Help me, friends. I have a screamy baby. And two other hungry children. Dinnertime is the worst. For all of us. Last week, when I found myself breastfeeding while trying to remove a 450 degree frittata from the oven, I knew I needed help. All my go-to dinners are suddenly too hard with a needy baby in my arms (too much stove, oven, or knives).
Our new morning routine involves all five of us piling into the minivan, then Sawyer and I drop off the preschooler, the commuter, the first grader, and then return home to have our baby-style day. And usually he’s screaming when we get home.
During the day, I use all my tricks to plan and prep as much as I can of dinner. Then around 4:30, Sawyer and I fetch the big boys from their respective schools. We return home around 5:30. Back in the day, the boys would watch their allotted 25 minutes of TV while I made dinner. Now, I spend that time nursing. Then 6:00 comes around and we’re no closer to dinner.
Having written this site for six years now, I have made a special effort at gaining and sharing tips about streamlinning the dinner-making process. Tips like declaring Monday crock pot night have seen me through the rookie year and two-under-two challenge.
But now.
OhMyGod.
I chopped veggies a day in advance, created the marinate during naptime, and used the crock pot to make a delicious brisket. By the time 6pm rolled around (after the scream-a-palooza-nurse-a-thon), all we had was a huge hunk of meat with not a veggie in sight. Should we just sit around with forks poking into a steaming crock pot in the middle of the table? Probably not.
I’m seriously wondering if I will ever be able to get dinner on the table again. Please share your easiest one dish meals, tricks, hacks, or tips to see me through the next few weeks (months?!)!
Quesadillas are easy, with salsa and some diced avocado. Hummus and avocado with pretzels or pita chips. Pasta too! I like the Barilla yellow box and for sauce I will reheat frozen cubes of my homemade (pre-made) veg sauce (roast any veggies you like with olive oil at 400-450 degrees for around 30 min, then puree with a box or Pomi tomato sauce so it’s not so chunky–then I freeze it as cubes and keep a bag in the freezer) mixed with some Pomi tomato sauce. Add some grated parm and fruit and it’s done. Grilled cheese (with or without tomato soup), soup and crackers, fried rice (I make rice early in the day if I can, then cook some frozen veggies and a couple eggs, toss it all together in a pan with lite soy sauce and that’s it), and breakfast for dinner. I like to cook pancakes ahead of time and freeze them so they are ready at a moments notice, or I make scrambled eggs and toast with fruit.
Wow. This is a wonderful outpouring from our community and I totally appreciate it. I’m just sitting down to the computer after a crappy dinner hour and I love reading all these tips. A-MA-ZING!
Let me add that hot dogs (fancy kosher or fearless franks) are a 3 minute meal.
I’m going to put more in the crock pot, stock up on frozen veggies, lower my standards, order pizza, do a weekly “big cook”, AND get my big boys to help. Right after I eat these Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for dinner.
http://suddenlystayathome.blogspot.com/2009/07/chicken-pot-pie.html
Chicken Pot Pie can totally be prepared ahead of time, then put in the oven when you are ready. I feel your pain!!!!!
This was my family’s super easy meal when I was growing up:
Curried Tuna over Noodles
(my mom always set aside a non-curry bit for me)
- boil water for pasta
- add egg noodles or spiral pasta or whatever you have on hand (though not spaghetti)
- open 2 large cans of tuna and drain. Even easier, get those pouches of tuna. Add to a saucepan with 2 cans of cream of mushroom or 1 can COM and 1 can cream of chicken soup. (there are many variations here … some branches of our family swear by cream of celery)
- heat over med/low heat, stirring occasionally. Add curry to taste (I use lots of curry)
- chop some fresh cherry tomatoes and English or persian cucumber. Put in small bowls so the kids can have fun serving themselves.
- here’s how to plate it: buttered noodles, curry sauce on top, cold tomatoes & cukes on top of that.
- if you are feeling really fancy, roasted sunflower seeds on top and chutney on the side.
