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[quote=Anonymous]OP, since your challenge is timing, try one pot meals that have the whole meal in one dish.  A couple of suggestions:

- risotto.  Has a reputation as really difficult, but it is dead simple.  Decide what you want in it.  Leftovers work great, so if you have leftover steak, chicken, seafood, etc. cut it up and set it aside.  Chop and saute some veggies.  Set aside.  Microwave or heat up on stove a whole lot of broth (like 8 cups).  Saute 2 cups of arborio rice in olive oil till it smells toasty.  Add some wine if you like.  Then add 1/3 of the broth, stir occasionally till it is almost absorbed, add the next 1/3, then the next.  When the rice still has some crunchiness add your fixings and some cheese.  Turn stove off and let sit for 5 or 10 min as you set table and corral the kids. It should be a little goopy.

- Sausage and garlic greens.  My meat loving family loves this one.  Take a heavy bottom pot or pan and add olive oil.  Heat it up, then toss in kale, collard greens, or chard.  Add as many cloves of garlic as you like (I do like 4), salt and pepper, and stir.  As soon as the greens wilt just a bit, put sausages on top of the greens.  Put the whole pan into the oven at 350 for 35 min or so, or until the sausage is browned on top and cooked through.  Take sausage out, toss in a little vinegar (any kind will do, but I use cider or balsamic) and stir it into the greens.  Serve.

- do above but with chopped tomatoes, onions, and garlic.  Leave out the vinegar.

- Chicken stew.  Saute some onions, carrots, celery in olive oil till they get a little soft.  Toss in some garlic (you can even leave it in its peel, and then squeeze the garlic mush out later).  Toss in any tomatoes you have - a couple of big ones, a pint of cherry tomatoes, a small can...whatever. Add chicken - either thighs, drumsticks,  or breast or a mix. Brown for a couple minutes.  Add some wine if you like, then a few cups of broth.  Throw in a bayleaf, and thyme and rosemary if you have fresh.  Cook on very low heat (or in the oven at 350) for half an hour or so.  You can serve over pasta or rice or polenta as is, or pull out chicken and bay leaf (and garlic peels) and use immersion blender to make it thick and smooth.  If you want to get old school, make quick dumplings (or use biscuit dough) and drop them into the stew before you put it in the over.  Make sure you cover the pot if you do dumplings.  The flour from the dumplings thickens the stew and kids love the dumplings.

- stir fry.  Make a pot of rice.  Chop up 1 meat and 2 veggies (broccoli, onions, thin cut carrots, green beans, asparagus...).  Shake salt and pepper over the meat, then saute it in a hot pan with veggie oil until done.  Put the meat on a plate.  Toss your two veggies into the hot pan with some more oil and cook until done.  Add pre-made stir fry sauce or make your own while the rice cooks (I use soy sauce, vinegar, corn starch, water, a touch of sugar), then add the meat.  Bring the sauce and stir fry to a boil if you made your own (makes the cornstarch thicken) and serve over rice.

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