- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
D.C. Area Babies
Weeknight dinners - what's your strategy?
Does anyone actually cook dinner every night? And by cook, I mean something more involved than heating up something from Trader Joe's. Our strategy has been to cook at least one meal on weekends that we can reheat and eat twice during the week, interspersed with other easy meals like pasta, soup, and the aforementioned TJ's buffet. But if anyone actually cooks real food during the week, especially if you're alone with LO while you cook, I'd love to hear how you manage it.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Weeknight dinners - what's your strategy?
I do. It takes some organization and a very well stocked pantry and freezer. Two nights a week, DH picks up C which gives me extra time to make better meals (or ones that require I pay attention!). When I'm home alone with C, I gate off the doorway between the kitchen and living room and keep him occupied with a ton of toys and a small cup of cereal or crackers and a sippy.
Some of our stand by meals are only a step above TJ's, but I don't think they're too bad. Here are some of our standbys:
-Pasta with goat cheese, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes
-Gyoza/dumplings with broccoli
-Stir fry
-TJ's simmer sauces with a protein, vegetable and frozen brown rice
-Roasted salmon or pan fried mahi mahi (we always have fish from Costco in the freezer) with a vegetable and quinoa or cous cous (TJ's whole grain cous cous is super fast)
-Pizza with premade dough
-Chicken/turkey sausages with veg and potatoes
My stuff ain't gourmet, but I'd say we cook 3 out of 5 weeknights. I use my slow cooker 1-2 times per week. Slow cooker whole chicken is a favorite, especially since the pulled chicken can be reused in a chicken pot pie or casserole. I can post more tried & true slow cooker recipes if you're interested.
Generally, for the five weeknights nights, it's fish, Tex-Mex, Italian, hearty American (meatloaf or mac & cheese or something similar) or a slow cooker recipe, and leftovers.
Also, I cheat to keep prep time under half an hour. Boil in a bag rice, Uncle Ben's 90 second microwave rice, steamer vegetable bags.
I'm interested in reading other's strategies!
DD loves to sit on one of our counter height chairs and 'help' me cook or I set-up crayons at the table to occupy her. I have been trying to cook healthier but we usually try for simple too :-) Fresh pastas, salads, tacos with veggies and cilantro pesto, chicken parm in the oven, these turkey burgers and if there is a side/salad that can be made the night before- even better!
I definitely don't cook every night but we are trying. Cooking could be just egg and cheese sandwiches or salad with salmon but we are trying.
I cook almost every night. I try to batch make food on the weekends (like 2 lasagnes instead of just one or mix up 5 lbs of meatballs instead of just 2 and then freeze them in single dinner portions). We have chicken sasusage or kielbasa with veggies which cooks quickly as well as stir frys served with rice or asian noodles (the frozen stir fry veggie mix at Costco is fantastic). Don't over look the power of breakfast for dinner. Omelettes, frittatas, breakfast burritos make an appearance every once in a while. Tacos are a fast dinner as are quesdillas, burritos and enchiladas. We have homemade pizza one night a week as well. Homemade dough if I make it the night before, or TJs if I forget. The slow cooker really is your friend, I prep the night before and then turn it on and set the timer the next morning. When we buy chicken breasts I freeze them in a variety of marinades so as they though they are ready for dinner. I make shredded chicken and pork in the slow cooker en masse and then freeze in dinner portions to make quick assembly of dinner possible as well.
I let DD play in the kitchen while I make dinner. Before she was mobile, she played in the Exersaucer, and once she could walk, she played with pots and pans and spoons, measuring cups, etc. Now that she is nearly two, she likes to help wash the lettuce and use the salad spinner and help me measure ingredients and put cheese on pizza, stir eggs, etc.
Good point! I often throw sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash or butternut squash in the oven while I watch tv at night so that I have them handy for dinner the next evening.
I'd love you to post some slow cooker recipes -- I'm always looking for new ones!
