Working Mom Meals

One of the absolute most challenging parts of my day is when I get home from work.  Not only do I have to make three trips in from the car to bring in 2 children, a pump, a laptop bag, a lunch bag, an insulated bag with bottles, a purse, and a cooler, in heels no less, but then it only gets crazier when I get inside.  That's when the real fun begins.

Dinner.

That dreaded word send chills up my spine.

It's a constant stress to figure out what to make for dinner and how to find the time to make it.  Basically, I have zero prep time. I don't get home until 6 at the absolute earliest and dinner needs to be on the table within 15 minutes or so.  Tim gets home after me most days since he commutes from downtown, so it's all on me to figure out what to make.  I try to do as much as I can the night before, but I hardly have the time or energy the previous night either.  Kids go to bed between 8-8:30 and I only have 30 minutes to wash dishes and bottles, make my lunch for the next day and prep bottles for tomorrow. 

I hope to make a regular post each week with my meal plan and recipes.  This will hopefully not only force me to meal plan each Sunday for the week, but then I can also share any quick and easy dinner ideas that I have for those of you in the same boat.  There's nothing better than sharing recipes, since I know so many of us have the same dinner stress. And I welcome any dinner ideas you have to share!

Here's this week's meal plan:

Sunday:  Tacos.  We can really only do these on the weekend because of the work of browning the beef and cutting the veggies.  And of course Barrett didn't eat anything except some cheese and taco shell.

Monday:  Chicken Chili.  This recipe is awesome.  Both Tim and I were skeptical of the combination the first time I made it, but it's become on of our favorite soups.  I made a huge batch of this right before I came back to work and froze.  Now I just have to thaw and heat on the stove, serve with bread and voila, dinner is served.  With the beans, chicken, and veggies, it's healthy too. 

Tuesday: Ham and Cheese Sandwiches.  Again, another freezer meal.  I made a batch of these with our extra Easter ham and froze.  I thawed overnight and will just need to pop into the oven after work for 15 minutes or so.  I will serve with a fruit salad on the side - which will probably be all that our picky Barrett will eat.

Wednesday:  Tim has an event after work, so I'll probably just feed Barrett a peanut butter sandwich or egg or something and eat a lean cuisine.

Thursday:  Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast.  I made this once before and was very impressed so hopefully it'll be as good as I remember.  I have some Birds Eye steamfresh brown rice in the freezer I'll serve it over.

Friday:  Either leftovers from Thursday or take-out.

Reducing after-work stress + delicious dinners = a happier mom.