Back to school is such a hectic time. I can’t believe it’s right around the corner! There are so many things to consider when you have students of any age heading back to school or campus. Clothes, Supplies, Textbooks, the list goes on and on! We tackled many of those topics on last night’s Back to School on a Budget episode of Frugal Coast2Coast.
But that isn’t all there is to think about when heading back to school. The beginning of the academic year brings big changes to a family’s schedule. The kids have to get up earlier to head out the door for the bus. There are sports practices and games, extracurricular activities, scouts, even PTA meetings start filling up the evenings. Don’t even get me started on the homework and projects. . . . . .
One of the first thing to fall apart when schedules get hectic is family dinner. It can just seem that there is no time.
No time to prepare a hot healthy meal.
No time to eat it.
You rush in the door then right back out again for one of a million things and grabbing that fat laden burger at your local drive through begins to sound like the only option.
It doesn’t have to be.
You all know I am a big advocate of family dinner. Huge. I think that the time a family spends around the table together is extremely important. It’s a time where parents and children can bond. Where they learn, through the parent’s example, social skills and manners. Where families have discussions that are important not only because of the topics discussed, but because they teach children that they can and should talk to their parents and that they will be listened to.
Nestle asked me to participate in their Back to School Basics campaign helping families stay on top of the school year. They want to talk about how food is an important part of the back to school rush. So how can you make dinner happen? How can you get a meal on the table amongst all the chaos?
Of course I have some thoughts to share~you all know me, I’m never at a loss for ideas! Here are my top 4 tips for getting a meal on the table in a hurry:
#1-Use your crockpot.
I love the crockpot. I could sing odes to it. Throw dinner in the crockpot in the morning and it is hot and ready when you get home. You can even toss it together the night before, stick the crock pot liner in the fridge and then pull it out in the morning!
#2-Precook and freeze your meats
Thawing & cooking the meat portion of your meal is the most time intensive part. If you have cooked ground beef or cubed/shredded chicken frozen in meal sized portions you have dozens of quick and easy meals at your fingertips. Check out my article on avoiding the drive thru trap for some specific recipes!
#3-Have a few “Go To” meals
Everyone should have a couple of desperate dinners that they can pull out on a rushed night. Mac ‘n Cheese w/hotdogs. Scrambled eggs. Spaghetti with jarred sauce. Any one of these can be cooked and on the table in a hurry.
#4-Keep frozen meals on hand.
I like to cook from scratch~you all know that. I like not only knowing that I have provided for my family, but also the quality of the food they are eating. But let’s face it~there isn’t always time. There is nothing wrong with falling back on some frozen meals! These days you can buy some very healthy options. With all the traveling & conferences I’ve attended lately I have picked up some Stouffer’s family sized frozen meals. Lasagna, Beef Stroganoff, and Chicken Alfredo are some of our favorite. While these meals are more expensive than cooking and freezing a meal yourself, they are still much cheaper (and more healthy) that your typical grease burger and fries!
So now on to the exciting part~the giveaway!
How would you like a $500 Walmart Gift Card to help cover your back to school expenses, courtesy of Nestle?
Note: I am trying something a little different this time. You will have TWO posts that you can enter on, both this post on making dinner happen and one early next week on lunchbox after school snack ideas.
This giveaway runs from Wed August 5th to midnight EST on Friday August 14th.
To enter: Leave a comment with your best tip or recipe for “Making Dinner Happen” on a busy school night.
Want some additional entries?
Here you go:
-Head on over to Nestle Family and tell me what your favorite recipe/idea is from their “Family Food” section.
-Subscribe to Frugal Upstate via either RSS or Email.
-Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post.
-Subscribe to the Frugal Coast2Coast joint newsletter/show reminders.
Good luck, and keep an eye out for another opportunity to enter next week!
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The Baked Potato Casserole and Bannan Nut bread sound great!
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I am subscribed to the Frugal upstate newsletter
Our busiest nights of the week are swim lessons night so I always have dinner in the crockpot so we can eat as soon as we walk in the door!
Just subscribed via RSS Feed. Love your site.
I can’t wait to try the cranberry pork chops!
I am subscribed via my google reader!
My tip is that spaghetti and a jar of sauce qualify as a meal when you’re lacking time or energy. Also, in our home apple sauce counts as a side dish and sometimes a dessert.
I’m happy to be an e-mail subscriber!
The Cranberry Pork Chops from the Nestle site sound delicious, although I would probably omit the nuts.
My making dinner happen tip isn’t new but it’s one that I’m still working on for mysef. I’m still working on consistently making a weekly meal plan. I do all right making meals and freezing them which keeps us from doing the take-out boogie but I need to renew my New Year’s Resolution and get back on track with my weekly meal planning.
I subscribe by email.
My favorite recipe from the Nestle Page was ravioli lasagna. I’m so impatient that I hate to wait for larger pasta to cook and if we need something at the last minute this could be made in the same time as a casserole and with whatever ingredients I had on hand. That’s perfect and such a Cool Idea!
By far our busy nights at Tuesdays, with after school stuff and football practice. We plan ahead by dropping something in the crock pot that morning. When we get home, no cooking – just a hot meal waiting for us!
I would love a chance to win the giftcard so I could pick up some back to school clothes for the kids. Thanks for hosting!
My best tip for making dinner happen is a rice cooker! I love mine, and it works similarly to a slow cooker–you put the rice in in the morning, and when you come home it’s ready!
The cookie smores recipe from the Family Food section looks delicious! That’s definitely my favorite.
I’ve been a subscriber for a bit now and love your tips!
