Hellobee Boards

Do you have an instant pot? Everything is so easy and fast.

I also like the rotisserie chicken idea. Get a bagged salad, sides like potato salad or coleslaw from the deli, or frozen steamer bags of veggies and or rice for sides.

Cold peanut noodles (or they can be warm)
Both nytimes and smitten kitchen have a great recipe for them
Any noodle you have plus some combo of peanut butter/ soy sauce/ sesame oil. Any raw veg you want to toss in. They are so easy and so good

I would focus on bulk prepping meal components to mix and match each day as needed. For example, if you cook ground beef, saute some cubed chicken breast, and have a bag of frozen meatballs and some chicken sausage in the freezer, you have protein covered. Then each week make a batch of rice and boil a box of pasta (or get ready to eat mashed potatoes or bake potatoes or whatever). Keep veggies like cucumbers and carrots that can be eaten raw, some frozen veggies like green beans, corn, and stirfry mix, and maybe some canned things like beans.

With that, you can just buy sauces or seasonings and have meals like:

Pasta and red sauce with meatballs.
Ground beef burrito bowls (toss rice with olive oil, lime juice, salt, and cilantro), beans, and corn.
Chicken teriyaki stirfry over rice.
Pasta Alfredo tossed with chicken and broccoli.
Beef stroganoff using the meatballs.
Fried rice using whatever meat and eggs and frozen mixed veggies.
Sloppy Joe's.
Bulgogi ground beef bowls with stirfry veg over rice.
Shepherds Pie skillet (basically make the filling and serve over mashed potatoes.
Meatball subs or peppers and sausage subs.
Chili with beans and corn

If you just focus on having the components already cooked or frozen or chopped or whatever and have a list of possible meals, you just need to buy the little extras each week and have a meal plan ready to go. This is extra easy if one of you enjoys grilling and can prep a bunch of meat on the grill that way. This might also be a good time to make a big pork shoulder for shredded pork or make a big ham so u have that as a protein option.

@jhd: We so breakfast for dinner once a week. My boys love it.

Tacos are superfast and easy.
Pasta with frozen veggies and pesto.

Third breakfast for dinner.

That and pasta with a bagged salad or burgers on the grill and bagged salad are our go tos.

Growing up, BLTs were something my mom turned to when we had no time. She'd microwave the bacon to get it done faster, but we prefer to bake it now.

This week has been crazy for us. DD started kindergarten, DS started daycare, DH started a new job and I am back to work. I am way too tired to prep big meals. My go-to's for quick weeknight meals are:
-meatball subs. I make the meatballs and freeze ahead of time. Then just stick in oven with a jar of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and serve on hot dog buns
-rotisserie chicken with a jar of butter chicken sauce over rice
- grilled cheese and tomato soup
- chicken or beef burgers with chips and raw veggies
-English muffin pepperoni pizza with salad

I must admit that tonight, however, DD had a bowl of cereal, DS had two pouches and I am currently eating guacamole and chips for dinner.