Whining and Dining: the fastest meal in the West

You could try freezing dinners for one of those nights you simply can't figure out what to make quickly for dinner. I suggest lasgana and garlic bread. Lasgana is freezeable in portions and garlic bread is so easy to make. Just french bread and garlic butter (butter and garlic powder) slathered (or just drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of garlic powder is much healthier) wrap in foil and throw in the oven for couple of minutes. (or broil face-up for crispy taste - great with olive oil and powder)

I also suggest easy indian butter chicken (allrecipes.com) for making ahead and freezing for leftovers with basmati rice (or naan). It tastes fantastic as left-overs and I try to make a big batch for 'those' nights.

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Quick meals are life-savers...especially since I'm still working! I suggest Trader Joes if you have one near!

I buy the individually frozen chicken thighs (hubby prefers dark meat to white), defrost them enough to cut into chunks in the microwave and cook the chunks with pre-made curry simmer sauce on the stove (aside from a little too much sodium, its good for you.) I add peas and sometimes garbanzo beans then heat pre-cooked brown rice. Healthy and my 11 year old LOVES it.

The other quick meal is bottled spagetti sauce (the organic kind from Trader Joes) with whole wheat pasta. You can brown ground beef or turkey and add that too to get protein. I'll finely chop spinach and add it to the sauce which makes it a whole lot healthier (And my son has no idea it contains spinach!) Top with grated mozzeralla cheese...WALA....quick and easy.

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That's cool. I deal with the same dilema on many of occasions. I try to do things to help me out on those nights. for example when I brown up ground beef for a dinner I make more than what is needed for the receipe, and then I stick the excess in a freezer baggy. The same with chicken but I tend to shred it before I put it in a freezeer baggy. I also keep staple things in the kitchen like tortillas, cheese, salsa, tomatoe sause, canned veggies, rice and or noodles.
Then on days that I have no clue or Im short on time I will take out a skillet and put a tortilla in it and heat it up and add cheese and the meat and maybe some salsa, I fold it up brown it on each side so the cheese can melt and hold it together. Then I cut it in to little triangles and my kids like it. It's fast too.
You can use the same concept for other things and get creative. Like throw in the skillet, chicken, rice, a veggie, and possible a can of soup. Or tomatoe sause with ground beef and noodles or even rice.
It's fun, but watch out cause somethings don't mix. You may come up with something that you wont like sometimes.

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I have a child that would rather go to bed hungry than eat beans and veggies. I'm not kidding, I can't count the number of times he's gone w/out dinner because I refused to make a second dinner just for him. Thankfully, or not, he will gladly eat white bread w/butter. :)

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That's me every day. I start dinner when my nanny leaves at 5:30, and we eat at 5:45.

Here's what I do. I start with frozen organic veggies - I keep a stock of all different kinds so it doesn't get boring. In the pot, boiled, served, and cooled enough for eating within 15 minutes. The kids start eating the veggies and drinking their milk while I finish whatever the main dish will be. I have a stash of canned / boxed organic healthy foods. I also mix it up with an occasional sandwich on wheat bread. Sometimes we do leftovers from a restaurant or a more time-consuming weekend or party meal. Maybe throw in a yogurt if we're light on protein. All of these choices can be whipped up well before the kids and I finish the veggies. After the main dish, we have organic fruit, usually a variation of apple/berry sauce. Finally, we must end with Cheerios, which my kids think are the bomb. If they seem disinterested in their veggies or fruit, I threaten them with no Cheerios, and they get back on track. They eat a ton (the amount of food in the photo above would have to be doubled or tripled to satifsy them) though they are only 13 and 16 months old. Nary a pea or carrot on the floor. Extremely easy, but I feel really good about their nutrition.

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I love the crock pot for nights where I know time is limited, or as suggested pre-cooked by me-frozen meals. My grandmother is the cook of cooks and with the access we have to the freshest of the fresh-I love intense cooking. But, and this is so shameful, my kids have a favorite "trash meal". I used this one night because my sis reccomended it for a teething child.

It is basically a veg or veg and meat soup w/o liquid.-your choice based on preference. I de-cob corn, boiled sliced white potatoes, add in a homemade (pre-done) taco beans, mix-add cooked meat(usually baked chicken or browned ground meat) and top with shredded cheese of your choosing. Bake and serve- if you must, used canned veggies and meatless and takes no time.
You can sub any veggies-green beans and carrots work well--zucchini not so much, we prefer grilled z, but then again I love grilled anything.
It is not a fancy meal, but if the kids have had a rough day-this works.

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I cook up a crockpot full of chicken breasts on either Sunday or Monday and then use it to supplement my cooking throughout the week. You can use the shredded chicken in quesadillas, burritos, tacos, add bbq sauce for sandwiches, put it on bread and make pannini sandwiches...just about anything. We don't eat it every night, usually every other, and it makes everything so much easier. Also, I wouldn't necessarily recommend boiling veggies as you lose a lot of their nutrients that way. Try steaming them instead.

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I should add that I eat what the kids eat and vice versa. I'm not crazy about the idea of preparing different food for different family members, once the kids are old enough for cut-up table food.

And as for frozen veggies, I have heard they are actually healthier than fresh, since they are frozen very soon after being picked, while fresh veggies sit around a while. You don't boil them long - only 5 minutes with the lid on. Steaming them might be slightly better if I had a steamer . . . .

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I do not eat what my kids eat some nights...I prefer lighter meals, but I do not need the things they do. ( I wish them to grow and me not to) I will eat as they do most nights--but like tonight-husband is on orders out of town--daughters wanted grilled ham and cheese w/ apples and pickles(elmo eats his GC w /a pickle). I am not in need of the fat content-even with lowfat products-so I made a salad using leftover chicken. We did all share in the peach cobbler baked by my gran for my b-day...grans are awesome for this and who can pass up peach cobbler w/ love.

I also reccommend Crock Pot Taco Soup for cold nights--serve with Tostitos and top like you would tacos. That isn on tap for Thursday.

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I should mention that I plan menus two weeks at a time to avoid duplication and aid in shopping ease. We do not always go day by day, but I do make all the meals before we move on. It also helps to avoid the crunch that can occur.

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Breakfast at dinner! Especially if you've got kids who'll angle more for fruits than veggies. Some scrambled eggs, maybe some cheese and veggies in the mix, toss a few blueberries onto the plate and watch the kids go om nom nom.

Pancakes are also good if your kids are old enough to help out with the basic stirring and such.

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