My tip is to cook something every weekend that can be a leftover for at least one night of the work week. It might be a big casserole, pot of stew/soup/chili, or roast a couple of chickens, and I’ll shred the leftovers and put into sandwiches or quick burritos.
And breakfast for dinner is another pretty easy one. I can whip up a pan of scrambled eggs and a quick batch of pancakes from a mix in no time.
My family loves basic grilled cheese sandwiches, but we spice them up! We use very intense multi-grain bread and spread pesto on half. We slice our own cheese (I prefer pepperjack). It’s simple, but we keep things interesting!
My tip is a simple old standby. When we have a busy day, we have a soup and sandwich dinner. I always have soups on hand, either ones I’ve made out of leftovers earlier and frozen in meal size quantities, or canned soups I’ve gotten on sale and stocked up on. One of my family favorite combonations is grilled cheese and tomato soup.
I use my crock pot also. I make stews, soups, etc on the weekends that can be frozen and reheated quickly on a busy weekday. I keep frozen breads and canned fruits on hand for a simple side item and dessert.
email subscriber
The Golden Summer Corn soup recipe found here sounds great:http://www.nestlefamily.com/Food/Allrecipes/Default.aspx?ArticleId=9F6497E1-31AE-43DE-8194-D3F34668432B
My best tip for making dinner is make enough meat to last more than one meal. We do this by baking a whole chicken one night and using the leftovers the next night for chicken tacos.
crystal_reagan at hotmail dot com
The cranberry pork chops sound delish!
crystal_reagan at hotmail dot com
I’m an email subscriber.
crystal_reagan at hotmail dot com
I just subscribed to Frugal Coast2Coast.
crystal_reagan at hotmail dot com
I really do like the crockpot, but since you mentioned that already, I will chime in with another – I get 2 chicken breasts out of the freezer, put them in a ziptop bag, pour marinade over them and stick them back in the fridge. When I get home I can make a quick veggie and/or potato, and stick those marinaded chicken breasts on the grill. Dinner is done in less than 30 minutes and it’s yummy and healthy! thanks
I subscribe via email, thanks
tweet, thanks! http://twitter.com/idahojill/status/3153888322
The mexicali salad sounds easy, refreshing, and yummy, thanks!
I have some go-to meals, like you suggested. Some frozen chicken breasts sauteed with some veggies and a quick rice side dish, a homemade pizza is quicker than you think (I keep homemade pre-made dough on hand). Once I really committed to it and kind of made it a game, it got easier – I stopped dreading it and tried to make it more fun, and it got easier to keep the commitment.
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Ravioli lasagna and baked potato casserole, and banana bread – those are just some of the ones that i really like. Lots of good idea, thank you for the new resource, I didn’t even know it existed!
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Our busiest nights are when we have late playdates with friends or birthday parties that run past our usual eating time. In those cases, I have to get my kid fed super fast so that he eat right away and head to bed.
Some fast meals include hot dogs, microwavable turkey nuggets, and cheese and crackers. The best-case scenario though is leftovers 🙂
Although I personally would love to eat those swirled mint ice cream bars, the best dinner meal for our family would be the chicken and rice casserole 🙂
Make sure that you think ahead! When life will be crazy I pull a casserole or something else I’ve already made out of the freezer and make sure it thaws in the fridge a day or two before hand. Then it is ready to roll when we have the crazy day. I pop portions in the microwave and we eat in no time. Tonight I got dinner on the table in about 6 minutes and my husband actually could eat before he left for a gig. Yeah to no drive through or rushing!
Heather
The best tip for a successful dinner on a busy night is to plan ahead. Either take something out to defrost that will be easy to cook or do a “one pot shot” and cook something in the crock pot. My family loves corned beef and cabbage and it couldn’t be easier to throw in the crockpot in the morning with onions, carrots, and potatoes and it’s done right on time!
The best way to make dinner happen on a busy school night is to make a pot roast in the crock pot. It’s very simple to throw the meat, potatoes, carrots, and seasonings into the crock pot in the morning and slow cook it so that it’s ready by evening. I love the way the house smells, too!
mfalcon13@hotmail.com
I subscribed to Frugal Upstate via email.
mfalcon13@hotmail.com
The banana nut bread on the Nestle Family web site looks really good!
mfalcon13@hotmail.com
i subscribe
suscribed to frugal coast 2 coast
family food site lunch box ideas are so cool
chili in thr crockpot is great school night meal
Dinner was always a crazy time at our house until I started menu planning. The dinner hour became a wonderful time, because the hard part was done — deciding what we were going to eat!
Now that school is starting up, I put several meals in the freezer (stuffed shells, meatloaf, breakfast items, etc.). The rest of the meals are either quick (tacos) or crockpot.
My favorite quick dinner is of course the crockpot! I like a pot roast (almost any sort bought on sale) with potatoes and carrots and some beef boullion and water. Let it cook, come home and dinner is ready. I will take an instant gravy packet and make it using the water from the crock pot. Ta-da dinner in 10min with a little bit of prep in the morning!
when you buy ground meats, cook them up right away and put a pound of meat in small ziploc bags. You can always pull a bag out of the freezer in the morning before work or school, and once you get home, it will be ready to use! Add spaghetti sauce, cheese sauce, whatever you want.
My go to meal of choice is mac and cheese a vegegable and the frozen hamburger patties that I always make up to have for emergencies. That does it for this household.
One of the most important things in my opinion is to menu plan and have a back up plan in place for those crazy days where you end up being off schedule because a soccer game ran into overtime or a kiddo needs to make a trip to the doctors. It’s a good idea to have one or two freezer meals ready to go in those cases.
dazed1821@aol.com
Christine