Eating Out Too Much!!

We had that problem. I started buying the pre seasoned chicken and meats in the bags. Most of them are already cooked. Pop them in the oven for 15-20 min. Fix some veggies and you have a good meal in 15-20 min or so.

Super Suppers in Lakewood may be just the thing for you. I got a gift certificate for a friend who had twins. The amount of money was about what someone would spend on groceries for the same number of meals.

Crockpots are great, but also try www.kraftfoods.com There are a ton of quick and easy (but very yummy) recipes there. Also, I use www.recipezaar.com Their site is much more extensive so it may take some time to find what you want to cook, but I have already used about 5 or more recipes from them that take 30 mins or so to prepare. Good luck to you. I understand about the busy schedules! Have a great day!
J.

Sound to me like the crock pot could become your best friend. :) Try some of these websites:
http://crockpot.cdkitchen.com/
http://www.tastycrockpotrecipes.net/
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/Slow-Cooker/Main....

I have tried super suppers and At Home Dinners. At Super Suppers the meats are frozen and the quality is not as good as the meat/ingredients at At Home Dinners.
When you go to At Home Dinners you can make 12 half size meals for $105. That is cheaper than the grocery store and the meat is restaurant quality. The recipes are very easy to heat up and my kids and husband love them. I highly recommend At Home Dinners. They have a Frisco and Plano location. It takes me about 45min-1hour to set up my 12 meals and they last for about a month.

I have to agree with the Crock Pot ideas. Just throw everything in before heading to work, turn it on, and come home to a great meal without the work. Crocks are great too because you can experiment with just about anything in them. And with most things you cook in it, you can throw veggies right in with the meat, so you don't have to cook them on the side. One good site:
http://www.tastycrockpotrecipes.net/

Also, my mom has Betty Crocker's Slow Cooker Cookbook and it has some great recipes in it as well.

Hope this helps.

C.,

Call Tracy, she can help you budget a meal plan, and she will bring it to your door.. You pick and choose what you want to eat.. And she cooks it for you..

I love her cooking! And she brings it to your door!!!! http://www.tastebudtemptations.com/

Tell her A. sent you!

You've already gotten a lot of excellent advice, but because of what you said about cleaning, I want to mention www.flylady.net. It's a great service and it's FREE. Give her a chance and FlyLady will change your life. Also see her related services (not free but cheap), including Leeann's Saving Dinner program and Mega Menu Mailers (do your own Dinner Station/Super Supper stuff at home and save money).

I am not sure if you would enjoy this, but one thing that 3 other friends and I have started doing recently is freezer meals. We go through books, online etc.. and find meals that we all enjoy. Everyone has a certain job to help get ready. 2 women, who are better with frugal shopping than I am, get the recipied, multiply the ingredients, and then do the shopping. Then, my job has been grilling all of the needed chicken breast and cutting them up. Another woman browns the hamburger, and cuts the onions. Then one night we all get together and cook/assemble the meals. Each of us provides 2 recipes, so we end up with 10 meals,. Usually more as most recipes make a 9x13 pan, so we divide them into 2 8x8 pans. Each person brings their own foil pans, and foil to cover them, and everyone brings bowls, pans, cutting board etc.. and gets to work. We get to chat and accomplish something in 2-3 hours. I have absolutely loved it and it has saved me many nights. My hubby works and goes to school, and I provide child care in my home, so I know how you feel. It seems kind of hard the first time, but we get better at it each time, and we just love it. In fact, we are going to have to split off into groups now that more people are hearing about this and wanting to join in. Anyway, let me know if you want to try it out, and need more info. I hope it helps! ~A.~

Hi C.! I would love to help you plan and prepare dinners for your family! I host make and take meal classes once a month -- similar to Super Suppers, but with Homemade Gourmet products. This is an easy, inexpensive, stress-free way to put anywhere from 7-14 ready to cook meals in your freezer. I am not having another one until January, but I would love for you to join me (you can even sign up for a "ghost" spot and I would have everything made, ready for you to pick up!)

Until January, I would love to help you with some simple Four Meals in Four Minutes ideas from Homemade Gourmet!

Feel free to check out my website, call me or send me a quick email!

Looking forward to hearing from you!
V.
www.homemadegourmet.com/valerie21644.aspx

I recommend savingdinner.com. There is a recipe subscription service but I haven't tried that. I have done the Mega Menu Mailer which are easy to follow instructions for assembling freezer meals. You have to pay about $9 to get 20 or 22 recipes. I just pick and choose about 10 recipes each month and spend less than 2 hours getting them into the freezer. Most of the recipes are stored in freezer bags so they take up less space in the freezer and it is very easy. I also work full time, hardly see my husband and am pregnant with our second child. The meals are great and easy to adjust for individual taste. Good luck!

Also, when you use the crockpot, make a double or triple batch and freeze it. Chili and spagetti sauce are always great in the crock pot. So is corned beef, chicken adobo, soups.

When you do cook, make 2 or 3 of your favorite casseroles and freeze them. If you are already cooking some, it's not a huge effort to double or triple a recipe.

