Easy Homeschool Dinner Ideas
When everyone’s getting hangry and you seriously need a supermarket run, these speedy mostly-from-the-pantry dinners will get you through the dinner hour with your sanity intact.
SHAKSHUKA
Chop a small onion and sauté ’til soft in a little olive oil. Add a couple of teaspoons of chopped garlic (about four cloves), salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir in a can of chopped tomatoes (28 oz.), turn up the heat, and crack four eggs into the mixture when it starts boiling, spooning the sauce over the eggs so they cook completely. Sprinkle generously with feta and parsley, if you have them, and serve with pita bread.
TOMATO-CHICKPEA SOUP
Heat a couple of cans of tomato-basil soup (20 oz.) in a pan over medium heat. Stir in a can of drained chickpeas (15 oz.) and a package of frozen spinach (10 oz.), and cook over medium heat until spinach is thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes. Serve with a swirl of sour cream and a scant handful of croutons.
PASTA WITH BREADCRUMBS
Cook pasta. (Bucatini or fettuccine are good options, but any pasta will do.) Meanwhile, sauté a generous handful of breadcrumbs in butter; add Parmesan cheese and garlic to the pan. Stir in cooked pasta with a little cooking water, add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and cook for a few more minutes.
CHICKPEA SALAD SANDWICH
Mix a can of drained chickpeas (15 oz.) with 3 Tbsp. tahini, 1/2 tsp. Dijon mus- tard, 1 Tbsp. maple syrup, a pinch of dried dill, a little chopped red onion, and a scoop of toasted, unsalted sunflower seeds, if you have them on hand. Serve on toasted whole-grain bread with avocado slices and onion.
RAVIOLI LASAGNA
Spoon one-third of a jar of tomato sauce (26 oz.) into a baking dish, top with a layer (about 12) of thawed cheese ravioli and thawed, drained frozen spinach. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan; repeat layers until ravioli is gone, ending with a layer of cheese-sprinkled sauce. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.
MIX-AND- MATCH DINNER POTATOES
Bake foil-wrapped potatoes in 400° oven until tender (about an hour). When potatoes are done, split in half and heat a package of frozen broccoli in cheese sauce (10 oz.) and/stir a cup of chopped ham or bacon into a jar of alfredo sauce (10 oz.). Let your crew top their own baked potatoes.
