easy dinner ideas - Stuff Parents Need

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Tyson® . The opinions and text are all mine.

Which night of the week is the one where you are most likely to dial it in or drive-thru to handle dinner? Since my kiddos aren’t in a structured after-school activity at the moment (I know…I’m such a rebel) it varies from week to week, but there’s always, and I do mean ALWAYS at least one night where time gets away from us and I find myself panicking about dinner when I realize that everyone’s hungry and all my meat is frozen. Fortunately, there is a solution!

I have a new favorite item that I like to pick up at Publix. Have you seen the Tyson ® Meal Kits? Here’s what they look like and where I found mine, in the ready to cook section of the fresh meat case:

These meal kits are honestly one of the best things I’ve found in the grocery store lately, and they come together quickly enough that I can prepare them faster than I can get to my nearest fast food restaurant and back. And it tastes a heck of a lot better, too.

Tyson Meal Kits offer a one-stop solution for a super quick meal your family will love. They have a really nice selection of flavors, too!

Beef & Cheddar Melt
Beef Marinara Penne
Home-style Beef Stroganoff
Beef Skillet Lasagna
Creamy Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
3 Cheese Chicken Carbonara

We especially love the 3 Cheese Chicken Carbonara because it’s a really quick way to enjoy the flavors we love so much in this Italian-inspired family favorite (our own recipe takes about 45 minutes to put together!).

The kit comes with fully cooked pasta (no boiling required!) and the chicken, I was delighted to discover, is already cut into thin slices, which really helps make the cooking process lightning fast. I used my kitchen shears to quickly cut the thin strips of meat into bite-sized pieces after it was cooked. Then you simply need to add your pasta noodles and your sauce back into the skillet to warm up. I sprinkled a little parsley on top because I learned long ago that a sprinkle of fresh herbs can make anything look fancy. 🙂 All done!

The day I prepared and photographed this meal, I very unexpectedly had both of my girls home sick with Strep Throat. I made this for our lunch because I had absolutely no plan for the girls; they normally eat at school! I was delighted by how easy and fast it was. It had a generous amount of food included (it was intended to serve 5) so we had plenty of leftovers for dinner, which was even easier than lunch because I just used the microwave!

If you find yourself hitting the panic button on dinner plans and yielding to take out more often than you would like, get over to Publix and pick up a Tyson Meal Kit. FYI, there will be a $2 off promotion running from 5/5-5/11, so definitely don’t miss that! I’m trying the Beef Marinara Penne next. What will you try first?

Giveaway!

Once you’ve visited your local Publix and tried the awesome that is the Tyson Meal kit, enter to win a coupon for another free kit! There will be ONE HUNDRED (100) readers who are each going to get a coupon for a totally FREE Tyson Meal Kit! To enter, simply share your experience with the Tyson Meal Kit with I Heart Publix. Go HERE for more details on how to get entered by 4/30.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Tyson® . The opinions and text are all mine.

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EffortlessMeals #CollectiveBias

The average temperature here for the past week has been in the mid-90s or higher, with absolutely no end in sight. We experienced 24 hours of a broken air conditioner in the midst of it, which was every bit as horrible as it sounds.

Y’all. It is HOT over here in east Tennessee! And I know a big chunk of the country is in the grip of the same summer heat wave. For me, this is affecting my meal choices. I don’t want to turn on the oven right now and further contribute to the insanity in any way!

But I also still need to be able to have a few effortless meals each week so that I don’t have to spend much time in the kitchen on a busy work day. Can you identify with this? Then let me show you a little hack I learned so that my family can have one of it’s favorite meals WITHOUT touching the oven knobs: pizza on the grill!

We love picking up Marketside take and bake pizzas in the deli section of Walmart. They have a huge variety of options, all at affordable price points, and in my personal opinion, I think they taste better than frozen pizza options. Plus, they are GREAT on the grill!

Don’t forget to grab a Coca-Cola product while you are getting your pizza, as you might want to do what we did and make a Coke float to go with your pizza. More on that, later!

How to Grill a Pizza

1. Place paper on the bottom of a chimney starter and add charcoal on top. Place the chimney start on the coal grate. Add a few squirts of lighter fluid, and light a match to get it started.

2. Give the lit charcoal 10-15 minutes to get going, or until it looks a bit ashy on the top. Then spread the coals on the bottom of the grill, keeping roughly half on one side, and half on the other side (no coals right in the middle directly under the pizza).

3. Preheat the grill to 450 degrees (we used a grill thermometer to determine readiness).

4. Once the grill is preheated, place the pizza on some sort of a heat shield, like a baking stone of some sort.

5. Close the grill and cook for roughly 20 minutes, turning 1/4 of a turn every 5 minutes.

6. (Optional, but totally smart): since you have the grill going, make your life easier by grilling up some food for tomorrow, such as chicken or hot dogs!

During the downtime while the pizza was cooking, I put together a simple salad (make use of the bagged stuff!).

And I also prepared our special treats: Coke floats!

Here’s a pro tip for you (why yes, I DO consider myself to be a Coke float pro!): make your floats ahead of time and pop them in the freezer. Pull them out just before serving and add your whip cream and the cherry on top. Your mugs will be frosty and the float will taste extra cold and good! I made ours while the coals were first heating up, so they had about 45 minutes to get more chilled.

We had a delicious meal that didn’t raise the temps in our house even one degree! And because the meal was simple and didn’t require a lot of active time for the chef, we could spend that time watching a movie together (we watched the new Annie, and I LOVED it!!!). This is also a great meal to make on those afternoons when your kids want to be outside playing in the kiddie pool or under the sprinklers!

Thanks to this pairing for helping a busy family create an effortless meal and a great evening of fun together!

Be sure to check out more delicious effortless meal inspiration online. There are SO many great ideas! (subject to change). What ideas do you have for pairing Marketside products with Coca-Cola?

Winning at Dinner on the Busiest Night of the Week

How to Grill a Take and Bake Pizza: Effortless Meals!

How to Grill a Pizza