Need ideas for "make-ahead" or quick dinners

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cmbx2mom
cmbx2mom Posts: 56 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My husband and I both work FT. We have 2 kids. Both play 2 sports in the spring and between the practices and the games I'm running out of healthy quick dinners, especially since the kids are quite picky eaters. This week we already went to Burger King once and ordered chinese food another night...ugh!!!
Sometimes we go straight from work to after-school program, pick up kids go to baseball game and get home at 8pm. At which point I will not be cooking a full meal...I would love to make a bunch of meals on SUndays to have ready for the week, but can't think of much. IN the winter I wuld make soups and stews, but now with the warmer weather, we aren't really interested in that. The few meals I do have:
1. Tacos- always super quick and I make them 1/2 ground turkey 1/2 beef
2. HOmemade pizza- I'll make pizza dough (1/2 wheat flour, 1/2 white) and sauce ahead of time and freeze them. Just need to remember to take them out the morning of to thaw

I need more then "chicken recipes"..I need full meals. Please help! My calories have been WAY more then ideal this week. :(

Replies

  • SinomenJen
    SinomenJen Posts: 262 Member
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    Bump! in the same boat, I need meals I can prep and that my 18 yr old daughter can finish off or throw in the oven, quick easy yummy and low cal!
  • cmbx2mom
    cmbx2mom Posts: 56 Member
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    ALso, when I say quick, 30 minutes is not "quick" for us. Can't have family eating dinner at 8:45pm. I'm talking more like 15 minutes, or pre-made and heated up.
    Fish is also basically not an option. Kids don't eat it and I can only go shopping once a week (Saturdays) and I don't like to have fish sitting around more then 1-2 days.
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
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    Hmm. You could repurpose the ground turkey into taco salads or baked potato (in the microwave, for speed) topped with ground turkey, diced tomato and avocado, shredded cheese, etc.

    Since you said you like ground turkey, I have made this pasta bake before and then heated it up during the week for dinner, with some modfiications: less olive oil, no parmesan cheese (the mozzarella was enough), doubled the spinach, and just used whatever herbs I had in the cabinet to season it. For a family, you might wish to double this and use a 9 by 13 inch pan. You could add a green salad or a side of steamed vegetables to make it a meal.

    6 oz. whole wheat rotini or penne
    2 tbsp. olive oil
    ½ onion, diced
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    8 oz. ground turkey or chicken
    1 tbsp. tomato paste
    1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
    1 tsp. dried basil (or 1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil)
    ¼ tsp. salt
    ¼ tsp. pepper
    1 c. packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
    1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
    ¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese, divided

    1. Bring water to boil (lid on) in pot. When it boils, add 1
    tbsp. salt and stir; add pasta and stir. Boil (with lid OFF) for 8
    minutes or until cooked al dente.


    2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

    3. Grease 8 x 8 in. square baking pan.

    4. Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add
    chopped onion and cook until softened. Add garlic, and cook until
    fragrant (do not brown garlic; watch closely).

    5. Add chicken and break up with wooden spoon until evenly
    browned and barely any pink is left.


    6. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and spinach. Stir
    until combined and spinach is wilted.


    7. When pasta is cooked, drain it in the sink. Add pasta to
    skillet and toss with ½ c. mozzarella cheese and 2 tbsp. Parmesan
    cheese.


    8. Carefully pour mixture into baking pan. Top with remaining cheese.


    9. Bake in oven approximately 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.


    10. Remove from oven, let stand for 1 minute.
  • xdieselx
    xdieselx Posts: 64 Member
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    One meal I cook often for myself which is very easy to do and you can keep in the fridge for a couple of days and you can eat cold is this:

    1 cup of quinoa
    lots of chopped vegetables (green onion, red/green/yellow/orange peppers)
    many cubes of feta cheese (to taste)
    some dried cranberries

    I cook the quinoa with all the vegetables (cook 15 minutes in 1.5 cup of water with a table spoon of butter)

    When its cookie I let it cool off on the kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes then put in feta cheese cubes and dried cranberries and put it in the fridge. The day after I bring it to work as lunch. You will have around 2 cups of quinoa after its cooked.

    its healthy and tastes good and its very easy to do :)
  • TinaBean007
    TinaBean007 Posts: 273 Member
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    Do you have crockpot? (I would marry mine if I could) There is an endless list of possibilities including homemade mac & cheese, chili, chicken rice dishes, pot roasts, pulled pork/chicken....

