Juggling meals around the busy schedules for a family of six can be quite trying at times. It’s not impossible, though. We are still learning what works best for us but here are a few ideas that we practice to help take the stress out of meal time.
The first thing you should do is put all of your upcoming engagements/activities on a central calender so you can refer to it during the week. I find that if I don’t have everything written down, I’m more apt to forget something.
Once you have done that, you can plan a menu around your schedule. You can make more complicated meals on days you’re home more. I’m fortunate because I work from home so I have a little more leeway on meal planning than other families. However, I do have a schedule I have to stick to, so I still have to be careful when I consider what to make for meals each week.
Lately, the busiest days for us have been Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, so those are the days I’ve been making less complicated meals. On those nights I either throw something in the crockpot, throw an easy meal together earlier in the day that can be cooked and taken with us, or make some kind of sandwich/wrap.
On the nights when we’re all home, and aren’t running around all over the place, I make meals that can either be cooked on the stovetop, crockpot, in the oven or on the grill.
Here are some sample meals I make on both types of days.
Meals for When We’re Home:
– Chicken fried steak
– Chicken Parm
– Homemade chicken fingers
– Shrimp Pasta Meal
– Asiago Romano Bowtie Pasta Bake
– Tuna rollups/chicken rollups
Busy Schedule Meals:
– Tacos
– Stuffed shells
– Mexican casserole
– Frito Pie
– Ham and cheese crescent rolls
– Pepperoni and cheese pizza balls
– Pulled pork
Photo courtesy of dspruitt.
What are some of your go to meals on your busy nights? Please leave a comment below.