Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

I am 35 weeks with twins, this coming weekend may be the last one I have before they come. So on Saturday I am kicking DH & my boys out of the house for the day, they are going to visit my in laws, and I am going to cook meals that I can freeze. I am going to make two big pots of soup- one chicken noodle, one lentil. I am also going to make a tray of lasagna, a beef stew, and a chicken pot pie. I may need Sunday too. In between eating these frozen meals and doing take out sometimes, I will want to pull together quick healthy meals for everyone. With 4 kids, 2 of them newborns, I emphasize quick. I was thinking tacos, chicken cutlets, cheese & veggie quesadillas? I just don't want to fall in the habit of DH & I eating sandwiches and giving the boys chicken nuggets or mac & cheese. We don't feed them that stuff on a regular basis and I don't want to start now. TIA!

Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

During winter I put a lot in the oven. I find it way easier than standing over a stove. I will bake salmon, flounder, roast veggies, scalloped potatoes, twice baked potatoes

Other quick stuff Quinoa, steamed veggies, grilled chicken breasts, chili (just throw everything in the pot), garlic shrimp, ground meat pasta with peas, pan fry fish, grill salmon,

I don't usually make one pot meals. We always have meat, veg and a carb. Vegetables are grilled, roasted or steamed. Fish, chicken cutlets and shrimp cook super fast and are my go to items.

Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

You could look into freezer crockpot meals. Pinterest has lots of options and I find they work well in a pinch. They aren't always amAzing but they are real food. I also freeze meatballs that I cooked in crockpot.

Re: Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

I love to make meals that are freezer friendly. Here are some of my fav's:
Skinnytaste lasagna roll ups (any of them are freezer friendly)
a pot of sauce
meatballs
Chili
Make a roasted chicken and then shred it and you can freeze the meat in a zip lock bag and then use it for anything like fajitas etc..
split pea soup
minestrone soup
buy tortellini or ravioli and keep it in the freezer
beef or chicken stew
buy frozen veggies so you can use that into meals

Message edited 2/25/2015 10:42:55 PM.

Re: Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

Crockpot is super easy, stir fries are quick and healthy, turkey meatballs (I use frozen for convenience), tacos or fajitas, fish is super simple too.

Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

I usually buy in bulk so i prep stuff like 1-2 times a month I toss in air tight zip lock and freeze I label the bags with what it is and when I prepped it. I do things like soups, chili, sausage and peppers, beef with veggies, chicken with veggies, stuff for tacos, and believe it or not I do spaghetti and meatballs in the crockpot too!! Lots of stuff that can be put in the crockpot since its the quickest.

Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

Anything where you can do all the work early in the day when you have a pocket of time. Throwing things in the crockpot is of course helpful. Pulled bbq pork of chicken is easy and then you can do sandwiches or serve it over baked sweet potatoes. I do chicken and rice soup in the crockpot all the time and serve cornbread on the side. You can chop up veggies and potatoes during the day and then roast it in the same dish as chicken, pork chops, or italian sausage with some olive oil and herbs. Sprinkle a little balsamic, red wine vinegar, or lemon juice over the top near then end and give it a toss. For sides, we ate a ton of frozen brown rice and frozen green beans with almonds during the first few weeks after DD2 was born. Both go in the microwave for a few minutes and go over well with all of us so we ate them a lot. Definitely stock the freezer though, that will be so worth it on those long days!

Re: Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

I made this last night and it was so good and easy.

balsamic chicken

Instead of doing it on the stove top in stages I threw everything in a pyrex and baked it in the oven which made it so quick to do a big batch. I also didn't have asparagus so I did snap peas instead. I made a few extra breasts so we can have them over salad tonight. Last night we had it with frozen brown rice on the side.

Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

Thank you so much everyone! I am going to try some of these!

Re: Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

I froze a lot of meat main dishes with my first. Then I just had to add quick sides. Veggies are usually easy to stir fry, roast etc.

I did meatloaf, a few kinds of meatballs, chili, filling for enchiladas, pulled pork, casseroles, etc.

I also froz rice which takes awhile to cook for easy reheating.

Agree with roasting and take help from the store- pair frozen veggies/sides with fresh homemade meat or vice versa.

We are close to grill season which helps with mess

Pasta can be made with tons of veggies- add garlic, wine, chicken stock, and a little pasta water for sauce.

A salad is always easy

Edited to add. I try to make double batches when I can. Eat one freeze one. Works we'll for example on meatloaf. Same amount of prep and cleanup time but 2 meals instead of 1

Message edited 2/28/2015 7:17:19 AM.

Re: Twins are coming, need easy dinner ideas

I have 2 year old, a 9 month old and work full time so I know its rough!! But I'm constantly building up my reipe collection.

Chili is easy- I make a batch on Sunday and heat it up when we need it. You can make a less spicy version for the kids.

I use all those old el paso dinner kits for tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, etc. very quick.

We have a panini maker. Get some cibatta bread and make paninis.

crockpot recipes are good. There are a bunch on skinny taste. I like the honey sesame chicken and chicken caccitore.

Also crockpot chicken and stuffing (you can just make some veggies on the side) Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing
1 box Stuffing mix
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of water
3-4 chicken breasts
- Put the chicken in crock pot, Add stuffing on top of chicken, mix water, sour cream, and soup and pour over stffing. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, fluff and serve!


Pasta with chicken sausage.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Message edited 3/2/2015 10:56:33 AM.