Fast Food at Home

Kids have to eat. Three meals a day, every day. All moms know how important it is to have an arsenal of quick meals handy. You never know when you'll have to put healthy food on the table in a hurry, or when you need ideas so dad can help.

Dunk It

Lucky for us, kids love dip. Cut some fresh cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, celery, and bell peppers and serve them with ranch dressing. Even finicky veggie-haters will eat their veggies with dressing on them.

Saved by a Sandwich

Start with two waffles, an English muffin, bagel, croissant, or a hotdog, hoagie or hamburger bun. Simply add jam, peanut butter, fruit slices, meat, hummus, veggies, eggs, or cheese. The possibilities are endless.

Oodles of Noodles

If you've got noodles, you can make a meal. Add some salad dressing and some meat, garbanzo beans and veggies and you've got pasta salad. Or, start with noodles and add a little butter and parmesan cheese to make buttered noodles. And, there's always the classic standby - add pasta sauce and a dollop of cottage cheese onto noodles and you just made lasagna.

Wrap it Up

If you've got tortillas and leftovers, you've got a wonderful meal. Warm up your leftovers and wrap them up in a tortilla with some cheese. Voila! Leftovers Burrito.

Spuds from Heaven

Potatoes are a meal waiting to happen. Microwave a potato, pile on cheese of any sort (cheddar, mozzarella, cottage cheese) and some meat, veggies, or even salsa or sunflower seeds, and you have a delicious dinner.

Soup Warms the Soul

Fill a pan with broth and veggies. Then, just throw in whatever you have in the house, meat or beans, leftovers, a can of diced tomatoes, noodles or rice, and spices. You just made soup in minutes.

Turn the Day Upside Down

You can have breakfast any time. Cereal, eggs & bacon, waffles, or pancakes. Breakfast is always better at night.

Next time you're in a position to make a meal in a hurry, refer back to this list and presto - you'll have dinner on the table in minutes.

Nicole Dean is the mom behind http://www.ShowKidstheFun.com, a website that helps address the question "How do I communicate with my children?" and http://www.ShowMomTheMoney.com, a resource that takes work at home moms by the hand and helps them to achieve success.