meal ready to serve when you get home from work

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Meal ready to serve when you get home from work

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kinderCK

Sun, Apr 12 2009, 6:17 pm

hi.. I'm new here so not sure if there is a thread for this already but I'm always searching for easy to prepare meals that can be ready to serve once I get home at 6pm with 2 hungry kids and husband who arrives soon after.. I work full time and have become very challenged in this area!! It's always so hard to start getting it all together at that hour and when Ihave something bubbling away in the crockpot, my whole day goes better!!
One pot meals, crock pot meals are most welcome!! We eat everything, dairy, chicken, I'll do meatballs or chile sometimes during the week but not too much red meat. Also, my dtr won't eat fish anymore, except fish sticks.. anyone have a good kid friendly fishrecipe? thx

Chaya

downsyndrome

Sun, Apr 12 2009, 6:21 pm

Just heard a woman discussing how she prepare shephard's pie in the crock pot on chol hamoed so that they have dinner ready when they return home from trips. I think it's ideal for working women too!

goodheart

Sun, Apr 12 2009, 6:28 pm

1.U can put sweet pot and reg pot on bottom
add chicken and pour on duck sauce let it bake on low flame
all day its heaven.
2.u can also do it chicken and rice with spices add water little
3.meatloaf and pot. poyr over duck sauce bake all day
if u want any more just pm me

dora

Sun, Apr 12 2009, 6:36 pm

Today we had chicken with tomato sauce spices and mushrooms in the crockpot. During the year I add barley. Tomorrow we are having goulash with meat, potato, sweet potato and carrots. I prepare it at night and turn it on in the morning.

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 12 2009, 6:42 pm

I have some great great crockpot recipes...
Balsamic Chicken with Puffed White Rice
Honey Barbeque Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
Hearty Beef Stew

I also have crockpot recipes that don't need much time, so if you can set a timer to either turn it on at a certain time, or turn it off at a certain time...
Shredded Beef Buns
Barbeque Meatballs

I think I have some more recipes, I have to look them up.

Let me know which recipes you need. All are easy. I have some saved on my work computer, so I might have to post them next week.

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 19 2009, 2:19 pm

Here you go BusyBeeMommy. I will post some more of the recipes tomorrow be"h.

Honey Barbecued Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
• 3 cups peeled and sliced sweet potatoes, about 2 medium-large sweet potatoes
• 1 cup (8 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice, undrained
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• 2/3 cup barbecue sauce, your favorite
• 4 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 4 to 6 chicken leg quarters, skin removed
Preparation:
In 3½ to 5 quart slow cooker, combine sweet potatoes, pineapple with juice, chopped onion, and ground ginger. Stir to blend well.
In a measuring cup, combine barbecue sauce, honey, and dry mustard. Stir with a fork to blend well.
Coat chicken generously on all sides with barbecue sauce mixture. Arrange coated chicken in single layer over sweet potato and pineapple mixture, overlapping if necessary. Spoon any remaining barbecue sauce mixture over chicken. Cover; cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours (or on HIGH for 4 to 4½) or until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear, and sweet potatoes are tender.

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients:
Chicken
• 4 chicken legs, skinned
• 1 very large Spanish onion, chopped (you can add more - they come out like sauteed onions)
Dressing (this is approximate amounts, just make a dressing and taste - season well with salt)
• 4 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil, optional
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder or 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt to taste
Rice
• 1 cup white rice
• 2½ cups boiling water
• 2 tsp Kosher salt OR 1 tsp table salt
Preparation:
Place chopped onion on bottom of crockpot; place chicken on top in a single layer, overlapping if necessary.
Combine balsamic vinegar, optional olive oil, garlic powder and salt in a plastic cup. Pour evenly over chicken.
Cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
One full hour before chicken is ready, pour rice, boiling water from tea kettle, and salt into a crockpot liner/bag. Tie the bag with a knot. Place bag on top of chicken in crockpot. Cover crockpot and continue to cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
To serve, pour sauce and onions from bottom of crockpot over rice, and serve with chicken.

(This puffed white rice method works great with any crock pot recipe. It comes out perfectly puffed, no mushiness at all. The only requirement, is that you cook the food on HIGH, since it does not work if you cook the meal on LOW, and then switch it to HIGH for the last hour of rice cooking.)

