Dinner Planning Funk - Dinner Solved!

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

I have been stuck in a dinner planning funk. On the plus side, the family is still eating three meals a day. On the down side, at 5 pm, as I am wrapping up my work day, I have no idea what I am going to come home and prepare for the family. This is a little stressful and limiting in the sense that somethings require advance prep or at least advance defrosting.

It's times like this that I am glad that I generally have some convenience items in my pantry and a set of staples (at least to us) in my refrigerator. The other night, when the decision of what to have for dinner was still unanswered, I opened up my pantry looking for inspiration and saw that I had a jar of Herdez Mexican Cooking Sauces - Traditional Chipotle. This was all the inspiration that I needed for a quick, flavorful and balanced meal for my family.

I pulled some already grilled chicken out of the freezer, along with two slices of already cooked bacon and set it in my saute pan to warm it up. Once it was warm, I added in part of the jar of the Traditional Chipotle sauce. I grabbed a bag of shredded Mexican style cheese, a bag of salad, sour cream and a package of Chi-Chi's Flour Tortillas out of the fridge. Also, from my pantry, I grabbed some rice and a can of pinto beans and prepped both. From the garden, I had the kids grab a couple of tomatoes and an onion, which I diced up.

In a matter of about 15 minutes, I had prepared a flavorful dinner. Some ate it more like a salad or bowl, others prepared soft tacos with beans and rice on the side.

How do you handle those unplanned dinner nights? I just checked out their recipe page and I discovered a number of recipes that I could have also used for a quick meal.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product samples for my family to try. I also receive thought starters and information that can be used in a post.