Working Mom Needs Recipies for Weeknight Practices/games.....

I know what you mean! Try www.kraftfoods.com. You can get recipes for anything on there! Also, try cooking the day before!

Good luck!

This is courtesy of our team mom. She has every mom on our team doing this one:

Put a whole pork roast or pork tenderloin in a crockpot. Pour a whole bottle of Stubb's BBQ sauce in with it. Cover and cook for 8 hours. Take it out, pull it apart with a fork and serve on a bun!

Easy and tasty.

my kids love breakfast for dinner. eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes...alot of that stuff is even in the frozen aisle to be more convenient. soup and sandwiches/wraps works well too. pasta is great, since most of the time is waiting for the water to boil.

Ok one of my favorite things to make for quick meals (and all 5 children actually love it) is I take the big russet potatoes and rub them in olive oil and bake them just like a regular baked potatoe. I then get the pre-cooked bar b que meat and heat it up and stuff the potatoes with that and add cheader cheese on top. It's awesome and filling! Once the potatoes are ready it takes minutes to serve and eat.

I'm not a huge crockpot person myself, so here are some of my go-to recipes for busy nights....

Orange Zest Chicken
Grate about a tablespoon of the orange rind. Heat 2 tablespoonsful of butter in a sauce pan with the orange zest. Season skinless boneless chicken breasts to your liking (or use chicken breat tenders which will cook even faster) and saute for about 15 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through.

Barbecue Chicken
Cook about 2 pounds of chicken breast tenders in half a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce in a saucepan on medium heat until the chicken is cooked through. Remove it from the pan and shred the chicken with a fork. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the rest of the barbecue sauce. If you have time let this simmer for a while or if you need it fast, remove it as soon as the sauce is heated through. Serve over baked or mashed potatoes. You can do the potatoes in the microwave or buy pre-made mashed.

One Pan Meatball Pasta
Heat a cup of water and a 25 oz jar of pasta sauce to boiling. Stir in 1.5 cups of any small size pasta (elbow, shells, wagonwheel, rotini, etc.) and 20 frozen meatballs. Return to boiling and cover. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 20 minutes stirring every 5. You can also add mushrooms, sliced peppers, olives, etc, if you like.

Taco Salad
Super easy. Break up your favorite taco chips (I prefer Tostitos Gold) in a flat bowl. Top with your choices of the following: lettuce, diced tomatoes, pre-sliced onions, olives, ground beef/chicken/turkey/veg crumbles, pinto beans, shred cheese, salsa, sour cream, pico de gallo, guacamole.... Toss. My family likes this because each person can have the combo they like best.

Another thing we like for fast meals is California Pizza Kitchen thin & crispy frozen pizzas - they do not taste like frozen pizzas at all! I get a couple of different kinds and slice them very small, so everyone can have a variety.

First, on practice days, I usually let my kids have a snack before practice (carrot sticks, fruit, crackers, cheese, etc.) and then we eat dinner after practice on those days. That way I'm not in an unreasonable rush and the kids aren't scarfing down their food which is worse, I think, than eating a little bit later than usual.

In regards to some things you could cook quickly at home, on days that you do cook, make a double batch of whatever it is and refrigerate (if you're going to have it again in the next few days) or freeze the extra. Thaw it in the fridge the night before you have a practice to go to, then all you have to do is heat it up when you get home. I know not everything freezes well, but things like spaghetti sauce, soups, chicken, pork, beef, etc. all do and you can boil noodles or make rice or potatoes and have the meal ready in about 30 minutes.

When making chicken, pork chops or some sort of beef steak or roast, you can always serve the same dish again later with the leftovers, or you can shred the meat and put it in tortillas with salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, or just plain and have soft tacos or add some barbeque sauce and have barbecue sandwiches.

I like to brown enough ground beef at one time to use one part and freeze 4 or 5 parts for later use. I can throw that in with some jarred spaghetti sauce and boil noodles and have spaghetti in less than 30 minutes. I've been known to use hamburger helper too, of course I doctor it up a bit with vegetables and such, to get food on the table fast.

The crock pot is great too. Go to www.recipezaar.com and www.allrecipes.com and search for the highest rated crock pot recipes and you'll find some good ones. The ones I like best include rice/potatoes/noodles, veggies and meat all in the same dish so all I have to do is serve. No worrying about preparing sides.

There are also those skillet meals you can get in the frozen section in the store that have the pasta or rice, veggies and meat right in them that you just heat on the stove and eat. Those are very quick.

I don't know if you have a gas grill, but if you do, one of the quickest meals is just grilled steak with sides. I keep a supply of those steam in bag frozen vegetables and the 90 second microwave rice dishes for when I need something fast.

I also buy the precooked grilled chicken strips at Costco or Sams and keep those in the freezer so I can make a quick chicken caesar salad or just heat those up, microwave some frozen vegetables and serve it with a cup of fruit or applesauce or make some of the 90 second rice.

