Single father of 4 boys needs cooking help!!?

Question

I am recently divorced from my wife who left the family. That part is not important. What is important is that I need some simple, economic recipes that I can cook quickly for the boys and I. I work as a school administrator and get home pretty late and I need to cook something for the boys that does not have the work "helper" in it. Does anyone have a chicken recipe by any chance? Remember it has to be easy and economic. Many thanks to all of you!

Answer 1

OK. I get it. Stick to really simple things. It's getting close to grilling time (it's already here where I live. Plus I have a gas grill so it's year round for me)
Any thing on the grill is simple (and easy cleanup) and all you have to do is watch & turn. If you like to marinade meat then you can take what ever you want for tomorrows meal out of the freezer, put it a zipper bag add the marinade and throw it in the fridge until time to cook.
So you can grill any type of chicken, pork chops, steaks, ribs, hamburgers & hot dogs you get the gist.
Frozen veggies cook quickly in the microwave as do baked potatoes. Fries are quick and you can bake or deep fry. (fry daddy).
There are a lot of fairly good quick foods in the refridgerated section now like Simply Potatoes and they have hash browns, mashed potatoes (3 or 4 varieties) any I like the very much and just 6 minutes to make.
Don't forget things like soup and a sandwich for dinner. Mac & cheese is quick, easy & foolproof. Don't leave out salad either.
If you find a little time on the weekends you can put together a few casseroles and freeze them for later.
Spaghetti is great too and you know the kids love that. With all the prepared sauces these days you could have that ready in less that 20 minutes.
Good luck I admire you for taking this on and wanting to do a good job.
If you don't have much of a clue about cooking follow the link below and check out the tutorials there, actual step by step videos on "how to".

Answer 2

Well I'm sure you know all the basics but I'll start there...
1. Noodles and sauce - you can spice up bottled sauce with spaghetti sauce seasonings or add it to cooked ground beef
2. Grilled sandwiches- Can use deli meats or grilled chicken with cheese and condiments then grill. A favorite is pesto mayo, spinach, tomato and chicken breast yummyyyy. If some eaters want no meat then just do grilled veggies with cheese.
3. Chicken tacos- you can buy a whole ready made chicken from the market and just shred it into a pan with a packet of taco seasonings. Can substitue different meat if you want or use other seasonings.
4. If you have a slow cooker try using that so its ready when you get home.
5. You can cook chicken breasts in a pan with a little oil until they are done- about 3 minutes per side then remove them from the pan. Put about 2 cups of sliced mushrooms in the pan with some garlic and cook until brown. Add 1 tsp of flour to the mushrooms and mix for a minute. Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup of wine (or chicken broth if you prefer) to the mushrooms and bring to a boil and cook for a couple minutes until thickened. You now have a sauce to put over the chicken. Serve with spinach and mashed potatoes.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

Chicken wrapped in soft tacos is fun and easy and healthy. Just cook the chicken strips and while they're cooking, chop up a tomato, lettuce and cheese - add some ranch dressing and you're good to go! Suggestion: On the weekends - pre-cook 4 or 5 meals (if the boys are of age - have them help you - that'd be a fun bonding activity!) for the week and when you get home from work - shove them in the microwave. That way you spend less time cooking and more time to spend with them.

Answer 4

honey mustard chicken is good. You can marinade it the night before. Make life even easier by lining the tin you use in the oven with foil. You can just chuck the foil and it saves much time on washing up.

For 5 people

5 chicken breast fillets
3 tablespoons of mustard (wholegrain is great or a mild one for the kids
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Mix the wet ingredients together
Make several slits with a sharp knife on each breast.
Pour the wet stuff over the chicken and leave to marinade

To cook
Heat the oven to 180C. place chicken in foil lined tin with all the marinade
put whole lot in the oven for 25 minutes.

While they are cooking you can cook rice or potatoes and peas or other veg.

Healthy and tasty for even the most fussy eater

Alternative meals which are cheap and quick

Sausage and mash
Pasta and tomato sauce with cheese
Stir fry and rice

To save time, I find making stuff in bulk easier. You can make a large batch of bolognese sauce and then freeze batches. That way, you can take it out of the freezer the night before you need it and only need to heat it and cook spaghetti to have a hot meal.

Good freezable meals are
lasagne
stew
spag bog
soups

When you have this much stuff going on, you would be forgiven for opting for easy stuff like fishfingers and chips or burgers from time to time.

Good luck with the recipes. I am sure you are doing a grand job!

Answer 5

Chicken Burritos

1/2 kg diced chick thigh 1kg if they are teenage boys
Burrito sauce (Mexican isle at your supermarket)
Burrito tortillas ( or any round flat bread)
grated cheese
grated carrots
chopped lettuce
chopped tomatoes

Brown the chicken with 2tbl spoons of oil, then add the sauce & finish cooking.
Warm the bread in either the microwave or the oven.
Then simply line the boys up have them pile what they like on the bread roll & eat.
Also nice with some avocado or sour cream on top.
You could cook extra chicken for future use then pop it in the freezer & simply reheat in the microwave next time.