If you go to Costco, alwasy buy the whole roasted chicken. They are $4.99 and fabulous when fresh. That is always our Costco dinner night. They also have great frozen veggies and prewashed (although I re-wash) organic salad greens - tada! you have a dinner.

Speaking of Costco, you can buy pre-dcied onions that are frozen, a giant thing of hamburger meat, too. I will brown 6 or 7 pounds of hamburger meat with onions garlic, salt and pepper and freeze it in meal sized bags. That is the basis for so many dinners, tacos, spagetti, casseroles, etc. Buy cheese that is already shredded from Costco in the giant bag. Bring it home and separate it into smaller zip lock bags and freeze them - that way it doesn't spoil.

If you haven't guessed by now. get a giant UPRIGHT (not chest) freezer. It's the best friend a working girl can have. You can even make a triple batch of cookie doigh. Freeze it in little balls on a cookie sheet, then bag them when they are frozen and pop 'em in the oven for homemade, hot cookies! You'r family will think you are a goddess!

Rachel Ray is the queen of 30 minute meals, although I find they take me about 45 minutes - I don't have a TV show crew to help. :-)

Lovely sliced deli meats for sandwiches on a great bread and a hearty bowl of soup (made from that crock pot - or Campbells) is fast, nutritious and easy.

Unless you love cooking and have had the chance to become a confiednt cook, cooking IS a chore so just own up to that - especially on top of all else you have to do. Be creative, and buy different breads, nustards and things, and that will help you feel successful.

I know my family doesn't always like my cooking (which actually has become good lately) and that really puts a damper on it for me. It's a lot of hard work to plan, shop put away, cook and clean up day in and day out....but you can do it.

Oh, also, solicit help from your children. They would LOVE to help you in the kitchen. Start with age appropriate, easy things - no stove tops before 9 and even then you have to hover! Mine are now 9 and 14 and can all cook - to varying degrees, but they CAN do it and they feel very proud. It's a gift for life to teach your children to cook. In the mean time it's a gift to yourself so you can get a little relief.

Lastly, involve your husband. Now understand that my husband is a HUGELY reluctant cook, but I will call him and ask him to turn the oven on to a particular degree, then 20 minutes later put the casserole in and when I walk in the door with hungry kids the house smells good and he feels good that he was able to help without actually having to "cook".

Good luck!

We were having this problem too. I bought two cookbooks called The Busy Mom cookbook. One has only 3 - 4 ingredients, and the other is a slow cooker cookbook. I use these all the time. I also like to make casseroles that I can just stick in the oven and do my thing while it's cooking. It may be that you have to stay up just a little later at night (like you don't have other things to do -- I know) and prepare the food and put in the fridge to pop in the oven when you get home the next day. The slow cooker meals can go in before you go to work or at lunch if either you or your husband is able to come home at that time. I always prepare enough for two days so I'm really only spending every other day making food, and the next day is just warming it up.

I hope some of this helps you. Good luck!

C.,
I see you got a lot of great advise. I wanted to mention yet another way to prepare great easy meals that your family will love. Homemade Gourmet. I am a distributor and I have meal making parties where you invite your friends over and they all get to prepare 4 freezer meals in a matter of minutes. Plus, you are all together as a group and it is fun! If you are interested in getting together, send me a note!
Thanks

I am a mother of 10 and 6 year-old boys and I absolutely love Dream Dinners. I have been doing them monthly for about 4 months now and I have come to rely on them. The meals are fresh and healthy. It is the same thing as if you were on a cooking show. The recipe is at the station and all the FRESH ingredients are right there. You just put them together and pop them in the freezer until time to cook. The meals are reasonable, save time and healthy. What's not to love? Also, don't put so much pressure on yourself... the time together is what's important. You don't have to do a four course meal every night. Things like Breakfast for dinner and baked potatoe night are quick and fun.

I have done both Super Suppers and Dinner Station and love it. I am in weight watchers and my son is Type 1 diabetic and it has really helped us with choices because we don't eat the same things over and over. I am a single mom working until 6 and it has really cut down our time. Also he goes with me to prepare the meals and he loves doing it.

When I find chicken breasts on sale I buy a bunch, cook them in the oven, then chop them up and freeze them. I use naan bread from Target, add pasta sauce, cheese, and the pre-cooked chicken to make individual pizzas. I cook intil the cheese is melted. It's super fast and always a hit!

Maybe try Super Suppers or The Dinner Station (both have websites). They are supposedly more cost effective than eating out, and can provide nutritious menu options. They both have several locations across the metroplex.

Good luck

I second the super suppers nod--I tried it a few months ago for the first time and I would definitely do it again. You can prepare your own meals in disposable trays in no time at all--I assembled 12 in two hours. You freeze them and when you're ready, pull it out and stick it in the oven and you have a homemade meal. You can also just buy meals already assembled. It really saves prep time and dishes too!

Invest in a crock pot slow cooker. spend 20' in the morning preparing your ingredients. Throw them in there, turn on, when you come back from work, it's ready! I love it. They also come with recipes and stores now sell packages of spices for slow cookers...

