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I am a first time mom just about to go back to work. The thought of finishing work, picking up baby and getting supper on the table is a daunting one. Seeing as ordering in every night is not a viable answer, just wondering if the Brandon moms out there have any quick easy meals that they can share? Be it crock pot or freezer meals or whatever gets to the dinner table the fastest without necessarily always being pre-packaged. Any ideas would be appreciated!

Go look on Pinterest! There's a ton of recipes for premade stews, chili, chicken, etc that you make and place in sandwich bags and then just throw them into the crock pot frozen and they'll be ready when you come home.

i love the crock pot and depending on your families tastes there is lots of recipes online but one of the easiest is a roast, put it in with onions and garlic and a bit of water and let it go, come home make potatoes or noddles and veggies and you have supper and lunches for a few days  
 
soups also work well then i just make quick biscuits to go with when i get home  
 
also dont be afraid to be lazy some days, sandwiches are a fine meal and once in a while kraft dinner or frozen pergoies with sausage and vegetables is good too

what these folks above said. Go to dollar store. You can buy 4 small containers or 50 lunch bags for $1.40. They will hold about 2-3 ladles of soup or stew. Zip seal or twist tie and freeze. Then thaw in warm water and put in a pan. Easy. I always do this when I cook a big bird and then want to make a pot of stew or soup. Will keep for months if you take the air out of bags.  
Pinterest is good or Recipes.com,etc

If you are able to buy any food in bulk (from Costco maybe) and are able to spend a weekend prepping and cooking freezer meals I highly suggest it. I will be doing that before I go back to work from maternity leave. I've done it before. It is a lot of work for that weekend but the though of not having to think about or prepare meals when I get home from work excites me. Search for freezer meals and make a big list of what you need to get. I've made things like calzones (used breadmaker for the dough), meat sauce, stirfry (pre-cooked meat, cut veggies and added a sauce). There are so many options and don't all have to be crock pot meals. I went to the dollar store for tin containers and bought ziplock bags in bulk. When all was said and done I had enough meals to fill my upright freezer which was about 3 months worth of suppers.

We find the easiest way is to prepare the meal the night before, so Sunday we pre are Monday then Monday while Reheating supper start cooking the next nights meal. No rush just as things are reheating no feeling of having to finish by time line of 5 or 6 pm. Once in the habit it makes each day much less stressful and rushed.

I don't work outside the home, but I know for me the biggest hassle and time-saver is planning. I plan a month of meals in advance, and have most of the ingredients on hand for it (I weekly replenish fresh fruits and veggies, dairy, etc).  
 
Then, do as much prep as you can in advance. Have veggies chopped and ready to go in the fridge.I did up some meals and threw them in the freezer for those I'm-in-a-hurry days, with instructions written on them for if my husband needs to do it. I know what to take out of the freezer the night before, or if I need to put stuff in the crockpot that morning or soak beans. I have pre-made (homemade) meatballs in the freezer for "emergencies", I can just open a can of sauce and cook a package of noodles.  
 
And yes, Pinterest is a God-send for that sort of stuff. Also, Budget Bytes is my go-to site for quick, cheap and easy meals.

I agree with things others have listed: crockpot, freezer-meals, prep ahead, meal-planning.  
 
Also, another tip my mom taught me is to fry up multiple pounds of ground beef (with chopped onion, if you desire) and put it in freezer bags in 1 lb. portions. It has been a life saver many times for quick meals that use ground beef (namely, spaghetti and tacos). If your other plan doesn't work, you always have this to fall back on.  
 
When I cook a big batch of soup in the crockpot, I save leftovers in jars and freeze it for quick meals later.  
 
Another food suggestion for busy life: keep a box of brownie mix, a jar of salsa, and a bag of chips on hand. You're always ready if you need to bring food to some function and don't have time to prepare.

Thanks everyone for all your input. I know that planning is going to be the foundation to all this if i want it to go smoothly. Will just be another learning curve to get through.  
I've been trying to look more into these freezer meals. Anyone have any tried and true ones they've made?

Some things I have frozen:  
 
- meatballs (precooked)  
 
- formed but uncooked hamburger patties (use as burgers, salsbury steak, patty melts, so many ways!)  
 
- meatloaf (formed and uncooked, in a glass baking dish so you can put it in the microwave for some of the time if you need)  
 
- lasagna (unbaked)  
 
- something we call mexican lasagna - instead of noodles, use tortilla shells laid out, instead of sauce use salsa, can use ground meat or make vegetarian with black beans instead of meat, top with cheese and black olives if desired (unbaked)  
 
- chili (freeze brown ground beef, beans, chopped veggies in bag, I also toss in a little bag of spice mix, to use dump in pot or crock, add can tomatoes or tomato sauce, sometimes a can of baked beans too and cook on low until veggies are tender)  
 
- pork tenderloin in marinade - put 1 or 2 pork tenderloins in a bag, add soy sauce, EVOO, lots of garlic and balsamic vinegar, and freeze. To use, thaw overnight in the fridge, then cook as desired (I usually do 400 degrees for 20-30 min) with the sauce and everything in the pan. Make your side dish in the meanwhile plus a salad. Slice and serve.  
 