I stay home with my LO, and just work a couple of afternoons per week, so it's a bit easier as I can sometimes use naptime to prepare some of our dinner, but I have found that making out a menu for the week really helps me to not fall into the "let's just order out" trap. That way, I know what I'm making, I know it's defrosted and I know I have all the ingredients and I don't feel like I'm scrambling to get something together to eat.
Another great thing someone told me to do.... my daughter's play kitchen, play food, shopping cart, etc are all in the kitchen in a little play area near our table... when I'm cooking, she plays with pots, pans, tupperware from my cabinets, but also goes over to her own kitchen and "cooks" dinner too. It usually buys me at least 5-10 uninterrupted minutes. I'm also not afraid to use dinner prep time as a little TV time, since she doesn't watch it at all the rest of the day. I can usually get dinner going in the 15 min it takes for Elmo's World to play.
I don't cook every night but I try to cook as much as possible. It's definitely hard to do while watching a little one so I usually only do it if DH is home to watch DD.
One thing that helps me is when I create my grocery list, I also create a "Menu" that I put on the fridge which is a list of meals that I have all of the ingredients for. That way, when I get home at night, I can quickly see what our options are.
I also try to keep a mix of quick cooking proteins, frozen veggies and starches on-hand. That way on any given night, I can throw some protein on the stove, put some veggies in the microwave, and put a starch in a pot. It's not gourmet but it's relatively nutritional. I also try to keep different sauces on hand so I can add some flavor.
Proteins - Frozen breaded fish, frozen salmon (Costco has some that are individually wrapped), chicken breast strips, TJs meatballs, ground hamburger or turkey, kielbasa
Frozen Veggies - Broccoli, green beans, corn, carrots, peas, mixed veggies, okra
Starches - Pasta, quinoa, cous cous, instant brown rice, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes
Sometimes I do crockpot recipes. Here are two of my favorites:
Chicken and stuffing
https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-with-Stuffing/Detail.aspx
Vegetarian Chili
https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmas-Slow-Cooker-Vegetarian-Chili/Detail.aspx
i'm home 3 days a week with audrey, but i don't usually start making dinner until DH and tomas get home. we have a homemade dinner most nights of the week (or at least we plan to!). i teach one night a week and make sure that DH has all the supplies he needs for dinner that night.
strategy: i do an inventory of what we have in the house on the weekend, taking stock of any leftovers, pantry items and stuff in the freezer. then i make a meal plan for the week. i always add a couple of meals that are super quick, for nights when we get home later than we'd planned.
tomas is a little older than M, so i often have him help me with stirring or watching. audrey is usually content to sit in her bumbo on the counter. sometimes, i put her on the floor with several toys. she's not entirely mobile yet (only goes backwards). when tomas was M's age, he loved to sit in his swing, which i put in the kitchen while i cooked.
some meals i've made recently:
- cajun jambalaya (super easy and pretty quick once everything is prepared, which can be done ahead). this takes 30 minutes to prep, about 45 minutes to cook. serve with greens (cook ahead)
- baked burritos (spread enchilada sauce in the bottom of a glass dish, roll your favorite burrito ingredients in a tortilla, place in the dish, cover with more sauce and shredded cheddar and jack cheeses. bake 30 minutes, serve with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, scallions, cilantro)
- baked ravioli (layer prepared ravioli like lasagna, then bake for 30 minutes with your favorite sauce or pesto). serve with roasted broccoli (toss dry broc with olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon zest and black pepper and salt to taste, turn up the oven while the ravioli cools and roast for 10 minutes. toss with grated parm)
- i'm a big fan of soups in the winter - sautee chopped onion, garlic, celery in olive oil, add stock and any combo of veggies, and a protein (e.g., shredded or cubed chicken, sliced sausage, meatballs, etc). i don't eat a lot of meat, so i often use soy products in place of real meat. the last soup i made was sort of like italian wedding - garlic, tomatoes, spinach, onion, stock, meatballs, white beans, herbs. this soup takes 20 minutes
- cajun shrimp pasta (super easy): combine honey, cayenne, soy sauce and cajun seasoning in a bowl - whisk together. boil bow tie pasta and add shrimp for the last three minutes. put baby spinach in your strainer and drain the pasta/shrimp over the spinach to wilt. combine sauce with pasta/shrimp/spinach and serve. this meal takes 10 minutes.
