Hellobee Boards

DD has evening activities 3-5 nights a week and I am solo with her for most of them. I don't have time to cook an actual meal when we get home - I need to walk in the door with her and have food on the table within 10 minutes. I try to cook full meals or individual items on Sunday.

For example, last week on Sunday I prepped: Pulled Pork, Roasted Chicken Sausages, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Roasted Broccoli, and Green Beans. Then each night I would take out a meat, starch, and veggie. It felt like a new meal each night but it was super simple.

So two meats, two starches, and two veggies - I try not to have the same of anything two weeks in a row (other than broccoli because it is DD's favorite). Or if I do something like taco meat, I can chop all the things to go with it and one night it will be tacos and another night it will be taco salads/burrito bowls.

Other things that I will make ahead of time (and try to double and freeze if applicable): Casseroles, enchiladas, quiche, and soups/chili. In the summer I will make big batches of pasta salad loaded with veggies and some meat. On our most stressful night we often do homemade lunchables or even PB&J with fruit and pretzels - on those days I try to make sure we all have a bigger/heartier lunch.

I've accepted that at this stage of life we very rarely eat a meal "fresh" but we try to only get takeout a few times a month. So I find cooking ahead and then just reheating is the best plan.

Solidarity. I've got three kids two playing travel lacrosse (different teams), two playing travel soccer (different teams), and one playing local tball. Our evenings are a disaster this spring.

I do a lot of what you've mentioned; quesadillas are easy to have sitting on a griddle ready to heat when you get home (they also wrap up well in foil). If we have microwavable leftovers, I'll make plates and cover them with a towel/saran wrap, then zap them for 30 seconds each when we get home.

One strategy that is working for me is to feed the kids who are available a light dinner on the early end, and give them something like a peanut butter sandwich in the car on the way home from late practices....I take a variety of fruit, sandwiches, or packable dinners (like the aforementioned quesadillas) for kids to eat when they are not the ones playing. It's not ideal, but it helps a little and is better than them subsisting on goldfish and lollipops all season.

@bees_knees: Great ideas! We have swim during the week and my go to is breakfast! I scramble some eggs, pan cakes and fresh fruit, milk/water. I will sometimes give a breakfast bar too. They love it!

Spaghetti/broccoli and garlic bread
Rosterrie chicken
Pasta
grilled cheese and soup

Yes to charcuterie for dinner! I get a baguette and put it out with meats, cheeses & fruit. It’s my son’s fave. Then, in the morning, my kids get “French breakfast,” which is the left over baguette and hot chocolate served in a latte bowl. A fun & special treat.

To mix up eggs, we like to serve breakfast sandwiches for dinner sometimes - we serve them on English muffins with cheddar cheese & microwave bacon.

Paninis are a way to make sandwiches feel fancier. You can toast them up together on a sheet pan in the oven.

Pasta with pesto (make pesto in advance - it freezes great, FWIW) us a huge hit. You can even cook broccoli in with the pasta and you’ve got yourself a one dish meal.