It sounds weird, I know, but it’s yummy. Even my husband likes it and he didn’t grow up with it.
crockpot pork chops!! throw the following in your crockpot: frozen chops, 2 cups of uncooked rice, one can of mushrooms, and then fill with water. you can start this early in the morning or even the night before. this is the best dish in the world! and best of all, its super easy!
i also am a mom of 2 under 2 so i totally feel your pain. dinner time is the worst time of day for moms.
I’m only slightly ashamed to say I’ve relied on stouffer’s frozen family size Mac n cheese once a week since you know who arrived. I don’t eat beef, otherwise I’d probably throw one of their lasagnas in the rotation too.
The boy gets frozen peas on top (in smiley face or a letter shape for bonus points) and we have salad on the side.
I cook 4 chicken breasts at a time in the crock pot and eat off them for lunches and dinners.
Trader joes pizzas and salad.
Turkey chili: dump one package of turkey in pot, add two cans of stewed tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, stabbing at the meat to break it up.
Drain (but don’t rinse, takes too long) 2 cans of black beans & 2 cans of kidney beans (or pinto, whatever). Simmer a minimum 15 minutes (covered so it doesn’t dry out). I add frozen corn about 5 minutes before serving cuz I like that. Serve with shred cheese and sour cream.
Oh and I feed my kid a boatload of yummy brand chicken nuggets. I also bought a 5 pound bag of tater tots. (TOTS!) So yes, lower your expectations. You can get back to crunchy granola foodie girl in ehhh six months?
i forgot to add that you use the boneless chops because theres less danger involved! also, add 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and some thyme when u add the water.
Frozen ravioli with spaghetti sauce, steam some pre-chopped broccoli, and you’re good to go!
Also – do you have a Baby Bjorn or sling? Something that can free up your hands while you’re still holding the baby can make a huge difference. I’ve recently broken out the Ergo to side-carry my 19-mo-old who is very clingy after daycare pick-up (which is right when I must be cooking dinner or he will explode with hunger rage by 6:30).
From the Southern Girl: put boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a crock pot (frozen is okay, too), add a jar of good BBQ sauce, and if you’re feeling particularly culinary, a sliced onion. Cook for 6-8 hours and serve on a toasted buttered bun with a bread and butter pickle. (The chicken just falls apart into shreds in the crock pot.) Side dish: peas with pearl onions in the microwave. My son likes to dip the chicken in ketchup and won’t eat the pearl onions.
A crockpot is a staple in my house. 15 minutes of prep in the morning and that’s it for the day. English muffin pizzas and Cesar salad is kid friendly quick meal in my house. Try to buy pre packaged salads and vegetables if you can,
90% of prep work is chopping and cutting. Also, make a meal plan and try to do all the prep work ahead of time. I can literally have dinner made, served, and cleaned up in less than an hour if I need to. But, there is nothing wrong with serving kid food, it’s fast, easy, and they love it.
Breakfast for supper! Scrambled eggs and toast; bowls of cereal; pancakes…all quick and easy. I did this once a week when my boys were small.
Leftovers make another quick and easy supper. Create a leftover menu (which can be a dry erase board on the fridge) and play “diner.” Let the older kids help reheat, set the table, take “orders,” serve and clean up. If you use paper products for leftover night, clean up takes only a few minutes.
It took me weeks after my son was born to get back to cooking! Here’s what helped me:
ravioli & marinara on desperate nights (add a bag of baby spinach to the sauce for veggies)
I chop up all of my salad and snacking veggies for the week on the weekend when my son is napping and/or fiance can take over childcare duties. I keep each veg in it’s own tupperware so things don’t get soggy, but it only takes clean hands, a bowl and 2 minutes to prepare a large salad (it can be a side or I usually have shredded cheese, hardboiled eggs and poached chicken or canned tuna on hand to make it a meal–this was particularly good in the summer)
Beef stew in the crockpot (with extra carrots and mushrooms for a healthy dose of veggies)
Use baby carrots and pre-prepared veggies. Whole frozen string beans, frozen broccoli crowns and frozen pepper/onion mix are great for sides or recipes because they require little effort and prep. They are also amongst the tastiest of the frozen options.
