I love cooking, but I do not love cooking when I have a toddler hanging on my leg, a three year old whining for cheese and a five year old running laps around the kitchen island. My mother-in-law calls from 4 to 7 “the witching hours,” so meals for us have become simple to stave off child wizardry. I am not a food blogger, so you will not get pretty pictures or perfect measurements, but for what it’s worth, here are five meals that are making my life easier at meal time. I’d love to hear yours as well, so fell free to leave links in the comments here or on social media!

1. Frittata

I make this every single week. And yes, we buy 4 dozen eggs a week. I mostly use this recipe by The Pioneer Woman, but I’ve found that it is very forgiving if you want to use less eggs, more cheese, or different veggies. I’m not a fan of olives in my egg, so I skip that part. I make this at least once a week and find it’s a great “clean out the fridge” dish to use veggies that are beginning to wilt. Here’s my take on it.

Ingredients: 7-12 eggs, about 1/2 cup of milk, shredded cheese–whatever you have, even parmesean, works, about 1/2-1 cup, onion (1/2 cup), 1 clove of garlic, crushed, veggies like broccoli, spinach, kale, potato, peppers. Bacon or sausage if you happen to have it.

Saute veggies first, then add egg, cheese and milk mixture. Cook one more minute, then throw the pan in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

2. Pasta with Garlic & Veggies

Cook any kind of pasta separately, then cook veggies like zucchini, grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives and sauté in butter or olive oil. Sometimes I add a can of diced tomatoes and thyme, oregano and basil. Combine with pasta, then top with parmesean cheese. Add browned sausage if you have it.

Also, plain pasta with butter, garlic powder, salt and parmesan cheese is a NO SHAME DINNER at our house. Bonus nutrition points if you scrape together a salad, though.

3. Italian Soup

(A little less “simple,” but you can make it ahead and freeze for later, so kind of simple).

Sautee veggies like carrots, celery, mushrooms, and zucchini with garlic and onion, then add salt and pepper and some spices like thyme, oregano and basil. Add 8 cups of chicken broth and a can of diced tomatoes and a can of drained white beans. Bring to boil and add in browned sausage or frozen meatballs. Add spinach or kale more toward the end right before you eat. Top with parm cheese, eat with French or Italian bread.

4. Black Beans and Rice

We have a rice cooker, which makes life so much simpler since I seemed to always mess up rice somehow. So cook white, yellow or brown rice and in a separate pot cook two cans of sodium-free beans. If you have more time, saute onion, garlic and pepper first, but if you need something quick, just use garlic and onion powder. I also add salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Again, if you have time, cook tilapia or any kind of fish, really, in olive oil, sprinkled with Cajun spice, or cook some chicken with salt, papper & garlic powder in olive oil. Top with cheese.

(Can you tell we’re not gluten or dairy-free…?)

5. Frozen Shrimp with Rice, Grits or Pasta

I just started liking shrimp last year, so while we don’t always have the budget for it, I try and snag it when it goes sale in the frozen section. I was surprised that my kids actually love it. I never thaw it out first, just melt butter in a large pan and saute 3 or 4 cloves of chopped garlic. Add the shrimp and cook about 10 minutes, then put on top of rice, grits or pasta. For each of those carbs, be sure to add a tad of butter so they’re not so dry.

I mean, butter + garlic = delicious, so of course this tastes amazing;-) You can google Cajun recipes to snazz it up a bit, but those don’t make the “simple” list. Eat with a salad so you get some veggies in there.

What are your most simple meals to make during the witching hours? Please tell.

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Thank you for meeting me here in this space. The theme for March is “Simplify,” so you can start here to read posts you may have missed. If you are a writer or just a person with words burning in your soul and are interested in guest posting, email me at scrapingraisins@ gmail (dot) com. I’m looking for personal stories on this theme in the 500-1000 word range. If you haven’t yet, be sure you sign up for my mid-month and monthly secret newsletter for the latest posts and even some news, discount codes and book giveaway information that only Scraping Raisins subscribers get!

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