It’s true, most Americans come home too tired to prep and cook a homemade meal. Unfortunately, they go to the nearest drive thru and make very poor choices. I usually come home tired and the last thing I want to do is prep and cook a meal, so I just wanted to share with you some of the easy meals that I’ve found to work well for the middle of the week where you’re just too tired to cook from all the stress at work, traffic, kids and any other hectic things in your life.
The photo above is Frozen Gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce I picked up from Trader Joe’s. It comes together in a bag and the only prep you have to do is to tear open the bag and dump it in the sauce pan. That’s it….Well, you have to occasionally stir. I’m a huge gnocchi fan, and this gnocchi is really excellent. Pair it with a salad and maybe some garlic bread and you’ve got a great meal.
On the subject of salads, I also have an easy way to conquer the dread of having to make a salad (which in my house growing up, was like a punishment–nobody wanted to do it!). What I tend to do, is to buy the components of a salad already washed and cut/chopped/shredded/etc…and I like to sometimes make a huge batch of salad for the week, storing it in a Tupperware container so that it stays fresh. When I’m making dinner, it’s easier and less time consuming for me to just take out the Tupperware and serve the salad.
Another quick culinary shout out goes to Barilla’s Frozen Skillet Meals…They have 6 different meals which are great. Again, it comes in one package: Prep time-20 seconds to tear off
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I l love gnocci, and Trader Joe’s is the best place to buy it frozen. Delicious, indeed.
I love trader joes.
Usually I’ll buy their frozen gnocci that comes stuffed with cheese and pesto, but has no sauce.
I then ALSO but their frozen fetuccini alfredo. This is another tear, heat, and serve item – BUT they pack it with nearly enough sauce to feed an entire nation! I’ll make the fetuccini one night using all the pasta, and 1/2 the sauce pellets, saving the rest. Then, I make the above mentioned gnocci, and heat up the remaining sauce with a bit of water to toss the gnocci in. Super easy AND tasty.
y midweek brain fade food is to make mushroom risotto. Because it can be made entirely from ingredients from the cupboard (except for the parmesan and I pretty much always have a chunk of ancient and dry parmesan in the fridge) its the perfect no-plan food.
Trader Joes has the most fantastic Middle-of-the-week-I’m-feeling-lazy-and-tired meals. How do they do it??!??!
Love the blog!! Yummy!
very interesting.
i’m adding in RSS Reader
TJ’s was giving samples of the Gnocchi with Gorgonzola, so I tried it two different ways & both were GREAT. In the first dish, I sauteed some onion & added about a cup of browned Italian sausage while the Gnocchi was cooking. The second time, I sauteed about three cloves of minced garlic in some olive oil, cooked 1 Lb. of extra large shrimp about 80%, set them aside in a covered dish, added about 1.5 cups of broccoli & sauteed a few mins., then added the Gnocchi & cooked for 7 mins. Then I added about a cup of halved black olives & put the cooked shrimp back in the pan for about a minute. It was like my Shrimp Scampi with Broccoli over Fettucini, but using Gnocchi instead. FABULOUS! Great comfort food!