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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, could you create a war chest of quick recipes and then prep/chop in advance? I cook from scratch every night, but what I make during the week can be made in less than 30 minutes with a baby and preschooler hanging on my legs. I sometimes prep out the ingredients the night before or on the weekends. There are a LOT of recipes that don't require too much active cook time to set up, but then passively simmer or bake while you can play with the kids. E.g., quiche, stew, chili, pasta sauce, etc. And there are also super-fast recipes that only require you have the ingredients prepped and 10 minutes to cook, e.g., stirfry, fried rice, udon and veggies, wraps, salads, quesadilla, frittata, shrimp scampi, etc. I've found ethnic food to be easier to prep and cook quickly than the traditional American meat-starch-veggie dinner.

Once you have an arsenal of recipes like this, you'd be surprised how little effort dinner can take. [/quote]

This would be ideal.  I however, seem to have a huge problem with planning!  Would you care to share your arsenal of recipes because it sounds amazing! :)[/quote]

My whole secret is just googling 10-minute meals on Saturday mornings when DH takes the kids to the library. I love Mark Bittman's suggestions (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/dining/18mini.html?pagewanted=all) And sometimes I just go through that list and pick 5 things for the week.

The key for me is to stick within some cuisine/ethnicity for the week so I can reuse ingredients and so I am not overwhelmed with too many possibilities. So this week, I am making mostly french food:

Monday: Salmon with brown butter and haricots verts (http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/salmon-with-brown-butter-almonds-green-beans)

Tuesday: spinach, bacon, cheese quiche (just browning bacon and shallots, and then putting that, spinach, and cheese into frozen pie shells with the egg mixture). Sorry, no real recipe for this, but I use about 3 eggs and 2 cups milk (plus salt and pepper) per pie shell. 375 for 30 minutes.

Weds: Salade Niçoise -- slice and boil the potatoes, boil the eggs, slice the tomatoes, all in advance the night before. Then microwave some frozen haricots verts, open tuna tins, put that stuff and olives on plates and whisk up some dressing to pour over everything. (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-salad-nicoise-recipes-from-the-kitchn-190232)

Thursday: French-style roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots roasted in the pan with the bird. (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/my-favorite-simple-roast-chicken-231348) plus throw in chunks of veggies to roast. This is so easy but the chicken does take a while in the oven.

Friday: tartines with hummus, sprouts, avocados, and tomatoes, salad on the side. (No recipe here, either, this is just what my kids and we like on tartines!)

All 5 nights I used/will use the same salad as a side (except when the salad is the main course!).

Sorry it's a little jumbled, but this is sort of what I do every week. Next week might be Korean, or Italian, or whatever. I pick out 5 or so super fast recipes that use similar ingredients and then make my grocery list and then I'm set. If you enjoy cooking, it's not much work for really nice home-cooked meals. I cook more involved meals on the weekends, but I ALWAYS have something easy to throw on the table (even just jarred sauce and boxed pasta) so I can do that in a pinch or when I'm just feeling lazy.

[/quote]

Thank you PP!  I think I just tend to overthink and then I get caught in decision paralysis.  These are great suggestions![/quote]

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