- pesto orzo with grilled chicken and asparagus: i use the foreman and usually do chicken tenders, or i pan fry thighs. season the chicken with parsley, garlic and lemon zest and black pepper and a little salt. toss orzo with pesto and parm. sautee asparagus with a little butter, lemon zest. this meal takes 20 minutes.
- peanut butter tofu (could use chicken too): 3 tbs peanut butter, soy sauce and sesame oil, 2 tbs cooking sherry and 1 tbs rice vinegar, 1 tsp chili paste, pinch of sugar, 1/4 c chopped scallions, 1 cake of firm tofu (steamed, then chopped in 3/4" cubes) or equivalent of 1 breast of chicken. mix all ingredients (except scallions and protein) over med-low heat until well blended. add protein and cook thoroughly (1 min for tofu or 10 for chicken). serve with steamed broccoli over brown rice. this takes 10-20 minutes to prepare.
- mini bow-tie pasta with feta, artichoke hearts, halved cherry tomatoes, asparagus bites, olives. 15 minutes to prepare. serve hot or cold.
- flank steak salad: season steak with S/P, pan grill flank steak. remove meat from pan and deglaze pan with sherry, lemon juice and garlic. wilt arugula just slightly. serve immediately with sliced steak on top. 15 minutes to prepare.
DH actually does most of the cooking.I'm not a bad cook, but he actually enjoys cooking so I am happy to let him take the lead.
He cooks 2 maybe 3 times a week. One night we cook the next night is leftovers. He'll start dinner as soon as he gets home with Baby Handy, sometimes I'll start it before he gets home. He'll cook dinner while I nurse Baby Handy and play with him. We eat dinner around 6ish. We do look for simpler recipes.
Off to the beach
DS 7/18/2010
Handy 2.0 Due Early August
2011/2012 Races
12/17/2011 Christmas Caper 10K
2/11/2012 Have a Heart 5K
3/17/2012 DC RNR Half Marathon
4/22/2012 10M Parkway Classic
10/28/2012 Marine Corps Marathon
We don't cook every night...we only cook 2-3x/wk for dinner & just make huge batches of food to eat off for 2-3 days. For example, this week we have an African vegetable/fish stew and smitten kitchen's chana masala (which is really quick meal, btw). Next week is corned beef w/ all the fixins, salmon burgers w/ salad & pesto pasta w/ lots of veggies.
When I am cooking, I put Sprout in his Jumperoo. He freaking loves bouncing and he likes to be in the same room with me & watch me cook.
We try to cook once, eat twice. DH and I both cook so usually whoever gets home first starts dinner. But I do all the planning and shopping.
Planning meals really has helped me. I can take our evening activities into account and make sure we have everything we need on hand to keep dinner moving!
My twins are 5! My baby is 3!
DS#2 - Allergic to Cashew, Pistachio, Kiwi
DS#3 - Allergic to Milk, Egg, Peanut, Tree Nuts and Sesame
We used to cook/eat after the kids went to bed. But now that two of them are old enough to sit at a table and learn to eat as a family, we eat as a family. However, we are horrible at staying on top of planning meals. I mean horrible.
Lately, we have tried to do this, which let me tell you, is a HUGE improvement for us:
Cook a big dinner Sunday night.
Monday, cook something fast.
Tuesday, have the leftovers from the big dinner Sunday night.
Wednesday, I telecommute from home, so I can actually defrost some meat and plan/shop for a nice dinner.
Thursday = take out. Every Thursday is "Take Out Thursday" in our house. If we are feeling poor, or tired of take out, this is a catch-as-catch-can night. Like grilled cheese or nachos (or for me, cereal!)
Friday, cook something fast.
Saturday, have people over to our house for dinner or go to my parents house. A nice dinner, usually steaks or something complicated that we have no time for during the week.
