cooking recommendations for practice/game nights

[hops&dreams]

I'm finding that I'm having a hard time coming up with quick, healthy meals to make for my family the nights DD has softball practice. (we all go - I'm team mom, DH is an asst. coach, and DD plays). The nights we have practice, we only have 60-90 mins to cook and eat dinner AND do homework. When we get back, DD has just enough time for a quick shower and it's already bedtime or more often it's already PAST bedtime.

Some of the meals I'm making right now aren't hugely un-healthy, but some nights they're downright guilty indulgences for time and convenience. Ok nights would be something like Zatarains Jambalaya made with shrimp or chicken or spaghetti & meatballs with sauce from a jar (I normally make my own sauce from scratch or from canned tomatoes). If we have more like 90 mins, I might do tacos. My bad nights are the nights I turn to frozen pizza, Little Ceasar’s $5 Hot & Ready, or frozen chicken nuggets.

I’m trying to avoid those bad nights and get more ideas about meals that are quick and easy and relatively inexpensive to make, things that a kid would eat. Many of her faves just take too long for practice nights with the compressed schedule – things like meat loaf or lasagna or fish tacos. I don’t have an hour to bake things or do a whole bunch of chopping/prep-work.

Any ideas out there? Anyone else in the same boat? With practices & games, we’re doing this 2-3 nights during the week and I think I just need some fresh ideas! TIA!

 

[FireDancer]

My suggestion would be to make extra of whatever you have the night before for dinner and make practice/game nights leftover day. Another option is the crock pot. You can make a lot of good healthy meals with the crock pot. Roast beef and vegetables were something we had a lot as kids.

 

[glss1/2fll]

So in the same boat with you. I've been in that boat for years and years and some nights are just fend for yourself, others are incredibly unhealthy, and some are organized and healthy. Breakfast for dinner is a quick healthy meal that most everybody likes. I use the crock pot a lot. Lately I've just been cooking a pork roast with a jar of some type of salsa and then we're having tacos/burritos/something like that. Also do the same with BBQ sauce only then it's pulled pork sandwiches. Doubling a recipe and freezing one is always good. Just pull it out a couple days ahead. Sometimes I completely cook a second meal and then we just nuke a plate that night. Love Costco's roasted chicken, just grab that on the way home, open a can of green beans, maybe cook some potatoes for mashing and voila! Hope this helps, I'm sure others will be along soon with lots of great ideas!