[stosh]

My wife and I both work and for the most part dinner doesn't even get put on till 5pm. Our schedules are never the same from week to week so we are constantly struggling to find time to cook and end up eating "to go" food more than we would like.

We need to eat dinner early enough so we can eat with our daughter and have time to enjoy with her.

I know we're not alone in this struggle, what do all the other families out there do?

Lastly, any good, healthy, QUICK, meal suggestions? (non-fish)

 

[SkaredShtles]

Have everything chopped up and ready to go for the next day's dinner. This will increase your workload in the evening, but it works.

Better option is for one not to work.

 

[narlus]

Better option is for one not to work.

and if you don't work for long enough, you'll eventually have to stop eating. problem solved!

 

[stinkyboy]

Grill several chicken breasts on sunday and have veggies on hand. Make a salad, throw stuff in a wok, whatever during the week.

Next week, choose a different meat, repeat.

It can get boring by the end of the week, so increase the spices, hot sauce towards the end of the week and you'll be living stinkystyle!

 

[Serial Midget]

See if the wife's employer has a flex-time option. If she can get off by 3:00pm she'd have plenty of time to drop by the grocery store, pick the kid up from daycare and have your meal on the table when you get home at 5 o'clock.

 

[TreeSaw]

I do something similar to Stinkboy's suggestion. I tend to try and plan my meals out over the weekend and then cook once and use the fruits of my labor twice (i.e. grill twice the chicken I need so I have enough for 2-3 meals) then make my sides the day of. It takes a little more planning and some prep on the weekend, but it's worth it when I have a long day at work and little time to cook. For example, I might cook twice as much chicken on the grill and then use some in a pasta or coucous dish the next night and then use whatever's left for chicken salad pitas or Chicken Caesar salad. We also have breakfast for dinner some nights (fruit topped waffles, pancakes, omelets, etc).

When I do have time, I tend to make double (lasagne, pasta sauces, chili, etc.) and freeze then in meal-sized portions that I can thaw overnight and reheat for dinner.

 

[dante]

I was going to suggest not having kids, but my wife suggests crock-pot meals. Between that and the automatic rice-cooker, you can cook food all day (pork loin + jar of salsa for example) and it'll be ready as soon as the rice is cooked (which you can start and then leave alone for the 20-45min that it takes to cook).

 

[arboc!]

grilled cheese and some sort of soup is always a quick fix

 

[stosh]

grilled cheese and some sort of soup is always a quick fix

Ha we do eat that a lot during the winter.

 

[stosh]

Thanks to everybody for your suggestions.

 

[TN]

beer.

 

[SkaredShtles]

beer.

Don't forget the cheese curds.

 

[KavuRider]

beer.

Yup, beer.

 

[pnj]

It takes planing to do it well.

Sit down with the lady and make a list of foods that you both like. Make a list of those that use the same or similar ingrediants.

Make a list of what meals you want to have for each day of the week. such as, Monday-Tacos. Tuesday-lasagne, Wed-Whatever, etc

On Sunday, you can prep anything you may need, to speed up the process. Cook a bunch of chicken/pork/whatever, cut veggies, lay out the pantry so items you need are easy to grab and in some sort of order.

Also, you can make and freeze great meals. I often make 30 plus burritos and freeze them in bags of two. Come home, throw a few in the oven and dinner is served.

 

[Greyhound]

Dinner doesn't get put on until 5? You guys should just head over to the sizzler and hit the early bird special with the senior citizens. :biggrin:

We're lucky if we eat by 9pm. Too much playtime after work to worry about eating so early.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Dinner doesn't get put on until 5?

"Early" dinner for us is 6:30.

As long as you have meat and fresh veggies in the house, there are about a million things you can cook that take less than 30 minutes to prepare:

Pasta and meat sauce
Pizza on Boboli shells
Stir fry chicken, beef or shrimp
Pasta primavera
meatloaf
oven baked chicken (can be prepared a hundred different ways)

etc etc etc

Keep practicing and you'll get better at it.

 

[stosh]

Dinner doesn't get put on until 5? You guys should just head over to the sizzler and hit the early bird special with the senior citizens. :biggrin:

We're lucky if we eat by 9pm. Too much playtime after work to worry about eating so early.

Do you eat with your son at 9pm?
It's important to us that the 3 of us sit down for dinner together.

 

[Serial Midget]

Do you eat with your son at 9pm?
It's important to us that the 3 of us sit down for dinner together.

Meh, absentee parent guilt can't be made any better by an early dinner. You should quit your jobs and raise your child in a commune.

 

[TN]

^

 

[laura]

beer.

He says this because I do all the cooking.

