• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SI Parent

Solutions For Parenting In Staten Island

Get Weekly Activities
Emailed To You
Subscribe
  • Connect With SI Parent:
  • Things To Do
  • Directories
    • After School
    • Birthday Parties
    • Summer Camps
    • Pre-School & Daycare
    • Health and Wellness
    • Special Needs
    • Home Improvement
  • Articles
    • Featured Articles
    • Positive Parenting
    • Stuff To Do
    • Coronavirus
    • Babies and Pregnancy
    • Special Needs Articles
    • Recipes and Food
    • Health and Safety
    • School, Camp and Education
    • Richmond University Medical Center
  • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Birthday Club
  • Advertise With Us
  • SI Parent Guides
Home / Articles / Recipes and Food / 11 Delicious and Easy Meals in 30-Minutes or Less

11 Delicious and Easy Meals in 30-Minutes or Less

May 4, 2020 By Michelle Yannaco

11 Delicious and Easy Meals in 30-Minutes or Less

For some families, being stuck at home right now is a time to experiment with new recipes. For others, quarantine life more about sticking to tried-and-true flavors. Either way, quick dinners the whole family will love are key, especially when social distancing means the kids are constantly circling the kitchen with nowhere else to go. Here are 11 quick and easy recipes that use some family-favorite ingredients like tomatoes, potatoes, cheese, chicken, and pasta. These meals are sure to please picky eaters and exhausted parents alike.

Salad that tastes like pizza? It’s a thing! And worth a try since you’re making loads of dinners for the foreseeable future. Enlist your kids to add other favorite ingredients like olives, pepperoni, mushrooms, whatever you have on your pizza.

This Cheesy White Bean Tomato Bake can be on the table in well under 20 minutes. Leave it in the oven a bit longer if your family loves crispy and burnt edges. Give kids big chunks of bread and some salad to round it out and you’re done. And if you have any leftover fresh herbs (dare to dream!) throw those on top as well for a fancy presentation.

A healthy take on chicken fingers, these sesame encrusted tenders can be served with almost any veggie or crunchy salad. Up the fun factor and pull every condiment out of your fridge, letting the kids squirt mounds of ketchup, mustard, mayo, and barbecue sauce for dipping.

Add your family’s grain of choice to this classic chicken piccata dish and there will likely be no leftovers. Dust off any frozen veggies from the back of your freezer and roast with lots of olive oil and garlic. And don’t be shy with the garlic. Social distancing after all!

Kids can choose how to fill their plates when you dish out all the delicious ingredients of these turkey taco bowls. The best part? Kids will be jazzed to see tortilla chips on their dinner plates.

Bright, spring-inspired basil pesto makes these loaded caprese grilled cheese sandwiches just the pick-me-up your family needs come dinnertime. You can make these using almost any kind of bread too.

A colorful stir fry helps pack the table with veggies and simply add whichever protein your family enjoys. This meal also does really well as leftovers.

A cozy shepherd’s pie might look like you spent all afternoon in the kitchen, when really it was only 20 minutes. It’s a great pantry meal filled with foods you already have around the house.

Sneak some cod or halibut onto the dinner table by upping the fun factor with kid-approved pomegranate seeds.

Fill your bellies with warm pasta and chickpeas by cooking this Italian stew. Leave a bowl of pecorino or parmesan on the dinner table for kids to sprinkle on top.

Toss some steak and veggies onto a sheet pan for a simple, Italian-inspired meal in under 30 minutes.

RELATED: Takeout Restaurants in Staten Island During Covid-19

Filed Under: Recipes and Food

Featured Events

Post an Event

This summer, get ready for a celebration
Tomorrow, 10 am

LEGO® Summer of Play Event at LEGOLAND Discovery Center New Jersey
LEGOLAND® Discovery Center New Jersey

This is an in-person event taking plce a
Tomorrow, 11:30 am

Brilliant Buttons
Todt Hill-Westerleigh Library

What better way to celebrate summer than
Tomorrow, 2 pm

Kids Drop In Craft: Sweet Treat Magnets
Richmondtown Library

Do you love to draw, paint, and craft? 
Tomorrow, 3 pm

Tween Art Studio!
Stapleton Library

Think you’ve got what it takes to be the
Tomorrow, 7 pm

Triva Tuesdays At Dave & Busters S.I.
Dave & Busters Saten Island

Grab a blanket and come enjoy a movie in
Tomorrow, 8:30 pm

Movies Under the Stars: The Garfield Movie (2024)
Arrochar Playground

View All Events…

Primary Sidebar

View Local Activities for Kids
  • Overcoming the Dangers of the Summer Sun: Melanoma and Skin Health
  • Here’s Where to Adopt a Pet in Staten Island
  • Teachers’ Top Needs for 2019
  • Fall Bucket List for Staten Island Families 2023
  • 31 Places to Take Photos with Santa In New York Area

Staten Island Parent

Staten Island Parent helps parents make better decisions. We have the latest activities and local events that matter to you. Plus many informative articles and important directories including schools, afterschool programs, camps, special needs, birthday parties, health and wellness. Our contests and clubs are fun for the whole family!

    • Browse Past Issues
    • Get Activities & School Info

Footer

si parent logo
Staten Island Parent
One MetroTech Center 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(646) 559–9100

Important Links

  • Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Browse Past Issues
  • Where to Find The Magazine
  • Write For Staten Island Parent
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

Get Weekly Activities Emailed To You

Subscribe

Copyright © 1989-2025 Staten Island Parent Magazine, All Rights Reserved