Meals while homeschooling

[Flowergirl159]

I need some tips for getting meals ready on time.

Schooling is taking up a lot of my day (which is a good thing and school is going well). But I need some meal ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Ideally I would like to prepare lunch and dinner in the mornings before we even start school. I have a crock pot, so can use that some days. Feel like I am in a bit of mess with meals and having trouble finding something that works. Devoting more of my time to school, means not enough time to prepare meals.

Any ideas?

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

For breakfast, we rotate between yogurt, oatmeal, and eggs, each served with fruit and a glass of milk.

 

Lunch is either leftovers or cold- cheese/cold cuts and crackers/bread, veggie sticks, with just the occasional made-just-for-lunch grilled cheese sandwich or another simple option.

 

Dinner- I do several crock pot meals each week, and most of my other cooking are recipes that I know well and can get together in 30-45 minutes tops because I don't need to consult a recipe too much or hunt around for weird ingredients. 

 

 

[Tracy]

Once-a-Month Cooking

[Slache]

Once-a-Month Cooking

:iagree:  Except I do once a month prep so that all my meals are fresh.

 

Also, breakfast casserole.

[Dailynn]

:iagree: Except I do once a month prep so that all my meals are fresh.

Also, breakfast casserole.

Will you explain what you mean by once a month prep?

[Slache]

Will you explain what you mean by once a month prep?

For instance...

 

Beef Tips In Wine Sauce:

In a freezer bag put one pound beef tips to one can cream of mushroom soup to one "can" of red wine to one onion seasoning packet.

Freeze.

Get it out the night before to thaw, then put it in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

 

Taco Casserole: (this is one of the few things that require cooking)

Saute the beef with garlic and onions. Add olives and bell peppers.

Layer beef mixture, refried beans and flour tortillas 2 or 3 times in a pyrex. Top with shredded cheese.

Freeze.

Get it out the night before to thaw, then put it in the oven for I don't remember how long.

 

Italian Meatball Soup:

Put frozen italian meatballs in a bag. Add marinara sauce, shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, spices, minced garlic...

Freeze.

Get it out the night before to thaw, then put it in the slow cooker with chicken broth to make it soupy.

 

 

I typically have to come up with a veggie that day, as most of my easy recipes revolve around meat, but we prefer fresh veggies anyway. I do also prepare eggplant parmesean and ratatouille ahead of time though.

 

This usually takes 4 hours of shopping and 6 hours of work for about a month and a half of food.

[amyrobynne]

I've been struggling to deal with meal planning lately and on Monday, I made 7 recipes from this site http://whoneedsacape.com/2012/11/crockpot-freezer-cooking/ , all of which involve putting together bags of food for the freezer and dumping them in the crockpot when it's time to eat. There aren't many veggies since those turn to mush in either the freezer or crockpot. 

 

I also made the beef half of these recipes over the past 2 days http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2013/10/freezer-meals.html which made 4 lasagnas, 2 batches chili, and 3 cheeseburger casseroles. 

 

For the chicken recipes, I plan to keep track of the ones we like the most and make them in May doubled before the baby comes in June. My husband is on spring break (and I take off homeschooling when he's home) so I finally had time to do this, but you could shop on Saturday and cook/prep for a few hours on Sunday and easily get 2 weeks of suppers. 

[ElizabethB]

Your 7 yo and 9 yo are old enough to make sandwiches and a few simple lunches.

[mmpmelmack]

Your 7 yo and 9 yo are old enough to make sandwiches and a few simple lunches.

This! My 7 year old just made us lunch. He made himself a veggie salad tomato, cucs, chicken and dressing, cut up cucs for his sister and fried me three eggs. Teach them knife safety, and how to safely use the stove! Big saver for me last time I was pregnant, and will be even better this time! Easy things to teach are eggs, quesdillas, canned soup, grilled cheese. They add veg and fruit andnthey are done. Have them take turns making lunch for everyone!

We keep meals simple. Dinners are breakfast for dinner, beans and rice, one big meat meal ( roast, chicken, lots of fish, and veg) then a stir fry with leftovers, and then leftovers the rest of the week.

[Dailynn]

Slache,

Thank you for explaining. I misread what you first posted, so I didn't understand. Sorry.

