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It doesn’t matter if you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home one, getting dinner on the table every night can be a challenge. Most moms can agree that when it comes to dinner, getting a meal on the table quickly is essential. Preparing dinner in the midst of a hectic schedule without resorting to takeout or frozen meals, however, can sometimes prove to be tricky. One way to save your sanity is to plan out your meals for the week ahead of time and go on one big shopping trip so you have all the ingredients you need on hand.  You can also prep any vegetables and brown any meats you’ll need on the weekend, slashing some of the time spent cooking during the week. These 60 blogs are stocked with quick and easy recipes you can make during even the most jam-packed of weeks.

Vegetarian

People that follow a more restricted diet can sometimes find themselves in a cooking rut after a while, resorting to the same meals over and over again. These 10 blogs, however, are packed with vegetarian meals that are perfect for the health conscious diner, and all can be fixed in 30 minutes or less.

• 5 Gourmet (But Quick!) Weeknight Dinners You’ll find a variety of dinners on this blog that are sure to get you out of a cooking rut.
• Weeknight Dinner Ideas: Pan Braised Vegetable Dumplings with Stir Fry Side If you’re craving stir fry, try this Asian inspired dinner.
• {Recipe} Weeknight Udon with Quick Vegetarian Dashi Dashi is a vegetarian broth that is a standard in Japanese cooking and can liven up your weeknight meal.
• Grilled Vegetable Pizza, aka the ‘Triple Threat’ of a Homemade Dinner This quick and inexpensive meal looks impressive and tastes delicious.
• Summer Vegetable Pasta Skillet If you find yourself with an excess of veggies, prepare this veggie-packed weeknight meal.
• Dinner Tonight: Vegetarian Check out the recipe for chipotle bean burritos that will add a little kick to dinnertime.
• Quick & Easy Taco Casserole {Recipe} This recipe will taste good enough to fool even the non-vegetarians in your life.
• Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Arugula and Tofu Stir fries are perfect for quick weeknight dinner ideas, and this one goes vegetarian by using tofu.
• Sweet Potato Cakes with Jalapeno Guacamole The spiciness of the guacamole perfectly balances and complements the sweetness of the potato cake in this dish.
• Roasted Vegetable Pita Sandwich Here’s a tasty sandwich for those weeknights when cooking is out of the question.

Gluten-Free

Making the switch to a gluten-free diet can be daunting at first; however, with a little help you can easily transition your meals. One easy way to find fast and filling gluten-free options is to use the recipes outlined in the following 10 blog entries. When it comes to gluten-free fare, they’ve got you covered.

• Grilled Steak and Salsa Tacos Instead of taco night with wheat or white tortillas, try these corn taco shells filled with a marinated skirt steak.
• Easy Rice Bowl Recipe with Black Beans, Avocado, and Cilantro Dressing {Vegetarian & Gluten-Free} This dish is filled with fresh veggies and tasty rice, and it comes together quickly so you can have dinner on the table in no time.
• Quick Weeknight Dinners: Hot Sausage & Tomatoes Over Fried Polenta You won’t miss the gluten in this spicy dinner recipe.
• Soft Socca with Summer Squash, Basil and Gruyere Socca may look like a big tortilla, but this gluten-free option is actually made with chick pea flour, olive oil and rosemary.
• Gluten-Free Rainbow Enchiladas Corn tortillas are a perfect choice for these enchiladas, and to add an extra punch of nutrition you can use any and every veggie you may have on hand.
• Easy Weeknight Pasta Dish—Gluten-Free The secret to this delicious dish is the rice pasta and the special ranch dip mix.
• Late Summer Frittata with Cherry Tomato Salad This budget friendly dish uses a mix of leftovers and eggs to create a satisfying weeknight meal in no time.
• Quinoa with Pesto, Veggies and Chicken If you’re looking for a hearty meal to feed the family, whip together this one bowl supper.
• Gluten-Free Chicken Florentine Pasta Toss Try this brown rice gluten-free penne in any of your favorite dishes, including this new favorite, chicken Florentine.
• Gluten-Free & Vegan Chickpea Gumbo Looking for a dish with some spice that mimics a New Orleans gumbo? Look no further than this recipe.

Soups

There’s nothing more comforting than a rich and hearty bowl of soup, especially when the weather starts to turn cold. While some soups require simmering all day, these quick weeknight recipes will come together in no time. Try adding one or more of these soups to your weeknight rotation to shake things up a bit.

• Weeknight Dinner: Speedy, Spicy Corn & Black Bean Soup If you plan to start the corn stock in the crock pot in the morning, the actual soup will only take 20 minutes to fix at night.
• Gay’s Fast and Easy Veggie Soup The cannellini beans in this soup pack a punch of protein and pair nicely with all of the fresh garden squashes.
• Weeknight Meal Recipe: Barley Bean Soup This satisfying soup is both vegetarian and gluten-free, and will be a tasty addition to your weeknight meal rotation.
• Quick Weeknight Lasagna Soup Give this low cost hearty soup a try on a night when you are in a hurry.
• Weeknight Minestrone Soup There may not be any meat in this soup, but that doesn’t stop it from being a filling and substantial meal.
• Three Quick and Easy Weeknight Meals in Under 5 Minutes! Think you have no time to prepare dinner? Try one of these five-minute meals instead.
• In-a-Hurry Easy Mexican Chicken Soup By starting with a rotisserie chicken from the store you can put this soup together in around 10 minutes.
• Weeknight Chicken Noodle Soup Nothing is more comforting than this soul-warming chicken noodle soup.
• Buffalo Chicken Soup with Orzo Orzo can be intimidating for people who haven’t cooked with it before, but it actually comes together quickly and provides your meals with some added substance.
• 7 Fall Soup Recipes Try any one of these soups to warm you up from the inside out during those cold nights.

