With back to school season underway, it seems that weeknight commitments rev up in a big way! All great things, but the evenings suddenly fill up with more and more obligations. Anything from open houses, to ice cream socials, to sports practices. I find I always have to make sure I keep a closer eye on my calendar when fall rolls around!
To get in front of these scheduling challenges, it is oh so helpful to have a proactive plan for what I like to call, Dinner Duty. Ultimately, you need to work around the commitment “interruption” so it doesn’t feel like an interruption at all!
All you need to do is follow my ABC’s…
{A}
- Use the Crock-pot!
- Defrost and/or marinate the meat ahead of time.
- Cut up the veggies.
- Prepare the side dishes (fruit salad, green salad, pasta salad).
- Make two dinners in a row (ex. skewers on Monday make for an excellent stir fry on Tuesday with the left overs. Or, grill some fish on Thursday and use the remainder for fish tacos on Friday) multi-tasking at its best!
{B}
The goal should be healthy dinners, not fancy dinners. Save your new recipes for nights you have more time. When you finally get home after soccer practice and it is already almost seven (or whatever time is late for dinner for your family) don’t try to make something complicated, simply make up some sandwiches, cut up some veggies, and call it done! Super simple dinners may include: Left Overs (LO), Breakfast for Dinner (BFD), On your Own (OYO) – only if your kids are capable, and Soup/Sandwiches (SS).Or, if it has been one of those days opt for take out, or eating out. Even plan this into your week if you know you have a night where timing will be tight and your window of time to cook will be less than optimal. Proactive planning will help the weeknights hum along!
{C}
Have one night a week (or more) that is a theme night. This will cut down on your menu planning and also should be one of those quick and easy meals you can whip up in under 30 minutes. We do “Mexican Mondays”, but you could opt for anything, Pizza Friday, Taco Tuesdays, Souper Saturday…OK I’ll stop, you can let your creative juices flow.I once heard of a mom who was sloshing her crock pot around in her SUV to sports practices! While that is an awesome idea, I don’t know if it is the best idea. Hopefully, you’ll have a little time each night at home for some family time and talk around the dinner table.This concludes my four part series on Back to School Organization. Thanks for hanging with me. I hope you are ready for back to school, or if your munchkins have already started back up, that it has been a smooth transition.Good luck with the Dinner Duty!
Don’t forget to kiss the cook.
