Monthly Food Prep/menu for Time Saving Evenings

I feel exactly the same as you. I have a 20 month old and I have probably 15 minutes after I get home to make something before there is a meltdown because she's hungry. Plus, I'm trying to do Weight Watchers and that is the worst time for me because I'm hungry, too. What I'm going to try crock pot dinners. I have the cookbook "Fix It and Forget It" and I plan on trying some recipes from there. You could try crock pot dinners and freeze leftovers for another day. Most servings are 6-8.
Good luck!

Hi J.. We both work full-time as well and our son is 14 months (tomorrow). I am in the same boat as you but I have come up with a few things that help. Every Sunday I make something that has leftovers--a casserole or pork loin. Then Monday night I put together something for the next day--marinate chicken or put beef stew in the crockpot. That gets us to Thursday's dinner which is usually a make on the fly--pasta (easy) or shake-n-bake or hamburgers and veggie burgers. Friday's are easier for me because I work from home so I have all day to figure it out :-)
I hope this helps. Oh, there is a great recipe for Bruschetta Chicken on the back of the Stovetop stuffing box/can. We eat that at least twice a month.

Hi J.! I noticed that someone already mentioned SavingDinner.com and I would just like to say that it is absolutely amazing! You can choose from any number of options for the types of menus you would like to use and they will send it right to your e-mail each week. Or you can even purchase a collection of recipes for meals to prepare and freeze ahead of time. They have also just started including with each weekly mailing, breakfast, lunch and snack menus for the week, which keeps me eating relatively healthy throughout the day w/out really having to think too much. I hope this helps!
~ C.

When I was a kid my mom had a "Master Menu" that she lived by. It was 30 different main dishes, listed with main ingredients and the cookbook name & page. She could just grab it and go to the store. It kept us from eating the same thing over and over again. Spaghetti was on the menu only once a month!

I finally followed her example this fall and wrote one up for our family. Our daughter is just now three, and we both work. We don't have a lot of time to devote to dinner on weeknights. Some of the recipes are geared more toward adults (spicy, etc), but could be revamped for younger palates.

We aren't big on carbs (my husband doesn't care for them, my waistline doesn't do well on them), so our menu is pretty strong on protein and veggies and almost no pasta or rice.

I've tried the crockpot, but we are out of the house for too long (7:30 AM to almost 7 PM) and things would burn or dry out.

Anyhow, this is the list of main dishes from our master menu. It is five weeks worth of meals. I keep it in a spread sheet w/ suggested sides, list of ingredients, cook book info, and approximate time to prepare.

pot roast or BBQ ribs
flank steak
chutney chicken
shrimp w/ tomatoes and spinach
turkey or chicken sausages
sloppy joes
baked pasta

roast chicken or rotisserie chickens
pork chops
jambalaya
lamb chops
quesadillas
stir fry
catfish

meat loaf or pizza
pork tenderloin
BBQ chicken
mexican skillet
veggie burgers
stromboli
tuna steaks

chili or brats/hot dogs
crab cakes
cranberry chicken
beef stroganoff
chicken parmesan
ham steak
salmon

beef stew or cheese burgers
lemony chicken
italian sausage & peppers
hurry curry
kebabs
turkey burgers
cranberry meatloaves

Try this recipie-
3 boneless/skinless chicken boobs
1 bag frozen broccoli, thawed
1 can of cheese soup
1 box of stove top
Cube and boil chicken until cook through, place on bottom of casarole pan and put broccoli over it. Pour soup over that. Cook stove top according to directions on box then put stove top over broccoli, chicken and soup. Bake 375 for about 40 minutes or until top is brown and sides bubble. It is great to make extras and freeze and kids love it. It is also healthier than most casaroles. You can sub the soup for broth, just use a little in the bottom, about 1 cup to keep it moist. It isn't too hard to prep, the owrst part is cubing up the chicken. I cook the stove top while i am cooking the chicken

Not so much a freeze ahead and pull out but a really easy, really fast one in a pinch that my family loves

1 box whole wheat penne pasta
1 can black olives, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package pesto sauce mix
Parmesan cheese to garnish
Cook pesto and noodles according to package and mix it all together and it's ready in 15 minutes!
Of course you could sub fresh olives, freshly diced tomato, and make your own pesto ahead of time and keep on hand in the fridge for this and other meals:
4 cloves crushed garlic
4 cups packed basil leaves
6 TBS fresh parmesan
1 TBS pine nuts
2/3 to 1 Cup olive oil
Coarse salt
Blend in food processor until desired consistency.

Good luck!
S.

