When it comes to mealtime, even the best intentioned of us can fall into a rut. Especially on weekdays when there isn’t a lot of time to prepare a meal, quick and convenient often trumps flavor and presentation.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

At TipHero, we love meal prep hacks, and we love creative presentation. Even a busy weeknight meal can be special when you know what to do.

We’ve put together 5 of our favorite meal hacks to help you out. These range from sinfully delicious twists on traditional favorites to easy crockpot ideas that are also healthy. Enjoy!

1. Rigatoni Pasta Pie in a Mug

   This meal hack is a perfect fancy, filling, delicious, easy meal for one. We love one-pot and one-pan meals because they mean fewer dishes, but in this case, it’s a one-mug meal. It started with layers of sauce and cheese topped with rigatoni. After it comes out of the microwave, it looks so delicious that you’ll forget you cooked it in a mug. You could even prep this ahead of time in a mug with a lid and heat it up at work for lunch. Your co-workers will be so impressed!

2. Tater Tot Waffle Grilled Cheese

   Okay, so this isn’t a healthy recipe, but it’s certainly an easy twist on a children’s favorite. Tater tots become a crispy, delicious bread substitute in this epic grilled cheese sandwich that’s cooked entirely on a waffle iron. No need to dirty pans or a griddle. This is a fun kid-friendly meal, but it’d also be great party food.

3. Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

   If you’d like a healthy meal where you can set the timer and forget about it, this is for you. The meatballs, spaghetti squash and sauce are all cooked together at the same time in a slow cooker. It doesn’t get easier to make a healthy and delicious meal than this!

4. Hasselback Chicken

   Chicken can take on so many different delicious flavors. Hasselback chicken is an easy way to infuse your chicken extra flavor, and it’s surprisingly easy to do. Plus, it looks pretty fancy.

5. Teriyaki Chicken Pineapple Boats

   If you’re stuck on the mainland and dreaming of a tropical vacation, nothing with transport you like eating out of a pineapple. This recipe definitely nails presentation, but everything inside is super delicious too.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video has to be worth a million, so see for yourself how easily these 5 recipes come together in the video below.

Are you drooling yet? Which one of these recipes will you try first?