How do working moms (and dads) do dinner?

[Anonymous]

Since folks are plugging their personal chefs, I need to tout my friend & the *best* personal chef in the DC area, Chef Sharon of Chic Eats: http://www.chiceats.com/. She shops and cooks a whole week's worth of meals while you're at work! She is seriously fabulous.

If you can't afford someone else to cook and need really quick meals after work, I recommend:
* omelettes;
* breakfast for dinner (pancakes, waffles or cereal), which my kids LOVE;
* frozen meals from Trader Joe's;
* salsa chicken -- easiest recipe ever (pour salsa over chicken and cook for 30 minutes) and you can help with homework while it cooks!

[Anonymous]

How expensive are the personal chef options? Average for 4 or 5 meals/week?

[Anonymous]

Sandwiches are great - I do them once a week in the summer. In the winter, I usually make a casserole (baked ziti, lasagna, enchiladas, spaghetti) on Sunday and put it in the fridge or freezer to eat twice on work nights. I also do big/fancy meals on Sat/Sun only, and always order in or eat out on Fridays.

Quick meals are grilled meat with baked potatoes and a quick side veggie, which is a good option if you have homework time. Potato or pasta salad, fajitas, pork chops with rice, stir fry (put whatever veggies you have in the wok with a meat or tofu and serve with rice). I subscribe to Bon Appetit (but you can just find the recipes online too!) to get 1-2 new dishes to add to my regulars every month.

[Anonymous]

"Another quick plug for Molly. She's the wife of a colleague of mine, and a new mommy herself. "

What is your point?

[Anonymous]

We do homework on the kitchen table, and I cook/prep while keeping the kids company. DH doesn't come home until 8:30 most nights. We have dessert in PJs while DH eats dinner.

I'm guessing that if your children are old enough to do homework, then you have enough time to for a 20 minute prep. Easy things to make:

1) Rice (in rice cooker) with Trade Joe or other Indian simmer sauces. Instead of meat, we use chickpeas--even less prep.

2) Pastas: try with pesto and walnuts; fried eggs and parm. Serve with salad.

3) Quesadillas with black beans and shredded cheese. Serve with guac, salsa, and plain yogurt

4) Stir fries: You can buy pre-cut meat (or tofu) and veggies, as well as sauces. Serve with rice.

5) Grilled cheese and avocado sandwiches. Use really good bread and nice cheese. Serve with tomato salad.

Dessert is usually cut up fruit, and on hot days, we eat ice cream, too.

[Anonymous]

OP, you could do pizza night on Fridays, where you put leftovers from earlier in the week (chicken, vegetables, etc) onto the pizza.

[Anonymous]

I like to cook new recipes a lot so I will search out 2-3 recipes for the week and sort them by time. Nothing takes more than 30 minutes and I try to do even less.

Grilling some chicken in olive oil and servin with some veggies takes 15 minutes. Its simple and healthy.

Quick dishes:

Lite Coconut milk, some chicken broth (I use boullion) if you want to cut the cocomilk) chopped chicken breast, thai green curry (2tsp), maybe some butternut squash or some green beans, boil until chicken is done. Serve with rice.

fry an onion, add a cup of green lentils, 6 cups of chicken broth.

Soups are quick and endless..you can be creative:

chicken sausage cut into bite size pieces, a can of white beans, some spinach, onions if your kid likes them, maybe a tomato put in chicken broth.

[Anonymous]

I don't.

[Anonymous]

Crock pot is the way to go. I also do 'skillet' dinners: chicken pieces with veggies, add sauce (chinese, italian, whatever) and then a starch to go with. Like chicken w/ peppers and tomato sauce, side of pasta = chicken cacattori. Chicken w/ vegs and ginger sauce w/ rice. Chicken w/ black beans, salasa and wraps for fajitas. I can't afford a personal chef and if I could, I'd quit my day job and use that money to defray my lack of salary.