We finally have a regular date night babysitter, but I'm stumped as to what to leave her to prepare for dinner for my LOs (4 and 7). So far, I've either left fresh ravioli that just needs to be boiled for a few minutes, or quiche that just needs to be heated in the microwave. Also, I want to keep it really simple, she's not from the same culture, and I don't think she's used to preparing western food. What are your go-tos?
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I often just leave a lunchbox of some sort - either cold or room temperature on the counter - similar to something I'd pack for school. Otherwise I do a frozen pizza (which I know might not be readily available where you are) or boxed mac and cheese. Our sitters are often young college students/recent grads, so I figure they know how to make those things, and there's not much you can mess up/need to make a decision about. And it's also decently likely they'd eat some of it too if they were hungry, which makes things easier.
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Rotissarie chicken, sweet potato and a Veggie
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Also if the timing works out, sometimes I like to have the kids eating when the sitter arrives - then she cleans up, plays with them for a bit, and gets them off to bed. Fewer instructions for me to give out, so I often do this with a new or inexperienced/young sitter.
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Almost always box Mac and cheese- my babysitter must think that’s all my kids eat. Or something like frozen tortellini but even that requires instructions (like dd1 likes no sauce dd2 will only eat with sauce).
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@Foodnerd81: I'm always a little embarrassed leaving that stuff....but then I go have a glass of wine and forget about it.
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@PinkElephant: to me, part of the fun of going out is not having to cook! But I guess I could pre-prep a bunch of stuff. I always have raw veggies on hand to add to any meal, it's the main part that is more problematic when we don't have leftovers on hand to heat up.
@Foodnerd81: I'm not sure my babysitter would know what to do with something like boxed mac n cheese!
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@lamariniere: Could she make something from the local cuisine (was it Thai (?)). She would probably she leave the spices out... Otherwise something like scrambles eggs on some toast/bread could work or some pasta with tomato sauce...
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@lamariniere: well, we don't go on too many date nights (maybe every other month), so when we do we just order pizza for the kids and the sitter.
But in your situation, which is so different, I would probably either pre-prepare something easy that she could just heat up, OR I'd let her prepare whatever she wants and see how it goes. It's my MIL and not a sitter, but often when they come to visit, she'll cook ethnic foods (well, to her they are regular foods but they aren't American foods or things I make), and the kids actually eat it! All kinds of concoctions that I feel like they wouldn't eat for me. Like once I came home, and they were scarfing up a mixture of lentils, green beans, and cauliflower. Another time they were chowing down on plain dhosa and scrambled eggs with coconut. So, sometimes our kiddos will surprise us.
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I usually have frozen things on hand that are easy to heat up, like frozen meatballs or chicken nuggets and frozen veggies. We don't rely on them too often when we're home, but it's nice for when we have a babysitter.
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I leave a cold plate. Lunch meat, cheese, some fruit, and carrots or cucumbers.
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We usually just order a pizza - half cheese for the kids and half for what she likes
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We will have pizza delivered (or cook a frozen one), or chicken tenders & fries (frozen & heat up), spaghetti is super easy with a jar of sauce (meatballs if you have them),
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