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Working Moms
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Post your working mom dinner solutions!
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in Working Moms
I need ideas for very quick, easy, healthy dinners that I can throw together after work. I go back next week so I want to compile a list of recipes and ideas to draw upon in the coming weeks as we adjust. What are your favorite working mom dinners? TIA!
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Re: Post your working mom dinner solutions!
I don't always eat what my kids eat, and I definitely don't eat when they do--it's always after they eat or when they are almost done and I am doing it standing up. I usually assemble theirs the night before so I can just pop it in the microwave.
Chicken noodle soup (yes, canned)
Tyson makes frozen real chicken nuggets. I cut a few up and put veggies with it, maybe some noodles.
Tuna noodle casserole, which I make on a weekend and then freeze in portions.
I like to buy meat and veggies on the weekends, marinate them during the day, and pop them in the oven when I get home. Then I get to hang out with DH and DS while everything cooks. We all eat together around 7pm.
I also keep frozen ravioli, frozen pizza, veggie burgers and english muffins, canned soups, canned veggies, frozen waffles, shredded, cubed, and string cheese, pasta, jarred pasta sauce, frozen dinners, and gerber graduate meals all on hand just in case things don't go as planned.
Costco sells a two pack of spinach ravioli that's great and organic. Easy to throw together with a jar of pasta sauce. We bbq on the weekends and sometimes use the leftovers to do a grilled chicken salad. Brisket or roasts in the slow cooker and as my mom says...there's nothing wrong with sandwiches once in a while. Oh...we also order pizza occassionally.
We do quickie dinners and buy a lot of stuff from Trader Joes. We always have bagged lettuce and veggies for salads. My boys are f-ing picky right now and won't touch veggies so I always have fresh berries and tons of different colored fruit for variety.
We'll do frozen quiches with salad, pasta, sandwiches, chicken, quesadillas, etc.
If you have a Trader Joes near you, I'll give you my faves for healthy and easy dinners!
Box of spanish rice / can of rotel tomatoes / pound of frozen peeled shrimp. Cook the rice, add the tomatoes, satuee the shrimp and stir together.
I will sautee onions, red peppers, garlic, and spinach and use it as a base for several recipes: egg white omlets, add to organic chicken ravioli with some olive oil, etc.
V-8 southwest corn soup - add can of crab meat and can of mexicorn
We always have bagged salad and veggies, an I usually have frozen organic fruit (blueberries, peaches) on hand to supplement DS's meals.
quesadillas
frozen ravioli/jarred sauce/bag salad
breakfast: scrambled eggs w/spinach or other veggies, turkey bacon, potatoes or toast
grilled cheese/soup/salad
veggie lasagna made with the no-boil noodles
veggie burgers and sweet potato fries
chicken nuggets
minute brown rice, beans, veggies, salsa, cheese
chili can be thrown together pretty quickly when you get home and then can simmer until you're ready to eat
pizza made on a boboli or other pre-made crust, or pizza bagels/pitas
Good luck with going back to work. It gets easier!
I make a lot of crock pot dinners. Our stand by is Chicken Santa Fe:
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained 2 cans (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained 1 cup bottled thick and chunky salsa, your favorite 5 or 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 lbs) cut into cubesMix everything together the night before and dump into the crock pot in the morning. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. We serve on burito wraps with reflied beans, chedar and sour cream. DH adds hot sauce. Soo yummy and easy!
Over the weekend, I try to make at least one "real" dinner - meatballs, roast, lasagnia, etc. Then have leftovers that I just have to whip up some side dishes during the week.
I keep spagetti or raveoli and meatballs and bolboli pizza on hand for an easy dinner. Sometimes I pick up a rotiserie chicken and make sides.
Almost everything we make, I double and freeze half so we can eat it again in a couple weeks.
Don't beat yourself up if you have to order out. What ever gets you through. You will eat better as you get a schedule and ballance.
met DH 1995 ~ married DH 2006 ~ completed our family 2008
Life is good!
I like to make things I can reheat and that taste good reheated. We sometimes make spaghetti, chicken fricassee, pot roast, shepherd's pie, etc on Sunday and reheat later. We eat a lot of rice and beans so I make enough for two days. We either grill or cook boneless chicken breast on the pan with a little of olive oil and adobo (latin seasoning). Taco night with lean beef is a favorite. We don't eat beef too often but we sometimes maridade Bistec in a little vinegar and onions. It only takes a few minutes to cook. Have a sandwich with leftovers.
