I love writing on Thursday!  I love the Ultimate Recipe Swap.

These are my top ten meals that take less than 30 minutes to make . . . I do cheat a little since I prep lots of food while the pasta is boiling or while the rice cooker is doing it’s work!

1. I cook 2 lbs of boxes of pasta at the same time–one after the other.  I make cook one box of pasta and then take it from the pan with a big straining spoon.  I then drop the other box into the water and it cooks while I’m assembling the first 1 lb. of pasta.
2. I cut up all my veggies for the next couple of days at once–then on the 4th day I make a soup!
3. I make rice once a week–enough for leftovers.
4. I make polenta in the rice cooker and then heat that up as I need it.

After my prep work I’m ready to cook!

1. Plain pasta with butter and salt–the kids always eat it and with a salad–I’m not feeling too guilty.  (I heat up chicken stock in frying pan and then add the pasta.)
2. Pasta with Red Sauce.  I think that is everyone’s stand-by.  But when you are just reheating the pasta it can be on the table in minutes!
3. Polenta with Red Sauce.
4. Pasta with sautéed veggies.
5. Mac and cheese–I used the new Progresso cheese starter and it was ok–the first time I made it with onions, celery and carrots–not a favorite–tonight I made it with ham and everyone loved it!
6. I loved the Progresso Basil starter!  it was a great basil flavor without being “green” but pasta with pesto is so good–served hot or cold.
7. I use the Frontera Soup Starter–normally I let it heat in the crock pot but it is just as good on the stove.
8. Fried Polenta with veggies–I made this by mistake–I put the polenta in the frying pan and had to change a diaper–when I came back it was crispy and ssooooo good.
9. End of the week soup–I just throw everything into a pot–usually it is just broth, random veggies and maybe a little left over chicken.
10. Cold pasta salad–in the summer we eat lots of fresh veggies tossed in pasta with ranch, vinaigrette, and feta cheese, fresh mozzarella with basil and tomatoes–whatever happens to be in the garden.

My goal is to serve fresh, local, in season food to my family most of the time–I don’t make myself go crazy–I buy pineapple, bananas, and spinach all year long–if I Laura Ingalls lived next door I might do things different–but she doesn’t.

Be Blessed as you prepare your meals for those you love!!

I’m linking up with countdown 2012.