Ask:
Just interested to know if anyone has any secret strategies for making meal times really easy....
I have a small table and chair set in the kitchen for the kids. When I cook I get a toy out of the toy closet for them to play with on the table. That makes things easier for me (most days).
Also, I try to make lunch their "main meal" so that when we get to the end of the day and every one is tired and cranky, if one doesn't eat well, or if I don't feel like cooking, or if they are begging for cereal... that's OK. I know they had a good lunch.
Any other ideas?
Answer:
I think making a week's worth of menus at a time is my saving grace. There is no pondering, wasting time, searching, or putting off! It is all right there on the fridge, and the ingredients are all IN the fridge/freezer..cause I shop off the menu. Also, I always lay everything out to thaw in the mornings..so that way I am not waiting on that, too.
Answer:
Planning ahead is VITAL. My typical strategy is to make dinner in the morning. (if you work full time you could do it the night before) That's when dd is most cooperative - eating cereal watching Noggin or something. I'm also not exhausted and ready to throw in the towel in the morning like I am at 5:00. I use the crock pot a lot but there are a lot of things I can prepare and assemble in the morning and keep it in the fridge until later. Then at 4:30 or whenever I just throw it in the oven and it's done. For example, yesterday we had homemade pizza. Around 10 am I made the crust, prebaked it, and assembled all the toppings, then covered it and put it in the fridge. We went out and enjoyed our day and at 5:00 I popped it in the oven for 15 minutes and voila, we had dinner. I also have "delayed start" on my oven which is a lifesaver sometimes. Earlier this week we had chicken and stuffing, so in the morning I made the stuffing, trimmed the chicken, layered it in the casserole dish and poured the cream of chicken soup on top. I put a lid on it and in the fridge it went. Then we went for a bike ride about 4 so I put it in the oven with a delayed start set for 4:45. Dh came home from work and we got home about 5:30. By the time we washed up and set the table our dinner was done. I'm not normally such an organized person but when it comes to dinner I am very organized and plan ahead. You would be amazed how much stress is relieved throughout the day when you know that dinner is done. You don't spend all day wondering what's for dinner or I better hurry home and make something and you can enjoy your time more. It also makes the evenings go much smoother because we have dinner done and cleaned up by 6-6:30 and we can go for a walk or just enjoy the evening.
Another "planning ahead" tip is to make extra of every meal and freeze it. It takes no longer to make 4 pounds of meatloaf than 1 or 2. Or 2 dinners of chili rather than 1. I buy ground beef 10# at a time and spend an hour or 2 preparing it for different meals. I'll make up a bunch of meatloaf, casseroles, chili, taco meat, sloppy joe, etc, then freeze it all. I also just brown some and freeze it in 1# portions. Then it's ready to go if we want to add it to spaghetti sauce or make quick tacos or something. I do the same with chicken. When it's on sale I buy a lot and trim it all up at once. Then I'll freeze some with different marinades and cook some cubes. The cubes are then ready for things like chicken fettuccini alfredo, chicken and noodles, chicken quesadillas, or casseroles. Oh, and I'll put several breasts in the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce, then shred it with a fork and freeze it for a quick shredded bbq chicken sandwich later. There's really so much you can do ahead of time to make meal planning and cooking soooo much easier. You may spend 3 hours one evening or weekend but it will save you sooooo much more than that in the long run. It's definitely the way to go.