I do do a lot of cooking on the weekends so that I have food ready for during the week. Soups go a long way. Pasta is easy and quick. If I make a meal with rice, I double or triple the rice and save it for left overs, fried rice, soup, burritos. Pizza dough is awesome to have on hand, even if you have to cut up the toppings it will only take about 15 minutes to prep. Learning to make a killer sandwich will save many dinners.


Caseroles can last forever (although with two people they can get old pretty fast) and you can make two and freeze one for later while you are cooking. You need a lot of baking dishes for that. What job do you have that you are starting dinner by five. I'm not even in the door by five.

 

[TN]

he Says This Because I Do All The Cooking.

lies!

 

[stosh]

He says this because I do all the cooking.

I do do a lot of cooking on the weekends so that I have food ready for during the week. Soups go a long way. Pasta is easy and quick. If I make a meal with rice, I double or triple the rice and save it for left overs, fried rice, soup, burritos. Pizza dough is awesome to have on hand, even if you have to cut up the toppings it will only take about 15 minutes to prep. Learning to make a killer sandwich will save many dinners.


Caseroles can last forever (although with two people they can get old pretty fast) and you can make two and freeze one for later while you are cooking. You need a lot of baking dishes for that. What job do you have that you are starting dinner by five. I'm not even in the door by five.

Thanks for the great advice Laura!

 

[laura]

I thought of a couple of other thigns for you last night, although they could have been posted already.

Whole roasted chickens from the grocery are fabulous. Canned beans come in really handy too. (black beans, refried beans, pinto and kidney are the ones I use the most of)

If you eat tofu, it is a super quick protien (although we've found marinating it for DAYS makes it much better).

Shrimp and rice, shrimp and grits, shrimp stir fry all can be fixed in under 30 minutes.

I really like canned tuna and salmon. I make tuna/salmon salad or make tuna/salmon patties (think crab cake). All super easy and you can keep canned stuff forever so it's good to fall back on when there is nothing else in the house.

Eggs make great dinner dishes. We have this awesome stewed egg dish that I think was originally called Mexican eggs because of the spice choice but we tweak it to whatever we have. All it takes is canned tomatoes cooked into a nice sauce however you want to flavor it. Then you crack the eggs in to "nests" in the sauce and bake it for 15-20 minutes or until the eggs set. Serve it with tortillas/rice/pasta/mashed potatoes/perogis ets. Super fast, super easy.

Omlettes are fast and can be done 3 million ways, so are fritattas.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Don't forget Indian stuff - if you can find this stuff locally it's quite good... and fast:

I generally add some onions and peppers to give it some extra veg. Cook some basmati rice with it (I add tumeric to the rice while it's cooking) and you have a quick, easy meal.

 

[Mattoid]

I suggest you give a slow cooker (crock pot) a try. There are tons of great recipes and prep time and effort are minimal. You turn it on as you leave for work and it cooks all day. When you get home from work your house smells great and dinner is ready to go. I'm a big fan of slow cooker bbq myself (I use this cookbook: Cheater BBQ).

And obviously, make enough for left overs for later in the week or lunches.

+1 for the Indian food, but make your own sauces. They are very easy to make and the pre-made simmer sauces are pricey, though very convenient.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>
+1 for the Indian food, but make your own sauces. They are very easy to make and the pre-made simmer sauces are pricey, though very convenient.

Making your own sauce is recommended... however at $2.99 per bottle it ain't gonna get done much around a house with 2 working parents.

 

[stosh]

I suggest you give a slow cooker (crock pot) a try. There are tons of great recipes and prep time and effort are minimal. You turn it on as you leave for work and it cooks all day. When you get home from work your house smells great and dinner is ready to go. I'm a big fan of slow cooker bbq myself (I use this cookbook: Cheater BBQ).

And obviously, make enough for left overs for later in the week or lunches.

+1 for the Indian food, but make your own sauces. They are very easy to make and the pre-made simmer sauces are pricey, though very convenient.

ahhhh no free online recipes....

 

[laura]

Gourmet slow cooker

Use your library for cookbooks. Ours has an amazing collection.

 

[Serial Midget]

Gourmet slow cooker

Use your library for cookbooks.

If he had time to visit teh libary he'd proly have time to cook.

 

[laura]

If he had time to visit teh libary he'd proly have time to cook.

If you can get dinner started at 5.00 pm, you have time to cook and go to the library.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Do you eat with your son at 9pm?
It's important to us that the 3 of us sit down for dinner together.

Go shopping for the week on sat or Sunday have a fully stocked fridge. Have set meals planed so when you walk in the door at 5 you can start making dinner. A normal meal shouldn't take longer than 45 minutes to prepare. It is also important for our family to sit down together. It's VERY easy to do and you'll be eating by 6:30 at the latest.