Those that work and cook - how do you do it?

jamiedsgirl · July 2011

I can't figure out how anyone actually makes dinner for their little ones! I've already changed my work schedule so that I get out at 5 instead of 5:30. We are usually home by about 5:30 now, but by the time I unload the car and daycare stuff, let the dog out, check his diaper, give him some water, etc. it is at least 5:45. DS goes to bed around 7:00 (Pedi said to move his bedtime back because he wasn't getting enough sleep - he used to be up until about 7:45). This leaves us just enough time to sit down and have a quick dinner (stage 3 baby food still) and get in the bath. He's been eating stage 3 lasagna for dinner because I don't know how else to make dinner! DH doesn't usually get home until after 8pm and he brings dinner home from Wegmans for us (supermarket carry-out). That is all we eat during the week. So, how do you do it? How do you cook, or have time to cook, after work? I can't figure it out.

kcisthebombdotcom · July 2011

I don't work full time, but my DH does and he does the cooking since I suck at cooking. lol.

We usually save a plate for DS from the night before. I feed him at 5pm. We usually don't eat until after 630 by the time DH gets home/cooks. We usually feed DS a snack so he can eat something and sit at the table with us.

cchill01 · July 2011

I go to Wegman's on Sat or Sun morning and buy everything for the week. Meals are all planned out.

- I use the crockpot - a lot. Set it in the morning with a timer. Dinner is ready when you walk in.

- I pre-chop things I'll need the night before and stick them in little covered bowls.

- I enlist DD's help. She will put things in the garbage for me and help set the table. It's slow, but it keeps her occupied.

- I cook in huge portions and try to always freeze half or more for other nights. We have a second freezer in the basement. Right now, there are probably 15 nights worth of meals in there.

- Soup & grilled cheese, omelets and other quickies are good for nights when you get home late.

Karla and Alex · July 2011

I don't get home until 6:30, DDs bedtime isn't until 8-8:30, but getting dinner on the table in a timely fashion is always difficult. I usually keep DDs dinner simple, whether it's some of what we're eating or as quick as a grilled cheese. I also will make her a pasta of some kind, making enough to last 3 days. Also I make her breakfast and lunch her most nutritious of meals so we don't have to rely on dinner being a huge deal. And I schedule her to have a yogurt or piece of fruit an hour or so before dinner.

Dreamsicle23 · July 2011

It's not every day, and I make things than take less than 30 minutes - pasta, tacos, stir fry, etc.

Hoping42010 · July 2011

Most of the time we try to have DD eat with us and have what we're having but sometimes it's just me and DD and DH gets home later. I make her (and sometimes both of us) pasta and sauce, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, cut up fruit, cheese, leftovers from the night before, etc. Sometimes during my lunch break I'll run to the local market and get some marinated chicken kabobs or something that we can just throw on the grill when we get home for a quick supper. I also buy frozen potato wedges already seasoned, sweet potato fries, etc so we can just throw those in the oven and they're done in 15 minutes. We do really quick meals most of the time. Something like american chop suey or fajitas only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. My DD goes to bed at 8 and I get home at 4:30 so sometimes I spend about an hour making a cassarole that she share with us. She just puts around the kitchen while I cook - I open the cabinet with the tupperware in it so she can play. It's not hard - it just takes a while to get into a routine.

jwthoms1 · July 2011

I freezer cook a couple times a year. It's exhausting for one weekend but for the next 2-3 months I just pull something out of the freezer, thaw, and cook. And it's frozen in disposable pans so there isn't much cleanup. I went back to work Monday and we had fish sticks that night. Tuesday we had BBQ pork from the freezer stash, Wednesday there was enough leftover BBQ for another dinner. Tonight I will probably grab another freezer meal to thaw. I HATE cooking everyday. The monotonous chopping, dirtying dishes, dishwasher, etc. I'd rather go crazy one day or one weekend and then be done for a while.

Plus recently I had a friend have a baby and another friend with cancer. So I took them some meals from the stash and I looked like the generous, chef friend, haha!

KellyAnne&CHris · July 2011

I crock pot at least once a week and I try to make stuff and cut down prep in the AM ( I know crazy but I will cook lets say pasta). I also make stuff during the weekend. It can be crazy.

Flowr4246 · July 2011

My weeknight meals are usually things I can make in 30 minutes or less. We do a lot of pastas, breakfast for dinner, hot dogs with beans or sauerkraut, Hamburger Helper, stir fry (ditto PP on cutting things the night before - you can prep after your LO is in bed)... On the nights when I have time to make more time consuming meals (i.e. the weekends), I make extra so I'll have leftovers for DD throughout the week.

