Q&A: Dinner time--How's it getting done?

Katie writes:

"I'd love to hear from some of your readers on how they get dinner time done.  It seems life was more organized in the past, but after a job change for one and increased responsibilities for others, it's not unusual to get home until 6:30.  So, by the time dinner gets made, we're often not done eating until around 7:30ish and it used to be we were close to an 8:00 bedtime but with summer it's more like 8:30, but the evening feels rushed.  I know that left to our own devices we wouldn't eat dinner right before bedtime, so it seems a little wrong to do it to our son.  So, probably the answer is to look at our schedules and get someone's jiggled around to getting home a little earlier (even 6 routinely).  I'm also concerned that having bedtime slip towards 8:30 just seems to late on a routine basis for a 2 1/2 year old (gets up around 6:30 or 7:00).  He's getting a little inconsistent on the napping."

Before we start talking about this, let's remember that some of this bedtime stuff is cultural. In some parts of the US, people work 8-5 so it's realistic to have kids in bed at 7:30 or 8. In NYC and other areas no one's at work before 9 and no one's home before 6:30 or 7, so parents would never get to see their children if they went to bed early. (Remember that book that came out a few years ago advocating that all kids have 7 pm bedtimes? Ha.) My Egyptian coworker finds it hilarious that I put my kids to bed so "early" (between 8:30 and 9 in the summer) because in Egypt everyone stays up until midnight and they sleep in later in the morning.

So it seems like it makes the most sense to look at your family situation and your kid's sleep sweet spot and use that instead of some external measure of when your kid should goes to bed, because, as usual, one size does not fit all.

But, on to meal prep. I think you're going to have to shift the emphasis off of starting from scratch when you get home from work. That leaves you with tons of options, though. Many of them are going to involve doing prep either the night before or a few days ahead. For instance, you could chop all the vegetables and protein the night before and leave them in containers in the fridge, then as soon as you get home start the rice and toss everything in to stir-fry. You'll be ready to go in 20 minutes. Or you could start using a slow cooker so you can slap everything together in the morning and it'll be ready when you get home. A countertop grill also cooks really quickly, so you could prep everything the night before and grill it up in 10 minutes when you get home. Or you could cook big batches of things on the weekend and reheat them for dinners throughout the week.

I really think the key is planning the week's meals in advance. And figure out who does what prep when as part of that plan. Because once the prep is done, the execution doesn't take very long (especially if you have helper appliances like slow cookers, rice cookers, countertop grills, etc.).

Readers, what are your favorite do-ahead or time-saving meal ideas?

Comments

[Jill]

Has anyone shared this blog?
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Yummy stuff.

[snickollet]

@Shirky: I'm so glad it's not just me. This sounds exactly like my life.

[Lisa]

Loved the CSA comments. I started composting religiously, mostly to handle the guilt. Still: ohmygod the peaches. That's like all we eat these days.

also, I'm coming out of the closet re takeout: We live in a great neighborhood for affordable(ish), healthy, quick takeout. $35 gets us dinner for 3 from the Thai place down the block, with lunch leftovers for me and T. the next day. Five meals for $7 each? With tons of veggies the kid loves and protein he'll eat? Sign me up.

(That said, when it's $50 for sushi, no leftovers except edamame, I have no excuse. Saving that one for monthly date night.)

[AmyinMotown]

These are so much fun to read! I second, well, all the suggestions. When my daughter was younger, we gave her dinner around 6 and ate later ourselves. Now, we all three eat together, and it's usually later than I would prefer (7-ish). Sometimes one of us will have to put our baby son to bed while the other parent eats with our daughter.

One of the biggest keys for me has been lowering my standards. I don't mean a lot of processed crap, but that weeknight dinners don't need to be expertly crafted gourmet feasts. I mean,tuna salad sandwiches with potato chips was a staple in my house growing up and guess what? I still love it, we had it the other night as a matter of fact.

And all these fellow meal planners crack me up. I thought I was the only one with a list on the fridge (including if I am using a recipe, what cookbook/magazine it's in and on what page).

A couple of go-tos for me: Chicken piccatta (with steamed broccoli, which tastes delicious in the sauce. I buy the presliced chicken cutlets that are already thin), sausage, spinach and gnocchi (it's a Real Simple recipe, probably available online) and tacos. Pasta salads in the summer, slowcooker inte winter. I hate heat and refuse to turn on the oven in the summer --we grill, or cook on the stovetop.

