Dual working house-holds, tell me how you prepare dinner?

AvaLikeLava · October 2011

Baby goes to bed at 7 and dinner is at 6pm at our house. The thing is, we don't get home until about 5:45-6 anyway, so we walk through the door and immediately sit down to eat. This means a whole LOTTA take-out... or Costco prepped meals.

But I want to make home-cooked meals more.

I just haven't figured out how. You'd think that in 3 years I would've, but I haven't.

So... when you have 2 parents that work out of the home, regular business hours, how do you make dinner-time work?

Lexi & Orion's Mommy · October 2011

crock pot meals, prep things earlier in the week, or the night before, so its get home get the kids occupied and cook quick.

DH gets home anytime between 4pm and 530pm. so he usually has the jump start on it.

melgrady · October 2011

We have only been juggling working and dinner for a month now, but I have found that preparing and freezing meals on the weekend is pretty much the easiest way for us to survive the week. I also have a few quickie go to recipes but I am usually too tired after work to do more than toss a salad or steam some veggies. We are hoping to use our crockpot more now that the weather is cooling down.

futrkingsley · October 2011

It is the single biggest stumbling block in our one kid/two working parent lives. It's the only meal we eat together all day long so I want it to be good. I get home at 6pm if I'm lucky lately, and two nights a week DH gets home at 7:15, two nights at 4pm and one night at 5. It's a mess. The nights I feel best about we heat up semi prepared food (cooked chicken, sausages, meatballs, etc.) from TJ's with veggies and eat together in harmony. The nights I feel worst about we do cereal. Take out is somewhere in the middle. I wish I could do more crockpot meals but DS refuses to eat anything that has been cooked together so it would just be for DH and me and eh, I can't get excited enough about that in the morning to actually wake up early enough to do it.

I hope someone else has some brilliant idea I haven't thought of yet.

SJBride05 · October 2011

We have yet to figure it out. Most nights we get home, I feed the baby and DH preps dinner.

I'd love to start offering DS more of what we eat, but by the time we get home it's past 6PM, so I hate to have him wait while we prep something.

secretkeeper321 · October 2011

I try to make meals that take no longer than 30 minutes to prepare. We eat between 6-6:30, DH does bathtime while I'm cleaning up and bedtime is anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30. It is hectic, but we just make it work. I cook probably 3-4 nights during the work week and one night is take-out or leftovers. A lot of times DS is eating while I'm putting the finishing touches on our dinner, although I love for us to eat the same thing and the same time, it doesn't always happen.

pink.dutch.tulips · October 2011

start DVRing Rachel Ray's Week in a Day and tinker w/ to your liking, build up a bunch of recipes that taken 30 mins or less, your slow cooker is your best friend - you have to start planning ahead for the week during the weekend and prep as much as possible beforehand. it solves the what's for dinner problem.

sometimes h will get home before me and make something simple like chef's salad or chili dogs w/ mac and cheese.

ashleyhuney · October 2011

In 3 years I never figured it out, lol. I got home at 6 with J and DH came home at some point after. Even crockpot meals have to be completed and that was so hard with a clingy boy who hadn't seen me all day. The only thing that "worked" was feeding J first and then eating later. Which often meant takeout because we were too tired to cook a meal that late. Not very helpful, sorry!

kfishie · October 2011

We don't have kids, but DH and I work a lot. What works for us is the following: On Sundays, I make at least 2 or 3 meals in large quantities. We then rotate them throughout the week. If I have time during the week, I supplement with additional meals, or change up the sides/veggies/etc. For me, it is ALL about large quantities--you can freeze half of it for meals down the road and eat the other half then. Thankfully, DH and I are big believers in eating leftovers!

ladipale · October 2011

I'm still trying to figure it out. Lately, John and I just eat after E goes to bed, although we do sit down with E while she eats, but as she begins to eat more of what we eat, I just want us all to eat together.

I definetley make big batches of whatever we are eating, esp on the weekends. Example, sunday I made chili which we ate on Sunday night and last night. Last night I also cooked chicken breasts which tonight i'm making enchiladas with that will last us tonight and tomorrow night. Or we'll have roast chicken with a veggie one night and use the leftover chicken in a salad the next. I double and freeze recipes whenever I can (stir frys, soups, etc.) so we have a bit of a stockpile going.