[Ms.Ivy]

I do once a month cooking too. It takes me 4 days per month to get it all done from shopping freezer, but it is worth it. No dinner prep the rest of the month, just defrost, re-heat, make a salad, and dinner is done. Also it saves me money on produce because it gets used immediately and frozen. Otherwise I have a lot go bad while I am waiting for that magical day when I think I'll be finished with school in time to cook a healthy meal from scratch. I also double everything, do leftovers for lunch, and keep other meals simple.

For a few months after I had babies 5 and 6, we ate a salad, sourdough bread, and cheese or sardines for dinner every night. Everyone lived. Haha It doesn't have to be too complicated.

-- my kids fix themselves eggs, too.

[Cottonwood]

a simple breakfast is what I call a Breakfast Bake. You put it together the night before.

 

I take ends of bread loaves, any uneaten toast (even if it's buttered) and/or let some French bread go stale.  Gather up enough of this stale bread until you can fill an 8x8 or 9x13 dish (I do 9x13 b/c it takes my fam days to go through it).  Combine 6 or 8 eggs and 1.5 cups milk, 1/3 cup sugar, pinch of salt and cinnamon to taste.  Pour into dish with bread.  Add more milk if necessary to cover bread slightly.  Let it sit in fridge overnight.  In the morning, bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Toss berry of choice on top to cover, bake another 10 minutes.  Let cool.  Eat. 

 

The morning you need it, you only need to pop in oven, and then add berries and pop back into oven.  It's SO easy and lasts a few mornings in a row.  It's creamy and delicious, has protein and carbs, and takes little effort.

 

You can also make a huge HUGE batch of pancakes, freeze and just pop them into microwave in the morning until you eat them all.  Add fruit, milk.

 

For lunches, it's always just sandwiches here, or I might make homemade mac and cheese that will last a few days.  They can heat that themselves.  Add a fruit or veggie and milk, maybe a little ham to the mac.  Mine are 11 and 13 and make lunch on their own anyway.

 

We are finished with school by around 2 or 3 so we go our separate ways which usually means I pull dinner together.  

One HUGE help for dinner for me is to make enough for 2 nights at once so every other night, I am guaranteed to be 'off'.  This works great with huge pots of soup in the winter.  I made so much that I just counted 8 bags of different soups waiting on me in there.   Each bag is a FULL gallon bag, so that's about 2 nights PER bag for us.

[arnold]

For instance...

 

Beef Tips In Wine Sauce:

In a freezer bag put one pound beef tips to one can cream of mushroom soup to one "can" of red wine to one onion seasoning packet.

Freeze.

Get it out the night before to thaw, then put it in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

 

Taco Casserole: (this is one of the few things that require cooking)

Saute the beef with garlic and onions. Add olives and bell peppers.

Layer beef mixture, refried beans and flour tortillas 2 or 3 times in a pyrex. Top with shredded cheese.

Freeze.

Get it out the night before to thaw, then put it in the oven for I don't remember how long.

 

Italian Meatball Soup:

Put frozen italian meatballs in a bag. Add marinara sauce, shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, spices, minced garlic...

Freeze.

Get it out the night before to thaw, then put it in the slow cooker with chicken broth to make it soupy.

 

 

I typically have to come up with a veggie that day, as most of my easy recipes revolve around meat, but we prefer fresh veggies anyway. I do also prepare eggplant parmesean and ratatouille ahead of time though.

 

This usually takes 4 hours of shopping and 6 hours of work for about a month and a half of food.

These recipes sound great!!! Do you have any more your willing to share?

[quietchapel]

Well, I do things a little differently, but I will preface this by saying I hate food, recipes, cooking, groceries, and anything to do with any of those things.

 

So...I do lunch for breakfast, breakfast for lunch or dinner, and make dinner while I am making breakfast in the morning. Breakfast might be leftover mac and cheese (homemade), sandwiches with fruit and pretzels, sloppy joes, rice with meat or beans, split pea soup. Lunch is often oatmeal, pancakes, or soup. Dinner is almost always something from the crockpot. Split pea soup, bean burritos, chicken soup, black eyed peas, chicken, ham, and potato soup are favorites. On the weekend, I make things that take more time and double or triple the recipe to use later. We don't have much variety, but we are full and healthy! My kids love beans and vegetables.

[plumshadow]

I do once a month cooking as well but lately I haven't had the time to do it correctly but instead I shop for a couple of the recipes and cook each one on the day we plan to eat it. Many of the meals are form the crockpot or not that hard to assemble. Even with not setting aside a whole day to cook like the plan was intended  I still save time by finding all the week's meals on one page with an immediate shopping list.

