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Working moms: quick and easy meals, part 2
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This article is part of an ongoing series geared towards working moms.
The bane of most working mothers' existance is dinnertime. From the planning to the cooking to the cleaning up, dinngertime can be nothing short of a nightmare. For me, the worst part is actually a tie between the planning and the cooking. I'm never quite sure what to make, and when I do finally figure it out, actually getting a chance to cook is a huge hassle. To eliminate these problems I do two things: meal plan and try to cook in advance.
I have found that the easiest way to avoid these problems, if meal planning and cooking in advance are not possible, is to batch cook. Essentially, batch cooking means just cooking a whole bunch of food at the beginning of the week and using it throughout the rest of the week. One of the easiest things to batch cook is taco meat (as a vegetarian, I prefer the Morningstar burger crumbles, but the concept is the same).
Not only is taco meat easy to make, but it is extremely versatile. I usually cook the equivalent of 1 1/2 to 2 pounds on a Sunday, and use it throughout the week. Make sure you have lots of different toppings so the family doesn't get too bored. Here's what I suggest:
- Taco soup--this is a really easy recipe, and it can be made completely vegan if you use the Morningstar (or other alternative) crumbles.
- Taco salad--although the Real Men of Genius claim this to be the 9,000 calorie salad, it can actually be made quite healthy, especially if you eliminate the chips, and use low-fat dressing and cheese.
- Taco cups--my family loves this recipe. Making the cups is a bit of a challenge, and I have found that putting the dough on the outside of the muffin cups makes for a better mold.
- Taco pizza--although the recipe calls for ground pork, the ground beef works just fine.
- Nachos--these can be made in a variety of ways, and are a great way to use the remainder of the taco meat at the end of the week.
Although can get quite boring to eat the same thing every night, if you change up the way it's presented and serve it with creative, inexpensive sides like bread, carrots, black bean and corn salad, or rice, it doesn't seem as repetitive.
One of the best things about batch cooking, besides being a time saver, is that it's also a money saver. By making similar foods, you can cut down on your grocery list and stretch the items that you need to buy. Since I also detest grocery shopping, the less amount of items I have to buy means the less amount of time I need to spend in the grocery store; this is also a big benefit to batch cooking.
Do you have any batch cooking ideas? What are some of your favorite time saving recipes?
For more info on batch cooking and recipe ideas, visit: http://smallnotebook.org/2008/08/08/batch-cooking-a-collection-of-tips/ or http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking-guide
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