[ikate]

With a 21 month old who NEEDS to be in bed by 7:30 or she's a cranky monster (she gets up at 7 AM, naps anywhere from 1-3 hours a day), our nights are a rush. The only solution I've found is menuing the weeks and prepping meals the night before. When we don't do this everything goes to hell.

My hubby and I stagger our schedules a bit so she's in daycare from about 9-4:30 and we're all home by about 5:15. So from the time we walk in the door to bedtime the countdown is on. We aim for 2 family meals during each work week with all the meals being family meals on the weekend. 2-3 nights a week she eats as soon as she gets home and we eat after she’s in bed. We cook 2-3 times a week and the rest are leftovers or quick meals (Trader Joe's freezer section, how I love thee!); plus there is the sacred Midwest ritual of the Friday night pizza call. She's a terrific eater so fixing multiple meals is usually not an issue. On nights when we aren't prepared she gets a "snacky" dinner (yogurt, fruit, cheese, etc) and scrounge for ourselves later.

The plus to her somewhat early bedtime is it gives us time to do the prepwork for the next day. Most nights, by 8:30 my hubby and I are "free" do other fun things like laundry. :)

[Shannon]

Wow, some of you people are really putting me to shame! Planning and prepping? I'd say a lot of our dinners can be categorized as "scrounging." But, then, I shouldn't have to cook. I'm on antidepressants, remember? (Note sarcasm ... see, I'm getting better because I have a sense of humor about it.)

[Pamela]

I cook three meals on Saturday which can be served twice so we have enough for dinners and lunches. My "rules" for meals are that they are low in weight watcher points and that they don't take longer than 20 minutes of prep. I don't care if it has to simmer on the stove or bake in the oven for an hour, just so long as I'm not in front of the stove!

Since I'm expecting our second in eight weeks, I also did a bulk cooking session recently. I made 17 meals, all with ground sirloin and onion as the base, which could be frozen and re-heated post baby. Shepherds pie filling, lasagna, layered tortilla bake, chili, baked beef and macaroni casserole - all weight watchers. If this seems daunting, it was to me too! But you could start small by buying some chicken, poaching, slicing, and packaging it into containers and then freezing it. It can be added to salads, pasta dishes, and soups quickly. Same with ground beef (see ideas above). Even doing some of the steps towards meal prep on the weekend or once a month will help in the evenings a lot.

[hill]

A sort of related question if someone will indulge me-- our pediatrician mentioned not including proteins at dinnertime. Thus little girl's dinners are mostly vegetables + rice/pasta/quinoa/boulghour + yogurt/cheese.

Has anyone gotten any similar advice? Does this make any sense to anyone?

[Olerica]

I love so many of these ideas! My get dinner on the table quick idea is this: I make a large pot of Brown Rice up once a week and store it in the fridge. I don't add oil and just a bit of salt to cook.

We don't eat wheat or corn so rice is a pretty big staple.

Easy Risotto: Heat up rice and a tiny bit of water or veggie/chicken stock & seasoning. Add sauteed veggies and parm (or whatever I have handy) cheese Serve alongside turkey burger, hamburger, fish, whatever.

I kinda do that for a lot of meals, season the rice with whatever we're eating. Brown rice doesn't dry out like white and it adds a nice chewy dimension to foods.

[Mandy]

crockpot, crockpot, crockpot.

If you can, plan the meals for the week, shop all at once (my daughter loves being a part of the shopping, but most of the time now we have it delivered. Costs $10 and I save at least that much in gas and time). Then prep your weeks produce as much in advance as you can. At least wash everything.

Plan for leftovers. Make enough for 3 meal s for each of you, eat it once for dinner, once for lunch and put the third amount in the freezer for a night when you just need to be able to microwave dinner.

It sounds based upon the timeline that you're likely already doing a lot of that, but just in case.

Also, it's not uncommon for dinner and bedtime to be about an hour apart for kiddos. I think they handle it a bit better than we do. (adults need a bit more wind down time when possible) if 8:30 bedtime works, so be it. If his slipping naptimes seem tied to his going to bed later (which can be the case) then you may be right, that a juggle needs to happen with schedules.

One thing you might be able to do to help it feel a bit less rushed is to do as much as possible in advance. When I lay out my daughter's clothes for the next day, I also lay out her pjs. That way I get to spend more time reading to her and less time looking for clothes.

If you feel like dinner time is encroaching on quality time together, remember that dinner IS great time together. And, if you want you can throw in a picnic on the living room floor sometimes.