I gotta share this (easy) one because it's a big hit with the kids, and soooooo easy.
Take 12 pieces of string cheese (I use 6 & cut in 1/2)- and wrap each piece in a slice of deli ham (again, I use 1/2 piece)- then put each wrapped string cheese inside an uncooked manicotti shell. Add 3/4 cup of water to a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce- and pour over the manicotti. (Be sure to pour a bit in the pan before placing the uncooked shells in). Cover tightly and bake for 50 minutes-1 hour on 350. Toss up a salad and viola! you're done and (hopefully) everyone is happy!
You could prepare this in the am, and then just pop it into the oven when you get home. Good Luck, I think we all find ourselves in this rut pretty often- especially if you have picky kids!

J.,

My husband is usually the one who cooks, but one of the things that we do that saves him time is to buy large packs of meat periodiaclly (whenever he sees it on sale). Then we freeze it in bags, pre-seasoned/marinated in portions for us (whatever works for your family). We buy the bottles of marinates from the grocery store, too. He takes out what he is going to use the night before, or in the morning and puts it in the fridge. As it thaws, the seasoning flavors the meat, and it is ready to cook. Then he just has the sides to worry about. Just don't forget to mark what seasonings you put on the meat when you put the date on it :o) We have done that before and had the mystery dinner. This works for chicken, pork, and beef. Most meals cook in under 30min once the meat is prep'ed.

Enjoy...

S.

We all seem to be in high gear with activity in the evenings as Moms whether stay at home or working. We all need a plan for dinner. I have discovered FlyLady.com and through it savingdinner.com. There are some terrific ideas there and excellent menus. I usually have dinner on the table in an hour. Most of planning is done which can be a major hurdle. Try the website. The trial menus are for free and you can always buy the saving dinner book.

J.,
Try doing the meat in a crock pot. Set it up in the morning before you leave for work, then all you have to do is steam up some veggies when you get home. If you've never used a crock pot, there are some great cookbooks out there.
That saved me so much hassle when I was working full time.
K.

Have you tried using a crock pot? They are absolutely wonderful, and the recipes can be as simple or complicated as you like. You can set everything up the night before, throw it in the refrigerator, and then plug it in before you leave in the AM. There are tons of great magazines, books and websites you can visit. Try the library or www.foodnetwork.com and just keyword "crock pot."

Something you might want to try is 'Once A Month Cooking' or 'Freezer Meals'. I used to do this (before my Mom moved in with us) and it's very like 'Let's Dish' except you do it yourself at home. You pick one day a month and cook meals, then store them in your freezer. When you get home from work, you pull a meal out and cook it! All done! There are lots of web resources out there for this. Good luck!

I absolutely LOVE E-mealz. You can check them out at www.e-mealz.com and they are amazing. It gives you a week of meals, plus a grocery list organized by store! The meals are really good and they try and have a variety each week of chicken, beef, fish, crock pot, ect. Most of the meals are very easy to make. You can choose regular meals, low fat, weight watchers etc. And you can choose portions for 2-3 people or 6-8. It has really simplified my life and helped us save money too. I find that we waste less food with a meal plan and a grocery list. I buy less extra and throw away leftovers less too. I looked into the "Super Suppers" and those kinds of places, but they were a bit pricier than I was wanting. This costs less than $2 a week. I figure the time it used to take me to plan meals and make a grocery list is worth way more than that. I hope this helps!

There are loads of recipes on-line, I like food network and most sites are free. If you don't already, I would definetly get a slow-cooker/crock pot. Throw it in in the morning and by that night you are good to go. Good luck.

I would highly recommend a meal prep place like Let's Dish. I started using it about two months ago and it has revolutionized my life. You spend about 1 1/2 hours once a month at their store. I go with a friend and we split the 12 meal package. That way we each get to choose six meals and then I split those into two three-serving portions. My husband, who is the pickiest eater I know, has proclaimed some of their dishes as delicious and has happily eaten everything I've ever brought home. The best part is that you almost completely eliminate grocery shopping, food prep and cleanup in the kitchen and stress at supper time. Most things take one to two pots or pans and that's it. Anyhow, I can't say enough about it.

G.

I agree with Mary 100% You need a CROCK POT!!!! I got mine for my wedding and it sat in the box until I was on maternity leave, and about 2 weeks before I went back to work I took it out. It is FABULOUS. You can make BBQ chicken, stews, meatsauce, meatballs, and dinner is all ready and warm as soon as you get home!!!