I'm really considering doing a modified Once a Month Cooking day again. I just found this site that seems to make it easy, tells you how much of everything to buy, chop, etc. https://onceamonthmom.com

yosemite · October 2011

kfishie:
We don't have kids, but DH and I work a lot. What works for us is the following: On Sundays, I make at least 2 or 3 meals in large quantities. We then rotate them throughout the week. If I have time during the week, I supplement with additional meals, or change up the sides/veggies/etc. For me, it is ALL about large quantities--you can freeze half of it for meals down the road and eat the other half then. Thankfully, DH and I are big believers in eating leftovers!

ditto kfishie. I make a lot on weekends and re-heat during the week.

this is the part of the whole two working parents/one kid thing, that I just can't find peace with. It is so, so hard for me. I love to cook and it makes me sad that on weeknights, I realistically cannot do that for my family, or we'd all eat well past bedtime. Beyond making it in advance, TJ's and Whole Foods have great prepared meals and those are easy to heat quickly and serve. We still get takeout about once a week. Good luck!

AvaLikeLava · October 2011

Ok, so clearly I'm not alone here

When G was little, we used to feed him, put him to bed and then eat. Sometimes I wonder if the fact he ate separately has contributed to his picky-ness, since we always catered his meals to what he would eat. We're working to change that now, and it sucks.

Thank you for the onemonth site and the Rachel Ray suggestion. I'll have to find a way to integrate something like that. Honestly, by the time I put S2' down it's 8pm, and the idea of making dinner for the next day starting at 8 sounds exhausting... especially with everything else I have assigned to myself. However, dedicating one day to make a week's worth of meals... I can maybe manage that

... or I need to make more money to hire someone to cook for me ...

love22 · October 2011

We usually cook about twice a week and then eat variations of the leftovers the rest of the week. I really don't see how we could do it any other way plus most recipes seem to feed so many people so we always have a lot leftover anyway. We also try to have stuff in our freezer for a day that we didn't plan ahead for - things like lasagna, soup, meatloaf, etc.

ladipale · October 2011

I don't really like to use the crockpot when we are not home, but I do it overnight sometimes, so after one dinner I throw stuff in and cook it overnight.

The other thing I have really, really, really been wanting to do is a dinner exchange. Basically, once/month a few people gather with pre cooked and frozen meals to exchange. For example, I might make a huge, huge pot (or two) of minestrone soup, enough for 6 meals. I'd keep 2, and maybe meet with Ava and kfishe and Ava and kfishe would also make and freeze some dish, enough for 6 meals. So then, we all have 6 meals worth of food to last a few weeks, but without too much effort.

ladipale · October 2011

oh, and once/week or so we eat beans and rice (or quinoa) its filling, fast and pretty healthy.

fricksgirl · October 2011

It's very hard, but we do it. Same boat- we are home around 5:45, kids are in the bath at 6:30 and hopefully bed by 7, 7:30 at the latest. It's very important to me that we all be together for dinner... occasionally (maybe 2 x's a month) we feed the kids first but I hate not eating with them... plus 2 nights a week I leave by 6:30 for Jazzercise so DH is alone for bedtime. Yes, our house is chaotic! Ack! Saturdays, however, we usually feed them ahead and then make a more "adult" dinner for ourselves. Anyway.

Since I've been working full time (which is only been 2 months) I have done LOTS of freezer meals. Whenever I make something, anything, I make 3 or 4. Trick is making it healthy but I think I've gotten better at that... I've done lentil stew, turkey meatloaf, several pasta dishes, bean & rice casseroles, etc.

We are lucky bc DH comes home at 4:30 and no one is there until we get home... so he heats and preps everything and he CAN since he's alone and I have the kids. He's very good about it, too, usually dinner is hot on the table when we pull in.

We also do DH grills something quick (sausages, chops, chicken) and we just have a salad or some veg from the CSA box.

Of course there are nights when this doesn't work, but for the most part we've been pretty good at it so far. It takes a LOT of effort and organization though. And I do quite enjoy those marathon cooking days but again, it's a half a weekend day or so when I can't really be with the kids.