[Chabelamarie]

We eat with our girl about half of the time and the other half we eat right after she goes to bed (that way hubby and I can have a quiet dinner), but I hear you on the tight schedule. What works for us is to plan ahead the week's meals. We try to make meals that we can eat out of two nights, that way only one evening is hectic and the next one is a breeze.

I absolutely love the cook book The Best 30-Minute Recipes by Cooks Illustrated. It has a wide variety of healthy meals and you can truly make them in 30 minutes. best of luck!

[Slim]

~Hill -- Never heard that, and I'm wondering whether there is some background about why your ped suggested no protein at bedtime? I would think that in a perfect world you'd want a little protein in the belly so your kid doesn't wake up hungry at 3 am.

[Amy]

These food posts have been great! Thanks for allowing me to let go of the guilt of the fruit, yogurt, cheese dinner for the toddler and the nursery supper for the 6 and 8 year old.

"By any means necessary!!!"

[MemeGRL]

Am too tired to see straight but wanted to add a few things quickly:
I have tried several of the "meal prep" places around here and they were lifesavers in busy times at work. I am not good at freezing food I have made myself (I know that sounds dumb, but I am not; it gets freezer burn or goes mushy or some other gross thing) so I love that they have figured this out for me and all I have to do is remember to take it out of the freezer the night before. Best ones in my experience: Super Suppers and Dinner A'Fare.

Second, a few years ago Real Simple had a "no cooking" menu plan for summer that is now indispensable for me in heat waves. Or July. Same thing.

Third, was it here that someone wrote about being too tired to cook and just chopping fruit and throwing it at the kids around the counter? It was an indelible image and a delicious one. My son has had only smoothies for lunch for days now.

Finally, can't wait to get The 6 O'Clock Scramble but I have to put in a word for Rachael Ray. Someone gave me her 2nd cookbook from 2002 or something and it's really been helpful. I can't do most in 30 mintues (I don't wash and prep my veggies on the way home from the market) but they are relatively quick and full of good tips for those of us who didn't learn to cook elsewhere. And I also have liked Robin Miller lately too, with cook-once-eat-twice-in-a-meal-that-doesn't-feel-like-a-leftover plans.

And again, to all, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your great ideas.

[violingirl]

I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 12 month old. I work from home 35 hours a week, and my last student walks out the door at 6:30 p.m. My husband is home between 6 and 6:30 depending on his commute.

I do the crockpot once or twice a week (more than that and my husband will complain- same as someone else posted "tastes like crockpot") and the other 3-4 nights are a little hit-and-run. A lot of baked fish or baked chicken with rice and a veggie as a side. Boring, I know, but it keeps us away from frozen pizza 3 nights a week. I try to cook really good meals on the weekends and that seems to make up for it in a way.

My sitter feeds the baby at 5 p.m. He's starving by then so waiting til 6:30/7 won't do. He goes to bed around 7:30 or 8, and the 2-year-old is in bed by 8 most nights. Our 2-year-old will happily wait to eat with us. We put the baby in the highchair with a toy while we eat, and that is our family mealtime. A few months ago he ate around the same time as the baby, and we gave him an activity to do at the table while we ate so we still had the "sitting down together" thing happening.

[paola]

@Hill

Here in Italy the health department issues guidelines for introducing solids that most peds and mums follow (I did to the letter, but I'm very anal, but many don't). They are great as they tell you what to introduce at what month and for the first year they suggest meat for lunch and cheese for dinner. Only because cheese is a bit easier to digest ( unless you are intolerant of course).

[hill]

@slim and @paola

Must indeed be a cultural thing since I live in France. We have similar guidelines but I haven't seen a breakdown for lunch/dinner, just general food types/amounts per day.
In general, I think the ped was touting low-protein in the evening for adults as well.

Anyway, thanks for the input-- when the cupboards are bare but I have chicken in the fridge, I'll just feed her the protein without guilting myself to death!

[Kate]

Just another vote for bedtime being whenever it seems like it should be (based on what the child needs); ditto for dinner time.

As usual, we are slaves to my daughter's schedule (she's 4), who needs to go to bed at around 7:30 or so and needs to eat dinner by 6:30 at the latest (sometimes earlier). I'd rather give the kids a nutritious dinner at 5:30 then continue the whiny snack parade, you know?

My husband's schedule is unpredictable, but he is rarely home before everyone is bathed and in PJs--or asleep. My best meals emerge if I cook while my son naps (and my daughter is at school or camp!).

As for the kids, I admit to not raising the bar for their palates. My son eats almost everything--he's 2--and my daughter is finicky. If she wants an avocado sandwich for dinner with a cheese stick and baby carrots on the side? FINE.

