I’m a mom of 2. My picky eaters love these Trader Joe’s staples for a quick, easy dinner.

The ready-to-eat protein selection at Trader Joe’s makes dinners easy

Trader Joe’s has a plethora of quick protein options for lightning-quick meal prep.

The Just Chicken strips and chicken meatballs are in the refrigerated section and can be eaten as-is, which we often do. If we have a bit more time, we will often warm the chicken meatballs up in a skillet or microwave them. I love that neither of these options doesn’t have a ton of seasoning, which means it’s easy to add flavors to suit what we’re eating that night, whether it be ketchup for the girls or a creole spice mix for Mom and Dad.

Quick-cooking carbs are fan favorites in our house

Luckily, it’s easy to find carbs that my girls will eat, and Trader Joe’s has a wide selection to choose from. Their frozen jasmine rice is a crowd-pleaser and cooks in three minutes in the microwave, and their four-cheese ravioli cooks in three to four minutes once the water starts boiling.

I’m also a huge fan of their couscous, which takes five minutes to cook and is foolproof to cook. My girls also enjoy the blueberry waffles and fries, both of which cook quickly despite being frozen.

When all else fails, I mix and match these ingredients for quick dinners

We have our tried-and-true staples, and we also have tried-and-true combinations that work well together. I have a few shortcuts that I use for throwing together ingredients to create a meal that I know my whole family will eat. Here are a few different dinners we frequently have in our house:

• Meat lasagna and green beans
• Shrimp, couscous, and edamame
• Waffles, bacon, and any fruit I have on hand
• Meatballs, waffle fries, and edamame
• Chicken strips, rice, and green beans
• Ravioli and green beans
• Turkey corndogs, waffle fries, and edamame

The options for combining these ingredients are endless, and it makes a huge difference knowing that I can go from no dinner to putting dinner on the table in under 15 minutes using these staples.