• Delicious and healthy meals can be convenient.two meals from italian restaurant image by Stephen Orsillo from Fotolia.com
  
  Convenience is key to meal preparation in a fast-paced society full of work, family, and social responsibilities. However, there are delicious, easy options beyond frozen pizza and boxed rice. Utilizing a slow cooker and bread machine, using filling sides and cheating a bot with fresh, frozen ingredients are just a few ideas to making healthy meals quickly and conveniently.
  
  

Slow-Cooker Meals

• Slow cookers are convenient tools for quick and easy meals. The process is generally simple: prepare a few ingredients, pour them in the cooker, set the heat and walk away. Try the following easy, convenient crock-pot recipes.
  
  Macaroni and Cheese
  
  Ingredients:
  6 cups macaroni, cooked
  2 tbsp. butter
  4 cups evaporated milk
  6 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
  1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
  1/2 cup onion, chopped
  2 tsp. salt
  1/2 tsp. pepper
  
  Directions:
  Toss macaroni with butter. Add remaining ingredients. Add to slow cooker,
  cover and cook on high for two to three hours.
  
  Apricot Chicken
  
  Ingredients:
  1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
  1 cup Russian dressing
  1 envelope dry onion soup mix
  6 chicken breasts
  1 tsp. pepper
  
  Directions:
  Mix together the preserves, dressing and soup mix.
  Place the chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker; pour mixture over chicken.
  Cover and cook on high for one hour.
  Reduce heat to low and continue cooking for three to four hours.
  
  

Calculated Side Dishes, Easy Main Courses

• A convenient and tasty way to fill out a meal is with calculated side dishes. Bake a loaf of bread in an automatic bread machine. These work much like slow cookers, in which you toss in a few ingredients and walk away. Bread machines take two to three hours, so plan in advance. Many have timers, so you can throw in your ingredients before work and come home to fresh bread.
  Purchase ready-made salad mix and top with your favorite bottled dressing
  Prepare fresh, frozen vegetables in a few minutes with a steamer.
  Several foods are excellent with just a dash of seasoning. Fresh tomatoes sprinkled with salt and Parmesan cheese, or feta cheese and olives drizzled with olive oil are versatile sides.
  
  Add a simple, healthy main dish, such as the following.
  Form ground beef or turkey into patties and pan-fry or grill for burgers.
  Bake skinless chicken breasts in the oven, drizzled with your favorite ready-made marinade.
  Boil water, toss in whole grain pasta, drain when soft and top with a jarred sauce.
  Frozen patties of all sorts can be purchased at the grocery store, including salmon, mahi mahi, vegetarian burgers and hamburgers. Cook them according to package instructions and place on a bun with condiments.
  
  

Soups

• Soups are amazingly simple, delicious meals and often require little preparation. Try the following simple, convenient soup recipes.
  
  Basic Chicken Soup
  Chop one onion, one celery stalk, two carrots and 1 tbsp. thyme; sauté in butter until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add 6 cups chicken broth; simmer 20 minutes. Add 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, 1/3 cup mixed chopped dill and parsley and some lemon juice.
  
  Chicken Rice Soup
  Make the basic chicken soup from above. Omit dill and add chives, chervil and tarragon. Stir in 1/3 cup cooked basmati rice.
  
  Butternut Squash Soup
  Sauté 1/2 sliced onion with a pinch of thyme in butter until soft. Add salt, pepper, 2 lbs. of diced butternut squash and 5 cups chicken broth. Simmer until tender, then puree.
  
  Asian Chicken Soup
  Puree two garlic cloves with a 2-inch piece peeled ginger; fry in oil with one bunch of sliced scallions. Add 3 cups each chicken broth and water, 1 tbsp. each soy sauce and sherry, and a pinch of sugar; boil. Add shredded, cooked chicken, sliced carrots and snow peas; drizzle with sesame oil.
  
  

Tools are Important

• The right tools are important to reducing meal preparation times. A chopper, food processor and excellent knives will virtually eliminate the time you spend toiling over mountains of chopped vegetables. Blenders, bread machines, rice cookers and slow cookers are also invaluable.