Quick and Easy...

My husband, while here, is not coming home for the next few weeks, so the boys and I are on our own for dinner. I try not to resort to Chicken Nuggets and Macaroni and Cheese every night (since we have it for lunch most days) and so have come up with a few easy-peasy meals to make, so it still feels like we are having a nice family dinner, without a lot of effort on my part.

1. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup...to satisfy my high calorie needs children, I butter both sides of the bread, and use real cheddar (full on fat calories!) I also use heavy cream and whole milk in the tomato soup, and make a separate can for myself.

2. Italian Seasoned Chicken breasts, noodleroni and green beans. You can find the preseasoned chicken breasts in the freezer section, all you have to do is pop them in the oven, and they taste great, even the boys will gobble them up.

3. Round Dinner Night: I reheat frozen meatballs and serve them with couscous and peas. Everything is round, the boys think it is fun.

4. Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, or Eggs with Sausage and Biscuit. Again, for my high calorie need kids....adding an extra egg yoke to the pancakes or scrambled eggs, and using whole milk or heavy cream and butter in excessive amounts where I can.

5. Baseball Dinner night: Big soft pretzels and hot dogs
...okay this one is a stretch for nutritious value, I emphasise the sitting down together mostly on these nights instead of eating together AND having a nutritious meal. Anyone who has tried to contain kids at a dinner table can empathize with me on this, sometimes its less about the food, and more about the tradition, and its hard to keep a tradition going when Daddy is away. Okay, enough justifying! :-)

6. "Straw and Hay": Noodles with Alfredo sauce served with peas and diced ham. I stir everything together for the adults, but keep it separate for the children. I have no idea how it got the name though...


These meals also work great for the "Wow, I have an infant, and am so sleep deprived I cannot imagine how to eat, let alone make anything!" nights. Enjoy!