How to Get Dinner on the Table when You're Too Tired to Cook

My daughter and son-in-law recently became parents. As with most young parents, they are sleep deprived and on an incredibly tight budget. Since I am a published foodie and have always been hyper-budget conscience, they came to me for advice. They thought the task of getting a healthy, inexpensive dinner on the table in minutes would be all but impossible--they found out how wrong they were. I came up with a plan that proved to be just what this new little (very tired)family needed.

First-everyone knows this is coming: see what's on sale, what you have coupons for and get a plan of action together. Obviously, make that almighty list. Make sure you have your crockpot clean and ready to be of use. Convenience foods are a little expensive, but when used properly are well worth paying more for, in the saving of tme.

Learn to like one pot meals. Stews, soups, pot roasts. With the help of the crockpot and buying the cheaper cuts of meats, these types of meals can be put up in the morning, make your home smell wonderful and best, feed you for several days. My favorite: split pea or lentil soup. Use leftover ham or buy a hamhock for flavor. Chop the vegtables small enough so they "melt" into the base. Serve with some homemade garlic toast or muffins from a mix. If your budget allows, most markets have some very wonderful artisan breads that they will slice up. Pot roast can also be done in the same fashion-leftovers can be further cut up and added to spaghetti sauce and put over pasta, or as a sauce for lasagna. My husband couldn't believe how I could stretch one 3 pound chuck roast to find our family of four for 4 days!

Day 1-pot roast and veggies. Day 2-added some canned roasted tomatoes and served with brown rice. Day 3-served sauce over pasta. Day 4-used what was left and added some tired looking tidbits and made soup, served it with homemade garlic biscuits.

Same with the soup-what could be less expensive than any form of legumes? They're filling, very nutritious, tasty and you can use the very end of the pot to add to pasta sauce and serve over pasta or rice.

Convenience foods-quite frankly, I don't use them very much, but there are a few that have become staples in my kitchen. Triple-washed spinach (I believe the threat of disease has more than passed), frozen pre-shaped turkey burgers or salmon burgers, canned tuna and bottled fat-free salad dressing of your liking.
The spinach can be stir-fried in moments as a side dish, added to soups just before being served and used as a base for salads. When salmon or some other favorite fish is on sale, do your own packaging, grill and top the salad. Again, serve with a simple slice of bread or muffin and you've literally got a very wholesome meal on the table in under 20 minutes.

If you're working-take some of the leftovers to work for brown bag lunches.

My favorite for a quick, yet even company-worthy meal: spinach salad (I add tomatoes, purple onion, mushrooms, dried cranberries and some feta cheese) with grilled teriyaki salmon. Depending on my energy, I either serve it with homemade muffins or biscuits or slice up some artisan bread.

Yes, salads, soups and stews make those sleepless nights and hungry bellies seem not near as daunting.