How and when do you make dinner?

Mjmksb04

While I am on leave, I usually prepare most of dinner during the baby's naps. Obviously that won't be an option once I go back to work. Do you just do a lot of prep the night before? Lots of take out? Its tough because my DS is still young enough that he can't really entertain himself yet and loves to be held. Anyway, how do you do it?

mgfit1

When my DS was little and still in a bouncy seat, I just cooked dinner a lot with him in his bouncy seat up on our island in the kitchen (we have a huge island so he would not fall off).  I would just talk to him and sometimes sing to him in between doing things and he was fine.  Once he got older, I put him in his excersaucer in the kitchen but away from where I was cooking.  Then when he was older, in his high chair with some finger foods.  My little one was OK being in those things instead of being held all the time.

AlisaS

Scrambled eggs, cereal, bags of salad............I wish I had a better answer!

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? I buy lots of fairly healthy prepared stuff and keep the freezer stocked with things like little pizzas we can have with a salad, mini quiches, frozen pastas, etc.

shouldbeworkin

I cook mostly on Sunday when the kids are napping.  I make double portions and make 2 entrees sometimes.  I freeze a lot of that for later use or keep it in the fridge to reheat later in the week.  I use boca crumbles for chili, spaghetti & sloppy joes b/c I don't have to brown it first.  It's a little healthier for me too.  Thursday is soup and sandwich night, that helps me a lot!  I make a big salad on Sunday and we take from that all week long (keep it in your salad spinner or in a tupperware bowl with a piece of paper towel).  I throw something on the stove the second I get home and get things together while I unpack lunch boxes, empty the dishwasher, etc.  the kids are either watching a little TV or eating their "first course" of dinner.

GM&DG

I am going to try to make a crock pot meal once a week that might last for 2 and then worry about the remaining days...it is hard to figure out how it will happen.

 

livinitup

As for baby - she loved being in a bouncy in the kitchen or in a baby carrier on me.  Now, she's 12 months old.

As for dinner:

*  We cook once, eat twice whenever possible.  So chilli tonight also feeds us tomorrow night.

* We buy bulk at Sam's Club. Wondeful options.  Individual chicken breasts, salmon filets ... and everything else plain and prepped in the freezer section.  Combine that with any variety of frozen veggie, salad, potato, pasta or warm bread and its a snap to get dinner ready.

* winter = roasts. Tenderloins (chicken or pork)  Then potatoes and all kinds of vegtables ... so friggin' good.  next to no clean up.  healthy.  inexpensive. easy.

* Anything that requires a bit of prepping and cooking (lasagna,chili, sloppy joes, chicken pot pie)  - I do at night after DD goes to bed for the next day, because coming home from work and doing it is just not possible. Or we prep on the weekend. 

* Sanwhich night. We aim for once a week and love it.  It usually happens once-twice a month.

* We'll combine one fresh item with one leftover item.  So leftover chicken gets a new life with some whole wheat stuffing. Add in some frozen green beens and the meal is easy, well rounded and done in a flash. Leftover salmon goes well with a fresh salad. Leftover pasta gets heated up with some frozen turkey meatballs and sause.  Big salad with a frozen pizza.

* Write out menus for the whole week.  Every week.  Makes life soooo much easier. 

* We almost never do take out.  Only for a treat. Like a date night. 

 

Bella427

DD is 14 months old now.  If she isn't content to play nearby, I put her in her high chair and she has an "appetizer".    When she was little I put her in the bumbo seat or the swing.  I also have a basket of fake fruits and veggies from Melissa & Doug that she likes to "cook" with while she bangs pots and pans around.  As far as what we eat goes, crock pot stuff, leftovers during the week and easy prep stuff from Costco.  I made a bit pot of soup on Monday and we've been eating that with chicken salad (from Costco) sandwiches for 3 days. 

azuremama

When DS was smaller (and sometimes still now), I'd put him in the baby carrier to do stuff around the house.  Or I'd put him in his bouncy seat and talk/sing to him.  Now, my dh usually plays with him while I make dinner, or he's pretty happy to sit in the kitchen with some toys and watch me.

