Need to lower your mealtime stress? Try these quick meals

August’s school, work and extra-curricular activities require easy-fix meals that take minutes to make or that can be made in a slow-cooker ready for hungry families at dinnertime.

Getting back to fixed schedules is a trial this month. Kiss those lazy days of summer goodbye. It’s back to work, school and some activities that COVID hasn’t canceled.

Mealtime need not add to the schedule stress. Home cooks should go for nutritious, but easy meals that do not require much prepping or cooking.

A slow-cooker is a time-starved cook’s best friend. Just plop the ingredients into the appliance, turn it on and head off for the day.

Television host and cookbook author Rachael Ray was on target years ago with her 30-minute meals. No matter how much a person likes to cook, preparing labor intensive meals is exhausting, especially after a day of school drop-offs and pickups, work, homework and more. The whole family wants to kick back and decompress, even the most seasoned chef.

Using boneless chicken breasts or thighs are go-to dinner musts. These meats cook faster and can be thawed out quicker than whole chicken pieces. Peeled Gulf shrimp or fish fillets also are perfect for quick cooking.

Of course, ground round, turkey or chicken is a freezer staple. These can be popped into the microwave to thaw quickly or can be broken into pieces to thaw in the skillet as the cooking begins.

Meatless meals are another way to slash cooking time. Pasta or zoodles can make for an interesting nutritious meal.

The old New Orleans’ Monday meal of red beans and rice is still a quick staple in many Coast kitchens. Let the dried beans soak overnight, rinse well, place in slow cooker with or without sausage, add water or chicken stock, seasonings, put the lid on and turn the cooker on. Easy enough. Regular long-grain rice cooks in less than 20 minutes or, if time is running out, grab a boil-in-bag of quick cooking rice.

For those who want it faster, Blue Runner makes tasty canned Creole red beans.

Here are some recipe ideas that might help for quick meals.

A recipe that came from a Mississippi Power Co. bill in August of 2017 is a flavorful, quick one that requires few ingredients. Pesto chicken bake uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts, prepared pesto, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. A side of pasta and a salad make for a nutritious meal.

Slow-cooker jambalaya is a throw-in-the-pot meal that cooks throughout the workday. Shrimp are added at the end. Again, a pot of 20-minute rice is a nice accompaniment.

How about a six-can tortilla soup? Simply open the cans, stir together and simmer until hot. Anyone can do this, and it is amazingly good.

Pesto chicken bake

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

6 tablespoons prepared pesto

2 Roma tomatoes

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Trim chicken and lay them in a glass baking dish. Spread pesto on top of each chicken breast.

Cut tomatoes into slices approximately ½-inch thick and lay 2 slices on top of each chicken breast. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the chicken breasts.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is done and the juices run clear. – From Mississippi Power

Slow-cooker jambalaya

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 medium celery ribs, chopped (about 1 cup) (I leave out celery and add more onions and green pepper)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups smoked sausage, chopped, fully cooked

1 tablespoon chopped parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon red pepper sauce

¾ pound medium shrimp, uncooked peeled, deveined, thawed if frozen

Mix all ingredients except shrimp in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours (or high setting for 3 to 4 house) or until vegetables are tender

Stir in shrimp; cover and cook on low setting about 1 hour or until shrimp are pink and firm. Serve with rice. From www.food.com/

Six can chicken tortilla soup

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (10-ounce) can chunk white meat chicken

1 (15-ounce) can black beans

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile pepper, drained

Open the cans of corn, chicken broth, chunk chicken, black beans and diced tomatoes with green chilies. Pour everything into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. – Recipe from www.allrecipes.com/

Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@gmail.com/