It hasn’t exactly been a secret that our {read: my} transition from summer to school year has been…rough. Things seem to be settling into a groove now. I think. I hope. It gets easier right?

Through this transition, I’ve found that there are just some things that are out of my control. Like how long Reese naps at daycare, for example. But other things, I have complete control over. If you’ve been around these parts for long, you know I’m a huge advocate for meal planning. These last couple of weeks I’ve added another aspect of meal planning to my arsenal: pre-prep. Anything that can be prepped the night before, once the kids are in bed, is automatically at the top of my list of recipes to try.

When I was perusing the different recipes on Pillsbury’s website, I had specific criteria in mind. It had to be easy, quick, something that could be pre-prepped and I wanted to have the ingredients on hand {sponsored post aside, we almost always have a can of Pillsbury biscuits in our fridge}. When I found the recipe for Taco Melts, I knew I’d found the winner. Anything that incorporates Taco Tuesday is a always going to be a hit in my house.

Anytime Rylee gets to use the rolling pin she’s all about helping with dinner prep! Plus it frees up my arms to hold a certain fussy one-year-old.

Since we eat dinner as a family 99% of the time, Ry & I were able to prep this meal as soon as we got home and then wait until Andy was close before we put them in the oven. Then we were sitting down for dinner just minutes after he walked in the door!

In addition to the taco melts, I also warmed up some refried beans and opened up a bag of pre-made salad mix. Doesn’t get much easier than that!

While I didn’t follow the recipe to a T {get it? T for taco!?}, I didn’t make many changes. The main thing I did was melt the cheese in with the meat and seasoning instead of sprinkling it on top of the meat before crimping them closed. I’ve found the melty cheese works well as a binder and makes them less messy for me to assemble. I also set aside some of the meat without the salsa to make melts for the girls since they aren’t so much into spicy things.

Overall, this recipe was great. Like I said, it was easy to prepare, it got Rylee involved and the whole family loved it {I totally ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning}. Win-win-win.

I’m already thinking of ways I can incorporate this style of recipe into more of my meals…next up? Ham & Egg melts. Who doesn’t love brinner? YUMM! For more ideas, they’ve even put together a free downloadable recipe book!

Thanks to Pillsbury for helping make my transition back to school a little bit easier!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. The content and opinions expressed here are all my own and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of General Mills. Compensation was provided by General Mills via Clever Girls Collective.