I also hands down do take out on Friday, so we know we have a break at least!

NorcalLinds · October 2011

AvaLikeLava:
... or I need to make more money to hire someone to cook for me ...

have you looked into the cost? my friend does this and i was surprised, it wasn't THAT bad ;-) if you are already doing a lot of take out, it might be around the same. She has a chef 3x a week and the other two days they eat the leftovers.

fjaril · October 2011

we aren't a dual working house, but I've found prepping and making some meals at the weekend and freezing them to help a lot.

Meritage · October 2011

I'm a SAHM and still haven't figured this out! Dinner is HARD!

maryh01 · October 2011

ladipale:
The other thing I have really, really, really been wanting to do is a dinner exchange. Basically, once/month a few people gather with pre cooked and frozen meals to exchange. For example, I might make a huge, huge pot (or two) of minestrone soup, enough for 6 meals. I'd keep 2, and maybe meet with Ava and kfishe and Ava and kfishe would also make and freeze some dish, enough for 6 meals. So then, we all have 6 meals worth of food to last a few weeks, but without too much effort.

I'm sooo all over this! When can we start...yesterday??

tri-reader · October 2011

We eat normally around 6:30 or 7pm. We get home around 6pm and start our meals. Most of our recipes are 30 minutes so we could eat at a decent hour. We would cook 5 times a week, Sun-Thurs and use the leftovers for lunch (even for DD at school). We have our kids help with the meals. DD would stir the food, unwrap stuff, etc. She's been cooking with us since 2 years old. DS is now helping sometimes we just put an empty pot on the stove and he "cooks".

A long time ago when we didn't have a routine down, kids would eat the leftovers from the night before while we prepped/cooked our meal that night. This was usually our solution for the child that went to bed early. But come to find out that the kids like to eat freshly prepped meals so we adjusted our schedule accordingly.

kfishie · October 2011

maryh01:
ladipale:
The other thing I have really, really, really been wanting to do is a dinner exchange. Basically, once/month a few people gather with pre cooked and frozen meals to exchange. For example, I might make a huge, huge pot (or two) of minestrone soup, enough for 6 meals. I'd keep 2, and maybe meet with Ava and kfishe and Ava and kfishe would also make and freeze some dish, enough for 6 meals. So then, we all have 6 meals worth of food to last a few weeks, but without too much effort.
I'm sooo all over this! When can we start...yesterday??

Sign me up!!!!

KellyMRocks · October 2011

NorcalLinds:
AvaLikeLava:
... or I need to make more money to hire someone to cook for me ...
have you looked into the cost? my friend does this and i was surprised, it wasn't THAT bad ;-) if you are already doing a lot of take out, it might be around the same. She has a chef 3x a week and the other two days they eat the leftovers.

I like the sound of that!

tri_bride05 · October 2011

kfishie:
maryh01:
ladipale:

The other thing I have really, really, really been wanting to do is a dinner exchange. Basically, once/month a few people gather with pre cooked and frozen meals to exchange. For example, I might make a huge, huge pot (or two) of minestrone soup, enough for 6 meals. I'd keep 2, and maybe meet with Ava and kfishe and Ava and kfishe would also make and freeze some dish, enough for 6 meals. So then, we all have 6 meals worth of food to last a few weeks, but without too much effort.

I'm sooo all over this! When can we start...yesterday??

Sign me up!!!!

Would LOVE to do something like this!

danandkelly · October 2011

We are in a similar boat, but my kids go down later than yours.

Usually we are home by 6 and eat by 6:30 or 7. We never make things that take more than 30 minutes. it's often a dual effort one parent cooking the stove top items, the other preping other things ie salad.

We do crock pot meals from time to time, but I find that if I've thawed out a meat earlier in the day, I can make a dinner in about 20 minutes...and I don't love the crock pot being on while we're away. I have also prepped things on the weekend before, cut veggies etc so all I have to do is throw it all together.

