Not every tasty dinner requires hours of preparation. With help from Ragu, you can take a few shortcuts while still making some awesome meals for for family. Quality ingredients like tomatoes, onions and extra virgin olive oil, make it the perfect recipe starter for a long list of delicious meals.
Head in to your nearest Safeway for some #SaucesomeSavings. Save 75¢ when you purchase two participating Ragu sauces at Safeway with this printable coupon. This offer only lasts through May 16, so head into Safeway before time runs out!
Once you have your sauces, I recommend trying Ragu’s Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan recipe. It’s simple to make (you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry right now!) and it will surely satisfy your family’s taste buds.
Want to get in on some delicious fun? Share your family dinner tips in the comment section for a chance to win a $25 Safeway gift card. Just comment below or tweet me using #SaucesomeSavings to enter.
Comments will close and one winner randomly selected at Noon on Wednesday, April 29, 2015.
Start making your mealtimes more Saucesome with Ragu! Go here to print your $.75/2 Ragu coupon!
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Some times I make extra so we can just reheat and have left overs another night.
cshell090869 at aol dot com
Funny that you posted this recipe. I just made this Tuesday. DIdnt see the post until today.
Look for the 2 ibotta deals. $1 off Ragu and 30cents off any pasta sauce. NOt sure if you can use them together…
Always have a simple dish the kids love for a backup plan. 🙂 Ours is chili or burritos.
I like to do a double batch, then freeze half for an easy dinner some other day
I precook ingredients during weekend and menu plan them into weekday meals.
Now that it’s warming up we love when we get to eat outside!
My slow cooker is my secret weapon for a lot of our dinners, A new favorite of ours is to throw some chicken in, with enchilada sauce. when the chicken is “fall-apparty”, and shreadable sprinkle on some cheese and let it melt. Then when you’re ready for dinner, scoop the chicken mixture into a tortilla, with some sour cream, black olives and avocado. And you have lazy Enchiladas!
My husband challenged me to cook using what I actually had in the pantry. It’s been good!
When I need dinner in a hurry, I keep a can of Cuban black beans in the cupboard, cook some white rice, grate some cheddar cheese and chop some onions. Easy Peasy!!
I use what I have on hand for dinner and try to get some of it ready ahead of time. The hour before dinner is the worst with little kids!
Cooking Contest:
In order to get my boys (ages 10-5) more involved in preparing food we have a contest where I put four mystery ingredients into a paper bag. Then they have 30 minutes to make a complete meal using the items in the bag, (with me supervising). They are allowed to use anything else in the fridge or pantry they need. When we started a couple months ago, they didn’t know how to use a can opener! They have learned about team work, food groups (how to make sure they are including veggies and proteins), planning a meal, and basic cooking skills. Because it is a game, they have fun and actually ask to play.
I would encourage you to try it with your family – or have someone pick some ingredients to challenge you! 🙂
Bury the vegetables in sauce and my kids will eat them 😀
I marinate meat in freezer ziplock bags so that I can pull them out of the freezer all ready tenderized with lots of flavor!
We use our crockpot during the winter months.
My husband travels on the road for work and lives in his 5th wheel during the week. On Sundays I make enough meals for him to take back with him for the week. I frequent this blog for new recipes and tips!
Have at least once a week a try a new food night. It will bring up a lot of conversation and comments of likes and or dislikes, and everyone gets to try something they never tried before.
Hubby likes pasta and I’m always looking for a new way to prepare chicken, so this recipe fits the bill. I’m going to take the suggestion that others have made to add veggies to the pasta. Add a tossed salad and its a well rounded meal.
Utilizing the ability of what a crockpot can do!
I’m always trying to look for ways to make easy dinners. If I prep something ahead of time it can work…like slicing up vegis and having them on hand for either snacking or using in a stir fry!
My family doesn’t like anything i make in the slow cooker so i have to find recipes that i can prep and freeze. Like mini stuffed bell pepper with ground beef and rice.
For our busy lives ! – Slow cooker !
I LOVE using my Crock Pot for busy nights!
we love to utilize the bbq with some fresh fruit or salad
An electric pressure cooker is my way of saving substantial time in the kitchen. I can do all kinds of dishes from chicken curry to pulled pork in my pressure cooker all in half the time or less than cooking on the stove or in a crock pot.
We are at the ball fields 3 nights a week during dinner time, so I bought an inverter for my car and can plug in my 2 qt crock pot to keep an entree warm. Sandwiches get old fast!
Slow cooker is great for getting dinner ready on a busy day
I chop all my vegetables in duplicate, so I can take a day off of so much handwork.