In 15 minutes, I can toss together a stir fry with frozen stir fry veggie blend and either shrimp or diced chicken, pork or shrimp. It takes longer for the rice cooker to do it’s magic or the pasta water to boil (if we decide we prefer lo mein). Use a jarred asian-style sauce.
Scrambled eggs and toast. Essential protein and carbs.
Oh wow, you sound like you have a lot going! Not to mention you have all that going on, plus this awesome blog that you are constantly taking care of. You are doing a great job!
I know its more ideal to have the “made from scratch version” but I am a huge fan of the skillet pasta dinners that Bertolli makes, the Safeway versions are great too. Pair that with a steam in the bag via microwave veggie and perhaps some garlic toast and that it usually my go-to dinner for when I just don’t have the time or energy to make a full on meal. (These meals also got me through my first trimester when I was too sick to smell the food for too long and had zero energy because they only take about 10 mins or less to cook.)
Good luck!
Try crock pot lasagna (which i think that I originally found through a link on your site?). No cutting, slicing, oven opening, etc.
ricotta cheese
pesto sauce
parmasan cheese
raw noodles
pasta sauce (I prefer tomato basil)
shredded italian cheese
fresh spinach
Mix ricotta, pesto and parmasan. Set aside. coat the bottom of crock pot with sauce. Layer noodles, spinach, ricotta mixture, shredded chese, sauce. Repeat. Cook on high for 2 hours.
Good Luck!
I didn’t see anyone else write about this, forgive me if someone has, but someone just told me about this wonderful site and I am signing up for it: e-mealz.com. You pay $5 a month for an easy menu each night-they give you the recipes and the shopping list and you can choose what kind of meal plan you want to sign up for: Walmart Family Plan, Kroger Family Plan, Lowfat, Vegetarian, etc. The recipes are quick and easy and make going to the grocery store and getting dinner on the table less of a nightmare. Check out their site–I was impressed!
2 of my favorite things to do:
1) Spend one afternoon on the weekend and just chop up veggies of various sorts and put in a couple of ziplock bags. We love broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, grape or cherry tomatoes. Whenever I need veggies for dinner, throw one of the bags on a cookie sheet, toss with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast for 20 min at 400 degrees. EASY! Or throw in a frying pan and saute.
2) My favorite easy go to meal is to take some of these roasted veggies, pasta and parmesan cheese. Easy and can be done, start to finish in 20 minutes.
* I have also found that soup/stew/chili is a great thing that makes TONS of leftovers for hurried nights.
With my new work schedule, I’ve had to plan for dinners that we can either completely make in the slow cooker (like Turkey Chili) or come together faster than fast. Our new favorites are:
Mexi Bowls (we bought a rice cooker to make this even easier)
Scrambled eggs
Quesadillas
Sausage in a Blanket
Pasta
I try to keep some bottled marinades in the pantry as well as the 60 sec microwave rice pouches (TJ’s has a good one). Then I just have to pour the marinade over chicken or fish, stick the rice in the microwave, and cook some frozen veggies. That covers me for dinner once a week usually with leftovers.
Easy Meal #1: (1) Make ravioli (or any stuffed pasta). (2) Cook a protein…I usually sautee sliced chicken sausage, but any cooked ground meat can work. (3) Put ravioli plus meat plus a jar of sauce in a casserole dish (add a veggie too if you’d like). (4) Top with mozzerella cheese. (5) Bake in oven until cheese is bubbly.
Easy Meal #2: Take about 1/4 of a large jar of salsa and cover the bottom of a baking dish. Put chicken on top (I prefer the tenderloin cut for this, but any boneless chicken cut would work). Cover with remaining salsa. Pop it in the oven until the meat thermometer says it’s at 165. Take it out and serve over rice or with beans.
[...] I sent out my plea for help getting dinner on the table last fall, the author Debbie Koenig got in touch and sent me an almost-complete version of Parents [...]
[...] hour and three young children, I needed help. You, dear readers, gave me a heap of good ideas for shortcut meal prep. But, I could only get so far with lowering my standards. Truthfully, I needed at least three [...]