We always eat Shabbat lunch together (and Shabbat dinner in the winter, when it's at a reasonable dinner hour instead of 8-9pm). I assume the scheduling will change over time, just like everything else in Life With Kids.

[Slim]

To avoid the "tastes like Crockpot" problem, check out Ready and Waiting by (I think) Rick Rogers. The recipes require more prep than most slow cooker recipes, but the results are delicious; I serve some of this stuff to company.

[SarraJK]

My son is 3, and I'm one of the 7pm bedtime people. I don't get to spend as much time after work with my son as I'd like, but he needs his sleep (and I don't want to spend time with cranky, no-sleep boy).

We feed him, then do the bedtime routine (bath, story, bed). I make dinner for us after he's in bed (and most of that is pretty quick, too.), and we end up eating around 8. I love to cook, but I save the involved recipes for the weekends.

We try to get home around 6, and all of his dinners take 10-15 minutes prep time. One thing that saves time is using the toaster oven instead of the big oven, since you save the pre-heat period.

He doesn't have a wide variety of foods that he eats (he won't even eat hot dogs, hamburgers or chicken nuggets). I'm sure eventually he will branch out.

Meatloaf - I make big batches of meatloaf then freeze it in muffin tins. One muffin tin is a good portion size and thawed overnight in the fridge, it cooks up in the microwave in about 3 minutes.

Macaroni and cheese - I make individual portions with Barilla Plus noodles, butter milk and shredded co-jack cheese.

Spinach Ravioli - I get this from costco, he likes it without sauce.

Fish sticks - 9 minutes in the toaster oven.

Meatballs - Ikea meatballs (15 minutes in the toaster oven) and I make the sauce (beef broth, cream, flour, soy sauce) while it cooks.

Turkey lunch meat - when we're really pressed for time I just give him some turkey, cheese, crackers and cucumbers and it's a meal in under a minute.

Veggies - Broccoli, peas, corn, and green beans are his staples. Almost anything will steam or sautee in less than 10 minutes. And canned green beans don't even need to be heated up.

Fruit - we always have fresh fruit of some sort available for dessert.

I think the key for us is having a plan and starting dinner as soon as we walk in the door.

[Lex]

How about making enough later at night for the parents, and using the leftovers next day for the kids?

That's what my friend does: makes say, pasta for her and her husband, makes enough sauce for two adults plus two children, and serves it to the kids the next night over fresh pasta.

[casey]

My husband makes dinner while I feed our son (almost 2) and get him ready for bed. We eat together on the weekends. That's the way we make it happen, and M's bedtime is between 7:30-8.

[Julie]

Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals book has a ton of great, fast, and easy recipes. Though my 2.5 y/o wouldn't touch any of them, they are easy to make for the grownups while 2.5 y/o eats chicken nuggets. Again.

[Florabora]

I second the recommendation of the 365 Crockpot site. We normally try out one of her recipes on the weekend. We both work full time and don't get home until 6:30 - so crockpot cooking really only works on Sat or Sun.

I find another issue is trying not to feed my toddler the same foods he had for lunch at day care. They don't always follow their posted menu, so even though I've a planned dinner menu for the week, we try to be flexible so that the kid isn't eating chicken or spaghetti twice in one day.

I or my husband has to start cooking as soon as we get in the door in order to get the tot fed and in bed before the "witching" hour of 8 pm.

[SJ]

so many great tips - I love them all. I do meal planning using my google calendar - I have a separate sub-calendar called "what's for dinner" and then I enter the cookbook or magazine where the recipe is as the location.
It's also nice because then I have a history of the past year or so since I started doing this of dinner ideas - so when I am planning the next weeks' meals, I can look back. I also sometimes put recipes I want to try on random future dates, then move them around when it gets closer.

[another Lori]

In the summer, (and this is usually kid dinner for all that I nibble too) it's either light, cold foods (think yogurt, cereal, tuna, chef salad) that don't require oven on or eating warm stuff for dinner, or ice cream at 5/6 pm with something more dinner-like at 7/7:30 when we can bear to feel hungry.

And in my mind, as long as you hit the food groups (mostly), it's a meal: string cheese with crackers and banana? fine. yogurt with apple-dipped-in-honey? fine. tuna with macaroni (mixed in) and blueberries (on the side)? fine. we have lots of lunches that way after camp ends; make your own combo from what's available. the kids would happily be vegetarians.

