Dinner for Family

[dave4him]

What do you do about dinner time for your family once daycare day is over? I am having trouble with this area since right now i have time to get dinner ready for my wife when she gets home, but i can see how this will be harder once i have more kids here. Any tips?

[Rachel]

My kids eat a main meal at lunch, so dinner is a quickie. Dh also works at a place where he gets a daily hot lunch, so he doesn't want more than a bowl of cereal when he comes home.

Sometimes I give my kids leftovers of whatever the daycare kids had, or I make the daycare lunch for the next day fresh at night for our supper.

And remeber, the crock pot is your BEST FRIEND. I seriously could not cope without mine.

[Meyou]

I do most of my dinner prep when I make lunch for the kids or during nap. I make things I can throw in the oven or cook quickly on the stovetop in a few minutes. Or I use my slow cooker or make sure we have leftovers. Alot of the time I only cook every second night and we have leftovers or something from the freezer on the off nights.

Another tip is to make double when you do have time to cook and throw 1/2 in the freezer for another day. I do this with pasta casseroles, meatloaf, soups, shredded meat for tacos or sandwiches and some veggies that are a pain like squash.

[melskids]

They either get what I made for lunch as their dinner, or I pull something from the freezer. Either way, when I do cook, I always cook a TON and we live on leftovers!

The crockpot is my best friend too!

I'm really into once a month cooking. here's a site, but there are a ton of others out there...

http://once-a-monthcooking.com/

[mismatchedsocks]

I will use crock pot once a week, then once a week is breakfast started once last kid leaves. The other days I will start dinner at 4:30-4:45 and be working on that while last kids are picked up. I close at 5 and we eat close to after that.

[meganlavonnesmommy]

I do as much as I can during naptime, cutting, preping and marinating.
Then I "start" dinner between 3-5, depending on what I am making.
4-5 is free play time, so the kids are usually occupied, and my kitchen
is right next to our play area, so I can still keep an eye on them.

[Soccermom]

I have a menu for the week so I prep when I can. Sometimes during naptime (If that works out....) If not I will steal a few minutes here and there while kids are eating at the table or doing a quiet art project. My slow cooker is a blessing because I can prepare the night before. I do a lot of quick 30 minute meals as well. I close at 5pm so meals I can have on the table by 5:30 are ideal.
But mainly the menu is the key.
I bake a lot with the kiddos too so I will often have muffins, cookies, and breads made when hubby gets home. The kids love it too.
I also have no shame in bringing my dcks upstairs with me to craft at the table or play with a few toys in my upstairs LR while I make Dinner if I have to. Parents will tell me how great my dinner smells and don't appear to be bothered at all that I am cooking when they arrive. I treat my dcks like my own kids though. It is a family home and my dcks become part of my family.

[spud912]

I do as much as I can during naptime, cutting, preping and marinating.
Then I "start" dinner between 3-5, depending on what I am making.
4-5 is free play time, so the kids are usually occupied, and my kitchen
is right next to our play area, so I can still keep an eye on them.

I do the exact same thing. 3:30-4 is snack time and our dining room is off of the kitchen, so they are next to me when I start. 4-5 is free play and I try to have dinner done and ready by 5 pm (last pick up is 5:10 so I will finish up dc and then serve dinner).

[Bella99]

Roast! It's so easy to shove it in the oven during nap time and 'forget' about it until dinner. If it's low temp then it wont dry out.