Thursday, May 03, 2007

Meals on the run, for baseball nights

Thanks to a full schedule of weeknight baseball games and practices, it is time to get a grip on dinners besides fast food. I need to prepare dinners ahead of time, or stock practically ready to eat fixings from the fridge, and figure out dinner food I can pack in our little rolling cooler cube to eat before, or between, or during games.

Our first, basic thoughts were these:

Fast at-home dinners
Sandwiches, especially messy ones (hoagies/subs...)
Pasta salad
Bean salad (for the adults!) -- three-bean salad, my blackeyed pea salad with diced bell pepper in vinaigrette

On-the-go food
Lay in supplies for sandwiches and tortilla wraps
Cheese hunks
Nuts
Granola bars
Cut-up fruit
Pasta salad
Bean salad

Then I asked on a favorite homeschoolers' discussion board, and got a bunch more ideas (thank you!!)

Almond butter and jelly sandwiches
Salad wraps
Pasta salad
Hummus and carrots
Coleslaw variations
Trail mix
Granola bars
Nuts
Frozen fruit such as mangos and pineapples -- they'll partially thaw on the go, very yummy.
--
Cold pizza
Cottage cheese with fruit on top (we don't do cottage cheese, but yogurt -- yum!)
Hard-boiled eggs
Bean dip with whole-grain tortillas
--
Eggs microwaved in a coffee cup then kept warm in a thermos -- wrap in a tortilla, and top with salsa and cheese packed in small containers.
Cook a chicken in a slow cooker, remove the meat, and use for chicken salads or sandwiches, or finger food.
Vary the bread as well as the fillings -- bread, buns, tortillas, etc.
--
Heat meatballs in a slow cooker for meatball subs
--
Pasta with meat sauce
Chicken sandwiches, especially BBQ'd earlier in the day and served on homemade bread
Calzones -- little bread pockets stuffed with meat & sauce
Hamburgers
Pizza

Many of these will be great for us, and now I've also thought of:

Fast at-home dinners
Sloppy Joes -- filling done ahead, and veggie sides
Tacos -- all prep done ahead
Pasta salad with our very favorite things in it
Big green salad with lots of veggies and sliced hard-boiled eggs, or chicken (beef), and/or cheese
Cold-cut sandwiches on good bread or rolls or tortillas
Maybe try muffaletta or other "stacked" prepared sandwich? Might be too different for Son2, though.

On-the-go food
Yogurt-fruit-granola cups
Thai-style noodles with peanut sauce, veggies, and nuts
Lo mein with whole-wheat noodles, veggies, and protein
Same all-our-favorites pasta salad
Same cold-cut sandwiches
Peanut butter balls (with oats and dry milk and stuff)

Now come the next challenges: keeping ingredients in the house, and doing the early food prep. It makes sense to cook and prep everything in the morning or at lunchtime, way before I might run out of time, and to lay out dinner or fill the cooler shortly before we need it.

I feel much better about the task of dinners for the next two months. Whew! And don't those foods sound delicious?

1 comment:

Elliott Broidy said...

Crock pot meals that can be taken to go are a wonderful idea!