5 Dinner Hacks To Make Your Life Easier

There are so many afternoons when 4:00 p.m. rolls around and I’m ready to be done. Most of the time, I am not physically or mentally prepared to make a nice dinner unless I’ve done some prep before hand.

I do love to cook and bake though, and not having the time or energy to make a nice meal has been something I miss the most about my days sans kids. These cooking hacks saved me though. Saved me, I tell you. I swear by them all. While they aren’t fancy, I’m never too exasperated to serve these dishes because they are fast and easy and my kids actually eat them.

1. Frozen Pizza Hack

This frozen pizza hack is brilliant. I love when I hardly do any work at all and dinner comes out great. And serving a frozen pizza that doesn’t taste like cardboard is always a plus. The three secrets? Let the pizza thaw out before baking, turn your oven to the highest temp, and brush the crust with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. I made this for my kids and they devoured it. It tastes like brick oven pizza from our favorite pizzeria and I’m pretty much the next Giada De Laurentiis.

2. Pizza Roll Ups

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJxpgXyDJ91/

And while we are talking about pizza, check out this super fun and easy way to make dippable pizza from diy._.food. My kids love making these — just grab some cheese sticks, crescent rolls, and pepperoni. If you’re feeling extra healthy throw in some sliced peppers or onions, too. I usually heat up some garlic butter and pasta sauce, and we camp out in front of the television and everyone is happy — and full.

3. Hulling Strawberries

I can not stand hulling strawberries, but my kids waste so much of the berry if I don’t. This hack by foods2hack is the easiest way to get rid of those stems. And the best part? Your kids will love helping you with it.

4. Taco Night

Taco Tuesday is huge in our house (Taco Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, too), and these crunchy shells are so much better when they are warm. Thanks to rootie_foodie, I now put them on the back of a muffin tin so they reach the perfect temperature without all the ingredients spilling out. Brilliant, and no one needs to make their taco twice.

5. Mess Free Bacon

Breakfast for dinner? Yes, please! But I rarely do this for any meal because I hate getting out more than one frying pan and having grease splatter all over the kitchen. But hold the phone, because this hack from foods2hack is genius. Fry that bacon in the waffle iron! I did this the other night, then poured my waffle mix right over the finished bacon. When I was done, I had bacon stuffed waffles and there was no mess splattered all over my stove, walls, or me.

I know you are dying to embrace your inner Martha Stewart now, so what are you waiting for? Pour yourself a glass of your favorite adult beverage and get that pizza outta the freezer already.