[hedra]

For those who get total mush from their crockpots or 'tastes like crockpot' results, consider whether your crockpot is heating too hot. Check Parenthacks.com (search for crockpot), there's info on which ones tend to get too hot, and epeepunk put in a link on how to test if it is too hot. Getting one that did NOT go too hot was THE. DIFFERENCE. for us between 'um, ugh, crockpot?' and 'ooh, crockpot!' (okay, good recipes help, too, but the crockpotty/mushy thing totally not an issue, now!)

[liphovela]

We do have cooked "real" food 4 nights per week as a family. Here is how we do it:

I get home at 6 with my three year old. I let him eat a piece of fruit on the way home in the car and I start cooking the minute I get in. I've basically always done this, even when he was smaller and he hangs out in the kitchen (sling when was smaller) with me. No TV unless on very rare occasions I have really "had it."

I have a set of things that I can have on the table by 645 (when my husband gets home) and I rotate between them. I make a plan on the weekend what the meals will be for that week so that I have what I need. Its all pretty simple-- chicken breast, rice, veg. Pasta and salad. Hamburger, potato, veg. Rice, beans, tortillas.

Bath at 730, lights out 8-815. I've been anal about keeping to the family dinner, but I let bed time slip a bit later. Felt more guilty about this a year ago than I do now, but kids naps are solid affairs and it seems okay.

[Shalini]

I think it's what works best for each family unit.

I stay at home more than the husband, but do occasionally work (part-time). I am currently in school as well. So it's often, that we eat late.

My daughter is 2 years and 11 months old, and she has gone to bed at about 10pm to 10:30pm every night and wakes up at 10:00am to 10:30am

She does not nap anymore. (this has pros and cons)

I know people that are all the sleep police and definitely criticize about how late my daughter sleeps etc. But I think (for me) that it's insane to put my daughter to sleep at 6 or 6:30pm and then complain because she wakes up at 5:30 or 6am, and then be upset all day...

If 6 pm or 8 pm works for your kid then that's good. But don't worry if it doesn't work.

And about 2.5 to 3.5 the kid sometimes phases out naps.

We always prep the night before, and LOVE the slowcooker, but also maybe bookmark some sites that you love, and maybe make up a lil weekly list that you can get all the indredients on a weekend or day off.. this way you don't have to constantly run to the store.

Hope this helps! And an 8 pm bedtime is not a bad thing ;)

[Shalini]

sorry for the typos

[pnuts mama]

@rudyinparis et al w/r/t the csa onslaught of lettuce/greens, etc.:
we eat salad about every other night based on what we get in our bag- there are so many diff ways to make a salad, green base, add whatever you have to make it 'theme' (asian chicken, buffalo chicken blue cheese, pear walnut goat cheese etc) or not- just throw in what you have. we stock up on salad extras during the summer (dressings, croutons, dried fruit, nuts, plus veggies we won't get in the box that week) and it is a filling meal when you add grilled chicken or other meat (if you're good you thaw night before and marinate all day- if you're like me you pull it out at end of day, defrost in microwave, use 15 minute marinade) or run to grocery and buy $6 rotisserie chicken to tear up 1/2 for tonight 1/2 for another night.

when we get bizarre stuff or stuff i don't usually cook i have done well with googling recipes, extra bonus if i list two or more veg that came in one recipe together. also, w/ cooking greens, you can chop them and toss them in a quiche (w/ other stuff) on weekends, freeze for a weeknight. or just cook them with bacon, oh that makes any damn green edible. or go a la jessica seinfeld and chop, steam and puree any green and toss into whatever sauce etc you have. which i've yet to do, but when my schedule opens up i have big plans for!

[Julie]

haha pnuts mama....."when my schedule opens up".......hahahahahaha.

And your ice cream comments of the last few posts????? Um, nursing a lot perhaps????? Heehee.

[Lauren]

I don't think it has been mentioned, so check out the Ordering Disorder blog at http://www.workitmom.com/bloggers/orderingdisorder/
She is funny, has a Moxie-like attitude, and has good family-easy recipes

[strugi]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. My son fell asleep about 30 min ago after eating a veggie filled quesadella (too tired to figure out how to actually spell that). I am now reading this while eating my O cereal with skim milk and banana.

Great timing!

Any suggestions for the vegetarians in the group?

[Ann]

@Shalini We get grief too about our dd's bedtime. It's 9-10 depending on our day and she sleeps til 8-830. We are night owls so this works for us. Luckily, we both work at home, so no rushing out the door in the am. (Except for Sundays, but we ALL take naps that day!)

