How do you cook dinner?

Discussion in 'The First Year' started by mommymauro, Sep 22, 2008.

  1. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    I had an excuse to not “really cook” in the early months, but now we are approaching … not so early months… and I was wondering how do you cook dinner? I always have to get one baby unstuck (something could burn or boil over in THAT time) or one is mad because he’s not in someone’s arms … the list is endless (you all know BTDT)… I haven’t cooked anything good since they were born… heck since I was prego… I did try the mid day casserole thing my mom did (heat it up during bottle time)… but they are yucky (I don’t mind them every once and a while)…
    My dudes go to bed around 6:30 and I start dinner then… but that means a 7:30/8 dinner time for older DS… how do you ladies do it… or did you just not cook until they are more self entertained…

    Elizabeth
     
  2. dfaut

    dfaut 30,000-Post Club

    Call the chinese place, the pizza place or the husband to bring food from Boston Market, or other places! :D Sorry, but we did a TON of takeout at first!
     
  3. Shellstwins

    Shellstwins Member

    We eat when the babies go to bed. So that is about 7:00. It is pretty late for me to eat but I would rather do it that way then try to cook while they are in their crabby period.
     
  4. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Sep 22 2008, 09:56 AM) [snapback]991446[/snapback]
    Call the chinese place, the pizza place or the husband to bring food from Boston Market, or other places! :D Sorry, but we did a TON of takeout at first!

    we have been doing this too.... BUT i noticed... jeans getting a little tight :eek: ...

    But i guess you got to do what you got to do...
     
  5. GenandThadsMom

    GenandThadsMom Well-Known Member

    I absolutely love my crock pot. You can cook anything in it. My babies normally sleep for 1.5 to 2 hours in the morning and during that time I get dinner ready. My favorite is frozen chicken breasts two cans of cream of mushroom soup one can of milk one can of mushrooms and one bag frozen corn. That cooks all day and and about one hour before I want to eat I put in a bag of frozen broccoli florets. The chicken falls apart it is sooo good. It only take about 5 minutes to prepare.
     
  6. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(Shellstwins @ Sep 22 2008, 09:59 AM) [snapback]991450[/snapback]
    We eat when the babies go to bed. So that is about 7:00. It is pretty late for me to eat but I would rather do it that way then try to cook while they are in their crabby period.

    Yeah cooking during the cranky time, NO funny… I don’t like eating so late either… but I guess that’s what well have to do… I just don’t like spending my “down time” cooking… even though I use to love cooking when it was just the 3 of us :unknw: …
     
  7. twinmuffin

    twinmuffin Well-Known Member

    We eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. or a bowl of cereal. Who has time to cook? Sometimes on the weekend I cook. I just make sure we all take our vitamins. It's the best I can do.
     
  8. anicakes

    anicakes Well-Known Member

    I try and make something during their morning naps...either a casserole or something that can be reheated right before eating. We try to eat at a normal time--if the babies are awake and calm, they'll just watch us, or we eat when they take their early evening cat nap.

    We just started doing this the past few weeks...before that, we would eat whatever we could find and whenever...it was just too hard!
     
  9. shandy

    shandy Well-Known Member

    I'm another one for the crockpot (at least 2x week) then dinner is ready when we are :)
    When I do get the chance to cook... I'll double the recipe and then put one in the freezer for later on.. then on a day I didn't get a crockpot meal started or when we have a particularly hectic day I can just throw it in the oven.
     
  10. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(Gen&ThadsMom @ Sep 22 2008, 10:03 AM) [snapback]991459[/snapback]
    I absolutely love my crock pot. You can cook anything in it. My babies normally sleep for 1.5 to 2 hours in the morning and during that time I get dinner ready. My favorite is frozen chicken breasts two cans of cream of mushroom soup one can of milk one can of mushrooms and one bag frozen corn. That cooks all day and and about one hour before I want to eat I put in a bag of frozen broccoli florets. The chicken falls apart it is sooo good. It only take about 5 minutes to prepare.

    never used a crock pot before... i had one as a wedding prez for 13 years that i just gave away before i found out i was prego :rolleyes:
     
  11. 4lilmonkeys

    4lilmonkeys Well-Known Member

    I do a lot of dinner prep during naps. Just cutting up veggies, getting out meat to thaw or marinade, cooking chicken and shredding it, getting out rolls to thaw and rise. It honestly doesn't take long. When it's time to actually throw it together or in the oven, I'll put the boys in their high chairs with toys or cheerios to play. They can see me, so that seems to help. The key for me is to keep dinner super simple. Casseroles with a bag of the Birds Eye steam pack veggies that go in the microwave for 5 minutes or crockpot dinners are the best! :)
     
  12. moski

    moski Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Sep 22 2008, 10:56 AM) [snapback]991446[/snapback]
    Call the chinese place, the pizza place or the husband to bring food from Boston Market, or other places! :D Sorry, but we did a TON of takeout at first!


    Do you know that we do not have a Boston Market around here? They all closed!!


    My suggestion: Crockpot meals, Freeze ahead meals or the meals that they have in the grocery store that are all ready to go. Check out the Cooking Forum (under Best of, there are some great ideas). Check out this Crockpotting Blog, this woman is preparing something in her crockpot every day for a year. Also, if you are making something that can be frozen, double the recipe and freeze half for another day. You will be glad you were so smart on one of those really hectic days!!

    It's not easy, but planning ahead is the key at this stage of the game. When my twins were your guys age, I was working so planning ahead was necessary!!
     
