Monday, February 7, 2011
What's for dinner?
We all dread this question. I feel a special hatred for it because of our crazy schedules. Zach works from 2:30 to 11pm so he's not home for dinner four nights a week. I have a 3 year old that is super picky and still eats like a bird if it's something he does like. So basically, four times a week I'm cooking for the equivalent of one. Also, I deliver meds at 5:30, so I can't start dinner until 6pm. Sam insists on eating between 6:30 and 7 each night. (I'm very good at eating dinner one handed.) Throw in baths and bed times, and I need something fast, but good. Good means good tasting and reasonably healthy. I admit, too many times I resort to chicken nuggets or corn dogs for Austin and whatever I can scrounge for me. Not that healthy. I would love any ideas, suggestions, recipes, or web sites that you guys have as a go to. And is there anyone out there like me, making dinner for one on a consistent basis? What do you do?
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3 comments:
I SOO hear you on this. Eric is gone, well, all the time. We RARELY have family dinners.
Here are a couple of my fav's, although they are kind of specific to items on hand.
Spaghetti w/frozen veggies. Simple, and fairly well-rounded. Add in a glass of milk or put cheese on the spaghetti.
Pizza. Homemade, that is. I make up a bunch of these on one night. We eat one and I throw the rest into individual gallon sized freezer bags. Then we have GOOD pizza whenever. It's as quick as a reheat in the oven (actually the convection oven, since I make them in pie pan sizes so they fit perfectly in the freezer bag and Con. Ov.).
Chimichangas/Sweet Pork Burritos/Chicken Burritos. My mom canned a bunch of different meats and they are the presto-zippy dinners for me now. I take a jar of whatever meat and add salsa (usually homemade b/c I'm picky like that about salsa) and a couple other seasonings depending on which entree. Wheat tortilla (to pretend I'm health conscious), cheese, even lettuce and toms if I have them on hand. The kids mostly just eat the insides anyway, and I'm cool with that.
Bean burritos/chips and dip. Make up a pan of beans (homemade, again), portion them out in freezer bags, I have burritos as fast as it takes to thaw/warm the frozen beans.
Burger patties....can never go wrong there.
"Waterless" fried chicken. No added oil. cooks in it's own fat and the kids LOVE it!
Okay, maybe I have a few more ideas than I thought I did. If you want "exact" recipes, give me an email and I'll send you what I have.
Oh! Taco soup. Taco bake. Chicken and rice. Beef tips and rice...the latter two, again, from the canned meats my mom brought.
wow, my comment is not going to be quite so lengthy. i was just going to tell you that i feel your pain. ever since we've been married, andy has worked pretty much all day so i never really got into the "habit" of cooking. after 5 1/2 years, i'm just barely beginning to actually come up with something on a consistent basis. bigoven.com is a great recipe finder, but only if you like leftovers. if you don't, you're kinda stuck with cereal and baked chicken. good luck!
I've been trying out making meals and then freezing some of them so when I have a 12 hour shift here, Chad has something to eat. So maybe when Zach is home, then take leftovers and freeze them. I also recently have try to reorganize myself so my house is better, and coming up with a calendar and filling in what meals to have which night has helped the guess work out of coming up with dinner ideas. I had been notorious for having Chad come home and I say leftovers or frozen pizzas. YuMMy don't those sound tasty. Also tried a new recipe this week that makes 4 loaves of bread, or I'm doing a loaf of bread, a bagette, a pizza dough, and breadstick out of it. And it sits in the fridge til your ready!! Let me know if you're interested.
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