Whatever works for your family as long as kiddos get enough sleep and don't starve to death. ( Her dinner tonite-- applesauce UGGGH.)

[Gemma]

I find prepping a bunch of meals on the weekend or day off works well. There is a pretty good cookbook called "Quick Fix Meals" by Robin Miller (she also has a show on Food Network) and she gives a variety of techinques to have a homecooked quick meal each night.

[katie usually posts as kt]

Hi, thanks to Moxie for posting my question and to everyone for their responses. I particulary like the "if you like the solution less, it's not a problem." I've also realized since mailing this to Moxie that a lot of the problem is a combination of my attitude (the cultural expectations) and life getting out of wack and our not planning ahead lately. Credit for streamlining all goes to my husband - he's the cook in the family.

Like some of you have posted, family dinner is really important to us. But, it's great to hear how other people are managing - right down to the scraping it and shifting your expectations for a while approach. Also, seems time to revisit the idea of prepping ahead. Something my husband and I talked about in the past when things got tight and may be time to revisit.

Thanks all!

[gs]

Loving the posts suggesting to nix the "right" way to do things and stick with what works for you and yours. Bump has been eating yogurt, fruit, and whole-grain toast or crackers for dinner for a long time now. It's what he likes, so we go with it. So long as we can get in one alternate/solid meal (which is typically breakfast) we're doing good.

What works for us: feed Bump first, deal with our own dinner later. Sometimes just grazing on whatever he's grazing on for dinner does the job for me. (Not so much hubbie, who then fends for himself).

We're both academics so chances are one of us is home earlier in the day. That person usually doesn't have to cook, if we do cook, because s/he has been on toddler-duty all day. And let's face it: of our two jobs (teaching/parenting), that is the most demanding.

Also, our golden quick recipe: stir-fry using veggies we've chopped up days prior. Invest in a good, easy to clean WOK, a good set of knives, and some tupperware. Once everything's been diced and sliced, all that dinner involves is adding some meat or tofu to the wok, dumping in the veggies, and you're done in less than 30. (Rice cooker usually finishes right when stir-fry is good to go, if you time it right).

[gs]

Loving the posts suggesting to nix the "right" way to do things and stick with what works for you and yours. Bump has been eating yogurt, fruit, and whole-grain toast or crackers for dinner for a long time now. It's what he likes, so we go with it. So long as we can get in one alternate/solid meal (which is typically breakfast) we're doing good.

What works for us: feed Bump first, deal with our own dinner later. Sometimes just grazing on whatever he's grazing on for dinner does the job for me. (Not so much hubbie, who then fends for himself).

We're both academics so chances are one of us is home earlier in the day. That person usually doesn't have to cook, if we do cook, because s/he has been on toddler-duty all day. And let's face it: of our two jobs (teaching/parenting), that is the most demanding.

Also, our golden quick recipe: stir-fry using veggies we've chopped up days prior. Invest in a good, easy to clean WOK, a good set of knives, and some tupperware. Once everything's been diced and sliced, all that dinner involves is adding some meat or tofu to the wok, dumping in the veggies, and you're done in less than 30. (Rice cooker usually finishes right when stir-fry is good to go, if you time it right).

[Imanitsud]

I remember this stage well. Who am I kidding? Half the time, this is still my life, with a 4yo and 7yo. Here are two of my favorite websites to visit when I'm needing new recipes: Work it Mom's "Ordering Disorder" column, and Pioneer Woman Cooks. I also like the recipes from Family Fun and Wondertime.
Hope they're helpful.

[michelle]

What about "the packets"? I feel like I saw this on Alton Brown's cooking show once. Or a Reynold's Wrap Ad.

Put raw chicken or fish plus some sliced/julienned veggies in an aluminum foil pouch with some sort of fairly potent seasoning (we like soy sauce/sesame oil/mirin...but I'm sure you could do garlic and herbs or curry or pre-prepared sauce). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 or 20 minutes. No pots or pans to wash, and you can easily prep the veggies beforehand.

[Lisa]

If we ever have leftovers of something freezable that my kids like, I freeze 5-year-old size portions, and 18-month-old size portions and keep them in ziplock bags in the freezer for the rushed nights we often have. At the moment we have a lovely large selection of meals for them (and I only freeze their favourites so I know they'll eat it!). They can each choose which meal they'll eat and I defrost it while they're in the bath. Hubby and I then eat avocado on toast or something simple. I love it, it has worked for us for 5 years. No guilt as the kids always have a Proper Dinner, but it involves next to no work for us !