  13. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(twinmuffin @ Sep 22 2008, 10:05 AM) [snapback]991468[/snapback]
    We eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. or a bowl of cereal. Who has time to cook? Sometimes on the weekend I cook. I just make sure we all take our vitamins. It's the best I can do.

    Yeah older DS has done this a few times... glad hes not alone...
     
  14. tamaras

    tamaras Well-Known Member

    Cook??? I'm sorry....I don't understand what you are talking about?? :laughing:
    I DONT cook :)
    We do eat after the little ones go to bed (7'ish) but either DH cooks something or its pizza, frozen meals or whatever he picked up on the way home :)
     
  15. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(shandy @ Sep 22 2008, 10:09 AM) [snapback]991479[/snapback]
    When I do get the chance to cook... I'll double the recipe and then put one in the freezer for later on.. then on a day I didn't get a crockpot meal started or when we have a particularly hectic day I can just throw it in the oven.

    OHHHH good idea... i had not thought of that... our fav mex restaurant makes these good burritos and i usually get about 15 of them and put them in the freezer and heat 3 of them up on those tough nights... but didn’t think to double... duuuh
     
  16. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(moski @ Sep 22 2008, 10:11 AM) [snapback]991484[/snapback]
    Do you know that we do not have a Boston Market around here? They all closed!!
    My suggestion: Crockpot meals, Freeze ahead meals or the meals that they have in the grocery store that are all ready to go. Check out the Cooking Forum (under Best of, there are some great ideas). Check out this Crockpotting Blog, this woman is preparing something in her crockpot every day for a year. Also, if you are making something that can be frozen, double the recipe and freeze half for another day. You will be glad you were so smart on one of those really hectic days!!

    It's not easy, but planning ahead is the key at this stage of the game. When my twins were your guys age, I was working so planning ahead was necessary!!

    i just started this... i pick up DS at school and pass a Ralphs on the way home...

    and i LOVE the fact a Crockpot blog even exists... i'm going to forward THAT to my mom... THANK!!!
     
  17. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(tamaras @ Sep 22 2008, 10:12 AM) [snapback]991489[/snapback]
    Cook??? I'm sorry....I don't understand what you are talking about?? :laughing:
    I DONT cook :)
    We do eat after the little ones go to bed (7'ish) but either DH cooks something or its pizza, frozen meals or whatever he picked up on the way home :)

    see my DH is willing to "cook something" but i dont want cup of noodles EVERYNIGHT :laughing:
     
  18. mommymauro

    mommymauro Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(4lilmonkeys @ Sep 22 2008, 10:10 AM) [snapback]991483[/snapback]
    I do a lot of dinner prep during naps. Just cutting up veggies, getting out meat to thaw or marinade, cooking chicken and shredding it, getting out rolls to thaw and rise. It honestly doesn't take long. When it's time to actually throw it together or in the oven, I'll put the boys in their high chairs with toys or cheerios to play. They can see me, so that seems to help. The key for me is to keep dinner super simple. Casseroles with a bag of the Birds Eye steam pack veggies that go in the microwave for 5 minutes or crockpot dinners are the best! :)

    i did that w/ older DS when he was a baby and it worked perfect... i guess these guys just arent "there" yet...
     
  19. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    once they were able to go in the excersaucers, i'd put them in the kitchen with me and talk to them while i cook. i still do it (they're too big for the excersaucers, but they don't mind being in them for just a little while so i can throw some stuff together). or you can try the bouncy chairs in the kitchen with you. just talk to them, show them what you're doing... it'll keep them interested. all the noise you're making, the packages you're opening, appliances you're using... it's all interesting to them. HTH!

    p.s. i consider this an "activity" for them, and helps make the day go by a little faster :pardon:
     
  20. DATJMom

    DATJMom Well-Known Member

    Since DD was born we always eat after the kids go to bed. I get something going during tubtime and bedtime and go from there. So we eat late, but we eat in peace! I am a huge fan of takeout too! Anything is easier than cooking with children clinging on your legs.
     
  21. pigsocks

    pigsocks Well-Known Member

    my girls still have a short nap around 4:30 or 5 for about 40 minutes. I make dinner then. If they decide not to have a nap they will play in their jumpers they can see into the kitchen and watch or sit in their bumbos. My husband feeds the girls when he gets home from work and I finish making our dinner. Then we eat dinner while the girls are still in their high chairs we just give them a toy to play with. On busy days the crockpot is the only way we get to eat before 8pm

    Good luck
     
  22. chocomilko

    chocomilko Well-Known Member

    I will second all the crockpot meals.

    Another thing I do is jut bring the saucers in the kitchen and cook while they are in there playing. If they get a little fussy, well, I just let them fuss some. Cooking was not a word in my vocab the first few months, but I LOVE to cook and am finding ways to get back to that. I do make a lot of crock meals though ;)
     
  23. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    When mine were 5 months old, I still barely cooked -- however, we did not have an older child to feed. But shortly after that, they started going to bed around 6:30-7 and STTN, so I would cook after they were in bed. DH and I had dinner around 8 and went to bed around 9!

    When they were a bit older (maybe around a year) and we started trying to eat dinner as a family most nights, I started cooking dinner one night in advance. That way, we could come home from work and eat (almost) right away, then put the girls to bed, then I would cook for the next night. (I also planned leftovers so I didn't have to cook every night.) I'm still more or less on this plan, since there if really no time to cook after I get home from work if I want to have the girls in bed by 8.
     
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