I cook dinner every other night. I make sure each meal has enough leftovers to cover us for the next night.
I like using our Pressure Cooker. It is the best way to cook roasts by sealing in all the juices. We always have lots of leftovers.
My best dinner tip is to cook ahead on Sunday for the work week. Involve everyone in the whole process of dinner so everyone can appreciate how much work it is to feed a family. Love the recipes you suggest!
My best dinner tip is to use that crock pot! I got mine for our wedding 12 years ago and still use it almost weekly. So helpful for preparing meals for a picky husband and so easy with 2 kids.
My tip is also to utilize a slow cooker. That or plan your meals in advance (which a slow cooker does)
I’m a relatively new eater of asparagus, and I recently found packaged hollandaise sauce at WinCo for 42 cents. Not exactly lo-cal, but so good!
My family dinner tip is to pre prep everything on my day off and throw it in the slow cooker when I’m at work
One of my dinner tips is to cook more chicken, ham, chili, etc. than I need and freeze in meal size portions so I can have something in the freezer I can throw in some pasta, rice, casserole for a quick fix meal without having to resort to take out!
My tip is that when you have time to make a good, home cooked meal, make for more than one night and freeze it so that you can have nutritious, good meals on days when you just don’t have time to prepare anything.
My family dinner tip is have dinner together, electronic free and if you don’t like what was made speak up otherwise there’s a great chance you’ll see it pop up again on the dinner table and really us mom’s just want our families happily fed.
Safeway is my favorite grocery store
I like to have the entire week’s dinner plans in order by the end of the day on Sunday. I use many of the tips/recipes that I find on Frugal Living NW. I prepare meals in full or part on Sunday so the rest of the week is a breeze.
My dinner tip is to keep it simple and prepare ahead of time. I also try to menu plan (sometimes it is successful others no so much!!) If I know that we are going to have broccoli during the week when I get it I will chop it up and put in bag. Also when I buy chicken I will chop up some of it for stir fry that way you have most of your prep work done!
I try to use what I have and plan at least a couple days at a time to cook in batches and then use as I go.
For example, yesterday I made extra bacon at breakfast and put the rest in the fridge. Then I boiled extra potatoes for dinner, to make mashed on Sunday and soup on Tuesday. I have tons of eggs still, so I’m going to make broccoli, bacon and caramelized onion quiche on Wednesday. Tonight I’m solo, so I don’t have to cook for anyone, but I’ll steam and chop my broccoli and caramelize all of my onions tonight (it takes forever) and freeze the extra onions beyond what I need for the quiche. Tuesday, I’ll be able to throw together a quick potato and broccoli soup with bacon and cheese after yoga. Wednesday, my quiche will be quick to go into the oven when I get home from work.
This isn’t a food prep/recipe tip, but our family dinners have really benefitted from a box of Dinner Games For Kids – cards with conversation starters, fun games/riddles, etc.
My best tip is keep it simple! One of our easy, quick dinners that everyone loves is polenta lasagna. Layers of sauce, polenta (fry it quickly), chopped kale, & mozzarella on top. Yummy!
Husband doesnt like veggies, so i shred zucchini and chop up spinach and cook it in the spaghetti sauce. You cant even taste it! I’ll also make a smoothie for like a dessert type thing and add veggies in with the fruit and the kids even love it.
My family dinner tip is to make making dinner fun and include everyone that wants to help. The whole process goes a lot faster and you can have great conversation and make memories while cooking together.
Slow cooker! Especially when you know that you’ll be busy during the day!
My family dinner trick came about from wanting to still eat pasta while my husband wanted to go low carb. We’ve tried a variety of pasta alternatives and while some are good, none met that pasta craving. So now, I just use half the amount of real pasta and fill the rest of the meal in with veggies and lean meats. Like tonight our side of mac and cheese will have a lot of cauliflower in it. Pesto later in the week will have chicken sausage, green beans, zucchini and spring peas. It actually gets my 10 year old to eat veggies too, which is a huge win.
My family dinner tip is to have light dinner. My grandmom always told us : strong breakfast, good lunch and light dinner. She is 80 now. So some salad and grilled meat and spend time together:-)
My family dinner tip doesn’t have to do with food preparation – but enjoying the family dinner by having an “Electronic Free” dinner time. No TV, Phones are silenced, Computer off, Radios off, etc. Simply enjoying the moment everybody is sitting together at the same time to talk and do “High/Low” – everybody says the “High” point of the day and the “Low” point of their day.