Having dinner on the table every night is not a superpower just a select few possess.
You can be a busy parent and still manage to feed your family delicious homemade dinners every single night.
You just need to pay attention to the logistics.
Here are 5 dinner hacks that have become many working parents’ second nature.
Have a Plan
Always have a battle plan. Without it, you’ll end up with breakfast for dinner or even worse – takeaway for dinner.
Plan every single meal you want to serve each weeknight a week in advance.
Make a list with the ingredients you don’t have in your freezer or pantry. Shop accordingly.
You’ll notice that a plan will help you trim the number of weekly trips to the grocery store and the time you spend there immensely. P
lus, if you have a plan for each night, you will know when to thaw frozen ingredients for a particular recipe a day prior. But don’t overdo it with the plan.
Leave room for spontaneity at least during the weekend.
Also, have a backup plan.
We’re humans, not robots. Some weeknights you might not feel like cooking the dinner you have in your plan or maybe you wanted to stop by the grocery store for some extra ingredients, but you were too tired to do so.
Have a go-to meal in case of such emergencies. If the meal is made-ahead and frozen, all the better – the day is saved.
Keep Pantry and Freezer Stocked
This one should be first on your list. Make sure that you have all the non-perishables your family enjoys eating in the pantry or freezer.
Stock up on canned goods, rice, whole grains, pasta, frozen fruits and veggies, flour, oats, cornmeal and so on.
Also, keep your spice cabinet well stocked too.
You don’t want to make a trip to the grocery store just because you’re out of oregano and basil for that killer Italian dish.
What’s more, make the freezer your trusty ally.
Stuff it with meat, pre-chopped veggies, fruits, vegetable mixes, homemade stock, and everything that will enable you to make a quick dinner.
For instance, with frozen veggies, and rice you can quickly make a tasty stir fry when you are in a creative rut.
Stick to Tried-and-Tested Recipes
Unless you’re a stay-at-home mom, stick with the recipes you know your family love and enjoy eating.
On a busy weeknight, you don’t want to try a complex recipe and spend a couple of hours in the kitchen for your kids and spouse to frown upon it disapprovingly.
You can experiment over the weekend, and if the recipe is a big hit, add it to the family recipe book.
When setting up that weekly plan, go for simple meals that take 15 to 30 minutes to cook (preparation time included).
Also, you could try adapting family recipes to a crock pot.
This wonder pot will ensure that dinner is ready when you need it the most.
The learning curve is a bit steep, but a crockpot can be a godsend for a large family in the long run.
Cut Down on Preparation Time
To cut down on meal preparation times every night, chop the veggies or prepare the meat and other ingredients you’ll need for a specific recipe ahead of time and have them ready in the freezer.
The best time to do this is on weekends.
In addition, you could make your life even easier by making more servings than your family needs and freeze the extra.
You could also turn to make-ahead dinners and keep them in the refrigerator to skip even more work on the workweek.
For instance, this scrumptious chicken tetrazzini recipe from HomeChefWorld.com fits the bill perfectly for a make-ahead family dinner.
Get the Kids Involved
Busy parents get their kids involved in preparing dinner in ways that are fun for the kids.
For instance, you could tell your kids that Thursday is “Sandwich Night” and ask them to make their own sandwiches from the leftover dinner scraps from a night prior along with what ingredients you might have in the pantry and refrigerator.
Kids love to help, and you’ll have less work to do, so it’s a double win for the entire family.