Pasta Dishes

Pasta dishes are often considered hearty dishes, and sometimes that’s exactly the type of meal you want. Not all pasta dishes have to be heavy, though. By combining a cold pasta salad with fresh veggies you can create a meal that is both tasty and light. Check out the dishes featured in these 10 blog entries for more quick and easy pasta dishes.

• Easy, Quick Weeknight Pastas If you’re looking for a quick weeknight dish that won’t heat up the kitchen, these dishes might fit the bill.
• Weeknight Recipe: BBQ Chicken Pasta This dish combines two favorites – BBQ chicken and pasta – creating a perfectly tasty meal.
• eMeals: Pizza Spaghetti Casserole Recipe—Quick Weeknight Meal! If your family loves pizza, you may want to give this pizza casserole a try.
• Simple Pasta with Broccoli, Quick and Easy 10 Minute Weeknight Meal When it comes to fast and easy, you can’t beat this pasta dish, which comes together in just 10 minutes.
• Angel Hair Pasta with Italian Sausage, Mushroom & Herbs This protein-packed meal comes together in a flash, giving you a delectable dish on even the busiest of weeknights.
• Chicken Casserole with Veggies, Pasta and Cheese: Perfect for a Busy Weeknight Dinner This casserole is not only quick to put together, but it’s also a great place to hide veggies so the kids get an extra dose of greens.
• Spinach Pesto Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Walnuts You can use the same walnut in the pesto as you do on the final pasta meal.
• One Pot Pasta for a Quick Weeknight Meal No one wants to do the dishes after eating, so why not give this one pot pasta dish a try.
• Recipe: Pasta Salad with Avocado, Radish and Fresh Coriander Pasta dishes don’t have to be hot and covered in sauce and cheese! For a different twist, try this pasta salad.
• Simple Sundays/ Spaghetti with Mascarpone Alfredo Sauce and Sugar Snap Peas For a simple meal, enjoy this rich sauce on a bowl of spaghetti with peas.

Chicken Dishes

Chicken is one of the most versatile proteins, and you can eat it hot or cold. It works well in almost any dish, too, from salads to pastas and even pizzas. These 10 bloggers have used chicken in Mexican food, Indian food, Thai and many others, ensuring that you’ll make a chicken dish you enjoy no matter what you’re craving.

• Kick Your Weeknight Meals Up a Notch! Meal Plan Monday Recipe: Chicken Piccata Cook your chicken and sauce in one pot and include some pasta on the side.
• Quick and Easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos Tacos are a weekly staple for many families; this recipe puts a twist on this traditional meal by incorporating chicken and sautéed veggies.
• Weeknight Meal Recipe: Spicy Chicken with Bombay Potatoes You’re sure to enjoy this meat and potatoes meal with a twist.
• Crispy Spice Rubbed Chicken Thighs The trick to this dish is the spice mix that you use to rub the chicken. Make up the spice rub ahead of time to save time during the week.
• A Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe as Sexy as a Man in the Kitchen Total preparation time for this dinner is only 30 minutes, making it the definition of fast and easy.
• Quick and Easy Chicken Parmesan with Milled Flax and Spinach How can you beat quick, easy and healthy for a weeknight meal? You’ll definitely want to give this dish a try!
• The Ultimate Weeknight Dinner: Braised Chicken Thighs and Cauliflower with Olives and Capers This dinner takes longer than 30 minutes to fix, but it also has to simmer on the stove for 30 minutes, giving you time to do other things.
• Thai Red Curry Chicken In the mood for Indian food? This quick dinner may be just the ticket.
• Chicken Bell Pepper Stir Fry Recipe Cutting up chicken into bite-sized pieces will help reduce the cook time in this stir fry dish.
• Chimento Chicken, aka Chicken Croissants For an easy, portable meal, roll up the filling in Phyllo dough or crescent rolls and bake these off in the oven.

Dinners on the Grill

Thanks to grill pans you are no longer limited to grilling food just when the weather is nice. Grilling enhances the flavors of foods, adding a flavorful twist to your meals, and using a marinade on your meat will help tenderize the meat as well as add flavor.  The next time you are in the mood to grill, keep these 10 blogs in mind.

• Weeknight Meal Recipe: Grilled Chicken Salad with Chunky Guacamole If you don’t want to heat up the kitchen, try this grilled chicken recipe instead.
• Speedy Weeknight Meal: Quick Asian Marinated Flank Steak You can save yourself some money by buying a cheaper cut of meat, and marinating it will ensure that it’s still tender and tasty.
• Tequila-Orange Grilled Shrimp Throw this dish together in no time and serve it alongside some steamed rice and lime wedges.
• Cancun Grilled Chicken Tacos with Citrus Chile Marinade Enhance the flavor of your chicken by marinating it in a simple citrus chili marinade before grilling.
• Grilled Meat Loaf Patties with a Sweet Sauce Tired of grilling regular old burgers?  Try these meat loaf patties instead and top them with this sweet sauce.
• Chipotle-Honey Glazed Chicken To turn ordinary grilled chicken into something special, brush on this sweet and spicy glaze.
• Shrimp Kabobs with Pistachio-Tarragon Pesto Crank the grill to high and throw the shrimp kabobs onto the grill to prepare a meal that comes together in no time at all.
• Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Roasted Red Pepper Basil Sauce If you are new to grilling fish, you might start with Mahi-Mahi. Mahi-Mahi is a firm fish that won’t fall apart on the grill like other fishes will.
• Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps These wraps are more like a burrito than they are a cheeseburger. Brown the meat and roll it in a tortilla before putting it on the grill.
• Thai Steak Salad and Tips for Grilling Steak One way to stretch a buck while still enjoying steak is by slicing it up and putting it on a salad.