I also agree with PPs who said to save a plate of last night's dinner for LO tonight. That works wonders if they come in hungry. You could also check with day care and see if he could have a small late day snack (around 4:30ish) so he's not starving. Like you, I don't get home until about 5:45 and DD's bedtime routine starts around 7, so I'm working in a short window. But it can be done. Good luck!

emjenkins715 · July 2011

Crock pot meals! They are ready when you walk in the door. I just plan out the week's meals and buy everything on the weekend. Makes life really easy. I even will make big batches of things on the weekend so we have a couple days of leftovers during the week.

MrsMags04 · July 2011

Quesadillas are a huge hit in our house. Take a whole wheat tortilla fill with cheese, protein, and veggies. DD is a fan of tomato and avocado, but I have used shredded zucchini, spinach, and any meat you can think of--chicken, beef, pork, whatever is leftover from dinner the night before. Microwave for 30 sec to 1 minute and cut with a pizza cutter. Easy and quick.

I will also cook an entire box of whole wheat pasta on the weekend and save it in the fridge to reheat on weeknights and serve with canned veggies (not ideal, but in a pinch). I also just made and froze a bunch of turkey meatballs (you can add things like shredded carrots to get some veggies in) that I will pull out in the morning and microwave at dinner time.

When it gets cooler, I will probably also use the crock pot more. Good luck!

sxyhrdrssr · July 2011

I second the crock pot! You can find so many different recipes online too! Super easy and pretty much when we don't use it, we make easy meals ( grilled cheese, tacos, etc). I also brown the meat the day before or when I have time so all that needs done is heating it up once I need it.

groovygrl · July 2011

We both work f/t and I get the kids home usually around 530. MH doesnt get home until 630 or so and the kids go to bed b/w 7 & 730 so we do not eat as a family.

I made all their baby food & just have continued (more or less, I definitely do not make all their food!) to do the same thing over time- I make stuff on weekends or after they go to bed once in awhile & freeze it, so every morning I take something out of the freezer & then just have to heat it up & cut up some fruit or whatever when we get home. It sounds like it would take a long time but it really doesn't- sometimes I do it while I'm cooking dinner for MH & I and just sort of multitask. I do maybe one thing a week for the kids & then just rotate through various items.

Examples of things I tend to make & freeze in small portions (I like to do meals w/ various food group mixed in to make life easy & b/c my kids won't eat most straight veggies)- mac & cheese with ham & broccoli, pizza w/ extra veggies in the sauce, chicken rice casserole w/ chopped veggies in it, spinach ricotta bites from weelicious, asparagus risotto, meatballs,cheese sauce in ice cube trays to have on hand, etc. I also will cook a big thing of pasta & freeze the cooked pasta in serving sizes in ziplocs so all I have to do is nuke it & add whatever.

I also buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store every week & strip it & feed it to them plain, mixed into soups (like garden vegetable), in a quesadilla (hit or miss), etc. I also freeze some of it sometimes to have when needed.

For MH & I, I cook dinner after the kids are in bed so we usually don't eat until 8 or so, which we don't really mind. He brings home takeout probably 2 out of 5 weeknights as well. I wish I could cook more but planning for all of it usually doesn't happen.

I don't like crock pot food generally so I have stopped trying that but I know a lot of ppl swear by it!

mommybrynn · July 2011

cchill01:
I go to Wegman's on Sat or Sun morning and buy everything for the week. Meals are all planned out.

- I use the crockpot - a lot. Set it in the morning with a timer. Dinner is ready when you walk in.

- I pre-chop things I'll need the night before and stick them in little covered bowls.

- I enlist DD's help. She will put things in the garbage for me and help set the table. It's slow, but it keeps her occupied.

- I cook in huge portions and try to always freeze half or more for other nights. We have a second freezer in the basement. Right now, there are probably 15 nights worth of meals in there.

- Soup & grilled cheese, omelets and other quickies are good for nights when you get home late.

This sounds like us! I LOVE my crockpot, and the freezer is definitely my friend.

historychick79 · July 2011

Right now C eats before us still. I get home at 4:30, he's usually hungry by 5:30, DH gets home about 6:20 and C's in bed by 7. Sometime he still naps between 4:30 and 6ish (with a 7:30 bedtime) so I get a little bit of time to prep, but that's pretty rare now. He's also still struggling with chewing and swallowing 'real' food, so his dinners are mainly purees, yogurt and some form of puff or cookie for chewing practice.

We keep a set of 'easy' dinners such as frozen ravioli, pizza and hot dogs for the rough nights. In winter, I'm great about prepping things like soups, lasagna/manicotti, meatloaf, and chili on the weekend, and using the crock pot for stews and casseroles. Some of our favorite quick/fresh dinners are fajitas (beef or chicken), grilled foods (steak, chicken), ham steaks, salad.

Basically every day I just roll with it. I try to keep some things defrosted in the fridge in case there's time to make a good meal, and have no guilt about pulling out a pizza if I'm a little tired and cranky.

jamiedsgirl · July 2011

This is so helpful! Thank you everyone!!!

