Dinner Ideas for Limited Time

I recently discovered e-Mealz.com. They do all the menu planning for me and create my grocery list. The meals are good (some better than others) and easy to make. I've done their list for 2 weeks and have found it has saved me a lot of time, frustration and money. Plus, the family is eating fresh, healthy, home-cooked food!

I also do a lot of crockpotting, but you've got a ton of mamas recommending that!

Chili dogs with a side of frozen peas and mac n cheese.
(you wanted quick and easy)

also

blackened fish (butter, seasonings, skillet, 5 minsor so on each side of fish)
with a side of sliced cucumbers marinated in italian dressing and a noodle/rice/potato side.

One thing I do is have some stuff prepped in the freezer for easy meals.

I buy several pounds of ground beef, cook it up, and the package it in meal sizes. This way, all you have to do is pull one out of the freezer, and make your casserole, spaghetti, tacos, or whatever.

I also do that with chicken.... I'll buy one or more whole chickens, boil them, de-bone them, and package them in 2-3 C amounts for different meals. I then freeze the broth in 2 C packages for use, also.

This makes meal prep much faster.. just pull out the bag, thaw it, and cook.

Depending on the age of your kids, they can help you with minor meal chores, also.

tostadas with store bought shells, canned refried beans, lettuce and cheese. simple fast and basically no cook. everyone loves them.

I also have a list of dinner ideas that are 20 minutes or less, message me your email address and I'll be happy to send it to you or anyone else that wants it. =)

girl, you arent a superhuman, you cant do all those things every single day on a regular basis! get your hubby/partner to join in on the chores and meal making/planning!
that will at least cut the work for you in half.
next, if you have a slow cooker or crock pot, find some awesome recipes that take 8 to 10 hours to cook in there. i love www.allrecipes.com because i can save the recipes i like the best and get back to them easily. just type slow cooker in the search box and bam! there you go.

ive heard of those meal planning sites, but they cost money. i dont like paying for things i can do myself. i just sit down every sunday night and make a plan for the next week and get the grocery list together for it (that saves us money too bc i dont buy extra things we dont need) then go out on monday morning or afternoon and pick everything up!
i also am part of a communal recipe blog, these recipes are supposed to be somewhat all natural, inexpensive and quick to make. (unfortunately quite a few are dessert related! but its slowly changing)
http://richchefpoorchef.blogspot.com

Teriaki chicken bowls (or any other marinade). Put marinade and chicken into a ziplock in the fridge before you leave for work or the night before. When you get home, make some rice and veggies. and cook the chicken in a pan. Takes about 25 minutes total!

Looks like you've gotten some great meal ideas...so I would just add to prep ahead. Don't tear lettuce for a salad one night, tear it for the week. Brown 5 lbs. of hamburger - season some with taco seasoning. Freeze in 1 lb. batches (2 cups is about a pound). Cook extra chicken, cut it up and freeze to throw on a salad or into a pasta. Right now, I'm browning sausage. It cooks itself, and I'm making breakfast burritos later in the week. :)

hee hee you sound almost like me except I'm working from home with my 5 month old son. Older 2 are in school during the day. This week I was very organized and did a menu plan on Friday and did food shopping based off that menu and then made some things ahead on the weekend.
Some things I do is I buy 10 lb bags of frozen chicken breasts (perdue or Tyson) from BJs that you can just pull out pieces and cook straight from frozen. You can make chicken fajitas very quickly.
You can use your crock pot - put it on in the morning so you have it ready for dinnertime, so many good recipes. Beef stew, mushroom barley soup, lentils, potroast, meatballs, I could go on and on! Depends what your family likes. Try always making at least a couple meals ahead on the weekend. And use the crockpot one or two nights and voila you're good to go.

I am not one of those people who really enjoys cooking. For me, it's all about fast and easy. I love Campbell's Soup recipes (check out their website). One of my family's favorites is cheesy chicken and rice:
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
Combine above ingredients in a 13x9 pan. Top with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and bake at 350 for 40 to 60 minutes (depending on how thick the chicklen is, and if it's fresh or frozen). Top with shredded cheese for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

We also love boneless, skinless chicken topped with lemon pepper seasoning. (You buy it in the spices section of the store.) When my second daughter was away at college, her friends would always ask her to make it for them, because they thought it was so fabulous, and couldn't believe that it was as easy as sprinkle and cook (on the stove, in the oven or on the grill). It takes 20 to 30 minutes, usually. Add salad and rolls and you're done.

I always try to remember that on days I haven't planned and prepared something, that dinner doesn't have to be this huge meal. I try and keep things around for those days....pasta with jarred red sauce, or alfredo sauce that I add broccoli, peas, edemame and possibly chicken to. Grilled cheese and a fruit, eggs of some sort (egg sandwich, scrambled, etc.) I have morningstar chicken patties that we heat and put on hamburger buns, costco teriyaki meatballs. My point is that almost anything I make at home is probably healthier than what I would pick up from a restaurant (and cheaper!) Good luck!

