What to have for dinner during baseball and softball season?

[griswalds]

Sometimes for our early games 6pm I'll feed my kids a quick snack before then plan to eat our meal after the game. One of my kids favorites is baked potato bar. I'll put the potatoes in oven after school to cook then turn oven off when we walk out the door. I leave the potatoes in oven to stay warm until we get home. Then I just pull out the toppings--cheese, chili, ham bits, whatever we have. Quick, easy, and a big hit around here.

 

[Monknmom]

OOOOO I forgot my favorite.... it's a quinoa salad- not sure if you would like this though. I make mine a little spicier because my family likes that and quinoa is filled with protein so you really don't have to add meat! PLUS the extra thing I love is that you can make this the day before or the morning/afternoon of the day and it's still good when you go to eat it (just don't add the dressing until you are about to serve it)! It does take a little time because of the quinoa cooking, but VERY worth it if you want to try it I have posted the recipe below- I like to make my own dressings because of my son's diet, but you can always just buy/use a dressing that you like better! And if you really need something to go with this I would suggest some grilled beef/chicken/tofu! I got it off of the Williams sonoma recipe and it's very similar to what I make- although I toast the quinoa before using it in a dry, non stick pan until it starts popping and jumping then I add the water and cover it-it does add about 5-10 more minutes of cooking time, but I think that it adds some great flavor to it as well!

Ingredients:
For the dressing:
* 2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
* 3 Tbs. white vinegar
* 2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro
* 1/4 tsp. ají amarillo paste (some grocers sell a similar paste in the salad section of the supermarket!
* 1/4 tsp. dried oregano (any type-we use the mexican one)
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
* 1/2 cup olive oil

For the salad:
* 1/2 cup quinoa
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 1 cup drained cooked black beans, or purchased
* 2/3 cup thawed frozen corn kernels
* 1 tomato, seeded and finely diced
* 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

Directions:

To make the dressing, in a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, cilantro, ají paste, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly until smooth and emulsified. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water. Stir in the salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is tender and all the water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a colander and rinse under cold running water. Drain thoroughly, then transfer to a large nonreactive bowl.

Add the black beans to the bowl with the quinoa. Pat the corn dry with paper towels and add to the bowl, along with the tomato and bell pepper. Pour in the dressing and stir to coat all the ingredients well. Transfer the salad to a large serving bowl or individual plates and serve immediately. Serves 6.

 

[Dizneydaz]

We too have this problem. And I only have 1 in softball. Here's our schedule this week:

Monday-off yeah!
Tuesday-practice 5:30-7:00 Home about 7:30
Wednesday-Game 7:30-9:30ish, Practice 6:30, Girl Scouts 3-4:30
Thursday-practice 5:30-7:00 home about 7:15
Friday-Game (rain canceled a few weeks ago) 5:30. Practic 4:30
Saturday-Game 5 p.m. Practice 4
Sunday-Players clinic 2-5
Monday-Game 7:30, practic 6:30

Yikes, as you can see this is a tough week for us! Next week is a little better since we don't have a make-up game on Friday.

We use the crockpot and we do leftovers alot. This time of year I love to make soup. Reheats quickly and is so good with warm bread! We've done the baked potatoes as well but next time I will put them in the oven and use the time delay for cooking. Then they will be nice and hot when we get home. Also this week I think I'll do some baby back ribs (again in the oven). They take about 3 hours to cook so it'll work out just right.

Here's my really easy, really delicious recipe for baby backs.

Dry rub ribs (I usually will cut them up in individual portions) put them in a pan with a rack in the bottom. Add a small amount of water to the pan. Completely cover with foil (this is very important). Cook at 300 until done. Min. 3 hours, but can cook for longer. Once they are tender usually remove the foil and add BBQ sauce. Finish them in the oven or put on the BBQ sauce. So Good and so easy! The meat just falls off the bone!

The 7:30 games are really the hardest for us. We have to leave the house about 6 which means eating around 5:30. We are not early eaters and usually eat around 6:30-7. So this is an adjustment for us! Also, if the game goes the whole 1:50 it means we are getting home pretty close to 10 p.m. It means DD has to have her homework done before the game and she showers in the a.m. I don't like her going to bed with wet hair.

