Attention All Worker Bee's! Need "Make Ahead" Dinner Ideas!

LongMom

So one of my biggest challenges is the evening. I'm a working mom with two very small girls (1 1/2 and 3 1/2) and I get home fairly late in the evening (6pm). Every day I'm left scrambling to cook something really quick because they have to be fed right away. Cooking on the fly for me usually means opening a can of something or popping some frozen foods into the oven.

So please help me out and post some good healthy "Make Ahead" dinners! I'd love to try some casserols etc. or if you've had success just getting things prepped in advance I'd love to hear your ideas. Ideally, I'd like to be one of those uber organized mom's who cook everything for the week on Sunday

Thanks in advance!

WickedFit

Here is one I made last night. I seasoned come chicken breast...i use cajun seasonings and red pepper too but you can use whatever you like. Then put all the chicken breast in a ziplock and pour in just enough ranch to give the chicken a nice coating. Put in fridge for 20 minutes (you can start getting sides ready while you do this salad, veggies, etc) Then I take the chicken out of the bag. For my husband I bread his with a crispy shake and bake mixture...because that's how he likes it and he has no need to watch his calorie intake. Then for mine I slice an onion into thin strips and lay it over the breast. Bake for about 20 minutes at 400. The reason I like this so much is it is easy to make it a meal that everyone can eat.

WickedFit

Do you like salmon? Or tuna steak?

catherine1979

I make a lot of stir fry. You can have the veggies and meat ready to go in the fridge, Just sautee the meat a little, add some veggies, and while that's going on you can have your rice or noodles cooking. It takes literally 15 minutes to have a fresh, healthy supper on the table.

simmonsntz

I too got home late for years. I've been on my new schedule for three weeks and its amazing what getting home at 4:30 instead of six will do for your family. Things I've done are to prepare a couple meals on the weekend. My kids will do leftovers so Chili, Legumes, etc go over just fine. We also do grilled chicken and steak during the week with grilled veggies. You can take boneless skinless chicken breast and put them in a zip lock bag with a little Italian Dressing and then take one out each night per person and bake or grill. Change the side dishes to make dinner seem different each night.

Crockpots are great for pot roast and a whole chicken. I did a pot roast last week and poured in a can of mushroom and roasted garlic soup, a can of beef stock and a bag of veggies (snow peas, potatoes, tri-colored peppers). This was the best meal we've had in forever and it was totally random.

The key is prep! Good luck...

DrBorkBork

I'm all about quick! Here's a few of my easy recipes.

SHREDDED CHICKEN TACO SALAD

Toss the following into crock pot/slow cooker:
1 ea. Red, orange, yellow, green bell peppers, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (you can pick out flavors for extra zest. We have diced tomatoes with lime & cilantro at our store)
1 can reduced sodium kidney beans
1 packet taco seasoning
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

Cook on low for 10 hours, or high for 5. At the end, use 2 forks to shred chicken apart. Serve over shredded lettuce with tortilla chips, and all your favorite taco salad fixins, or roll up in flour tortillas, fajita style.


TURKEY CHILI

1 lb ground turkey
1 can reduced sodium kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes (preferably flavored, as in above recipe)
1 packet mild chili seasoning

Brown ground turkey in pan. Drain & rinse if necessary. Return to pan, add diced tomatoes, kidney beans, and seasoning. Simmer 20 mins. Serve with shredded cheese & tortilla chips if desired.


HOMEMADE SUPREMELY AWESOME PIZZA

You can either buy your crust, or make this low sodium one I found:
2 t Active dry yeast
3 1/2 c Bread Flour
1 1/2 c Water
2 t Honey
2 T Olive Oil

Place ingredients in bread machine in order specified by manufacturer and process on dough cycle. Turn out the dough onto a floured board. At this point you may form the pizzas, or refrigerate the dough for several hours, well wrapped in plastic so it won't dry out. (Although a refrigerator rest is not necessary, it makes the dough easier to handle.) Makes enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, or two 10-inch thick-crust pizzas. Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned around the edges. Top as desired and return to oven until cheese is melted and crust browned, about 15 minutes total.