MrsWindyCity · July 2011

I get home at 5:30, but DH picks up DS (and they also get home at 5:30). Since DH takes DS to DCP in the morning, I try to do any prepping that I can that morning - whether it's pounding chicken, cutting vegetables up, making pizza dough, etc. I also try to do similar things after DS goes to sleep, if necessary.

I've been making crockpot meals here and there too. I don't use mine a ton, but I do use it more than I used to.

But, mostly, I just meal plan and make sure not to put anything on the menu for the week that takes longer than 30 minutes to cook. On the off chance that there isn't enough time, or DS needs to go to bed earlier (DS's bedtime routine also starts at 7:00), then I keep stuff in the freezer that I make for DS to eat (meatballs, fish sticks, etc.), frozen peas, etc.

MammaBear81 · July 2011

The crock pot is my best friend, put in everything in the AM and it's ready when you get home. Meal planning is helpful and we make casseroles on the weekends to serve during the week. We also have a few quick meals like tacos that I can actually cook when I get home.

aocain02@yahoo.com · July 2011

I go to a meal assembly place once a month and put together around 12 dinners to freeze so at the beginning of the week I'll pull a few out to defrost and most are cooked in 20 to 30 minutes with minimal work on my part or clean up. On the nights we don't eat those I make something quick like tacos or spaghetti. Sunday through Thursday our goal is 4 meals at home and either take out one night or we go out. Friday and Saturday I just don't cook.

superaunt · July 2011

i don't. like you DH brings something home or we order delivery most nights. however, i do feed Sabrina beforehand or she'll completely lose it.

i pick her up from school at 330, we're home by 430-445 and she generally wants to eat as soon as we're home so it's gotta be something quick: frozen meatballs or chicken nuggets and peas, grilled cheese, pasta. these all get rotated along with fresh fruit: apples, banana, berries. sometimes she'll have leftovesr from our dinner- chicken fried rice, for example. sometimes, it's frozen waffles or pancakes (made from scratch on the weekends) with fruit.

Amy&Andy · July 2011

Do you have a crock pot? You can start using that! If you need to buy one, buy one that has a "warm" setting...I put mine on warm for about 9 -10 hours and its cooked perfect usually. My favorite things to make in the crock pot is whole fryer chicken. It gets super soft and tender which would be good for your LO.

Other things you can do is prepare dinner the night before so all you have to do is come home and throw it in the oven or on the grill. If he goes to bed at 7, you should have more than enough time to do this! No offense, but your kid should be eating a lot more nutritious things at this age besides baby food lasagna. One of my favorite meals, and my kid's favorites, is meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans (canned). Here is a good meatloaf recipe...put it all together the night before, and as soon as you walk in the door at 5:30, throw it in the oven. It says it takes an hour, but for us it's only taken about 35 minutes to be done, sometimes we turn up the temp on the oven so it takes even less time.You can also make the mashed potatoes the night before and just heat them up the next night. Sometimes I'll give this to him 2 nights in a row when we have some leftover. On that night you can get your take out and just warm this up for him.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-fashioned-meat-loaf-aka-basic-meatloaf-recipe/reviews/index.html#user-reviews-top

As far as grill recipes... Here's my favorite kabob recipe (i don't add the rosemary). Cut up the chicken and marinate over night, then just throw it on the grill when you get home! You can make one of those Rice sides to go with it with some veggies, or even do a baked potato in the microwave or something else that's quick.

https://allrecipes.com/recipe/rosemary-ranch-chicken-kabobs/detail.aspx

Other things you can do are casseroles. Easy to put together the night before, and just throw in the oven when you get home.

https://picky-palate.com/2010/09/07/homemade-shepherds-pie/

https://picky-palate.com/2009/12/01/broccoli-cheddar-chicken-and-tater-tot-casserole/

https://picky-palate.com/2009/01/22/chicken-parmesan-rigatoni-bake/

Yes all of this requires effort and planning ahead, but it is what it is. Ya gotta make it work!

dangerkitty102 · July 2011

I use relishrelish.com for meal planning, and only make super quick meals during the week.

So here's my example from yesterday:

5:30 Get home with DS and nurse him until he's happy, change diaper if needed (only if it's smelly)

5:45 Put him in his high chair and give him a snack while I make dinner.
(last night this consisted of fish filets that I had already thawed with asparagus and couscous. I set a saucepan on the stove with water and couscous seasoning to boil, then sprayed a square of foil with cooking spray, stuck the fish on top, sprinkled with salt, lemon pepper and thyme, scattered cut asparagus around it, squeezed lemon juice over and sealed up foil packets. Threw them in a 400 degree oven and set timer for 12 minutes. By then the water was boiling so I stirred in the couscous, stuck the lid on the pot and took it off the heat and let it do its thing.)