Mondays and Fridays are the most annoying. We usually end up heating up something that we only kind of like.
Like I said, this is a big improvement from our previous plan, which was ZERO plan at all, staring at each other when we got home from work/picking up the kids, and then getting annoyed at ourselves for not having planned something.
Oh and here are some of my fave quick recipes (I'll post my slow cooker ones on the other board). Once it is nice enough to grill that will make it a lot easier - then it is just grill up a protein and I make a side and a salad. I make the spaghetti sauce on the weekend but I always have a bunch in the freezer too to thaw for the weeknights.
BBQ Pineapple Chicken Packet
For each packet:
1 chicken breast
2 pineapple rings
2 pepper (green, red or yellow) rings
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
Use heavy duty foil and make a packet for each chicken - fold the top and ends to seal the packet but leave some room for heat circulation inside.
Grill 20-25 min or 30 mins at 350 in the oven.
Sweet Citrus Chicken
1-1/3 cups warm OJ
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Cornbread stuffing
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
1 cup orange juice
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
5 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
2/3 cup Dried cranberry and raisins
Preheat oven to 400?F. Add hot water and raisins to stuffing mix; stir just until moistened. Set aside.
Place chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish. Mix juice, sugar and butter until well blended; pour over chicken. Top with prepared stuffing.
BAKE 35 min. or until chicken is cooked through.
Garlic Pork Tenderloin
Super easy and comes out very tender.
Rub 2 pork tenderloins (normally come 2 to a package) with a packet of Good Seasons Dry salad dressing mix. Place in foil lined baking pan at 425 for 25 minutes. Cut into slices when done and serve with BBQ sauce
Balsamic Chicken and Linguine
Adapted from Stephanie Cooks blog.
So yummy, we love balsamic vinegar but this was not too tart.
2 chicken breast, cut into 1in square pieces
2 small red pepper , chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes
1c balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. dried basil or fresh
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 box of linguine
In a large skillet, add 1 tsp. of olive oil and garlic and heat over medium heat. Add the chicken, stirring occasionally until almost cooked though. Add the bell peppers. Add 1/2c balsamic vinegar. Allow the vinegar to cook down until it thickens a bit. Toss in the basil and a dash of the red pepper flakes. Add the linguine, olive oil, and remaining balsamic vinegar, according to taste. Toss in the parmesan cheese.
Creamy Squash Soup Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
2 pounds butternut squash, halved, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups diced onion2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 (13 3/4-ounce) cans chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup light cream or heavy cream
In a medium saucepan, combine squash, onion, carrots, broth and salt. Simmer, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes. Puree soup in a blender or food processor with the butter. Whisk cream into soup. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.
Spaghetti Sauce
1-2lbs of ground beef or turkey
2-28oz cans Crushed or ground tomatoes
2-6oz cans tomato paste
~30 leaves of fresh basil
~1/2 cup fresh parsley
1tbl dried marjoram
5 cloves of garlic, minced
Brown meat together with garlic and drain.
Add crushed tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil then simmer for 1 hour.
Add tomato paste plus 6 cans of water (helps rinse out the cans since the paste is sticky). Bring to a boil and simmer with lid slightly off for 2-3 hours.
We eat at home usually 6 out of 7 nights - and I usually cook 4-5 of those 6...we eat leftovers 1-2 nights. I love to cook but it's getting ridiculous at this point - I'm a teacher, I get off work at 3:30, have an hour to get to the gym, change, workout, and pick my son up by 4:30 to go home, otherwise traffic is horrendous. We get home around 5:15 and I have until 6 to throw something together before my husband gets home. If DS doesn't eat by 6, it's impossible to get him to wind down and go to bed by 7:30. The problem is that those 45 minutes go by quickly when you're trying to get things cooked with a toddler clinging to your leg, destroying your house, and torturing your dogs!
I've considered one of those Dinner Done places but I just can't justify the cost when I know I can do it myself so much more cheaply. I'm planning to start making and freezing a bunch of things before #2 arrives, because there will likely be a complete halt to my cooking for a while!