The weeks where I'm most on top of things, on Sunday, I'll make a casserole or a pot of soup or chili.  We'll eat that Monday and Tuesday.  Sometimes I'll double the recipe and freeze half in snapware containers for later meals.  The crockpot is also my friend.  Sometimes I make quiche--we'll eat one and I freeze one for another meal.

I've got a bunch of quick and easy stuff to make--omelets, tacos, pasta.  Some nights we just eat grilled cheese and canned soup.  If you can afford it, I am a big fan of omaha steaks food.  Just defrost, stick them on the george foreman for a few minutes, and you've got a really good quick dinner.

mrsnewlywed2005

when dd was little, we had takeout 95% of the time.  it wasn't healthy, but i needed to adjust to work and the routine.  when she started table foods (around 8-9 mos?) was when i got back into the groove of cooking.  i would make a big stew or something time-consuming on sun for dinner that night, and save the rest for later.  stews taste better after it sits overnight anyway.  i also do a crockpot meal once a week, and an easy staple meal like chicken and rice w/ gravy (no prep, just toss into a casserole and bake).  i always have frozen or canned veggies on hand.  both can be heated in the microwave fairly easy.  i've been experimenting like crazy w/ easy to prep meals.  most recently, paula dean's hurry up chix pot pie.  SO good.  other tips:  when we return from costco, i'll slice and marinate meats into indiv freezer bags. i thaw them in the fridge the night before, and voila.  no prepwork when you get home. 

2bearichards

We eat after DS goes to bed.

spinach

I didn't cook as much when DS was little because I felt like he needed to be held all the time, as he got older I was able to put him in his exersaucer etc, Now, he plays pretty well by himself. I bought fridge toys (magnets and leapfrog radio) and he keeps himself entertained while I cook.

We've made a big effort to only eat out no more than 2X a week, 1X on the weekend and 1X during the week or 2X on the weekend. We don't go to expensive places either, the expensive planes we reserve for special occasions.

Here's what we do:

Plan your meals every week, make something on Sunday that will last a couple of days. I usually only have to make 2-3 different dishes a week. This year I started a journal so when I see a receipe i like I write it down.

Have frozen vegetables on hand, peas and lima beans make good appetizers for DS while I make dinner.

Prep everything on the weekends, cut your vegetables and meat to size so when you come home you can cook and not have to prep.

Make startches or some meals the night before. I like to make rice or pasta the night before as those take the longest to make.

Take out tip:  buy main dishes and supplement with homemade vegetables/sides, that way your take out dishes will last and you are not eating such big portions.

molldoll71

Until Billy was about 15 months - he would just eat dinner after he went to bed - now we cook a lot of very quick, easy things and we do a lot of take out.  And just make it work somehow.

Mjmksb04

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

snickerdoodle27

Either I would take of Jacob and dh would cook or vice versa. He eventually got to the point where I could sit him in his high chair and he'd be entertained watching me cook. We do take out about once a week, eveyrone deserves a break! If you can prepare extra and freeze what's left over, then all you have to do is reheat that's a help too. I usually keep my cooking to 30 mins or less. Campbell's soup mixes are wonderful, throw a few ingredients together and you've got dinner!

jlw2505

My DH and I do a ton of prep the night before and sometimes even cook the meal (depending on what it is).  We try to get the meal to the point where we can just put it in the oven/mircowave when we get home from work or have the bulk of it done.  We try not to do take out as we tend to go out on the weekends with family plus the girls are so tired after full days of daycare/preschool.  We sometimes do things like grilled cheese sandwiches if we don't have time to prep the night before.  We use the crock pot a ton - we prep it the night before and turn it on in the morning and its hot and ready when we get home.  We also try to make extra of certain things like chilis so we can freeze and eat again another week or have as a back-up meal.

Tikat

All you working moms out there...Once I went back to back when DD was 2 mths old I started searching for websites that have a "menu". I was soooo sick and tired of wasting time thinking "What are we gonna eat? What do I need to buy?" and then I was SAVED!!!!

 WWW.MENUS4MOMS.COM came my way and it has been a blessing.

Weekly menus, all ingredients on one shopping list (My grocery spending is down to $70/ week from $120 and my efforts one night yield more than one dinner in most cases...if you don't like the weeks menu- go into their archive...

We have found EVERY SINGLE recipe delicious so far!

(I had to share this site- as it literally has saved my sanity)