- broth of all types  
 
Try google searching "freezer dump dinners". I find they're the easiest and best, as you're putting uncooked ingredients in the freezer then cooking them. I hate eating frozen-already-cooked food on the most part, it's just mushy leftovers.  

Jeffer83 said "Thanks everyone for all your input. I know that planning is going to be the foundation to all this if i want it to go smoothly. Will just be another learning curve to get through.   I've been trying to look more into these freezer meals. Anyone have any tried and true ones they've made? "

I tend to stick to things like casseroles as they freeze well and are easy to make big batches of. I don't really follow recipes very often but I'm sure most recipes you find will work. Here's what I do.  
 
-lasagna-both with ground beef or vegetarian  
-meatballs (I do sweet and sour or with mushroom soup)  
-chili  
-calzones-make or buy dough and fill with pizza pop type fillings, broccoli and cheese or anything else that appeals to you then wrap individually and freeze. You pop them in the oven from frozen.  
-soups of any kind (i'm not a huge fan of rice or potatoes frozen in soup but that's personal preference  
-hamburger patties  
-I pre-portion taco seasoned ground beef after freezing so I can make quesadillas, tacos and taco salad  
-raw porkchops or chicken with tomato soup and water mixture, pineapple and cut up peppers (easy crockpot meal)  
-muffins of all kinds  
-mini quiches/omelettes that you make in muffin tins  
-cinnamon buns or monkey bread (using homemade or store bought dough)  
 
There are so many options!

You can also try Pinterest with typing in: OAMC recipes  
 
OAMC is 'Once A Month Cooking'  
 
Basically a month (or a couple of weeks if you wish) of meals are all prepped in one day. There's a lot on the Internet with tips and tricks with this method. A lot of pins on Pinterest are from some very busy mom blogs.  
 
Good luck! It will make your life a lot more enjoyable once you get home from work.  
 
 

Oh, and the time of year for turkeys are coming up, you can get young turkeys usually at Easter (and thanksgiving/christmas) for 99 cents-1.29 a pound. Roast one and have turkey dinner, but then with leftovers make turkey pies, turkey soup, turkey enchilladas, etc all for the freezer.

We started to meal plan at our house (im bringing work home lol). It helps us stay on budget, and to be able to buy and prepare anything we need to. We also rely on our slow cooker. Also we find ways to use our leftovers creatively, such as pot pies, etc. I second looking on Pinterest! you can find some awesome recipes there!

I love making freezer meals and not having to cook for awhile! I buy the tin foil trays from dollarama but also use some of my glass pyrex dishes too. I prefer the trays as there's less dishes than... Slow cooker meals are also a big favourite here.  
 
Freezer Meals  
 
- I buy the tin foil trays from dollarama. They have "lids" so they're perfect for freezing  
 
- I cook everything and than freeze. I just re-heat in the oven when needed  
 
- Fav's are meatballs (add rice and veggies the night of), lasagna using zucchini noodles, chili, stews, soups, chicken and mashed potatoes (I freeze the cooked potato), spaghetti (so good baked later on)  
 
- I haven't yet but pinterest has good ideas for making slow cooker freezer bags. You add all your ingredients to the bag and than just dump in the slow cooker the morning of  
 
Slow Cooker  
 
- pulled pork...cook the pork with a can of root beer on low for 8-10 hours. Take it out and shred it with two forks. Drain the liquid out of the sc. Add pork and a bottle of sweet baby rays sauce to the sc and heat for about 30 mins. Serve on buns with coleslaw on the side  
 
- any type of chicken/pork with your fav sauce  
 
- beef roasts with veggies and potatoes  
 
- roast chicken...make a bed of carrots or rolled up tin foil balls, place chicken on top breast side down, drizzle evoo over chicken and season with your fav spices, I also like to put a lemon and a onion in the chicken, cook on low for 7-8 hrs...add NO liquid, it produces plenty!!  
 
Pinterest has so many ideas! Good luck  
 
Edited by sammy, 2016-03-08 17:22:41

Meal planning helps a lot and the best thing I have done for quick meals is get an Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) its amazing and makes delicious food so fast!

Is there interest in a quick meal workshop?  
 
I'm by no means a professional, but I have some tried and true recipes for quick weeknight meals.  
 
Sort of in the format of a weekly shopping list and meals for the week or biweekly (on a budget of course)  
 
I dunno, just thinking out loud but I know from experience it can be overwhelming to plan meals, shop and prep when it's new to you. Especailly when you have to take into account children.  
 
Indicate if you've sent me a pm because I don't check those often

We cook enough, so we have leftovers which are so great, my husband is the one who always has great ideas for meal planning!

everyone leave their slow cooker on when they are not home? I am too paranoid but I know many do leave it cooking while at work. How about you?

I have a newer one which I always leave on. But, my old one-never-the cord got hot, so I cooked stuff overnight instead.  

I have 4 teens in the house and we are on the run every night. I found the best way to go is plan 3 large meals a week and eat left overs. The 7 th day is fend for yourself ( hopefully there is something left over )