Single Dad Survival

Here is my survival situation...laugh if you wish, but it is a serious one for me.

I am a single father of a 6 yr. old girl as many of you know. Here is where the situation comes in. I can cook, but time is limited and so are resources. I get us home about 6-630 pm. That variable will not change. My daughters proper bedtime is 830 pm. I am looking for ideas on preparing meals that will help me in this little window. I have crockpots. One other variable it has to be healthy for both of us but, also keep in mind I am meat and tater kind of guy. It also helps to have enough leftover for my lunch the following day as I come home for lunch to save a little. I have done a few things in the crockpot and had them ready when we got home. So as many of those recipes as you have will definately help. Oh and (Ken) I don't have a pink apron either, and I am sure that is a disadvantage. I did this before for 4 yrs. but my daughter is growing up and the menu has definately changed!

Hey cowboy, when Both I and my wife were working, we would make 3 to 5 full meals on Sunday and freeze them then when we got home late we popped them in the microwave and 15 minutes later it was dinner, just a suggestion that helped us out.

My cousin would cook a weeks worth of food on the weekend and freeze the ones meant for the end of the week and put the others in the fridge. She would take them out and re-heat them for supper. about mid week she would pull the frozen ones out and put them in the fridge so she could have them for the second half of the week. Then, she started over the following weekend. I hope all works out for you my friend!

Thanks Welderguy! I never thought of it on that scale Good idea! Ya'll keep 'em coming!

That was going to be my suggestion to. You can even freeze casseroles and while they are heating in the oven you can be doing other things like homework. You might also consider having her help in the preparation. No only will she get a say in the week's meals but you get some quality time with your daughter in the process.

Good luck and keep us updated.

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Originally Posted by Camp10

My cousin would cook a weeks worth of food on the weekend and freeze the ones meant for the end of the week and put the others in the fridge. She would take them out and re-heat them for supper. about mid week she would pull the frozen ones out and put them in the fridge so she could have them for the second half of the week. Then, she started over the following weekend. I hope all works out for you my friend!

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Don't worry about it working out guys! it will work out! So long as I stay focused on my little girl it will work out and I don't see that being an issue!

I was gonna say the same as welderguy. Do the slow cooking on weekends. When you get home in the evenings the sides of canned and frozen vegies, soup, rice, potatoes, etc. are quick to prepare to go with the meat.

That was my suggestion as well. Cook on week ends, microwave on week days.

OOps! I meant to say thanks for the idea Camp10 and you to Rebel. I don't need any sympathy though, I actually love this place in life. I have never seen a closer relationship between a father and a daughter and wouldn't trade that for anything. We are fine just need some ideas! Did i mention we just got 2 new puppies! Thanks everyone you guys are the greatest!

I did this, in the oven, a while back, but I think it would be good in a crock pot.
I put a roast (about 2.5 lbs.) in a pan, poured one can of mushroom soup over it, then one envelope of Liptons onion soup mix over that, and covered it with foil. I put it in the oven for 2 hours at 350. Then I added cut up taters, then recovered and put back in the oven for one more hour. The soups and the juices made their own gravy...it was real good.

When I realized how good it was, I was already thinking that it would work well in a crock pot. (Maybe add just a little water.)

Fry up a couple of pork chops and toss them in the ice box. When it comes time to cook dinner, toss the chops in a skillet, add a can of mushroom soup, one can of water and a can of hominy (drained). Bring to a boil to heat through. Add a salad on the side while the chops are warming. Good stuff.

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Originally Posted by Rick

That was going to be my suggestion to. You can even freeze casseroles and while they are heating in the oven you can be doing other things like homework. You might also consider having her help in the preparation. No only will she get a say in the week's meals but you get some quality time with your daughter in the process.

Good luck and keep us updated.

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You got it Rick! We do of course have homework! Last night was 22 valentines cards, we made 'em from scratch. Tonight while cooking she was bathing the new puppies! Thanks to you too! Crash and 2dumb! How about some more crockpot recipes?

Boil some chicken and cut it into chunks. Place the chicken in the ice box. When it's time to cook, toss the chicken in a skillet, cut up some broccoli and sliced carrots and toss them in with the chicken. Bring the heat to medium and cover with a lid. The humidity will "steam" the broccoli. Cook some pasta, toss it all together in one bowl. Add some canned spaghetti sauce and stir. One meal pasta. I like bow tie pasta for this dish.

