I am a lover of delicious food, and I think everyone in Louisiana feels the same. I am not however a lover of endless hours of cooking.

In Louisiana, people really know how to cook well, but the process of making a great meal can come at a price which is our time.

I struggle each day with my budget and decisions about what to make for dinner so I can't even imagine what you parents must go through each day when trying to figure out something delicious to serve your family.

As parents, I can only imagine your time is immensely precious. The list of things my friends with children have to do during a typical school week is mind-boggling. Parents, most of whom work, have to get their kids from school, finish their work, get their kids back and forth to extra-curricular activities, help with homework, figure out what's for dinner, and then cook it, and the list seems endless. How do you parents do it? Y'all are amazing!

I am going to share with you some recipes that I know are actually good. I am hoping that these meals will help make your life a little easier.

Let's start with a recipe that is super tasty and very easy to make. Many people are fans of the pressure cooker, and I can understand that love; however, I just LOVE slow cookers. I have 3 sizes.

Slower Cooker Barbeque Pork
Photo Southern Living
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Southern Living's Slow Cooker Barbeque Pork

Look at this simple ingredient list and how easy it is to fix and let this cook itself:

Ingredients

  • 1 (3- to 4-lb.) boneless pork shoulder roast (Boston Butt), trimmed
  • 1 (18-oz.) bottle of barbecue sauce ( I really enjoy Sweet Baby Ray's Original)
  • 1 (12-oz,) can cola soft drink

Directions

  • Place roast in a lightly greased 6-quart slow cooker; pour barbecue sauce and cola over the roast. Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.
  • Transfer pork to a cutting board; shred with two forks, removing any large pieces of fat. Skim fat from the sauce, and stir in shredded pork.

Then you can serve this on hamburger buns or slider buns.

I also make cole slaw on the side to go with this. This is an easy meal you can make on Sunday and serve on Monday.

Creamy Chicken
Photo courtesy of Living on a Dime
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Living on a Dime's Creamy Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2.5 to 3 lbs. of frozen chicken breasts
  • 1 (8oz) package of cream cheese
  • 2 cans of cream chicken soup

Directions

Pour it all into your crockpot and cook it all day on low.

You can serve it with green beans and asparagus on the side, and it's a super easy meal.

Sausage Cream Cheese Pastry Puff
Photo courtesy of Food Network
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3 Ingredient Sausage Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of spicy breakfast sausage
  • 6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 17.2 ounces box of frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

Directions

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place a sheet pan in the oven to preheat.
  • Brown the sausage in a large pan over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the browned sausage to a bowl. Mix the cream cheese into the sausage while it is still warm until incorporated.
  • Lay the first puff pastry sheet on a piece of parchment paper. Top with the sausage cream cheese mixture. Spread the mixture into an even layer, leaving a small border (1/2 inch) around the edge of the puff pastry. Top with the remaining sheet of puff pastry.
  • Carefully remove the preheated sheet pan from the oven. Using the parchment to help, slide the casserole and the parchment onto the sheet pan. Place in the oven and bake until golden, 30-32 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, 7-8 minutes. Slice into squares and serve warm.

You can pair this with a side of cole slaw, or even just roasted vegetables.

The Comforting 3-Ingredient, 10-Minute Soup
Photo by Caitlin Bensel in Southern Living
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3 Ingredient Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

  • Your choice of chicken broth or beef broth. The amount you use depends on how many people you are feeding.
  • (1) 20 ounces frozen tortellini
  • Spinach or your greens of choice

Directions

  • Boil the broth.
  • Drop in the tortellini. They will float to the top when they are ready, and/or boil them as the bag they come in instruct you to do.
  • Add the greens
  • Let it simmer, and your delicious soup is ready.

Here are four easy dinners to prepare that hopefully make life a little bit easier for you. I would love to see your recipes in the comments section.

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