    Also, what about stir frys- assuming the kids like it. We use frozen stirfry mix and precooked beef or chicken, or shrimp. (15 mins or less)

    An variety of "sandwiches": Burgers, Turkey burgers, chicken salad, tuna melts, etc. (Rotates the type of bun/roll/bread/croissant) With premade sides: pasta salad, quinoa/couscous salads, potato salads, fruit sald


    Also, write down what is working out for you so you can have a rotating arrangement. In my house having a loved meal every 2-3 weeks isn't a big deal.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    anything in the crockpot! In fact we use ours at least 4 times a week, and often I'll have two on the go - one for now and one doing soup or something to freeze:happy:

    Other than that - pasta, tin of tomatoes and some protein such as sardines, sausages cut up - go further - and cooked off in the pan then simmered in the tomatoes. Pasta pesto and parmesan - OK not low calorie:blushing:
  • cmbx2mom
    cmbx2mom Posts: 56 Member
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    I have a crock pot but most meats taste a little funny unless it's a "stew" or soup. Or you need to "brown" the meats first and I do not have time for that in the morning.
    ANyone have some recipes for crockpot meals that are ok? Also I leave the house at abut 7:30 AM, so if we don't get home till 8pm, that's over 12 hours and that can sometimes overcook foods too even on low.
    Believe it or not my kids won't touch mac n chjeese (I don't eat it either so thats not a big deal).
    My rice always seems mushy in the crockpot.
    May try the stirfrys. I prefer fresh veggies, but sometimes avoid them due to time it takes to cut them up.
    Again, kids won't touch chicken salad, tuna melt etc. (which I would prefer to avoid anyway)
  • TLHarwick
    TLHarwick Posts: 44 Member
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    We crockpot it.

    I have 2 crockpots and I cook 2-4 meals on Saturday/Sunday. Pack them up into the fridge and use them for lunches and dinners throughout the week.

    We also grill a bunch of chicken breasts and store them for salads.. one day of food prep buys you a whole week worth of food!

    We make the following:
    - Italian sloppy joes - in a whole wheat pita this is a reasonable meal and sneaks in veggies
    - BBQ Chicken
    - chicken taco meat - put in whole wheat tortilla with some cheese (and things if you choose)
    - Skinny Taste Buffalo Chicken
    - Taco Soup (with ground turkey)
    - BBQ Turkey Meatloaf

    Been surfing for other recipes, for a change up - As a family of 6 with a full schedule of activities (travel soccer, gymnastics, Taekwondo) and a full -time job - the crockpot saves me a lot of time and money!

    I actually have a house plug in my car and will reheat the meats in my crockpot in the car - kids eat in between activities/running to pick up and drop off - all we need is a picnic table and some paper plates - pack the cold parts (cheese or whatever) in the cooler - dinner on the run, without fast food! (saves lots of money!)
  • msrootitooti
    msrootitooti Posts: 253 Member
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    My family feels the same way about crock pot dinners.. We can only do soup or stews or something with shredded chicken. I am still trying to find ideas for our busy nights because I usually stop home, make something and eat in the car... The favorite right now is

    1) black bean quesadilas... warm a tortilla in a saute pan, put on black beans, cheese and salsa, flip.
    2) sandwiches-chicken salad made with mashed avocado instead of mayo.
    3) Make cold salads either the night before or on Sunday-pasta salad, quinoa salad.

    I also prep my veggies on Sunday night so they are all cut up and ready to go on the night I need to use them. Sometimes i will also cook double meat... and use half of it for another dish later in the week.
  • shelby623
    shelby623 Posts: 55 Member
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    My favorite crockpot chicken recipe, that I make at least once a week and gets me two nights of dinner with leftovers, is chicken with salsa, green chiles (optional), black beans (optional), whatever else I decide to throw in.

    The best part is that you can use frozen chicken!

    Put chicken breasts, 2 breasts will feed myself and my boyfriend with some to spare, a jar of salsa, small can of green chiles, and a can of rinsed/drained black beans in a crockpot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

    After 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high, you can shred the chicken very easily with forks. I eat the mixture as is, but my boyfriend puts it in a tortilla and makes a burrito out of it.

