First of all, I just want to say that the lunch ideas left in the comments section on yesterday’s post are amazing! I’ll be referring to them throughout the school year. Thank you for sharing.
Today we’re going to tackle how to handle the challenge of supper on hectic days. Once school starts, things get crazy whether your family public, private, or home schools. Sports practices, ball games, and afternoon lessons can wreak havoc on even the best planned schedules.
I’m happy to be partnering with Nestle and featuring some great products to help you handle the changes that back to school or back to (home) school brings to your day-to-day routine.
We participate in a music program that runs until late afternoon two days a week. Supper is difficult to plan on those days because we get home at the time we should be eating. Stouffer’s Family-Size Entrees are a great choice for those days. This post is being typed thanks to the free wi-fi at the library while my kids have band practice from 4–6 p.m. Before leaving home, I put in a Stouffer’s Vegetable Lasagna and utilized my oven’s neglected time bake feature: it will start cooking while we’re gone and be ready when we arrive.
Yesterday I was painting my boys’ bedroom and didn’t want to take time out to cook supper. I put in a Stouffer’s Party Size Macaroni and Cheese and added steamed vegetables and a side salad. While most people might reserve those party sizes for, well, a party, they’re perfect for a large family like ours (where every day is a party!).
Two of my kids are in marching band, and football game days are insane. When I don’t take the time to prepare in advance, we drive close to an hour to reach the field and drop off the kids; backtrack 15 minutes to eat fast food; and then head back to the field for the game and to take supper to the other two kids. Silly, isn’t it?
Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets are great for times when you need to get out the door in a hurry, but you want to feed your family something hot and filling. I’m going to utilize them this school year for those game days and evenings with 6 p.m. baseball practices.
Do you have a back to school idea for handling meals on days with sports practices, ball games, or afternoon classes? Leave it in the comments section to be entered to win a $500 Walmart gift card compliments of My Home Sweet Home and Nestle!
I appreciate your help spreading the word. Tweet or post the following to Facebook — Share supper ideas for a chance to win a $500 Walmart gift card from Nestle & @DawnMHSH! http://bit.ly/14JhfC — for another entry. Just leave it in a separate comment.
Feel free to subscribe to my feed via reader or email so you won’t miss the next post in this series, about how you can turn outdoor chores into fun for your kids and their friends. Watch for a separate contest coming soon where I’ll be giving away another $500 Walmart gift card.
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We use other fast food type frozen foods such as chicken nuggets, fish sticks, pizzas, pizza rolls. My newest favorite thing to do is drop a pork tenderloin or pork roast, or chicken breasts & thighs into a crockpot and pour bbq sauce on it. It makes a great pulled pork or chicken sandwich.
.-= Candi´s last blog ..Mimi the Sardine lunchbug giveaway =-.
Tweeted it:
http://twitter.com/canDlinZ
.-= Candi´s last blog ..Mimi the Sardine lunchbug giveaway =-.
I try to keep quick items in the freezer from the store/leftovers/make-aheads. Also, we love grilling – we can grill hot dogs or chicken strips quickly – family favs. A big thing we do is get take out pizza. Especially on Friday nights. We have even packed along pb & j’s on super busy on the go days.
I love your site – I am going to post your button on my blog. I am on facebook if you would like to be friends 🙂
Blessings!!
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http://twitter.com/keepsakebaby/status/3253012676
tweeted id keepsakebaby
thanks!!!!!!!
Wow $500 Walmart – we wouldn’t know how to behave 🙂
.-= Stefanie Hartman´s last blog ..Happy 4th Birthday Lukey!!!! =-.
I have enjoyed having a few meals (that freeze well) stored in the freezer for hectic days. I just double the recipe of a few of our favorites and then warm them up when we need dinner fast. With kids going different directions it sure helps. Pizza is my other default. Stouffer’s has some other skillet meals that I think look good–haven’t tried them yet, though.
.-= GayleV´s last blog ..Bokeh =-.
Twittered, too. http://www.twitter.com/momandcamera
.-= GayleV´s last blog ..Bokeh =-.