You can cook more chicken than you need that way you'll have enough for a second dish like chicken salad sandwiches.

Here are the new pups! They are both males and are Rotweiller/Pitbull. I don't think anyone will be messing with my lawnmower!

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...L/DSCN2297.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...L/DSCN2301.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...L/DSCN2302.jpg

If you do a search for Kens minestrone soup recipe, (I changed it a little, but not enough to worry about.) it is some really good soup...and that recipe makes enough for two people to eat for about three meals. Eat the first meal, then put left-overs in zip-lock freezer bags and throw them in the freezer. The next time you want soup, throw the frozen block of soup in the crock pot in the morning, and when you get home you have a hot pot of soup.

(Tip; When you freeze it, don't let the bag fold over. You need to be able to get the frozen block out of the bag, to put it in the crock pot.)
That's all I'm gonna say about that.:blushing:

Psssst. 2D. The bag is made of plastic. You can rip it off if you want to. Just sayin'.....

Wow you guys have some good ideas! I'll be able to come back to this thread and they'll all be right here! I really appreciate it! Hope you didn't miss the puppy pics!

I feel your pain. I was a single dad for 8 years and dinner time was always an issue. Fast food was used a lot. Of course that is not really a good alternative. It's hard to find meals that you and your child will like since kids, well mine, are picky eaters. Things like chilli, macaroni and tomatoes, spaghetti etc are all good choices and you can make a lot of it to have leftovers.

Oh...how about a quick breakfast idea?
(I like it any time!) LOL

Split an english muffin, and put it in the toaster. While it's toasting break one egg into a coffee cup, and scramble.(With a little salt and pepper, if you like.) Put the cup with egg in the microwave for 1 minute. (Don't panic when the egg swells up out the top of the cup....It settles right down when the microwave cuts off.LOL) Now shake the cup around (in a swirling motion) and the egg will roll around in the cup and come loose.

Butter both halves of the english muffin, put the egg on the bottom, put a slice of cheese over the egg, and put the top on it. (If you need to, you can throw it in the microwave, to melt the cheese, faster.)

MMmmmmmm!!!:drool:

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Originally Posted by Rick

Psssst. 2D. The bag is made of plastic. You can rip it off if you want to. Just sayin'.....

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Not the part that is pinched in the fold, you can't!:blushing: LOL

An egg in the microwave? Really?

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Originally Posted by 2dumb2kwit

Oh...how about a quick breakfast idea?
(I like it any time!) LOL

Split an english muffin, and put it in the toaster. While it's toasting break one egg into a coffee cup, and scramble.(With a little salt and pepper, if you like.) Put the cup with egg in the microwave for 1 minute. (Don't panic when the egg swells up out the top of the cup....It settles right down when the microwave cuts off.LOL) Now shake the cup around (in a swirling motion) and the egg will roll around in the cup and come loose.

Butter both halves of the english muffin, put the egg on the bottom, put a slice of cheese over the egg, and put the top on it. (If you need to, you can throw it in the microwave, to melt the cheese, faster.)

MMmmmmmm!!!:drool:

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I do that every morning except I use a corningware bowl. I spray the bowl with non-stick and fry a sausage in the skillet almost as quick as I cook the egg! Delicious with cheese and Mayo!

I also would make a little extra of the meals that I really like and I would take the left overs for my lunch the next day.

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Originally Posted by Camp10

An egg in the microwave? Really?

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Heck yeah! Try it.....when it swells over the top of the cup, it looks like a mushroom! LOL

Granted, it's not as good as cooking them in bacon grease, but it ain't bad.

You can do baked taters in there too...just wrap'em in wet paper towells. I forget how long! See what a year with an xtra female will do to ya!

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Originally Posted by 2dumb2kwit

Heck yeah! Try it.....when it swells over the top of the cup, it looks like a mushroom! LOL

Granted, it's not as good as cooking them in bacon grease, but it ain't bad.

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I've never thought to do them in the microwave! I will try it!

Cowboy, Here's Kens recipe. (post #29)
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ht=soup&page=2

I don't work that hard. I'll find my recipe, in a minute.