When I'm really not in the mood to cook, we do tomato or chicken noodle soup from a can and grilled cheese or another type of cold sandwich with some sort of fruit.

There are endless possibilities for 'fast' food at home. I think the secret is planning ahead. Make sure you have things in your house that you can cook quickly. Lunch meats, cheeses, fruits, bread, canned soups, things you can cook in your microwave, etc. Plan your weekly menu ahead of time, make sure you have all the ingredients you need, and make sure whatever you're having on days when you don't have much time are easy and quick to prepare. And in regards to leftovers, which I know some people hate, having the same meal twice in one week never killed anyone. I bet you've given your kids McDonald's twice in one week before and they didn't complain. ;-)

Good luck!

Hi B.,

JANIE'S SUPPER:
This is easy to double triple etc. I always double it to have enough.

Serve with Frito scoops. Excellent over rice too.

1 pound ground beef - browned & drained (I actually rinse mine with hot water in a colendar)

1 Can Ranch Style Beans

1 Can tomato soup

1 Can rotel

Pour beans and soup into sauce pan. (don't dilute soup). Season to taste with S & P. I use only the juice of the rotel, as my kids don't like the chunks of maters/peppers.

Stir in your browned beef and let season a few minutes.

Ta Da, you are done. Serve with Frito scoops as the spoon or as frito pie, over rice, etc.

I feel your pain. I have three (10, 11, 13) who all play a sport fall and spring + each plays an instument. Winter, when we break from the sports after football and before spring baseball and soccer, seems to be the only time we had for real meals.

Cooking for on the go, does take a little planning. I too could use some fresh ideas, as I get stuck in a rut with the same ole stuff I know is quick and easy.

There are tons of web sites out there that offer a VAST resource for you... My suggestion... go to Half Priced Books or shop on Amazon.com and get 2 books: Fix It And Forget It Cookbook or Southern Living at Home's Slow Cooker Cookbook... these two have been INVALUABLE to me.

____@____.com I have a few on word I can email you if you like too.

The crock pot, menu planning and smart shopping have saved me TONS of headaches with 2 active boys involved in lots of "stuff"

With my 4 girls all in dance, piano, and church activities, I feel your pain! I am a stickler for meals together at home. We NEVER eat fast food, except for fun on the weekends sometimes.

Some things I do are:

Get a George Foreman Grill. I buy large packages of chicken and boneless pork chops and divide them into gallon ziploc freezer bags (one bag for a meal's worth). I get some bottled marinade and pour it in. You can keep in the fridge a couple days or in the freezer longer. Then when it's time to cook, heat up the grill while you thaw the bag, and the meat will cook in about 6 minutes. While they are thawing/cooking, you can make some rice or red potatoes (my recipe below). Steam or nuke some veggies, and you have a HEALTHY meal in about 15 minutes. With varieties of meat and marinade flavors, we eat this about 3-4 nights a week, and we don't get too sick of it.

Red potatoes: cut into 1 inch size pieces (leave skins on). Steam (I have a Tupperware steamer I can use in microwave). Stir in a couple tablespoons of butter and sprinkle with dill weed and salt and pepper. YUMMY! My kids LOVE these.

There are also a lot of frozen crock pot meals you can buy now. Betty Crocker and others. Just throw them in in the morning (you don't even have to thaw) and they're ready at dinner time.

We also like to have breakfast for dinner a lot. I get the Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix (just add water.) I can whip up a batch of pancakes in a couple minutes. We will have pancakes and eggs or sausage. Sometimes I'll throw some frozen blueberries in the mix for a change, or for a special treat (good report card days or whatever) I'll put in chocolate chips. I know this doesn't sound real healthy, but it's WAY better than McD's!

Spaghetti is also something that can be thrown together really fast, and you can make double of what you need. Then divide up the leftovers in those cheap ziploc containers that you can reuse or throw away. Use the small, individual size ones, and your family members can reheat their own leftovers without a big mess.

Hi B.!
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K.

what about doing a slow cooker recipe on those days, start it in the morning on low heat? or how about prepare a couple of casseroles that you can throw in the over when you get home at 5? i don't know, good luck though! i'm a sahm with one practice per week and it kills me on those days! it's a mad rush trying to get everyone fed and out the door.

B.,

Here is one of my family's (esp. kids) fav's.

Ravioli casserole

1 pkg. frozen ravioli
1 pkg. frozen italian meatballs
1 large jar spaghetti sauce
grated mozarella

Cook frozen ravioli. Thaw meatballs in microwave. Place ravioli in a casserole dish sprayed with Pam (or other). Place meatballs on top of ravioli, then top with spaghetti sauce and grated mozarella. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and slightly brown!

I have a 9 year old daughter and a 3 year old son and they both love this. Also, it usually makes enough for leftovers for the next day's lunch!