[Carolinagirl1]

I struggle with this too, but these are some of the things I make on a regular basis:

 

Breakfast - cereal with milk, oatmeal made in the microwave, or cheese toast (toast bread in toaster then top with slice of cheese and microwave for 15 sec.)

 

Lunch - frozen breaded chicken breast tenders (I get them from Fresh Market or Whole Foods - they are relatively healthy) that I can just put in a dish and bake 25 minutes, Amy's frozen burritos (microwave 1.5 minutes), frozen pizza, soup and bread, or leftovers - all served with fruit

 

Dinner - this is the hardest for me, but one of the easiest meals we make all the time are roasted chicken drumsticks. Coat them with olive oil and a good rub or with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and roast at 425 for 40 minutes. Serve with steamed veggies (I have a pot with a steamer basket that makes it easy) - either broccoli or green beans usually, and a grain (cous cous takes 5 minutes to make) or roasted potatoes.

 

I find dinner is easier when I take meat out to thaw at breakfast time.

[Flowergirl159]

Dinner:  In August before school starts, I make tons of meals for dinner (double batches of everything), so that I can just take the bag out of the freezer and upend it into a crock pot.  Everything for the meal is in the bag, including broths, spices, etc...  I just have to thaw at night and toss in the pot the next day.

Can you please share some of your recipes to freeze then cook in crock pot? That sounds really doable :)

[alisoncooks]

For breakfast, we rotate between yogurt, oatmeal, and eggs, each served with fruit and a glass of milk.

 

Lunch is either leftovers or cold- cheese/cold cuts and crackers/bread, veggie sticks, with just the occasional made-just-for-lunch grilled cheese sandwich or another simple option.

 

Dinner- I do several crock pot meals each week, and most of my other cooking are recipes that I know well and can get together in 30-45 minutes tops because I don't need to consult a recipe too much or hunt around for weird ingredients. 

 

This sounds very much like our week, though my kids aren't big breakfast fans.  Usually I talk them in to a spoonful of PB + a sliced apple (or something like that).

 

Lunches are often cheese & meat plates with crackers, fruit, veggies.  Sometimes grilled cheese or PB&J or a smoothie and a handful of nuts. They also eat soup .... from a can.  And they occasionally get a hotdog or microwavable mac&cheese cup, if I don't feel like *making* something.  

 

Dinner is mostly crock pot meals (or spin offs using leftovers).  I also have several recipes that have been "tested & kid-approved" in our house, so we use them over and over.

[Above The Rowan]

We keep our breakfasts and lunches simple, and my kids are grazers so they like to keep meals simple and just snack when they are hungry throughout the day. 

We're usually done by 2 or 2:30 with our lessons which leaves me enough time to pull a meal together (if I'm not burnt out or exhausted) - but we LOVE our Crock Pot here. It's been our saving grace here on the more chaotic days, or if we have errands or appointments after our lessons. Toss the ingredients in before we start lessons in the morning, it's ready to go by dinner time. :) 

[Walking-Iris]

I've never been able to get the hang of meal planning or once a month things. It always takes more work from me.

 

For breakfast, in the colder weather, we simply have oatmeal, pancakes, eggs, etc. I have no problem at all cooking something quickly in the morning (my dh also cooks in the morning). In hot weather we might start having more fresh fruit and smoothies and possibly eggs. as well as fruit buckles. I also make muffins. I do not like an involved breakfast. A bagel with cream cheese and some deviled eggs, or a bowl of Cheerios my kids pour out themselves is just fine by me.

 

We're Hobbit like because my kids do usually have a second breakfast. 

 

Lunch tends to stay with simple soups, sandwiches, salads, maybe deviled eggs if we didn't have eggs at breakfast, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc. Occasionally I do prep homemade bean burger and have them frozen and we have those for lunch. I also take time to occasionally prep dough since we like homemade pizzas.

 

Dinner is where I typically really cook. And although I don't make an effort at meal planning, I do usually know what we are having for dinner because I keep certain staples in the house and make sure I have enough ingredients and salads etc in my weekly shopping trip. 

 

I haven't really had a problem cooking/eating and homeschooling. We just eat usually  first thing, before doing anything. When we get to a natural stopping place, we'll have lunch.

 

I have one kid who's really helpful as far as helping me cook. I consider that important "home" schooling as well...learning how to cook and do kitchen chores.

