My Top 3: Shortcut Ingredients

Making dinner a little bit easier

My Top 3 is a weekly post where I count down three things I love in a random category. This week, we’re looking at my top three shortcut ingredients.

In our home, I cook most of the dinners. While the husband wrangles the kiddo and keeps an eye on his work, I’ll be in the kitchen whipping up that night’s dish. I don’t mind this division of labor because I like cooking. What I dislike, however, is having to get a meal on the table before the kiddo turns into a hangry ball of whining. We get home around 5:30PM. I try to get dinner on the table by 6PM. 6:15PM at the latest. That means I have 30 minutes, on average, to make something.

To accomplish this feat, I have a steady rotation of favorite recipes I know I can cook in a short amount of time. I’ve also discovered the joy of shortcut ingredients. These items might cost a bit more, but the minutes they shave off my prep time are worth it. Instead of making something from scratch, I’ll swap in these items to help keep the, “Mom, I’m huuuuungrrry!” declarations at bay.