We always keep a bag or two of Bertolli Pasta in the freezer.
As far as food for DS, he eats what we eats unless the food is going to take a while. In that case we give him Tyson's nuggets with a cup of frozen peas and carrots that we cook in the microwave in a couple of minutes. We give him fruit for dessert but he does not always eat that much.
Good luck next week; it will also be my first week back.
I agree with PP about using the crock pot and/or making double meals and freezing half. (But I will also admit that there are plenty of nights that we just do cereal because I am too wiped to cook.)
I also made something last night that was really easy and DH really liked it - Chicken Alfredo Pasta with Spinach and Red Bell Pepper
In a large pot boil 2 chicken breasts. While the chicken is cooking finely dice one red bell pepper and saute it in olive oil (and a minced garlic clove and a little salt if you want). Pull the chicken breasts out when they are fully cooked through and in the same pot of boiling water cook the pasta (I usually use penne). To your peppers add spinach (I used a defrosted box of frozen chopped spinach, drained) and a jar of alfredo sauce. Dice the chicken breast and add to sauce mixture. Make sure everything is heated through well. Drain pasta and mix with sauce. Serve with salad and garlic bread. Yummy and gets the hubs to eat spinach.
I do at least one crockpot meal/casserole that can be used for leftovers every week. This week I did lasagna with fat free cheese and extra lean ground beef.
Other than that, I keep meals REALLY simple. This week's meals (other than the lasagna) are:
Spaghetti w/ jarred sauce
Minute Rice w/ seasoned ground beef and sweet potatoes
Frozen chicken nuggets with steamed veggies
Throwing leaves
I try to really stay with healthy options. So I'll do ground turkey with a packet of taco seasoning, throw in some onions and a can of black beans, add veggies and make tacos.
Get a rotisserie chicken and fix with a quick salad and rice. I buy the pre made salads from Trader Joes. They cost about $4 and will feed two people when tossed in a big bowl.
Chili is super easy and fast. Primarily, because I use the packet of chili seasoning instead of messing with all the spices. For the first week back, I would plan on ordering take out or buying premade things. As you go along, you'll feel like cooking more complicated and planned out stuff. When DS was small, I also used to put his high chair in the kitchen and talk and entertain him while I made dinner.
Pasta
Beef Enchiladas (recipe is on back of enchilada sauce can)
Taco Salads (use Doritos for the chips)
Pulled BBQ Chicken (put in crock pot with water; once cooked pull apart; add bbq and each on hamburger buns)
I'll also try to make a pot roast in the crock pot or lasagna on the weekend. That will get us through 2-3 nights during the week.
You are very smart to be making a list now and getting prepared. The first few weeks can be a little hectic.
I keeps dinners during the week super simple. This is a normal week for us:
grilled chicken, baked potato (started in micro finished on grill) steamed veggeis
grilled steak marinated in the morning, Near East cous cous, frozen veggies
Tacos
Pasta, ground turkey, jarred sauce, tossed salad. Lately I've been hiding a can of mushrooms in the sauce and DD has no clue.
pork tenderloin in the oven, red potatoes (no peeling) boiled and tossed w/ butter & parsley, steamed veggie
Once a week I do fish sticks/chicken nuggets/frozen french fries or mac n cheese.
I don't cook on Friday or Saturday nights and I make a big family dinner on Sunday that gives us left overs for lunches or snacks.
My favorites are:
Calzones - I buy the dough at the grocery store, and stuff with veggies, cheeses and sauce. They only take ~15 to bake.
Marinate steak tips and veggies in teriyaki all day (I like Very Very Teriyaki or Stonewall Kitchen Garlic Teriyaki) then toss under the broiler, and serve over rice.
Marinate chicken in Greek dressing, make some rice pilaf, grab a greek salad from the salad bar at the store (or make one), broil chicken.
Breakfast for dinner
Sometimes I prep things the night before. If we're having something easy for dinner one night, I'll boil some pasta and put together a lasagna or shells or something to put in the fridge overnight, then I can just toss it in the oven when I get home.