We have some easy
meal ideas and
tips to help because we all know
having kids leaves little time for preparation during the stressful
dinner hour! At dinnertime children are tired and hungry (and so are
you!)and the last thing you or they want to do is wait. How can you cut
down the stress and get dinner done faster and easier?
Preparing ahead
of time is the key! Preparation goes a long way with
kids!
Start
early! The less work during the stressful dinnertime the
better. To make dinnertime quicker, during the day when they are busy
playing, in school, during nap time or anytime you have a few minutes,
do your prep work.
For example, if making sweet and
sour
chicken cut
meat into cubes, cut up veggies and make sauce. Then put each in a
separate bowl and store in the fridge until dinner. Do this with all
your recipes. Look your recipe over and see what can be done ahead of
time. Many dishes can be assembled and then refrigerated until dinner
time. Even many side dishes can be done ahead of time like salads.
Another option is prepare all your
vegetables and
meat once a week after shopping. Do all your prep work once
and store the meat and vegetables in the freezer or fridge. Carrots and
celery can be cut into sticks and placed in a bowl of water. Meat can
be cut into cubes if needed and wrapped in tin foil or a ziploc bag.
Then placed in the freezer.
I find it is easier to save the
harder, longer
preparation meals for weekends when I have more time and my
husband is here to help (whether in the kitchen or with the kids).
Shop once a week and have a menu
planned out
for each night. This will save you from last minute shopping trips.
When you know what's for dinner each day your dinner preparation will
save you time and make for a quicker dinner.
After dinner is over and cleaned up
think about the
next night. What needs to be taken out of the freezer, bought
at the store or prepared early the next day? A little preparation goes
a long way when it comes to incorporating easy meal ideas.
The crock pot can be a
great easy meal
idea. I just love mine. I have a larger one that can cook a whole roast
chicken or double batch of soup and a smaller crock pot. Try at least
once a week to use your crock pot especially on your busiest day. We
recommend www.a-crock-cook.com
for Easy Crock Pot Recipes.
Put your freezer to work!Freezer
meals can help immensely.
Many recipes can be doubled or tripled and half stored in freezer
containers for another day.
Once a week have a chef's night off.
Buy a
rotisserie chicken, frozen pizza (you can even make your own ahead of
time and freeze), visit the salad bar or eat out. These nights can be a
much needed break for the head chef and leaves you geared up to cook
again the next day.
Take advantage of the convenience
items
at the store such as frozen chicken breasts, frozen vegetables, bagged
salads, cut up grilled chicken. Just double check they are healthy
convenience items not the meal in a box type that are high in salt and
fat.
Keep your kitchen organized and the
cupboards well
stocked. If you want to get dinner done quick you need to
have everything on hand and know where to find everything in your
kitchen. Don't waste your time searching for your favorite saucepan or
spatula. Learn what
to stock in your kitchen?
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