You got some good ideas already. I was going to suggest a few casseroles that I sometimes do on my cooking days. “Cooking Day” to me is either a day on the weekend when my husband can take the kids out for some “man time” and I can be free to cook several meals at once. It’s nothing for me to have one thing in the crockpot, one thing in oven, and one or two things on the stove at this time. I really did well at this when I was in 3rd trimester of my pregnancy and was preparing meals so I wouldn’t have to cook for my family or guests after my baby was born…
King Ranch Casserole:
cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, 2 C chicken broth, 1 can (undrained) rotel tomatoes, 3 C cooked, shredded or cut up chicken, some chopped onion, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp minced garlic, shredded cheddar cheese, and either some corn chips or corn tortillas: Preheat to 350, combine chicken, soups, rotels, onion, chili, and garlic together in a bowl. Spray the casserole dish for easier cleanup. Make a layer of chips, then a layer of the chicken/soup mix, then a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat this layering, bake for 30-45 minutes (until cheese is melted and hot).
Chicken and Rice Casserole:
Seasoned chicken, cut up…1/2 stick butter, 2 C raw white rice, 1 can of cream of chicken, 1 can of cream of celery, 1/2 bellpepper (chopped), 2 stalks of celery (chopped), 1 or 2 green onions (chopped), 1 C water, a can of undrained rotels: Preheat oven to 375, melt butter in the casserole dish. Mix rice, soups, chopped seasoning, and water in a bowl. When well mixed, pour into dish with melted butter. Place chicken on top of the rice, sprinkle shredded cheese on top, cover with foil, and bake until done (not sure, it’s either 60 or 90 minutes—you’ll know because there won’t be any liquid left).
Any version of chicken, cheese, or beef enchilada is good. Tuna noodle casserole (we eat this with egg noodles, my mom makes it with mac 'n cheese which sounds gross but it was actually good). Ziti, lasagna, etc are good. Meatloaf or mexican meatloaf are good options. Make meatballs and add sauce, and you can refrigerate or freeze it in a gallon ziploc bag that you lay flat, so it freezes flat like an “envelope”. Speaking of that, when I was preparing for the baby I also did chicken tortilla soup in the slow cooker and froze it (once cooled) in big ziplocs that were labeled and dated, I made chicken and sausage gumbo, homemade chili, taco soup, chicken noodle soup (minus the noodles), minestrone, those all freeze well. I made “files” of soup stuff like that to save room in the freezer. Super easy to just lay it down in the fridge when you wake up in the morning, and then pour into a pot to heat when you are ready to eat in the evening. The King Ranch casserole is delicious and is fine in the fridge a couple days, but I didn’t like it when I froze it…the chips were weird when I thawed it, so it’s a great dish but one that should be eaten in a couple days, not frozen.
On a super busy day when I don’t have time to mess around in the kitchen, my family LOVES taco soup and it only takes like 30 minutes from start to finish to make that. Brown and drain a pound of ground beef with chopped onion, then put in a pot with a can of undrained corn, 2 cans of ranch style beans, 1 can of undrained rotels, 1 can of undrained tomatoes (not rotels-you want one of each), stir and heat it up, serve with some shredded cheese and corn chips. My husband would eat that any day, and 2 weeks ago (last time I made it) my 5 year old asked if I would “teach my skills” before I go to heaven (he wanted to know how to cook it). It takes 30 minutes to cook, and can be reheated without any problems for a lunch or dinner the next day also.
If you have access to Blue Runner Creole Style Red Beans (must be Blue Runner) then you can make red beans and rice by can that would rival anyone’s homemade long version of the dish. That brand name has the texture down PERFECT. Slice a pound of sausage, brown with onion and some Louisiana hot sauce, put in 2 cans of Blue Runner beans, I like to add a can of undrained rotels to it, and that is really good. I cook brown rice (45 minute cook time) instead of white rice (20 minute cook time), but either your kids can get the rice started before you get home, or you could cook the rice the night before if you really need to eat “by” 5pm.
Another thing that is not a casserole or slow cooker but is a great short cut for a good dish: l often buy a package that is about 2lbs for sausage. I’ll cook one dish (red beans/rice, or gumbo, or whatever) one week, and have the extra pound still in the fridge to make a meal for the next week. Slice about a pound of sausage, cook with a chopped bell pepper (or red), a chopped onion, some shrimp, and Louisiana hot sauce. Cook it down, and in a separate pot make a batch of saffron rice. You can get a large pack of mahatma saffron rice for like $1.20…when the rice is done, stir it into the meat/veg, add a can of DRAINED rotels, and it’s a short cut, bastardized version of paella (but really tasty for a fast week day meal…you can save “the real thing” for a weekend). That takes about 10 minutes to prep (slice veg and sausage, rinse and de-shell 1/2 pound of shrimp), 25 minutes to bring water to a boil and cook the rice (the meat mix can cook once you have the water going for the rice and will be done in less than 20 minutes).