 

ETA: snacks...my kids grab their own whenever they want. Greek yogurt, granola, apples, bananas and other fruits, all my kids can make their own pb&j whenever they want, trail mix and almonds are big favorites here, applesauce, even cottage cheese on it's own, cheese, tortilla hips with salsa. All are things they can get on their own. My 3 year old will even eat an entire avocado plain as a snack. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Woodland Mist Academy]

We're Hobbit like because my kids do usually have a second breakfast. 

 

 

I can relate!

 

Ours meals often go something like this: breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea, dinner, and bedtime snack.

[FO4UR]

I keep stuff on hand that the kids can easily make for themselves.

 

I let all three of my big kids (11yo, 9yo, and 7yo), cook eggs, grilled cheese, anything that you put on a baking sheet and put in the oven, most things that you fry or saute in a skillet with me close by (teaching math, dictating a spelling lesson, etc...).  I am slowly and steadily teaching them my recipes for things like pancakes & cookies & bread so that they can get those things started while I'm multi-tasking elsewhere.  They truly enjoy this.  (They might feel differently when they are teenagers. Ha!)  Of course, making a sandwich, a bowl of cereal, grabbing some fruit.. for.those things they don't need me.

 

 

We use the crockpot. We do one-skillet meals.  If we have a large lunch, we have a small dinner, and visa versa.  I run a homeschool and a dust bunny ranch.  I don't have time or energy or desire  to also run a full service restaurant.   :svengo:

 

[Zookpr]

If school runs us late then I cook while they are finishing up their lessons. I dont really care for the crock pot and prefer hands on meals. I dont have enough freezer space to prep for a week let alone a month. I shop for a month at a time and it take about 90 mins.
I preplan a monthly menu and while I dont always stick to it, its just usually a rearranging of meals. Most of my meals are 30 mins pan to plate although there are some that oven for longer but never take more than 20 to prep for the oven.
Even homemade lasagna is 20 min prep although 45 min oven time.
I'll be posting my menu plan soon on my blog.
Here are some dinner ideas...many of these are modified to be gluten free.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Chili
Frito pie
Chili dogs
Lasagna
Spaghetti
Meatball hoagie
Chef salad
Nachos
Enchiladas
Tacos
Burritos
Chinese food
Meatloaf
SOS
Lunches are usually tuna, chicken, egg salad, pb&j, fish, leftovers
Snacks: cheese, veggies, fruit, boiled eggs, meat roll ups.

[Zookpr]

Sorry it posted twice. Also wanted to mention...we dont eat out, well maybe once a year.

[Kathy G]

We almost never eat out.  I work also so  meal shave to be simple.  My kids get their own breakfast- have to be done by 8:30.  We switch who makes lunches- on a schedule.  When someone reached the age of 6 they were included in the cycle.  Dinner- mostly crock pot when I work.  Other nights it is simple- lots of preprepped sauces- add to fresh meat etc.  Work it into homeschool- make some meals that are from a country you are studying- the kids like to do that here.  

[Thia7278]

For instance...

 

Beef Tips In Wine Sauce:

In a freezer bag put one pound beef tips to one can cream of mushroom soup to one "can" of red wine to one onion seasoning packet.

Freeze.

Get it out the night before to thaw, then put it in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

This sounds delish and I'm going to try it!

[Slache]

These recipes sound great!!! Do you have any more your willing to share?

 

Definitely, but they aren't typed up so you might have to wait. We have 5 teenagers staying at our house this weekend.   :huh:

This sounds delish and I'm going to try it!

 

You have NO idea. If you drink have the same wine with the meal.

[TheAttachedMama]

I do a lot of meal planning and prep on the weekends. 

 

For breakfasts, I usually just cook a lot extra on either Saturday and Sunday and then we eat left overs during the week.  For example, I will make a HUGE batch of scrambled eggs on Sunday, some pancakes, and then some sausage links.  We then re-heat those left overs throughout the week.  Another week I might make a huge batch of scrambled eggs, sausage patties...and then we toast english muffins and eat breakfast sandwiches.  Another week I might make a huge egg caserole thing with veggies in it to reheat.  (I change it up.) 

 

For snacks, I usually make granola bars or muffins or something on the weekends too.  Then we also eat a lot of fruit (grapes, apples, bannanas), hard boiled eggs, cheese cubes, cut up veggies and dip, etc.  (Always wash and chop the veggies on grocery day so you can just bring them to the table when you are eating.)   The kids have a 'snack drawer' in the fridge that I fill up with this stuff and they help themselves. 