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Originally Posted by COWBOYSURVIVAL

You can do baked taters in there too...just wrap'em in wet paper towells. I forget how long! See what a year with an xtra female will do to ya!

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I have done this..you forgot to mention poking them full of holes! Never forget the holes!:splat:

Here's mine.
Brown 1 to 1.5 lbs of stew beef, then throw it in a big pot, with..
2-(14 oz) cans of beef broth.
2-(28 oz) cans of mixed veggies. (Dump juice and all in there)
1- (28 oz) can of crushed tomato's.
1/4 teaspoon of each of the following,
Minced Garlic.
Onion Powder.
Ground oregano.
Basil Leaves.
Black Pepper.
Salt.

I sometimes add some extra potatoes or corn...depending on how the cans of mixed veggies look.

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Originally Posted by Camp10

I have done this..you forgot to mention poking them full of holes! Never forget the holes!:splat:

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How long? Yeah now I remember the holes! LOL!

6-8 minutes for 2 taters depending on size of taters and wattage of microwave. And do not forget the holes. LOL. Messy if you do.

Also, be sure you scramble the eggs like 2D said before putting them in the Microwave or you'll have double the mess when the yolk explodes. <wouldn't know anything about that either...>

I freeze soups in tupperware then pop them out and put em in bags after they're solid. Get my tupperware back that way.

Most things I eat at night cook up quick. I usually get home around 6:30 too and don't want to spend all night dealing with food.

Shaved steak is a good one. Buy in bulk but store in the freezer in sandwich sized wads. Cooks up in a fry pan in about 10 minutes if you cover it to thaw. Add cheese and spaghetti sauce in a bulky roll and a side salad. Done.

Most stuff I do out on the gas grill. Hamburgs, thin Round steaks (again, buy bulk and slice your own), chicken chunks or large italian sausages on metal skewers cook faster. Throw some veggies in some foil and steam on the side. The real charcoal sadly has to wait for weekends.

Ground turkey or ground beef, fried in a big pan and mixed with canned stewed tomatos, chopped onion, garlic, oregano, and cooked pasta for American Chop Suey.

Fry some Italian sausages, halve lengthwise. When 3/4 cooked pour in a large sliced onion and a couple of Sweet Italian Peppers (cubanelle) and let steam covered until veggies wilt. Serve on a bulky roll with a veggie side. More excellent if you can grill the sausage.

And meatloaf... you can make and freeze this stuff. Or it takes about 45 minutes to mix and cook:
1lb of ground beef or turkey. 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs (I used italian seasoned), 1 can of drained stewed tomatoes, one small onion chopped, one egg, mix all together and put in loaf pan and cook for 30-35 minutes at 350.

Variation: instead of tomatoes, mix in a box of drained thawed spinach and 1/2 a brick of feta cheese and add one clove of garlic. We call this Green Hairy Meatloaf and your daughter may not be that adventurous yet. LOL.

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Originally Posted by LowKey

6-8 minutes for 2 taters depending on size of taters and wattage of microwave. And do not forget the holes. LOL. Messy if you do.

Also, be sure you scramble the eggs like 2D said before putting them in the Microwave or you'll have double the mess when the yolk explodes. <wouldn't know anything about that either...>

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Thanks Lowkey~!

If you put taters in a plastic shopping bag tie it up and put it in the micro it works real good too,for 3 medium size potatos it takes about 5 to 7 minutes ( in my micro your time may differ)

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Originally Posted by welderguy

If you put taters in a plastic shopping bag tie it up and put it in the micro it works real good too,for 3 medium size potatos it takes about 5 to 7 minutes ( in my micro your time may differ)

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Thanks welderguy! I'll be tryin' that one! Sounds like it'll work! These are the little tricks I was after. As i said I know how to cook but sometimes quicker is key! Then me an my little girl have more Quality time!

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Originally Posted by doug1980

I feel your pain. I was a single dad for 8 years and dinner time was always an issue. Fast food was used a lot. Of course that is not really a good alternative. It's hard to find meals that you and your child will like since kids, well mine, are picky eaters. Things like chilli, macaroni and tomatoes, spaghetti etc are all good choices and you can make a lot of it to have leftovers.

