Is it only me, that sometimes on a busy day, looks at the clock at 5:30 and realizes that in 30 min my husband will be home…and with all the busyness of the day, have forgotten to think about what I’m going to make for dinner? What I REALLY need is a 20-min meal for when I don’t plan dinner! It’s not that I didn’t have a plan, it was just that so many crazy things happened that I had to veer from the plan and just forgot where I veered from when I went back to the plan!
Is it just me??
I didn’t think so! So I thought I’d share with you one of my favorites:
A 20-min meal for when I don’t plan dinner:
In fact we made this again recently….not because it was one of those days where I got caught up in the busyness of the day and forgot where I was on the plan, but it was a day that we were out running errands, running late and I was soooo tempted to just buy dinner out…..that is until I remember that I didn’t have $30 left in my meal budget! So this is what we came home and had. This is 1 of our go-to meals that is quick and easy and oh so yummy too!
Hopefully this will help you get your creative juices flowing! You can tweak the ingredients for a quick and easy meal that you can create tailored for your own family. Then hopefully this will be one of your “1 of my favorite 20 min meals for when I don’t plan dinner” ideas also!
Toddler sized portion zucchini noodle spaghetti with meatballs
Here’s how we made zucchini-noodle spaghetti, corn on the cob & baked peaches with drizzled honey in a flash!
Not only was it a quick meal, but a healthy one too!
I cleaned out the sink and had the 5 year old start washing 3 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, 4 peaches and 6 ears of shucked corn on the cob. In case you’re wondering how much food this makes, there were 6 of us eating tonight and there was enough left for lunch tomorrow if I add fruit and salad.
The 9 year old started making zucchini and squash “noodles” with the spiralizer. This is the one we use and I love it!
Note: “I (Share the Soap) am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Share the Soap (Amazon.com).”
zucchini and yellow squash noodles
We started a pot of water heating for the corn, turned the oven on to preheat, started heating a jar of spaghetti sauce on the stove and started a large package of sliced mushrooms sauteing.
When the oven was hot we placed a bag of pre-made, fully cooked meatballs in the oven. Sometimes I have tofu meatballs made up in the freezer and we use those, but this wasn’t one of those times 
While the meatballs were heating we added dried minced onions, Italian seasoning & garlic to the spaghetti sauce and continued to simmer it. Not everyone in our family likes mushrooms, but if they did we would have added the mushrooms to the sauce. Instead, we just added them to the plate for those of us that like them. Did you know that after handling fresh garlic and after chopping onions if you use our Kitchen Coffee Soap it magically removes odors from your hands? It really works without drying out your hands!
Yes, that IS a snowman spoon rest…which seems in place for this time of year…however I originally wrote this post in September….it’s a standing joke and stays on our stove year round. Yes, if you zoom in you can see my dirty stove-top..this is real life and real life is messy!
Dinner is on the stove and meatballs in the oven! Doesn’t get any easier than this!
The zucchini noodles don’t need to be cooked, but since it was raining and a bit cool outside I decided to heat them in a pan of hot water so they’d be extra hot and steamy when served.
We cut the peaches in half, placed them in a baking pan, sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with honey. These went into the oven as the meatballs came out. The table was cleared and set, Hubby was home and by this time it was time to plate up! I was so thankful for a 20-min meal for when I don’t plan dinner! The peaches continued to bake while we ate dinner, giving a wonderful, peachy aroma to the room and a nice hot treat when they came out of the oven for dessert.
baked peaches with cinnamon and honey drizzled over the top-yum!
Whew! Made it through another day!
Do you ever have a day when you forget to plan dinner, have to veer from your plan, or are running late to get home in time to make dinner? Do you have “a 20-min meal for when I don’t plan dinner” favorite or your favorite last-minute dinner-rescue meals?