Quick Dinners for Halloween Night

While Halloween is one of the most exciting nights of the year for kids, it’s one of the most hectic for the parents. Not only do you have to get your children into their costumes, apply their makeup, and get them out for trick-or-treating, but you have to feed them beforehand, too! If you’re not feeling cans of soup or a pizza delivery, there are plenty of wholesome meals worthy of the culinary academy that you can throw together in less than 30 minutes:

Your kids will be excited to get out on the street so make dinner quickly!

Stir fry: Chopping the meat and veggies can be time consuming, but the process of cooking a stir fry like this one from Natasha’s Kitchen is as quick and easy as can be. A great way to make sure you have the time to put it together is to chop all of your vegetables and meat ahead of time – maybe even enough for a couple of batches – and put everything in a zipper bag with your favorite marinade. This way, all you’ll have to do is throw it in a skillet for a quick meal!

Beef stroganoff: This comforting classic from Gimme Some Oven is the perfect hearty meal to preface a long night of trick-or-treating. While many stroganoff recipes are made in the slow cooker, this one, with a sauce of white wine, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, sour cream and flour, is ready to go in just a half hour. Toss some thin-sliced steak and sliced mushrooms in to the sauce and serve it atop buttered egg noodles. Don’t forget to sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese!

Chicken fingers: Surely to be a hit among all your little ghouls and ghosts, these chicken fingers from Delish are baked in the oven instead of the deep fryer, making for a healthier meal that’s just as tasty. Make a flavorful breading consisting of panko breadcrumbs, lemon zest, thyme, salt and pepper. Then, just dip your chicken strips in beaten eggs so the breading sticks and gets crispy. Serve these fingers with plenty of options for dipping, like barbecue sauce, ketchup and honey mustard. Your kids will get so full they might not even have enough room for candy!