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I refuse to make fast food a regular or even a monthly activity, were gonna cook stuff that is good for us! I like the sketti ideas though! Your durn right she is picky we're workin' on that!

Here are a few ideas.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food...dinner-recipes

http://family.go.com/food/pkg-quick-easy-recipes/

http://www.mealsmatter.org/RecipesAndMeals/QuickMeals/

for me the healthiest and fastest thing i can think of is stir fry. and it never gets boring cause there is endless ways to prepare it. you can use almost anything you have lying around including potatoes and meat. you could add eggs and make it a scrambled egg dish or noodles. just chop up a bunch of stuff and throw it in a pan. then you can put your stir fry on rice, noodles, or a tortilla.
my fav is throwing some leftover meat in a pan with bell peppers, onions, and canned pineapple. then add some honey, pineapple juice, and maybe a little ginger as it cooks for a sweet and sour kind of thing. then put it on rice.
or take some leftover chicken and heat it up with salsa and slices of onion and put in on a tortilla.
you can make a cheese sauce by heating milk and adding shredded cheese and stirring till it dissolves. just make sure you dont use to rubbery of a cheese like some types of mozzarella or it will have a hard time dissolving. i use it when i make a stir fry out of just meat, onions, and bell peppers, and put that on a tortilla, drizzle the cheese sauce on top and wrap up. or just put the cheese sauce on noodles. that would be pretty easy. maybe add some tuna or something. oh and i always use spices. garlic and basile are awesome. this is what works well for me anyways. i hope it helps. good luck.

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

Here are a few ideas.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food...dinner-recipes

http://family.go.com/food/pkg-quick-easy-recipes/

http://www.mealsmatter.org/RecipesAndMeals/QuickMeals/

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Thanks alot Crash! I'll be looking back at this one! Looks like I have to learn to eat chicken! Yeah, I am a red meat eater and I know it ain't good. You nailed it with the stuff that is healthy and I should learn more about. I sure do appreciate it.

When I had a couple of very picky kids at home I learned to sweeten foods and to hide veggies. Microwaves and crockpots were my best friends. A huge pot of spaghetti sauce with 3/4 cup of sugar and a bag of mixed veggies in the sauce was poured into ziplocks and frozen for quick meals ( pasta boils fast ). Cinnamon, sugar and a butter glaze made bland carrots interesting. Food coloring to change the appearance of foods made it fun to get the kids to try new things. They were very picky eaters so I seldom told them what they were truely going to eat ( Why tonight were gonna have boiled rhino snout with a side of wild african rooster peas) with some food colorin' they were never sure if I was jokin'.
Also, If you decide to fire up the grill on the weekend cook some of every kind of meat you can with and without sauces and with diff spices and freeze in small portions in ziplocks for a variety of fast micro meals...just add pasta or rice and canned veggies. A full bag of taters boiled up makes for mashed, fried, potato salad, homefries ect.

D.O.M.[/U]

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Originally Posted by owl_girl

for me the healthiest and fastest thing i can think of is stir fry. and it never gets boring cause there is endless ways to prepare it. you can use almost anything you have lying around including potatoes and meat. you could add eggs and make it a scrambled egg dish or noodles. just chop up a bunch of stuff and throw it in a pan. then you can put your stir fry on rice, noodles, or a tortilla.
my fav is throwing some leftover meat in a pan with bell peppers, onions, and canned pineapple. then add some honey, pineapple juice, and maybe a little ginger as it cooks for a sweet and sour kind of thing. then put it on rice.
or take some leftover chicken and heat it up with salsa and slices of onion and put in on a tortilla.
you can make a cheese sauce by heating milk and adding shredded cheese and stirring till it dissolves. just make sure you dont use to rubbery of a cheese like some types of mozzarella or it will have a hard time dissolving. i use it when i make a stir fry out of just meat, onions, and bell peppers, and put that on a tortilla, drizzle the cheese sauce on top and wrap up. or just put the cheese sauce on noodles. that would be pretty easy. maybe add some tuna or something. oh and i always use spices. garlic and basile are awesome. this is what works well for me anyways. i hope it helps. good luck.

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Thanks Owl Girl! I sure appreciate your time and I'll try doing a stir fry real soon. I have done something similar but not quite as fancy. I bet this one is a hit with my little girl! Many thanks!