 

For lunches, we also change it up week to week.   I always have a HUGE container full of salad ready so I can grab it at a moments notice.   (Again, wash and chop everything on grocery day while putting away groceries.  I usually put some baby spinach, shredded carrots, cut up cucumber, baby tomatoes, etc. in it)  Then I make something to serve with the salad to round out our lunch.  Sometimes I make a soup on the weekend in the crock pot specifically for our lunches.   Other times I will make a couple of boneless skinless chicken breast on the grill and some baked potatoes.  And we eat those with our salad.  Some weeks I make a big thing of pasta salad with a ton of veggies and we eat that over the salad.  This week I made a big batch of hamburgers on the grill on the weekend and we have been re-heating those during the week for lunch.   Another week I made this medeterian quinoa thing and we served that over salad for lunch. 

 

For dinners, I usually do a combination of easy solutions:

-I have a couple of quick, simple dinners that I can make without even thinking about it.  (On days when I forget to set the crock pot or something....and to save me from eating out when I just DON'T feel like cooking.)  An example of that would be spaghetti or tacos.

-I have a couple of crock pot or slow cook dinners planned that can be cooking all day while I am out of the house.  (Good for co-op days or field trip days). 

-I usually do one vegetarian meal a night

-I usually do one GIANT salad meal on the day before I go grocery shopping.  (I use up any produce we haven't yet eaten on that night.)

-I usually plan one seafood meal per week

 

[cintinative]

I do menu plan for a month but I'm not very good about freezer cooking. What i have been trying to do lately is if I am making something that can be frozen (like chili or soup), I double the recipe and freeze half for later. I have lots of good freezer recipes I've tried, but I have never managed to do a freezer cooking session. I do occasionally do a freezer baking session and put muffins, cinnamon rolls, waffles, etc. in the freezer.

[dewdropfairy]

The older minions are responsible for their own breakfast and lunches for the family. This frees me up to actually make dinner, but they do help me with that as well. I do lots of freezer meals and crockpot cooking too.

[Kerileanne99]

I can relate!

Ours meals often go something like this: breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea, dinner, and bedtime snack.

British hubby has convinced my dd and I of the necessity of elevenses:)
It really works for us as we tend to eat breakfast light and late, have a snack at eleven, and lunch just before 1 pm. That way we aren't totally starving after gymnastics/swimming/piano etc in the late afternoon.

[angelmama1209]

we're not the healthiest of families and my kids don't eat fruit but here's what we do.

 

my kids get their own breakfast- cereal, bagels and cream cheese, oatmeal, peanut butter toast, waffles if we have them...

 

lunches- grilled cheese, totinos pizza, hot dogs, baked potatoes, caesar salad, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, meatballs, tortellini with butter, garlic, and parm cheese, chicken voila, chicken salad, quesadillas. add a veggie and they're good. sandwiches are reserved for when we go out.

 

dinner- i meal plan once a week- usually sunday. i do a different "focus" each night- chicken, beef, pork, breakfast, veggie, bean, pasta. my husband takes the leftovers for his lunches the next day. if i don't get to dinner prep on time, hubby usually makes spaghetti or eggs. sometimes i do some freezer crockpot meals and those are nice.

[AndyJoy]

Do you have a bread maker? A quick and easy meal for us is pizza made with dough from the bread maker. It just takes a few minutes to pop the ingredients in then 1.5 hours later I have dough. I freeze appropriately sized bags of diced ham, sausage, chicken, pepperoni, etc. for topping. We always have cheese, pineapple, olives, pesto, spaghetti sauce, BBQ, and buffalo sauce on hand and if I plan ahead I add other ingredients and prep them the night before or in spare moments here and there.

Our favorites are:

pesto base, chicken, spinach, artichoke heart, red onion, feta

spaghetti sauce base, ham, pineapple, olives, mozzarella

BBQ base, chicken, red onion, pepperjack

Frank's Red Hot base, chicken, chopped celery, mozzarella, crumbled blue cheese

spaghetti sauce base, sausage, pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, green pepper, olives, onion, pineapple, mozzarella

ranch base, chicken, bacon, mozzarella

[Guest]

Our go-to recipe is as follows:

 

Sausage, Peas, and Rice

 

1 package sauage {like Polish Kelbasa} quatered

1 1lb. bag frozen peas

1 cup rice {We like Uncle Ben's brown rice but any kind is fine}

1 box {4 cups} beef stock

 

Put it all into a large pot. Cook until most of the liquid is gone. Serve with cornbread, if you like. 

