^^ the people currently responding to the OP, not the original responses. |
Wash the potatoes and carrots, then trim without peeling. If you peel them, you're losing some of the most valuable nutrients. Look up how to make a roux. Also, I'd suggest learning about using rice flour and fresh potatoes to thicken. Again, it's all freely available online. |
Boiled dinner! Once a month, my mom would boil a corned beef, then refrigerate. We'd do a new bunch of veggies each night, but the beef lasted all week. Every other night we turned it into hash, for variety. |
Yes, I know that the above response was from a few years ago, but since this PP thought to continue the conversation, I'll add. With young kids, to make a stew, I do the time consuming prep the night before after they go to bed. I cut and season the meat and put it in the fridge. I peel the potatoes and carrots and put in a bowl of water in the fridge. Make a roux, add seasonings and put in a jar in the fridge. I put a crock pot on the counter before I go to bed. When it's time to start, I get a skillet and brown the beef cubes, toss into the crock pot, toss in the potatoes and carrots, add canned tomatoes, add roux, add water/stock, add seasonings, turn on. I can and have done this stuff while watching young kids. This technique of doing prep the night before and putting things in the fridge was used a lot when my kids were young. |
I'm similar, except I prep the crock pot itself. I make my roux fresh in the morning while I make breakfast, but the veggies (trimmed, not peeled!) and beans (half-cooked, sprouted first) are in the crockpot overnight. I marinate the meat instead of searing/browning, and I pour in the extra marinade (usually citrus juice, spices and a few crushed aromatics). Dinner never takes over 30 minutes total. If I can't do it on my own in 30 minutes, I know that before I start, and the kids help. |