When I was 14 I overheard some of my church youth leaders talking about their favorite meals. I was baffled at how boring their choices were. In my world, at the time, if you were going to have a favorite meal then make it something exciting. Several decades later I completely understand where they were coming from! My favorite meals these days are determined by a much simpler set of standards…

1) Can be pulled together in less than 45 minutes. I’m talking from the time I step into the kitchen until we are sitting at the table.

2) Nutritious (We’re not talking extreme nutrition. We’re talking back to my elementary school days, hit three of the four basic food groups in one meal, sort of nutritious.)

3) Most of the people sitting around the table will eat the meal without complaining. Or those who are too old to complain will eat at least a reasonable serving instead of picking at it. Pretending that they are eating.

Now that you know my criteria let me share a few of my favorite meals.

First up, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. This only works if I have the right tomato soup. Our family loves this soup. I serve it plain – just warmed up straight from the carton. I also use it in soups, I pour it over stuffed peppers, etc. It is delicious!

One of the quickest and easiest meals that I make in a pinch is Korean Beef and Rice. This one is super speedy and uses ingredients that I typically have on hand. The older kids like it because it has a little bit of spice and the younger kids love the plain rice

Third in my line up is Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches. These cook in the slow cooker. It takes maybe 15 minutes to get the meat cooking in the morning and then you need maybe 15 minutes to shred the beef and put the sandwiches together. It doesn’t get any easier than this and they taste amazing!

Keep in mind that a frozen pizza with a glass of chocolate milk and some canned fruit will fill those four basic food groups, put dinner on the table in 30 minutes, and most (not all but most) picky eaters will eat with a smile. Good luck with dinner!