Easy Dinners for Busy Families

(ARA) - After a long weekday, a family dinner is the perfect time for everyone to reconnect and share the news of their day. However, in today's busy world, with both parents working and children involved in extra-curricular activities, gathering everyone to sit down for a meal can be daunting. Equally challenging is having enough time to prepare a delicious, homemade meal for dinner.

Luckily, there is help for busy families. From prepared supermarket dinners to frozen meals, there are a number of ways to get dinner on the table even if you don't have all day to cook. High quality, prepared dishes are a great way to minimize cooking, while maximizing family time.

One great tip is to buy salad ingredients from the salad bar at your local grocery store instead of cutting up all the vegetables yourself. Another tip is to prepare the main course at home, but buy side dishes at the deli. Or, buy the main dish in the frozen section at the supermarket and make a quick, easy homemade dessert to complement the meal.

For example, Pepperidge Farm has introduced three new flavors of premium pot pies, which are perfect for a family dinner. And with a variety of flavors, every member of the family can choose their favorite, such as chicken primavera with garlic and herbs, creamy alfredo chicken and broccoli and chunky chicken parmesan.

Orchestrating a family dinner should be a team effort. While dinner is cooking, enlist the kids to set the table. Clear away homework, mail and any other clutter from the dinner table. When it comes to dinnerware, using formal dishes is always elegant, but to cut down on the clean up time, use quality paper plates. After all, it's the conversation that counts, not the china.

So turn off the television and the cell phones, put dinner on the table and spend some time enjoying food and family.

Here are two quick, easy and delicious dessert recipes to add to your menu for those nights when time is short:

Easy Apple Strudel

Preparation time on this satisfying dessert is just 10 minutes, but be sure to allow time to thaw the puff pastry sheets (do this while you're working on the main course).

1/2 package Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling

Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Mix egg and water and set aside.

Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 16-inch by 12-inch rectangle. With short side facing you, spoon pie filling on bottom half of pastry to within 1 inch of edges. Starting at short side, roll up like a jelly roll. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Tuck ends under to seal. Brush with egg mixture. Cut several 2-inch-long slits 2 inches apart on top.

Bake 35 minutes or until golden. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack 30 minutes. Slice and serve warm. Serves 6.

White Chocolate Mousse Pastries

These pastries need to chill for an hour, so have them in the refrigerator while you enjoy dinner.

1 package Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pasty Shells

6 squares (1 ounce each) white chocolate

2 cups heavy cream

1 square (1 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Bake pastry shells according to package directions. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

Microwave white chocolate and 1/4 cup cream on high for 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring halfway through heating. Stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Beat remaining cream with electric mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Fold half of the whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream just until blended. Spoon into pastry shells. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Refrigerate 1 hour.

To drizzle chocolate, place chocolate in a heavy-duty zipper-style plastic sandwich bag. Close bag tightly. Microwave on high 45 seconds or until chocolate is melted. Fold down top of bag tightly and snip a tiny piece off one corner. Holding top of bag tightly, drizzle chocolate through opening.

Courtesy of ARA Content