Kitchen Shortcuts for Busy Moms: My Real Weeknight Time Savers
Raising three boys taught me “what’s for supper?” shows up every night. These are the kitchen shortcuts for busy moms I actually use: my top three weeknight time savers and the three store bought staples I always keep on hand.
Short version? The crockpot, cooking once to eat twice, and knowing what’s for supper before the day gets away from you. Then canned cream of soups, Minute Rice cups and a jar of minced garlic do the rest. If you want more quick tricks after this, my 55 cooking hacks post is packed with them.
None of this is fancy, y’all. It’s just what I really do.
My Top 3 Weeknight Time Savers
If you only steal three ideas from me, make it these three. They work together, too.
1. The Crockpot Is My Number One
My slow cooker is my number one weeknight time saver, hands down. Load it up, put the lid on, and supper is cooking while you handle everything else.
2. Cook Once, Eat Twice
I make enough food to eat twice. One round of cooking, two suppers.
Casseroles are great for this. My pork chop and rice casserole is hearty, and it makes a great meal to have as leftovers.
3. Plan the Week, Then Let It Bend
Planning is the shortcut that makes the other two work. I want to know what I’m making each day so the ingredients are already bought. Then I prep in small pockets of time earlier in the day or earlier in the week.
Here’s the part folks miss: the plan is allowed to bend. Say Monday is a crockpot meal and Tuesday is turkey sandwiches, and then Monday gets crazy. No problem. We have the sandwiches Monday and move the crockpot meal to Tuesday, because the whole week’s ingredients are already in the house. It’s not, oh no, what can I cook? It’s just, okay, we’ll swap.
If you like to plan it yourself, my simple meal planning guide walks through how, and this free weekly menu planner printable gives you a spot to write it all down.
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Rather Skip the Planning? Let Me Do It for You
That’s what my Shortcut Supper Club is for. Every Saturday, five simple Southern suppers, one dessert and a few easy lunch ideas land in your inbox, with printable recipes and one grocery list for the week. And it’s shortcuts everywhere: dump and go meals, cook once eat twice, and boxed cheaters I’m not sorry about. It feeds 4 to 6, and you can cancel anytime. Join the Shortcut Supper Club here.
Not sure yet? Grab a free week of suppers first. The link is at the bottom of this post.
Store Bought Staples I Always Keep on Hand
I always keep these three on hand. They’re not from scratch, and I’m not sorry about it.
Canned Cream of Soups
Cream of mushroom, cream of broccoli, cream of chicken. I keep my “cream ofs” stocked because it’s “so much faster” to turn things into dump and go meals “instead of having to create your own cream sauce.”
When I want ideas that use those cream ofs, these are the ones I send folks to first.
Minute Rice Flavored Cups
I like the flavored cups because I can make just one serving. I live with my grandmother, and one cup splits just right between the two of us. My husband eats keto, so he skips it. “It’s a great way to expand a dinner.”
Jarred Minced Garlic
I use a lot of garlic, and the jarred minced garlic packed in liquid is my go to. Honestly, “it’s like I just pressed it.”
Get a Free Week of Suppers, Already Decided
Want to see what it’s like when somebody else does the planning? Try a free week from the Shortcut Supper Club: five simple Southern suppers, one dessert, a few lunch ideas and one grocery list that covers the whole week. It’s printable, it’s free, and there’s nothing to buy. Send me the free week of suppers.
