There's an interesting New York Times article that asks how full-time working parents are able to prepare dinner everyday. This is what Pete Wells, the author, asked of the readers:
But over the last two years, as I explain in my final column this week, I never really figured out how to cook dinner for my family on weeknights. The boys (there’s also Elliot, who’s now 3) get hungry too early and I get home too late. Way too often, my wife does all the Monday-through-Friday work of shopping and cooking, and I make a few guest appearances in the kitchen on weekends.
I probably should have asked readers for advice long ago. Maybe you have done a better job than I have at working full time and still making it home in time to make dinner. If so, I’d love to hear your strategies. Or if you have as much trouble with this as I do, I’d be interested in hearing your frustrations. I feel your pain!
So, how do YOU manage to prepare weeknight dinners for your family? What's the strategy you use? Which spouse usually is the one that prepares dinner?
As for me personally, I find it hard sometimes to do dinner regularly from scratch every night. So what I'll do instead is making two big meals during the week that serve as leftovers, have a salad that I can prepare quickly, and keep antipasto snacks on hand. For instance, last night's quick dinner was a 1.5 pound ribeye steak, cut in half to be shared between my husband and I, sliced beefsteak tomatoes and quickly broiled small onion bulbs. It took me thirty minutes to get everything done and ready, not including the time the steak had to hang out on the counter to come to room temp for 15 minutes.
My big, leftover stretching meals usually are enchiladas, and pasta so there are three nights during the week when I don't have to cook. I'll cook up a huge bunch of enchiladas with lots of rice, and this serves us very well for leftovers for the next two days. If I get tired of eating enchiladas for the second dinner in a row, I usually make a salad, and keep the leftover enchiladas to eat for lunch. I usually do a ricarelle pasta bolognese, which makes for plenty of leftovers. It's about six to eight servings from that recipe. It lasts my husband and I for two days.
If we get tired of eating leftover bolognese, I'll switch over to the antipasto which usually is sliced salami and cheese that we enjoy with a glass of wine.
Tonight is enchiladas for dinner, and we'll be having that for lunch tomorrow, and perhaps dinner. If I don't feel like enchiladas for dinner tomorrow night, then I'll make a risotto with peas, mushrooms, and proscuitto. The risotto usually keeps for lunch leftovers very well, and I'm usually the one that eats it since my husband doesn't like risotto in general.
On the weekends, we generally go out to eat, or have late brunches which satisfies us for the most of the weekend day, with a small salad to eat in the evening.
That's how I usually handle cooking for my family when I'm very busy.