Mrs.K&C · October 2011

Leftovers, crock pot and quick meals during the week. I get home around 5, Chris closer to 5:30 and that's when I get dinner going. I can get leftovers on the table in 10 minutes. It takes Chris a half hour. I'm seriously fast in the kitchen - that helps. Before kids we ate around 7:30 and I made great meals...now I only put effort into the dinner on Sunday when I have some time. Planning, planning, planning is the key.

m&m818 · October 2011

It depends on my meal plan for the week but its usually a combo of prepared meals/cooking or prepping meat on the weekend and flurry of 30 min or less meals. We cook about 5-6 times a week but I'm doing WW right now and motivated to make meals so I lose the weight.

The weeks I fail are the weeks i didn't do all my shopping or prepping on the weekends. So I really try to cut fruit/veggies/salad, marinate chicken/meats and plan which days I'm going to do meals so I'm mentally prepared.

A few other things:

7/7:30 bedtime just didn't work for us. DD wasn't getting enough time/attention from us, and we were rushing meals/bedtime routines. So we moved DD's bedtime to 7:45-8:15.
I try to find a job for DD in the kitchen while i'm cooking. She's only two but I have her set the table as best as she can or help stir, organize or put spices back. Then I'm not getting the *I'm hungry* or *can I have a snack* whining.

MommySteph2009 · October 2011

I do all the cooking. It's tough and I try and do easy prep meals & I should do more crockpot ones.

I imagine it will only get tougher as DS # 2 gets older, since now to feed him it's only nursing.

teambaumer · October 2011

I work out of the home and it is still a struggle. What has helped me is freezer meals! I prepare raw protein with their seasoning, throw a label with directions on them, and if I dare, I premeasure the starch and store in a separate bag and make bags of meals. It really takes the guess work out. I'll do about 2 weeks of meals in about 30-45 minutes, about 45 minutes of research if I want to try something different. I then make a list of what we are having for the week so DH and I remember to transfer the meal to the fridge for thawing the night before.

This method has been a life saver! When my freezer is empty it's back to the chaos.

leverby · October 2011

I have been pondering the EXACT same thing these past few weeks. I've noticed that during the times we all eat together as a family and eating the same things (ie the weekends), N is a great eater, finishes her food and doesn't use them as projectiles. On the days where we don't have our act together and she eats first while either me or my DH sit with her (ie. the weekdays), food becomes projectiles, she sometimes barely wants to eat her food and we start catering to her (yogurt, yogurt or more yogurt perhaps) and she begs to be let down early. Sigh.

The earliest we walk through the door on the weekdays is 6pm and like you want to be eating right away (so even minimal prep/cooking doesn't cut it) So this is what has worked for us:

1) make food ahead of time, ie weekends, that can just be reheated on the stove or zapped in the microwave in 5 min. Ex. chili, roasted/steamed veggies, lasagnes, stir fry, steamed rice.

2) we have a timer on our oven that lets you choose when to start cooking. So sometimes, I'll put something in the oven right before I leave for work in the AM, set the timer so that it starts to cook the food just in time to intercept us walking through the door. This works best for recipes that you feel comfy leaving uncookied food out at room temp effectively for the whole day (mac and cheese, rice casseroles, roast veggies, baked potatoes..) or food that you can take out of the freezer in the AM and just let defrost during the day.

3) hire a cook we haven't done this, but I have co workers who swear by it. They hire Indian grandma's who come to your house, cook food, and leave it in the fridge for you to nuke. If I didn't mind eating indian food every day, i'd do this. I just need to find a grandma who can cook the food I like

skirby · October 2011

tri_bride05:
kfishie:
maryh01:
ladipale:

The other thing I have really, really, really been wanting to do is a dinner exchange. Basically, once/month a few people gather with pre cooked and frozen meals to exchange. For example, I might make a huge, huge pot (or two) of minestrone soup, enough for 6 meals. I'd keep 2, and maybe meet with Ava and kfishe and Ava and kfishe would also make and freeze some dish, enough for 6 meals. So then, we all have 6 meals worth of food to last a few weeks, but without too much effort.

I'm sooo all over this! When can we start...yesterday??

Agreed - awesome idea!

Sign me up!!!!

Would LOVE to do something like this!

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Dual working house-holds, tell me how you prepare dinner?

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