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Five 30 Minute Or Less Dinner Ideas For Tonight

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Check out these five dinner ideas for tonight that are ready in 30 minutes or less.

Plan Ahead And Save Time

When time is of the essence these thirty minute meal ideas come in handy.

If you plan ahead you’ll be more likely to complete these meals in 30 minutes or less.

Shop for the meals in advance to ensure that you have all the ingredients you need on hand.

If you don’t want to buy already prepared items, do your chopping and prepping when you get back from the grocery store to be prepared for the week ahead.

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Fish And Chips

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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Slice the potatoes into thin slices.
  3. Slice the onions into thin slices.
  4. Put the onions and potatoes into a large bowl.
  5. Put two Tablespoons olive oil and 2 teaspoons garlic powder and toss it all together.
  6. Pour the potato and onion mixture into the foiled pan and sprinkle the mixture lightly with sea salt.
  7. Bake the potatoes and onions in the oven until the potatoes and onions are crisp.
  8. For the fish, simply lay the fish skin side down on a foil lined pan and cook it according to the directions for the type of fish you are cooking.
  9. Brush the fish with olive oil and sprinkle some lemon pepper on top of the fish.
  10. Once the fish is done, remove it from the oven and squeeze a lemon or lime over fish.
  11. Serve immediately with a fresh salad or a side of  broccoli slaw* and the potatoes.

*Mix the prepackaged broccoli slaw with a little vegan mayo (less unhealthy fat and very tasty) and a little honey for a real taste treat.

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Spaghetti

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There is no need to fix a salad to go with this recipe. It has all the vegetables you need in one dish making it super simple to cook and serve.

Ingredients

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  • Whole wheat spaghetti noodles
  • Sweet onion
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • Mushrooms
  • Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt
  • Prepackaged Broccoli Slaw
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 16 ounce can tomato sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 can black beans (optional)

Instructions

  1. In large pot caramelize a sweet onion with four cloves of garlic and mushrooms in some olive oil with a pinch of sea salt.
  2. Once the onions are caramelized add in a bag of broccoli slaw and cook until the slaw is wilted.
  3. Add 1 can of chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook the mixture down.
  4. Add in a 16 ounce can of tomato sauce along with 1 Tablespoon honey, 1 Tablespoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon oregano.
  5. Add a can drained and rinsed of black beans for a variation on the sauce. This is optional.
  6. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
  7. While the sauce is simmering, cook a package of whole wheat pasta noodles according to the package directions.
  8. Add the cooked pasta to sauce and toss it until the spaghetti noodles are covered in sauce.
  9. Serve immediately.
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Stand Alone Dinner Salad

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Ingredients

  • Lettuce
  • Onion
  • Chopped Bell Peppers
  • Tomato
  • Grilled seafood, chicken or roast (your choice)
  • Mango
  • Vinegar
  • Sea Salt

Instructions

  1. Combine the mango, vinegar and sea salt. Blend until smooth. This is the salad dressing.
  2. Combine several kinds of lettuce, onion, chopped bell peppers, tomato, and your choice of grilled seafood, chicken or even strips of left over roast.
  3. Pour the salad dressing over the top of the salad and serve immediately.
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Stir Fry Shrimp

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This is a delicious one dish meal your family is sure to love.

Ingredients

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  • Shrimp
  • Rice or Noodles (your choice)
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Powder Spice
  • Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • Bag of stir-fry vegetables

Instructions

  1. Cook either rice or noodles according to the package directions and then set them aside in a warm place.
  2. Mix together 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon honey, 1/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon Chinese five powder spice and a splash of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. Set the mixture aside.
  3. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon sesame oil and pour the bag of stir-fry vegetables into the skillet.
  4. When the vegetables are almost done, add in the shrimp, stir the mixture for a minute or two, add in the sauce and cook until the shrimp is done.
  5. Serve the shrimp and vegetable immediately over rice or noodles.

Notes

Shrimp cooks super fast. It starts out gray but is done the moment it turns pink.

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Quesadillas

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Ingredients

Wheat flour tortilla

Onion

Cheese

Black beans, shrimp or steak (your choice – any combination of ingredients or just one)

Corn oil (optional)

Instructions

Place the onion, black beans, shrimp or steak into a frying pan and heat the mixture up.

Lay the wheat flour tortilla flat and fill the tortilla with the meat or bean mixture and top it with cheese.

Fold over the tortilla and then either bake in oven on 350 degrees Fahrenheit till crisp approximately 10 minutes, cook in the Panini maker per the instructions, on the grill or fry it in corn oil on top of the stove for 3 minutes per side.

Serve with a salad and a fruit for dessert.

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Final Thoughts

If you like to make up freezer meals ahead of time, it is possible to buy many of the ingredients for these five dinner ideas for tonight ahead of time and do the preparation all on one day.

This makes the meals even faster to prepare and is great for those busy weeknights when it seems there is barely time to sit down and eat.

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