Working Mom needs to simplify

By the time I pick my son up from daycare or "school" as I prefer to call it I do not want to go home cook dinner. I have started buying lots of frozen meals just for convenience...although they are always very high in fat.
What tricks have you learned that makes your life easier?

Cook on the weekends and freeze meals for the future. Homemade, fast and nutritious!

[HouseofWool]

What I have done a lot, is to make up a casserole or two on the weekend that I can pop into the oven when I get home. A small snack for your little one to accomodate the longer cooking time and you get all of the convenience of frozen and it is much better for you.

Roasting a chicken is great because then you get the main meal on the weekend, a casserole of some sort and a pot of soup. Economical and easy to put together on a Sunday. Then, two days are done.

I also have some solid recipes that I can throw together in under 15 minutes prep time. A favorite in my home is taco soup.

1 # burger
taco seasoning
2 cans beans (pinto, kidney, or black)
canned tomatos (I think a 28 oz can) with juice
frozen corn
black olives

Brown the burger and drain, add all the other ingredients and a little water if needed. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

[SuzySunshine]

We use pre-made meals from those home cooking type places for the first 4-6 months of our kids lives because it never fails they want to eat when I should be cooking and of course DH doesn't get home in time to cook. We have a Let's Dish, ( http://www.letsdish.com/movie/ )I'm not sure what other ones are out there but their meals tend to be healthier then the frozen ones you buy in stores.

There is also a cookbook called 30-day gourmet, I made a lot of their meals and froze them when I was pregnant and they've all been good.
http://www.30daygourmet.com/

[Michele]

Re: Working Mom needs to simplify

I recently found the crockpot love. I'm still learning recipes but so far it's been great. I can dump everything in the morning. Including frozen meat! It's done when I get home.

I also use those skillet frozen meals occasionally. Some I can make up on my own with a couple of veggies, pasta, meat and "sauce.". The sauce could be a dry packet, or a tomato based, or a wine based or a cheese/cream.

Premade casseroles/lasagnas too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DCJenn]

I prep as much as I can on the weekends- I usually have prewashed lettuce, cut-up veggies (peppers, onions, carrots) ready and I buy the bags of precut broccoli.

I do a LOT of pasta/soups/sandwiches during the week, too. Homecooked does not have to mean fancy!

Last night I made us tenderloin sandwiches and sides of sweet potato wedges- the kiddo got a hot dog.

(super easy- while the sweet potatoes were cooking I prepped the meat- threw it on the George Forman for three minutes or so and then slapped them on buns with tomatoes and lettuce - looked good, tasted good, done in a total of 25 minutes for everything, including microwaving the frozen hotdog.)

Jenn

[diggitydot]

Frozen turkey burgers rock. Quick, low fat, good protein, and our kids devour them. Paired then with a salad or cooked veggies and it's a super quick and healthy meal.