Last edited by ra_mom on Tue, Apr 21 2009, 2:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

red sea

Sun, Apr 19 2009, 2:54 pm

S/o once mentioned she prepares meals in pans and freezes them ready to cook, puts it in the oven when frozen when she leaves so it wont go bad left out and sets the start timer & cook timer so its ready when they get home, so you need not be limited to a crock pot only.

Raisin

Sun, Apr 19 2009, 4:06 pm

you could also prepare food the night before ready to put in the oven and heat up. eg pizza, mac and cheese, chicken (grilling doesn't take long), prepare burgers ready to fry or grill, with salad etc all ready cut up, shepherds pie, chicken piot pie, meatballs with rice or pasta. (some of these could also be made in advance and frozen, a good idea is to make double quantites each time you make the dish and put one on the freezer)

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 19 2009, 7:28 pm

Here's some more BusyBeeMommy.

Shredded Beef Buns
Ingredients
• 1 beef flank steak (1 lb.)
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• ½ cup original bar-b-q sauce (use a thick sauce, not a liquidy version)
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 sandwich buns, split (French or Italian baguettes work great.)
Preparation:
Place steak in slow cooker; top with onions, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Combine bar-b-q sauce and Italian seasoning; pour over ingredients in slow cooker. Cover with lid.
Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 5 hours.
Remove steak from slow cooker; shred with fork or cut across the grain into thin strips.
Return steak to slow cooker; stir gently to evenly coat with sauce.
Place 1 bun half on each of 4 serving plates; top evenly with the steak mixture.
Substitute: Prepare as directed, using any of a variety of meat cuts, such as beef chuck, beef brisket, short ribs, shoulder, or country style ribs. Less expensive meat cuts benefit most form this cooking method.
Yield: 4 servings

Barbecue Meatball Sandwiches
Ingredients
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 pkg. (1¼ oz.) onion soup mix
• 1 egg
• 1 small onion, separated into rings
• 1 cup chopped red pepper
• ½ cup original barbeque sauce (thick BBQ sauce)
• 2 sandwich buns, split (Italian or French baguettes)
Preparation
Combine meat, dry soup mix, and egg. Shape into 1-inch balls; place in slow cooker. Top with onions, peppers, and barbecue sauce; cover with lid.
Cook on LOW for 5 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours. Gently stir to evenly coat meatballs with sauce.
Place 1 bun half on each serving plate; top with ¼ of the meatballs.

Last edited by ra_mom on Sun, Aug 22 2021, 9:00 am; edited 2 times in total

normama

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 12:40 pm

if you google "make ahead meals" there are lots of sites dedicated to making food in advance, freezing and warming up the day you want it.
you cook once a whole month's worth of dinners and freeze them all.
I'm too lazy to do this,
but it seems to work well for working mama's and ima's alike.
(some sites are x-tian, but have great recipes that work for kosher)

OldYoung

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 12:50 pm

falafel and pitas

grilled chicken wraps- marinate chicken overnight, grill the next day

meatballs can be made in huge batches, frozen raw on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, put in ziploc bags when completely frozen. heat up a pot of tomato sauce and season how you like, pop meatballs in. This does take a little bit of time to cook, but not a lot of prep.

stew in a crockpot

mummiedearest

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 7:47 pm

http://imamother.com/forum/vie.....ckpot

search this site for crock pot or crockpot.

pecan

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 7:54 pm

I cut up sweet potato, potatoes, and chicken, pour duck sauce on and put it in the crockpot in the morning. Very simple.
Sometimes, I make supper the night before. In general, try to make double or triple batches and freeze. Meatballs, meatloaf, chicken, and schnitzel freeze nicely.
I make a big pot of soup for the week on Sunday.

mominisrael2

Tue, Apr 21 2009, 9:04 am

normama wrote:

Try googling "once a month cooking" recipes. I don't always have time for this, but when I do it's soooo useful...before DD1 was born, I did something like this -- every day I would pick one shabbos recipe (kugel, challah, meatballs, chicken soup, etc.), multiply the recipe and divide into disposable pans or containers, and by the time she was born my freezer was completely stuffed. I didn't have to make shabbos for 5 months!! Definitely worth taking a Sunday to cook the whole day if you have the freezer space...

levial

Wed, Apr 22 2009, 8:13 am

Weekly or Monthy menus are ideal. Whether you're trying to lose weight, etc -it helps to plan. Also, come up with a meal that DH can cover, and 1 that is "eat out or frozen" item