My crockpot is what I go to on hectic days. I try to have everything in the crockpot so it is a complete meal, or sides that can be in the microwave. Fix it and Forget It is my go to book for these days.
.-= Kristal´s last blog ..Week 2: The School Room =-.
Wooo hooo! I tweeted: http://twitter.com/drewsfamilytx
.-= Marsha´s last blog ..Trusting in fear =-.
Okay, facebooked it too but ummm… yah… not sure how to link to my post. I did click that FB button up there though.
.-= Marsha´s last blog ..Trusting in fear =-.
Soccer season will be upon us soon– that is when I utilize three things:
1.) brown bag lunches
2.) quick cooking
3.) clever things like hot pockets to eat in the car on the way! (and then another snack when we get home)
I’ll shift our “big” meal of the day to lunchtime on the days where we have soccer practice and have to leave the house by 4pm– returning home around 7pm. (We live far from things. Icky, huh?)
I can only eat so much crockpot food and much prefer quick cooking meals that take under 30 minutes. This usually involves pasta or the grill (burgers, hot dogs, fajitas, barbecue, steaks).
I have several quick chicken recipes that I can cook in a skillet as well. I think the biggest difference is having a well-stocked pantry and refrigerator– I hate it when I’m missing just one ingredient for a recipe.
.-= Marsha´s last blog ..Trusting in fear =-.
Posted it to my fb page– http://www.facebook.com/GinaofHOPE?ref=profile
Tweeted!
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posted on Facebook, too
.-= Deborah´s last blog ..Pop Art Five in One Tasty Baker Review =-.
Leftovers. I know, I wasn’t a huge fan of the dreaded leftovers as a kid. As an adult, leftovers are a real time-saver. I’ve been won over.
Deborah
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Michigan addy ready
Our crockpot gets a good workout on our busy Scouts-sports-homeschool group activity days! Stews are the easiest: throw in cubed beef chunks, carrots, potatoes, onion, can of tomatoes, salt/pepper, in the crockpot in the morning. At the end of the day, you have a meal!
.-= yvonne´s last blog ..‘crime don’t pay’ =-.
Tweeted! http://twitter.com/meaderfam
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I’ve just learned how to make whole wheat pepperoni bread. Cook ahead, slice, take and go. A healthy pizza treat on the run.
$500 at Walmart would buy a lot of mozzarella!
I don’t do freezer meals but I do make sure all my prep work is done in one day. I cut all the veggies and bag them. Brown the ground meat and grill the chicken then bag it. I marinate the beef tips, etc. That greatly cuts down on the time I spend in the kitchen.
.-= Amy Bayliss´s last blog ..Just another family night… =-.
We do a lot of grilling or crockpot cooking when we have a busy schedule. We also cook frozen meals. We’re all about convenient. 🙂
.-= Christine´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday- Stare Down =-.
I have come to love freezer meals. It is wonderful on the crazy days to just pull out a meal already prepared and just warm it through.
On other days, the crockpot and my bread machine are my best friends. It is wonderful to sit down to a complete meal with little effort.
When we actually have the opportunity to cook, we almost always increase a recipe. We then divide it up based on how much our family can eat in a meal and freeze the portions we are not eating that day. Then all that is needed is a 300-325 degree oven and two to three hours (depending on the food) to have a full, home-cooked meal. We do this with quiche, lasagna, broccoli chicken and rice casserole, pot pie, and all sorts of other casseroles. (I’m happy to share recipes – go to my profile on http://www.annsthots.blogspot.com and click to email me if you’re interested in easy recipes!)
Also, I noticed several crock-pot mentions, and I agree, that’s the way to go! We have discovered that if you can put food in a sealed bag that can withstand heat (we use sealed Food Saver bags), then you can cook/reheat it in a crock pot! We do this with spaghetti, soups, leftover casseroles that we’ve frozen in bags instead of pans, etc. Just fill the crock pot with water, turn it on low or medium (dependent on the amount of time you’ll be gone), and place the bag directly into the water. No mess and no work! Also, you can take any meatloaf recipe and cook it in the crock pot – usually 4-6 hours, depending on meatloaf size. (I do highly recommend slow-cooker liners!)