Everybody would love to put on a large meal for their family every night. Between work, social commitments, and more, that’s not always possible. All this could lead to a lack of time to cook the meals that you want.
You could cut down on this by minimizing your preparation time as much as possible. While there are multiple ways of doing so, focusing on dishes that don’t need much preparation time is recommended.
While most of this will focus on the main meal, your side dishes can be just as important. You can’t have a full spread without them, after all. A few specific side dishes don’t need much prep time and shouldn’t take long to cook.
They’ll be quite tasty, however, making them worth considering.
Side Dishes That Don’t Need Much Prep
Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts
With the holiday season coming around, you might be starting to think about the big meal. One of the staples of this tends to be brussels sprouts. These can often be seen as some of the least-wanted parts of the meal.
You can change that by going with maple-glazed brussels sprouts. All this needs is the maple glaze, olive oil, and salt. Once they’re cooked, they’ll often resemble french fries. That includes the taste, although they’ll be a much healthier alternative.
Fish Sticks
When most people think of fish sticks, they picture the ones you can buy from the store. You could try these fish sticks, however, as they could be much nicer. As these are homemade, they’ll take a little effort, but not as much as you might think.
Going with the typical fish fingers might be somewhat boring, however. By adding tartar sauce to your recipe, you can take the taste factor to a new level. It should also be quite healthy, and there are relatively few calories.
For a healthy addition to your meal that your kids should like, these will be more than recommended.
Roasted Vegetables
Vegetables have been a staple of dinners for generations. They can often feel a little bland, however, especially if you’ve had them a few times in a week. They’re more versatile than you’d think, however, so you’ll have plenty of options.
Roast vegetables could be more than recommended. Picking a few specific options will be more than worth it. The most notable of these are sweet potatoes, yellow and red peppers, broccoli, and red onions. You shouldn’t have to stir these much, so it’ll be quite low-effort to make.
Wrapping Up
If you want side dishes that don’t need much prep time, then you can’t get much better than the above. They’ll all be quite tasty and should only need a little bit of cooking time. That leaves you free to focus on the main elements of the meal.
As important as your side dishes will be, the main course is the show. You’ll have more than enough time to concentrate on making that perfect, so there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from putting on an amazing spread.