    I have a digital crockpot where I can set the cook time which enables me to have it cook for 8 hours while I'm at work, and then switch into warming mode until we are ready to eat.
  • AJL437
    AJL437 Posts: 71 Member
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    I make quinoa burrito bowls - you can make the quinoa in advance. sauteed onions and garlic, add rinsed canned black beans and seasoning - I used smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. Sautee about 15 min or so. Again - you can make this in advance and then just heat up. We layer it quinoa, then a green usually swiss chard or arugula, then beans, then chopped tomatoes or salsa and greek yogurt.

    For summer I would think about cold pasta salads that your kids would like with an italian type dressing you could use carrots, green beans, olives etc . Make the pasta, put in the goodies, make the dressing and keep separate. The morning you plan on serving it add the dressing to the pasta.

    We eat a lot of frozen turkey burgers with frozen veggies stir fry on the side .Burgers in a pan, veggies in the microwave and dinner is ready in 15 minutes. We add bbq sauce to the burgers.

    Quiche - I love love love quiche. Take some turkey pepperoni. I use the service size. Heat in a pan. Add greens like swiss chard, beet tops, collared greens or kale. sautee until the greens shrink by half. Whip 5 eggs, 1/2 skim milk, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper together. Spread greens/pepperoni out in a buttered or Pam sprayerd pie plate and add the egg misture. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes. Best to make Sunday and serve during the week at room temperature. You could also use a Pillsbury ready made pie crust. Cook it for 8 - 10 minutes at 350 before you add the eggs/greens and make sure you poke holes in the bottom and side so it keeps its shape.

    Chili salad - We take spring mix lettuce. heat up chili. Pour chili over lettuce and add shredded cheese and greek yogurt
  • momshorses
    momshorses Posts: 376 Member
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    One thing I found that cuts down on the cooking/prep time is to cook the meat in bulk and freeze. I cook up several pounds of ground beef and freeze most of it in margarine containers. That is the part that seems to take the most time for me. I also cook up extra chicken, sausages etc when I make them and freeze some before they even make it to the table. (It is the "pay yourself first" method.) I do the same with homemade burgers, meatballs, etc. I cook them ahead and only have to heat them up to use them. It doesn't take any extra time to cook extra burgers on the bbq either.

    Another thing we do is to make up extra casseroles and freeze them so they just have to go into the oven. It doesn't take much more time to make up 2 lazy mans cabbage rolls instead of one. When I want it, I take it out of the freezer and cook it.
  • Saezimmerman
    Saezimmerman Posts: 93 Member
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    Our go to meal plan for crazy weeks:

    Sunday: Pork Roast - 1 4lb pork tenderloin, Stubbs pork marinade, 2-3lbs of fingerling potatoes, 12 oz Shiner blond (or No Salt added chicken stock) Marinade the porkloin overnight, put the potatoes and pork loin in the crock-pot with the used marinade and 12 ozs of liquid. Cook on low for 4 hours

    Monday: Stir fry - cut and marinade the chicken on Sunday (you can also pre-cut the veggies or buy them already cut in your produce department)

    Tuesday: Pulled pork sandwiches - Shred the leftover pork from Sunday and stir in BBQ sauce serve on your favorite bread or bun with a side of deli coleslaw

    Wednesday: Fish - buy the frozen fillets (Basa is good if you can get it) and thaw that in fridge in the morning. Cook it the skillet with lemon slices on top. Serve with spinach (I use frozen) and rice. (This meal comes together in 10 minutes and is super healthy)

    Thursday: Tortellini and Salad - Pre-made tortellini (I like the kind in the refrigerated case of the grocery store.) Store bought sauce and a side salad. (The longest part about this boiling the water.)

    Friday: Faux Jambalaya - Slice up andouille sausage and cook a pot of rice. Cook the sausage in a skillet. Add 1 can of rotel to the skillet along with oregano, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. Stir the rice into the sausage mixture. Serve with a can of greens.

    This type of week takes planning at the store and in the mornings, but it works well in my house. (And, in case you didn't guess, my house is in the South. :happy: )

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