It seems like my dinner prep and cook time is getting more and more compressed. My two daughters have swim team twice a week and we don’t get home until after six, along with piano another day, swimming for my son another day, speech therapy……..the list goes on. So even though I am pretty organized - I plan my meals each week and shop once a week for the week’s groceries, I am still short on actual cooking time. I need to get dinner on the table in a hurry - the kids are ravenous when we get home and are diving into any food they can get their hands on. Vultures.
Last night’s dinner plan was turkey meatloaf, green beans and rice pilaf (not exciting, but at least it’s hot food) and I had exactly eight minutes to prepare the meatloaf and get it in the pan before we took off for swimming. A big old loaf takes over an hour to bake, which means we would not eat until close to 7:30 - not an option. So I put the meatloaf mixture into muffin tins - sprayed with cooking spray - (voila - mini meatloaves) and they took all of 20 minutes to cook. Phew.
You can make just about anything smaller and cut the cooking time up to one half. Kids like everything mini and it helps with portion control as well. Other ways to make dinner mini and save on cooking time:
- Cut potatoes that you are roasting or boiling into small cubes rather than wedges
- Assemble pasta bakes or lasagnas in muffin tins
- Dice vegetables when sauteing or stir frying
- Use small pasta like orzo instead of bigger pasta like ziti
- Slice boneless chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make to thin cutlets and cut cooking time in half
- Make mini burgers (sliders) and serve on dinner rolls for a change from big burgers on sandwich buns
- Switch from baseball sized meatballs to tiny meatballs
How do you save time making your weeknight dinners - share your ideas here!
Rachael’s “mini” recipes:
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Steakhouse Sliders and Mini Steak Fries
Mini Meatloaves with Tomato Balsamic Gravy
Turkey Burgers with Zucchini Relish (pictured above)
Photo Credit-Tina Rupp
02.02.10 @ 3:17 pm
I saw an episode VERY RECENTLY featuring the top ten downloaded recipes for last year. I didn’t write down the recipes, figuring I could get them from the website but not only can’t I find this collection together, I can’t find one of the recipes. As I recall it was a chili with white beans and a whole jar of salsa. Can anyone help me find it? I’ve started making my own pico de gallo and have three jars of salsa I need to use up. Thanks so much
02.05.10 @ 8:16 am
I have the same problem I wanted the name of the 10 best dishes and thought I could get them from the web sight but couldn’t. Help does anyone have the list of 10. I would appreciate it. Thanks
02.05.10 @ 8:33 am
When I make turkey meatloaf, I use a muffin pan. Since there are just the two of us now, these make the perfect serving size for us and the remainder I freeze, 2 in each bag, for later use.
02.06.10 @ 11:39 pm
So, my boyfriend does not eat beef, usually not an issue, except for today. His son had a birthday party at a drive-in that is well-known for their coney dogs. My boyfriend had a really hard time with this because he used to LOVE coney dogs. So, has anyone heard of a recipe for coney sauce that used turkey instead of beef.
P.S. I have never been on this site before and don’t know where to post my question. Hope this works.
02.11.10 @ 10:30 am
The top 10 recipes are on rachelrayshow.com. Go there and go to 1/25 episode and you will find the top 10! Hope this helps.
02.11.10 @ 10:30 am
As for the 10 recipes go to the day of showing 1/25 and there is a link to the 10 most popular recipe under “on the show”
02.11.10 @ 12:33 pm
Ann,
I was searching through recipes and actually printed this recipe out. I think you are referring to, although I didn’t see the episode, is Mandi Forester’s White Chicken Chili. Hope this helps.
02.12.10 @ 11:11 pm
Last week I caught the last part of Rachels show. I tried to get the recipe but didn’t get all of it. If any one knows how much of the ingredients to put in I would really like to know.
They fried hamburger then added salsa and mixed it up. Next came the pastry on a baking sheet. The hamburger mixture was poured on to the pastry. Next they put Tex Mex cheese on top. I was covered with another peice of pastry, put in the oven and baked. Now I would really like to know if anyone can tell me where to find this recipe. It sounds real good and I would love to make it. Thank you.
02.21.11 @ 4:56 pm
A few years ago on one of the 30 minute meal episodes Rachael had Italian mini meat loaves…Here are some of the ingredients I remember,, Bread crumbs, tomatoe paste, peppers and onion, parmesan and romano cheese, and garlic.. Does anybody remember this recipe, I appreciate the help.. Thank You.