M.-full time work, full time mom, full time wife :-)
www.breatheyoga.us

SCHWANNS!!! I highly recommnd them. They come to your house to make the delivery every 2 weeks---and all the food is awesome. Today, I cooked 2 completely different meals for my (picky) family and had it on the table in 20 minutes. The prices are good, it tastes good, no grocery shopping and you can prepare it very fast!! If you're interested, write me back and I'll give you the name of my route guy and you can call him--he'll come by anytime--even as late as 9pm in the evening. good luck.

Crock pot meals! Roast, pork chops, chicken anything works. Frozen veggies right on top and let it cook all day on low.
There is a lot you can do that is just open and pour. Every once in a while I cut up an onion to drop in but for the most part it is stuff like rinsing new potatoes, or openning a small bag of carrots. Easy, easy. It is ready when you get home.

After a while it even gets fun coming up with creative new concotions.

C. S

Hey,
I know of a women on tv who has a cooking show about 30 min meals she also has cookbooks out I can't remember her name but I will look it up and send you the name of her book and her name. I hope this will help you to be able to spend more time with your kids and not cooking all the time. The food that is cooked is also healthy so you don't have to worry about that.

L. Benson

Definitely make friends with your crock pot. But also, have you tried Super Suppers or The Dinner Station? You go there for 2 hours and prepare about a dozen or so meals that you can take home to put in your freezer. You still have to cook them, but all the measuring, chopping, etc. is done. You could probably go there once a month and just order their biggest menu. They will also prepare the meals for you so all you have to do is stop by and pick them up! There's a fee, but it's not much considering what a time saver it is. Be sure you check cooking times before you choose your menu though. Many of them are 30 minutes, but there are a few that require longer cook times or grilling, etc.

Another idea would be to have family-sized frozen prepared meals handy. I think Stouffers makes a good frozen lasagna, there are several kinds of frozen skillet suppers like Chicken Viola. And, of course, frozen pizza. When I worked full time it was pretty much a rule that Wednesday nights were frozen pizza nights.

Also, I would definitely hire a cleaning service. You absolutely do not need to spend your evenings and weekends cleaning. And at 6 and 3, the kids are big enough to have a "family job" or two to help out. Besides picking up in their own rooms, your kids can sort laundry, load the washer, unload the dishwasher, etc.

As far as time management (besides saving time by getting a housekeeper), set a regular dinner time and set a time to just relax with the kids. Also set an "I'm cooking dinner so please leave me alone" time. When I was working I thought I needed to hit the kitchen as soon as I walked in the door and get dinner on the table. I ended up feeling stressed and rushed and the kids would be wigging out. I experimented once with doing things differently - as soon as I get home I'd come in and sit still, talk to the kids, play with them, etc., THEN start dinner prep -- and we had a relatively peaceful evening. So we switched permanently to that routine.

I may be too late but I just saw your post. I am mama to 2 year old twin boys...energetic and curious boys at that. This is what I've done along with eating out a couple of times a week. Which I don't think is bad as long as you are able to choose 'healthy' and inexpensive restaurants.

1. I love Schwans!!!!!!! I specifically choose the foods that are already prepared and that I only have to heat up. Some of the foods are raw and take a little longer. We love the roasted chicken, bow tie pasta w/ veggies, quick cook taters, meatloaf patties, breaded shrimp and we love their treats!

2. I think they're called Betty Crocker crock pot meals, we like the chicken w/ noodles and veggies.

3.Quesadilla or Grilled cheese night: I add a protein and a veggie to the melted cheese and ta da! A healthy meal. I also use the spray I Can't Believe it's not BUtter. Quick and easy.

4. Pancake night. I know this sounds 'gross' but I grate forzen veggies, chop up some meat like ham, and crumble some scrambled egg into the pancake as it cooks. I put some pureed bananas on top and ta da! Another healthy meal. They love it and eat it all up. Easy to make.

I've also registered at the Dinner Station in Highland Village but haven't made it in yet.
Good luck!

Look for 30 minute or less cook books. I have bunches of meals I make in less than 30 minutes. Get a crock pot. Let the food cook all day while you are at work, or have your hubby start it at lunch time if he can. Make double and freeze half. U=You will use the same amount of prep time. So say on Monday you make a casserole, double it and cook half for dinner than while eating cook the other half of the batch. WHen its cool freeze it.

I highly recommend using a crock pot to cook your meals. Throw it together the night before and put the crock in the fridge until morning or fill the crock pot in the morning, then let it cook while you are at work. The smell of coming home to a finished dinner is exceptionally refreshing, you will have fewer dishes to clean and your time is saved when you are most tired. I will post a request for recipes for us. Good luck!

M.

I AM IN THE SAME BOAT AS YOU ARE. SOME DAYS I JUST COOK SIMPLE STUFF LIKE HAMBURGER HELPER OR SPAGHETTI. SOMETHING ELSE THAT MIGHT WORK FOR YOU IS POT ROAST. I LEAVE IT IN THE SLOW COOKER ALL DAY LONG ON LOW AND BY THE TIME WE GET HOME IT IS PERFECT. HOPE THAT HELPS.