Between full-time work, parenting & keeping the littles alive, grad-school, pastoring, wife-ing and everything else that goes into daily adulting, I often find myself strapped for time! Surely, I know I am not the only one…right? I get so caught up in the hustle & bustle of the everyday flow that I most always forget about one of the most necessary tasks of the day—dinner!

For a long time, trying to figure out what to make for dinner, especially a last-minute dinner, was one of the most frustrating things to deal with. The most unfortunate things about not having a plan for dinner is

A.) you feel like you’ve let the family down (again)

B.) you often resort to spending more money to get a quick fix &

C.) Your quick fix is usually some artificial garbage that you have no business putting into your body.

They say doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity and I will be the first person to admit that they were 100% correct! Week after week I would run blindly into the week without a plan and end up bulldozing through our bank account which was beginning to drive me absolutely bananas.

Finally, one day I got some sense, grabbed a notebook and sat down to strategize. I thought to myself, “What can I throw together quickly that the littles will willingly eat but doesn’t require a drive-thru or microwave?”. In 10 minutes, I was able to come up with a list of 5 family favorite meals that would not only free up some of your time but also, will be good for the whole family!

With these 5 recipes, I finally started to feel like I could win in this life (LOL). Imagine having the time to do the 4 extra things that you could never accomplish before & then still have time to clean up the kitchen, put the kids to bed, and sit-down to catch up on the latest episode of 90-day fiancé before bed; it’s pure bliss!

Below, I’ve listed the 5 full-flavor, family friendly & time conscious dinner options that have become a staple in the Ojeda home.

1. Instant Pot Chicken & Veggies

2. Lemon Pepper Chicken, brown rice & veggie stir fry

3. Sheet pan Cajun sausage & veggies w. Honey drizzled sweet pots

4. Cheesy tuna noodle casserole

5. Orange chicken, brown rice, and Asian medley veggies

Side note: If you haven’t invested in an 8-qt. instant pot, you are not living life to the fullest. Drop what you are doing and go get one of these God given miracles TODAY! You are welcome in advance!