6:00 Get DS out of high chair and play until timer goes off (10 mins or so - yesterday we sat at piano and banged on the keys)

6:15 dinner on table. We are all eating by 6:30

7:00 bath, story and bedtime.

bride2be79 · July 2011

cchill01:

I go to Wegman's on Sat or Sun morning and buy everything for the week. Meals are all planned out.

- I use the crockpot - a lot. Set it in the morning with a timer. Dinner is ready when you walk in.

- I pre-chop things I'll need the night before and stick them in little covered bowls.

- I enlist DD's help. She will put things in the garbage for me and help set the table. It's slow, but it keeps her occupied.

- I cook in huge portions and try to always freeze half or more for other nights. We have a second freezer in the basement. Right now, there are probably 15 nights worth of meals in there.

- Soup & grilled cheese, omelets and other quickies are good for nights when you get home late.

This almost exactly. I have your exact same schedule almost (DH getting home late included). I also feed DD a lot of leftovers from what DH and I had the night before. I also give her low sodium deli meat and cheese and yogurt or hummus on nights when I really don't have time. She is also really good about eating fruit thankfully.

Jessys_Girl · July 2011

1) I cook food on the weekends and freeze it (i have a lot of good freezer friendly recipes, if you need some).

2) I use my crockpot a couple of times a week so dinner is already cooked when I get home (I also have recipes for this)

3) I do a lot of "30 minute meals"...things like Baked chicken. Or pizza (home made, put sauce and toppings on pre-made dough, pop in the oven, ready in 15-20).

4) Sometimes we get take out.

5) DD plays in the kitchen with me while I cook. I have my mom (who is my DCP) change her diaper right before i pick her up, or I change it when I pick her up, that saves me an extra few minutes when I get home.

6) DH helps a bit with letting the dog out and giving DD milk/water/whatever, but those things only take a couple of minutes.

biochemgirl · July 2011

We both work FT. We cook or prepare as much as we can of the next night's dinner the night before.

Examples: Tuesday night we made honey-lime enchiladas for last night. Last night when I got home I put them in the oven to re-heat (had already cooked them completely on Tuesday night) and them steamed some brussel sprouts and made some black beans which are both easy and fast and really don't take much effort on my part.

Last night I mixed together the ingredients for greek turkey burgers and made a cous-cous "salad" with chopped mint and feta in it. Tonight we will grill the burgers and then I'm going to just cut up cucumber sticks to complete the burgers and cous-cous.

This method is the only way that giving her a real dinner works for us. On Friday night it feels like we hit the jackpot b/c we don't ahve to make dinner for that night or make dinner for Saturday night. My how Friday nights have changed

mari_gold · July 2011

We do prep in the morning and make simple meals - stir-fry, grill foods, sandwiches, pasta, etc. Nothing takes longer than 20 min to cook, so if we get home around 5:30, we eat by 6. More elaborate meals can wait till the weekend.

izziebee · July 2011

My suggestions would be pretty much the same as what everyone else is telling you so I won't repeat them, the only thing I want to add is to check out www.kraftfoods.com I have used their website for years for everything from appetizers to main meals to desserts. I'm not a huge fan of cooking (I love to bake though!) and this site gives you a lot of great, easy, quick meals with ingredients that are easy to find. I also get their magazine - it used to be free but isn't anymore, it's worth it though.

One other thing I found really helpful was to create a binder with page protectors and when you find a recipe cut it/print it out and stick it in the binder by category. I've marked my 'go to' recipes that I know are easy and yummy. It's a great way to organize recipes rather than have piles of recipe books to leaf through each time you are trying to find something good to make.

Good Luck!

Tonya_G · July 2011

I make a menu over the weekend and try to stick to it. Most of what we eat during the week consists of some sort of meat that's been baked in the oven, some sort of veggies that are steamed in either the microwave or on the stove, and some sort of starch that cooks quickly- whole grain cous cous is a staple in our house. I also every month or two make big batches of freezer meals- soups, pasta dishes, quiches, that can be thrown in the oven when I get home to make a quick dinner on nights I just don't want to prep/cook. Also, any veggies that take a lot of time to prep, I prep over the weekend and put into ziplock baggies, so they're ready to go when I need them. That is, unless they're not "preppable". Then I tend to avoid them anyway, b/c it's too much work.

That said, we still occasionally go out to eat b/c DH and I look at each other and the thought of even heating up the oven/stove sounds like too much work. lol

melody921 · July 2011

Sometimes I cook ahead and freeze meals for us, so all we have to do is heat up when we get home. Or I will make something super basic -- chicken and steamed veggies, for example. When it's cold out, we use the crockpot a lot. That said, I do get home earlier than you do, so that helps.

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