I have a slightly different meal issue with our Saturday games. DD11's grandparents only come to the games on Sat. (he doesn't want to drive after dark) They also won't be at the 5 p.m. games. The problem is we have gotten into the habit of going to lunch (breakfast or dinner) after the game no matter what time it is. If we have a 1:00 game that means eating around 3, 9 a.m. means eating about 10:45. I really don't like eating at off times so most of the time I will just have something small, or share something with DD.

 

[puffkin]

We do a ton of crock pot meals as well....at least 2-3 times a week. I have found that planning "left over" meals is a big help (time and budget wise). On nights I can cook I will try to make extra and then store the leftovers in single serve containers or platters for practice nights to quickly heat up.

I also do a lot of sandwiches. You will be surprised what you can throw on them besides lunch meat (which gets costly). We make a lot of "leftovers" sandwiches as well. I really like the bread flats because they are fairly healthy and they hold leftovers well because they aren't too "bready". For instance we had pork and mashed potatoes the other night so I am throwing that on a flat tonight for DS.

 

[DizzyFORDisney]

Great ideas everyone!

This spring is nuts here too.

4 boys. 5 baseball teams, 3 run track, piano lessons, etc, etc....

Not only do I not have time to cook, we don't have time to EAT!!

Often the activities are one right after the other...

But they are happy!!

 

[scrapquitler]

My kids are both playing sports this year - dd12 is playing softball and ds12 is little league baseball. The games are often at 6pm and it is difficult to get dinner before that time. They really don't want to eat before the game, but are starving afterwords. We cannot afford to get take out all the time and eating at the park, well it can be gross. Just so many hotdogs and hamburgers you can eat.
For parents who have this dilemma or those with ideas, what can we do about dinner on game nights?

Definitely have them eat something, even if it's just a handful of almonds and a glass of orange juice or a string cheese and a couple crackers with milk before the game. Send a few small snacks (sliced oranges are good) to eat during the game as well.

Pack a picnic type meal and eat there.

Set up dinner in your crock pot and have it ready to go the minute you walk in the door (Soup, chili, etc, have a salad and sliced rolls ready to go with ahead of time), or make something super fast, like scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and fruit.

 

[lovehoney]

The boys eat a lot of PB&J, beans & cheese on whole wheat tortillas, frozen pizza and cereal during baseball season. I have 2 in little league so it can be up to 6 games/practices a week. DH meets us after work at the games so I usually pack him a sandwich or pizza and a drink in a cooler. There is snack rotation schedule for our teams so the boys always eat their snack afterwards and are good.

 

[1buzymom]

These are great ideas! Our schedule is much like others above. One problem I have is trying to figure out how to time the crock pot. Being at work all day makes it too long for some recipes and we are sometimes only home long enough to change and head back out!

 

[Monknmom]

These are great ideas! Our schedule is much like others above. One problem I have is trying to figure out how to time the crock pot. Being at work all day makes it too long for some recipes and we are sometimes only home long enough to change and head back out!

If you have time in the morning you can prep the crock pot and leave it in the fridge (just the bowl part and depending on how many hours until you eat it, when you come home to change just plop it into the cooker part and turn it on. If it says 8 hours on low you can usually do high for about 3-4 or it says 4 hours on high you can put it on low for 8-9- of course all of this depends on what you are cooking!

Another suggestion is cook it through the day while your at work and when you come home to change either change the setting to warm or turn it off (leaving the lid on) it should stay rather warm for an hour maybe hour and a half! Or if you have a timer one you can set the timer like the coffee pot! I hope that this helps!

 

[kacaju]

On your nights home cook enough for 2 dinners instead of 1. Freeze thre second meal. This way you have a prepared dinner in the freeze...heat and eat!!

 

[lisalis]

I ditto the crockpot ideas above. A favorite here is chicken quesadillas made with shredded taco seasoned chicken from the crockpot. I just butter tortillas, put them in the hot frying pan, put on chicken & cheese, and fold over and serve when brown. For a vegetable serving, pour over some salsa I also stock up on deli meats and cheeses. I then buy different types of breads(sourdough, foccacia, slider rolls) and serve toasted or cold with raw fruit and veggies. Also, make double soup and freeze in a gallon freezer bag. These are great to pull out after a cold game. If you put the bag in hot water, it thaws pretty fast.