It’s officially back to school time! My kids started school last week and I’ve been seeing lovely first day of school photos from friends throughout other areas of the country as well! I know that with the start of school for our kids and the end of summer, comes a busier schedule for most of us. The after-school routine often goes beyond homework to include extracurricular activities, such as sports, dance, tutoring, and much more. Even without such activities, the time between school and bedtime goes by quickly and I know that we all want to make the most of it! That’s why I love to make weeknight dinners simple and easy.
One of my favorite tricks for getting dinner on the table quickly is to precook the meat or re-purpose one night’s entree into another. Let me explain. By cooking one meat for a meal, you can take the leftovers and turn them into a different meal the next night! And, if you even set aside part of the meat ahead of time, you can probably get a third night’s meal out of the same precooked meat! Keep reading to see how cooking a large pack of ground beef on Sunday can help you get three weeknight dinners on the table quick and easily this back to school season!
Ground Beef 3 Ways: Easy Meals for Quick Weeknight Dinners this Back to School Season!
On a Sunday afternoon, grab yourself a large 3-pound pack of ground beef from your local Walmart, along with potatoes, carrots, and a few other pantry staples if you don’t already have them. Check the recipes and ideas below to be sure you have all you’ll need for these 3 simple meals! Then, get to cooking your base recipe!
Sunday: Follow our Puerto Rican Carne Molida recipe to cook all 3 lbs of ground beef. Pack in 3 separate containers and store in fridge.
1. Puerto Rican Carne Molida and Rice
Monday: Reheat one of the precooked ground beef containers and serve with either white rice or brown rice for a super simple meal!
2. Taco Tuesday
Tuesday: Taco Night! Reheat another of your precooked ground beef containers as a base for taco night. Serve with your preferred taco toppings for a quick Tacos de Carne Molida dinner the family will love!
3. Spaghetti Night
Wednesday: Use your last precooked ground beef container to assemble an easy spaghetti. All you need to do is boil the noodles and add sauce when reheating the meat on the stove!
By cooking one pack of meat once, you can easily get three quick and simple meals for the week to make your weeknights that much easier! This back to school season doesn’t have to be hard or hectic after all! You can use this same technique with a pack of chicken drumsticks or chicken breasts. The idea is to think ahead and plan how you can re-purpose an entree into more than one meal so you can call dinner done!
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What easy meals are your favorite for the busy back to school season?
All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™
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