal on the table. Consider these tips for how to make a quick dinner accompanied with two quick dinner recipes.

One way to make dinner an easier quicker process is to freeze meals ahead when you have more preparation time. Once a Month Cooking, abbreviated as OAMC, is a freeze ahead meal preparation method done in several different manners. It can involve shopping and cooking a month’s worth of meals at one time, freezing an extra meal of what you have for dinner tonight to use on a later day, or freeze ahead meat preparations like dump chicken.http://oamc.8m.com Once a month cooking tips can be found at Menus4Moms.comhttp://www.menus4moms.com/bulk/index.php and at Real Food 4 Real People.http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/freeze.html

In order to reduce the time in the kitchen during the work week, consider these advance preparation tips which can be accomplished on the weekend when time is more plentiful.

1. Purchase 10 pounds of lean ground beef. Brown and drain grease. Freeze in Ziploc bags in 1 pound portions. Squeeze all air out of the bag before freezing. Remove from the freezer the morning the beef will be used and thaw in the refrigerator.
2. Make extra baked potatoes when cooking for one meal. Use the extras for baked potato soup or twice baked potato casserole in the future.
3. Cook a whole chicken on the weekend. Shred the meat. Freeze in meal sized portions. Save the broth for making a soup or a chicken and dumpling meal.
4. Cut boneless chicken into cubes or strips for use in meals like stir fry or fried rice. Freeze in meal size portions and thaw in the refrigerator the day to be prepared.
5. Chop vegetables on the weekend and bag in meal sized portions.

Once a Month Cooking, abbreviated as OAMC, is a freeze ahead meal preparation method done in several different manners. It can involve shopping and cooking a month’s worth of meals at one time, freezing an extra meal of what you have for dinner tonight to use on a later day, or freeze ahead meat preparations like dump chicken.http://oamc.8m.com Once a month cooking tips can be found at Menus4Moms.comhttp://www.menus4moms.com/bulk/index.php and at Real Food 4 Real People.http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/freeze.html

This quick casserole meal is a favorite among children.

Ingredients

• 1 Large can Chef Boyardee Ravioli
• 1 lb ground beef, browned.
• 8 slices American Cheese

Directions for Making Quick Dinner

A shortcut for this meal uses the ground beef browned ahead and frozen.

1. Pour can of ravioli in 9X13 baking dish
2. Top with browned ground beef.
3. Heat for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
4. Layer sliced cheese across casserole and return to oven until melted.

This casserole can be prepared with frozen ravioli and a homemade sauce for those with more time to spend in the kitchen.

• 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup diced green onion
• 5 slices bacon, crispy
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a shallow 2-quart baking dish.
2. Use potatoes left from the advanced preparation in step 1.
3. Heat potatoes, add butter and mash until smooth.
4. Stir in 1 cup of cheese, milk, sour cream and eggs. Blend well.
5. Add 1/2 cup of onions, 3 slices of bacon, crumbled; salt and pepper to taste.
6. Spoon into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon.#
7. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining onions and serve.