I am a new mother of boy/girl twins and plan on going back to work soon, so this topic is one I am very interested in. I watch a lot of the food network and a quick easy way to prepare different veges is to sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper and put them in the oven on 350 to 375. This works for little baby potatoes also. You can add other herbs if you like. I've tried asparagus, zucchini, green beans and a medley of different peppers and the little small onions. Almost no prep time and its fast and healthy! I also plan on marinating different meats and freezing and then thawing and putting them on the George Foreman. I bought Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meal's cookbook (I love Rachel Ray, but don't really think her meals can be cooked in 30 minutes at least I can't do it). Miller's book has a lot of good ideas like freezing already chopped veges to be reheated or used at a later date. I'm trying to get myself organized to do this. That is the key.

menus4moms.com

we've been following it for 3 months now. has saved us and the food is fantastic. there is an archive of 4 years worth of weekly menus, recipes, and one page shopping lists to take to the store. we have a three year old and twin 10 month olds and it has been a God send!

A really quick side is grated zucchini (or yellow squash) - just grate on the large side of a box grater (the side you would normally use for shredding cheese). Put a small amount of oil or melt butter in a pan and cook for about three minutes until the zucchini is wilted. Season to taste. You can try calling it dinosaur swamp vegetable and standing up dino nuggets and broccoli trees in it too!

The casserole below is probably one to cook on a weekend and stash in the freezer. You can use any ground meat you like - ground pork can be a bit hard to find so I often use turkey. I usually make two at once.

Aunt Emily's Casserole - Serves 4-6

8 oz noodles (pasta twists will work fine but I think the original idea was to use German/kosher style egg noodles)
1 lb ground beef
8 oz ground pork
1 medium onion
15 1/4 oz Campbells condensed tomato soup (can also use cream of tomato)
2 oz Philadelphia cream cheese, cubed (your "cubes" will be artistic lumps, really, which is fine - also, if you are lactose intolerant, soya cream cheese substitute e.g. Tofutti works just as well)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper (I omit the salt as, for my taste, there is plenty in the soup)
4 oz mushrooms sliced

Heat oven to 350F. Cook the pasta in water as directed on package, drain, and put in ovenproof, 4 pint casserole (preferably with a lid). Meanwhile brown meat in large frying pan and add onions. Cook until onions slightly softened.
Add remaining ingredients (do NOT dilute the soup) and pour over pasta. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Freezes very well and seems popular with most kids.

Happy eating.

J.

I also make a vegetable to keep in the fridge so my 19 month old can eat something healthy while he's waiting for dinner. He doesn't like plain veggies, but will eat green bean caserole, sweet potato bake, salad, etc.

it's not monthly, but I receive a weekly email with menu, recipes & shopping list to print out from www.menus4moms.com & love it. It often gives you tips & recipes that you can double & freeze for easy thaw & cook later. It gives you tips on ways to cook healthier. And it's all free!

I'm a big fan of the crock pot. I do something simple, like a whole chicken or pot roast with some onions, carrots, and potatoes, in the morning and that way I know we have a good and healthy dinner already cooking during the day. There are a lot of crock pot recipe books and recipes on line if you want more ideas. Easy pork BBQ and corned beef and cabbage (you don't have to wait for St. Patty's Day!) are other easy and good ones in the crock pot.

I totally agree about the crockpot too. I brought mine, just for that reason and I love it. You can either prepare your dinner while your sleeping at night or while your at work and when you get home it's done. All you will have to do is fix some sides and that should only take a few minutes and it's nothing like smelling your food when you walk through the door.

Like I am sure you have done, whenever I make something on the weekends I always make 2, one to have for dinner and one for the freezer. I also brown ground beef/turkey and freeze in ~1 lb containers then dinner can be super fast. And doing the Let's Dish, Supper Supers, Dream Dinners, Cena to Go etc... type places are great for filling in between and giving you added variety. There are some great fill you freezer websites and I love using the crock pot. Marinating things like flank steak, and chicken then tossing them in the freezer is also super easy too. Good Luck, I can't wait to read all of the replies!

My way around this is to cook several larger items on the weekend, like a chicken, ham or pork or beef roast, then use the left overs in a "concoction" during the week. You can also roast a turkey or half ham and freeze the meat in one meal packets. They will keep for over 6 months.

A rice cooker is a great way to have one veggie quickly prepared, and doing a stir fry with the left overs and a lot of veggies is very fast. You can season the stir fry in many ways, not only oriental but also with Worchestershire sauce, barbeque sauce, or any other seasoning you can think of.

These are not "pre-made" meals, but the fixings that you can vary every week as you like. The rice is the only constant, and not required if you want to substitute corn. If you add the corn to the stir fry, it becomes a one pot meal.