 

Ta-Da!!

 

All but one child will eat this.

[...................]

Crockpot whole chicken is good- just put onions under the chicken and turn it on
Crockpot beef stew is ok with beef broth, onions and carrots maybe corn if you add if later but avoid the garlic on this one
Those are the only crockpot meals we like and we have tried a million!
We used to have a rice cooker and I plan to buy another- if you put meat in the crockpot and throw veggies in halfway and then you have a rice cooker you can make all your meals at lunch time or breakfast time; whatever works for you!

So on busy days we have a few good crockpot meals and it saves the day. Otherwise I serve slabs of meat, fish, pork or chicken cutlets, brown rice and seasoned beans and all kinds of salads. Those are typical meals that require 45 minutes in th kicthen though.

Every homeschool mom must have a crockpot and a rice cooker. You can definitely make a healthy dinner Happen with those no matter what!

Edited to add: for breakfast we have eggs and oatmeal or egg whites and oatmeal pretty much every morning. My kids need protein for concentration and I have a very fast metabolism so we all do better with protein! In the oatmeal I throw organic frozen mixed fruit or organic frozen blueberries or molasses and it's delicious! You should always keep frozen fruit and veggies on hand.

[momto10blessings]

Great ideas!

[yvonne]

I think I read this suggestion for slow cooker pot roast here and I use it often... Sprinkle one bag of onion soup in the slow cooker. Put the pot roast on top. Pour a can of whole berry cranberry sauce on top of the meat. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

 

We like the gravy on mashed potatoes, so I usually use 2 bags of onion soup and two cans of cranberry sauce. I put the gravy through a sieve to eliminate anything resembling a cranberry for my kids. It adds an extra step for me, but the resulting roast and mashed potatoes w/ gravy is so worth it!
 

[happycc]

We are gluten, casein and relatively soy free over here. 

 

Breakfast-oatmeal, gluten free cereal with almond milk or coconut milk with sometimes raisins or fruits thrown in there, egg mix of some sort-scrambled eggs with meat or veggies thrown in there, my kids like to make gluten free pancakes/waffles with honey, agave 

 

Lunch-chicken gluten free noodle soup, peanut butter and jelly on gluten free bread, avocado, yam, baked potato, sweet potato, steamed veggies, rice and left overs, gluten free pasta and tomato sauce with meat, chicken and rice

 

Dinner(husband cooks or we eat out)-thai food, asian food of some sort, tacos, roast, steak, steamed veggies, gluten free pasta or rice, crockpot with roast/potatoes, or chicken (We love Sushi)

 

snacks-my kids like baking gluten free brownies, cakes, breads, muffins etc, make their own applesauce, fruits

We love ginger tea with agave nectar

[Mrs Twain]

Good ideas, everyone, especially about the rice cooker. I will have to invest in one.

Dinner:

If you are not a once-a-month cooker, you could modify the crock pot idea. Make the sauce the night before and refrigerate in a container. Take meat out of the freezer and into the frig to thaw overnight. In the a.m. put meat in the crock pot and sauce over the top and cook.

An even easier plan is to put a large package of boneless skinless chicken thighs in the crock pot and cover with bottled sauce of choice (BBQ, any version of Chinese such as General Tso's, or a marinade). I cook it in high for four hours, or you could cook it longer on the low setting until cooked through. You can serve the chicken whole, cut into pieces, or shredded on buns or over rice.

Another idea is grilled cheese sandwiches with your choice of soup. There are various nice soups available now which taste much closer to homemade--namely the ones sold in cartons rather than cans.

Frozen vegetables can be microwaved such frozen peas-- easy peasy.

My grocery store sells pre-washed ready-to-cook vegetables. These are a little pricey but worth it if it gets fresh vegetables on the table more often. An especially easy one is the sugar snap peas. Just sauté them in a pan with olive, canola, or vegetable oil, plus or minus a little salt and pepper to taste.

[LucyStoner]

I find it easiest if I have a set category for each day. We don't like to eat the same meals over and over and I am more than happy to cook 15-45 minutes a day so we do a set schedule but only for categories.

Monday: Soup/Salad or leftovers
Tuesday: Boys cook (my 5 and 10 year old pick and cook dinner)
Weds: Fish
Thursday: Pasta
Friday: Pizza and salad
Saturday: Chicken
Sunday: Red Meat/Big Sunday Dinner