Dinner for me usually means
1.) A starch
2.) A salad
3.) A vegetable
4) A main dish which may be combined

Starch:
cous cous from near east takes 5 minutes, so I usually have this 1-2 times / week
potatoes can be microwaved for 5 minutes each - or baked within 30 with chicken

Salad:
Bag or box from Costco; I mix fresh dressing in a cruet - or you can buy a bottle...I buy extras like craisins, etc-. Usually try to cut up a tomato or cuke, etc

Vegetable
not just cooked. Can be sliced fennel with lemon and olive oil..all the way to steamed baby carrots

Main dish
This is where I get stuck. So we do 1 chicken, 1 meat, 1 dairy, 1 takeout, and that covers the m-th
Usually Monday I do takeout. I'm tired from my first day back from the weekend. Takeout can be "frozen" or pizza store pizza. Chinese food, sandwiches from the store.
Tuesday - usually baked chicken with potatoes. I wash and cut small potatoes, toss with olive oil and a little chicken soup mix, put in a baking dish with chicken, bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. (You can even do the potatoes ahead and store in water in the fridge, or chicken nuggets with duck sauce (general tso's chicken) and rice
Weds- Meat day. Ktzitzot, meat loaf done ahead Sunday and reheated, tacos (ortega taco mix and shells), meat sauce spaghetti, sloppy joes, or STEAK on the grill (DH does this one) or Stew meat in the crock pot (recipes have already been posted here)
Turs - Dairy, typically. Spaghetti and cheese, Cook own pizza with prepared pizza shells, Greek salad wtih Feta (Thurs is lite since I'm cooking for Shabbat, usually)

kitov

Wed, Apr 22 2009, 8:14 am

pecan wrote:

Crockpots are my style too. I must add though, I can't stand the smell of the food in it when I come home, though!

Mrs Bissli

Mon, Apr 27 2009, 9:52 am

I tend to prepare most weekday dinners ahead of time, either the night before (soup, casserole, rice, stirfry) or in the morning (cut veggies, fish fingers). True stir-frys taste better freshly prepared but you can do it the night before, undercook slightly and microwave.

Since my oven takes time to pre-heat, I prefer to grill things ahead of time and put everything in containers I can microwave and present straight to the table (ceramic casserole dishes).

The only things I use crockpot is for soup (usually chicken soup or mushroom barley soup) or cholent.
As I'm pressed for time in the morning (so cutting veggies etc for soup inthe morning is not practical), I usually end up cooking things the night before.

To be honest, I usually make multiple potion of freezable main dishes on Sundays for the following week. Yesterday I cooked up batches of mac and cheese, shephard's pie, lamb and lentil soup, breakfast pancakes and applesauce. Took me 2hrs in the morning, another 2-3hrs in the evening.

MiamiMommy

Mon, Apr 27 2009, 10:45 am

I've never tried preparing dinner in the crock pot, but I should, it's such a great idea! I don't know how chicken would go over with the fam, but chili and goulash would probably be a hit.

I make dinners that take under a 1/2 hour to prepare. I try to make sure that any frozen meat/chicken is defrosted or on it's way before I leave in the morning.
I make:
meatballs- I form the balls and simmer them right in the sauce. I usually make a huge amount an freeze 1/2 for another night. If time is really short, I skip the balls and make meat sauce.
falafel
salami-n-eggs
sloppy joes
home made pizza w/store bought crust and sauce
meat loaf
BBQ chicken
Shepard's pie (if you use instant mashed potatoes it's super quick!)

random

Mon, Apr 27 2009, 12:47 pm

I make dinners the night before, keep 'em in the fridge, and then leave DH with instructions (he's home before me). So I can't do stir-fry or anything that has to be made right before, but lots of chicken recipes (and quiches, lasagnes, etc.) can be made earlier and just baked right before you get home (if you have someone to put them in the oven). If I'm feeling fancy, I'll throw together a quick green salad when I get home, and there's dinner!

On a good week, I actually make a lot of the food (plus a soup) on Sunday, but that hasn't happened in a while...

TzenaRena

Mon, Apr 27 2009, 3:25 pm

what a nice thread! I was just browsing through the cookbooks at our judaica store, and looking for exactly this idea. crockpot recipes. Does anyone know if there is a kosher cookbook with more than one section for these kind of recipes?

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