Spaghetti is always easy and you can make it a variety of ways. if you have a little ground meat, toss it in. If you have odds and ends of vegetables, toss those in. Serve with a salad or toasted bread.
What about grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. They have so many great soups in those box containers. Or take your regular sandwiches (ham/cheese, tuna salad, chicken salad, italian coldcuts, etc) and grill those. It's a nice change of pace.

Congrats on the new job! Here are my go to dinners when I'm short on time:

French Toast & Eggs

Soup & Grilled Cheese

Baked Potato Bar (get big potatoes, microwave for 5 min, bake for 30 min, then put out a variety of healthy toppings like steamed broccoli, low fat cheese, spinach, leftover meats, seasonings, etc & let everyone make their own)

Crock Pot Roast & Potatoes (take 10 min & put it together before you leave for work then come home to a house that smells fab!)

Sandwiches & Fruit (or fries)

Also, whenever I make a casserole type meal (lasagna, shepherd's pie, chicken divan, meatloaf) I make extras and put them in disposable tin pans. These go in the freezer to be used on days when I'm swamped. So easy - pull it out of the freezer, pop in the oven, DONE!

Good luck & don't be so hard on yourself. It's probably going to take a while to get a new routine going.

First, cut yourself some slack! Going back to work is tough. Both my husband & I work 50+ hour weeks, so we also opt for 2 nights a week when we do shortcuts - one night we order pizza & salad. Another night we do a boxed or frozen meal. Keep in mind - not all frozen food is created equal. I'm really impressed when I read the ingredient list on the foods at Trader Joes. On their frozen food, every ingredient is something you can recognize, and not too high in fat or salt. We like their risotto, the indian food, the thai food, and some of the simple pre-cooked pasta packages. Sometimes, I'll steam some veggies in the microwave and add them in, or do a simple salad (greens, tomato, cucumber) on the side. We also sometimes short cut by having breakfast for dinner one night a week. Example, pancakes, scrambled eggs, omelets, fruit.
For other well-planned, cooked meals, I find that we end up using the same base ingredients and vary the starch, herbs, and cheeses to make it a new meal. Example: chicken, bell peppers & tomatoes is greek if you use oregano, lemon and feta. But it's mexican if you add cilantro, cumin, jack cheese and tortillas. The same basic incredients are perfect italian if you add some pesto & parmesan. Add some ginger, rice and it's asian stirfry. Try to do all the prep at the beginning of the week, and just assemble & add your herbs and cheese to make it feel fresh. For example, I'll grill a value pack of chicken breasts or steaks on Sunday. They can just be chopped up & added to pastas or tacos, salads or sandwiches during the week in 30 seconds. I'll also add some mediterranean veggies to the grill (bell peppers, zucchinis, eggplant, red onions), and they can also be thrown into pasta, salads, omelets, quesadillas, etc.
If I don't get all this mass grilling done on Sunday, I'll also plan ahead for reusing left overs. Example, I'll boil & shred some chicken for tacos one night, and plan to make tortilla soup the next night. Or I'll make a huge thing of pasta sauce with ground beef one night, and assemble a lasagne with the left overs before going to bed. I just throw it in the oven as soon as I get home at 6:15, and by 7, it's done.

Take a day and make a few casserole type things and freeze them in cupcake pans and then slip into plastic bags! and it's microwaveable...
You can do this with even scrambled eggs and sausage all in one cup for breakfast, home made soup, etc..
You made it when you had time... so it's still home made and there's not the guilt of just microwaving the store bought stuff!

Caserole dishes are pretty good and don't take much time.

I love using my crockpot. When I do potatoes, carrots & beef, I just stick it all in there frozen and let it cook for 8 hours while I'm at work. Then when I get home, it's ready and all I have to do is take it out and chop it up. Very good and not very fattening.

Watch what you do fix though. A lot of fast meals nowadays are loaded with carbs, salt &/or sugar. So just be careful!

Even though it is still buying, it's healthy and we all like it, a whole cooked chicken. From Costco it is $5 and last a couple of days (we are a family of 4). My kids also like Jasmine rice (15-20 minutes), and beans (I found Bush Seasoned beans are tasty) from the can. They either eat is plain, or with corn in a tortilla. The rice and beans are a good side for the chicken.

I saute ground turkey with onions, salt, oregeno and garlic and then add a spagetti sauce to it, then it can be stored for days or even freeze it for a later time. Sometimes the kids will eat it on a hero roll with parmesian cheese like a meat sub.

We have a grill outside and the family has been loving salmon (with the skin on one side to sit on the grill) and put Soyaki sauce on it (from Trader Joes), and grill it. That is really good and healthy.

Tilapia in a pan with bread crumbs and seasoning for a few minutes.

Breaded chicken baked then sauce and cheese over it like Parmesian Chicken.

I still struggle every day for something new, but these are the sure things for the kids. Good luck