If you choose to buy a pre-made crust, procede with the following recipe:

1 Mama Mary's Thin & Crispy Crust (got ours at walmart), or use the crust recipe above
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 can sliced, pitted olives, rinsed
1 sweet onion
2 Tomatoes
1 Can Pizza Sauce (also got from Walmart, check labels for lowest sodium one!)
1 pack fresh sliced mushrooms (available in produce dept)
1 bag shredded cheese (also check sodium-- tillamook seems to be the best)
1 can pineapple
(You can also add your chicken)

Lay crust on baking sheet. Sauce lightly. Measure 1 cup cheese & sprinkle. Pile up all the yummy things! Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on top. Bake as directed on crust package.

Prep time for premade crust: 5 mins
Calorie damage: 700 cals for HALF the pizza! ZOW! Amazing, right? The sodium on this one is a little high, but a real treat. You won't want to get take out again (we sure don't!)
The low sodium crust is higher in cals, but has 25% less sodium.


RATTLESNAKE PENNE

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 box ronzoni healthy harvest whole wheat penne
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup philly 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 green bell pepper (or jalapeno if you're up to an adventure)
2T grated parmesan
2T minced garlic
2T pepper
1/2t Mrs. Dash Chipotle Seasoning (optional)

Chop chicken breast & bell pepper. Set bell pepper aside. Sprinkle the Mrs. Dash, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and .5 tablespoons of garlic powder on top of the chicken and mix until chicken is coated. Cook in pan with some olive oil, and the garlic. Meanwhile, get your water boiling for the pasta, so everything finishes together. Remove chicken from pan.
With some olive oil, toss the bell pepper & baby spinach in the pan. Season with pepper and garlic. When spinach is completely wilted, toss in philly, sour cream, milk, and parm. Mix until sauce has formed and is even. Return chicken to pan.
When pasta is cooked, drain, and also add it to pan (or toss the chicken & veggies into the pasta pot, if it's bigger). Toss together until pasta is evenly coated with sauce.

Despite the recipe's name, the finished product is surprisingly tame.

Also, never forget Hamburger Helper-- the busy mom's best friend! And definitely take their advice on the add ins. They make it go a lot further.

BigdaddyJ

My wife works on the train so i'm often alone with the kids, when this happens, I decide the previous night what i'm gonna eat for supper the next night.

I cut all the vegetables and put them in water in the frige and get my meat out of the freezer. Sometimes I have the chance to come home for lunch so i prep it then.

The crockpot is also a big thing here, the low cal/low fat crock pot recipes are all over the web, you aonly need to google it!

Hope the helped a bit!!

havingitall

I was going to recommend the crockpot. You can do chili, stew, salsa chicken, even a roast in the crock pot.

When you walk in the door. It is all ready

LongMom

Thanks everyone!! Some GREAT suggestions in your posts!

I do have a crockpot and we use it 1-2 times a week. Problem is we're always making the same thing, roast pork, roast beef etc. I will definately start looking at more recipes for the crockpot.

We like ALL kinds of food. I LOVE fish/seafood. Heck, I love food

mama22girlz

Yeah you love food its your hubby thats a little harder to please right? I like the shake n bake idea for the picky husbands and the healthier choice for you. Then your not really making extra meals. Oh and just don't tell Corey its healthy LOL. I like to make larger dinner so I have leftovers either for dinner the next day or for lunch. As you know I'm home so I tend to do my prep when the girls are napping. Since it takes more prep to make it healthier. Also if you get a whole chicken and put it in the crockpot you'll have left over chicken to work with the next night. Things like pork chops and chicken you can marinate the night before. I do alot of frozen veggies this time of year since fresh are more expensive and usually not that great looking. The require far less prep since you don't need to peel or cut. I also try to make a meal plan on the weekend so I know what I need to shop for and what were having so if there is any prep I can do it in advance. And if all else fails theres always mckays.. so not healthy but oh so good LOL.

Hey read your email would you.. I want sushi sunday.. you in? we can do our meal planning together then lol

BigdaddyJ

here's aother little trick....i buy chicken breast by the box and freeze them, I alway take about 1/4 of the box that I marinate with raspberry vinaigrette in the freezer bag (the air seal type with the machine). It takes 15-20 min to taw (just trow the bag in hot water) and you have excellent chicken breast after just 20 min in the oven!!

i also sometime buy precooked/precut chicken breast at costco that's good for a salade or sandwich