Have you got a slow cooker? These are trully a great investment they turn cheap meat into melt in your mouth meat.
You can cook beautifull stews before work to be ready when you get home simply dice & brown your meat (try anything gravy beef,round steak,lamb,chicken legs,mince etc).
Choose some vegies potato,carrots,parsnip,sweet potato,onion,peas,corn whatever your family likes.
And choose your flavour base tinned soup, stock, curry mixes, tinned tomatoes all work well.
Now all you do is put the browned meat in then the vegies (you could throw a handfull of dried pasta in if you like)
then your flavour i.e. 3 stock cubes then top with water to the max water level turn to the low setting.
If you do this in the morning before work leave it cooking all day when you get home at night dinner is cooked & hot throw on some toast & your all done.
It really is easy I hope you play around with a slow cooker & do some experimenting.

Answer 6

The night before, cut up some green pepper (at least two medium sized peppers) into long strips (this is a good and healthy snack for the boys at lunch, after school, etc, so feel free to buy and cut plenty).

Cut up two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts into long strips, after rinsing and cutting off extra fat. Throw into a ziplock back with enough bottled fatija sauce to cover the strips (or buy a packaged fatija mix and follow the directions). Marinate overnight or a couple of hours at least.

When you get home the next night, chop an onion up into long strips or big chunks (doing it this way only takes a minute or two, and that includes peeling time). Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a big fry pan, hopefully stainless steel. Fry as much of the chicken as you can at a time, over medium high heat (use two pans or do the chicken in batches).

If you did not have time to marinade the chicken, add some spices...for example, pepper, cayenne or chili powder, cumin, garlic, seasoned salt, and paprika (or a fajita seasoning packet) to the chicken and turn frequently. A bit of lime if you have it. It should take about seven minutes maximum (2-3 minutes per side).

Move chicken around the pan frequently and make sure there is no pink left inside (juices should run clear). Remove from heat. Fry the bell peppers and onions a few minutes, until softened slightly. They should still be crisp. If you have room, keep the chicken in the pan while you heat the veggies (they take 2 or 3 minutes tops).

Heat flour tortillas in microwave according to directions--or do this in the oven between aluminum foil for about ten minutes at 375, while the chicken is frying. The microwave method should take about 15 seconds, between paper towels. Serve the chicken and veggies between tortillas with salsa and maybe guacomole (you can buy this premade at the store, though it is healthier and tastier if you make it yourself). Add tomatoes and lettuce if you would like. You can serve this with a can of heated up spanish rice, or a spinach salad, or avacodoes on the side, or both. This would be a special treat that your boys would love. Not as complicated as it sounds, especially if you prep the night before. Total cooking time would average 10-15 minutes.

Otherwise, do like my parents: throw some chicken in a baking dish, baste with olive oil or butter, toss some herbs onto the chicken, maybe add some water or tomato sauce to keep from drying out, cook covered or uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes or so. Invest in a meat thermometer (your best friend...cheap too) to make sure the chicken is at least 160 degrees.....juices run clear, no pink, etc. Sometimes it may take up to an hour, depending on your method (cover with foil and the chicken should be done in 45 mintues). Serve with instant pototoes (or boil peeled, cut potatoes in water until tender, mash then with a potato masher and add a bit of garlic powder, salt, and milk). Heat up some frozen green beans in boiling water for a few minutes (just enough to cover the beans) or rinse some fresh ones, check for dirty ends, and boil similarly, until tender but still crisp. A very easy dinner in under an hour. Good luck. The internet has many ideas; check recipes aimed toward busy mothers, college students, single parents, etc.

Answer 7

fry mince, garlic and onion. Add a bolognese jar sauce. This can be cooked in large amounts and I freeze it in snap lock bags. Then when you get home just cook some pasta and heat the sauce and pour over. This is a favourite on nights when we get in late. I always have spaghetti sauce in the freezer.
Potatoes can be peeled and chopped on the weekend and put in a deep bowl covered with water (change the water every 2 days) to be used in the week. Carrot can also be done like this. It saves time chopping veggies. Add peas and some meat and you have a quick tea.

dice up a cheap cut of beef and put in a plastic bag with flour, shake and then tip off excess flour and brown in a pan. Put into a slow cooker with onion (sliced, diced, chopped, however you want), chunks of carrot, parsnip, peas,diced celery. Cover with beef stock then cook long and slow. check if salt and pepper needed Thicken with cornflour/flour at the end if needed. Add cooked potatoes if you want or add on the side
this can be left cooking while you are at work and you just come home and dish it up (A slow cooker is not on the stove it is an appliance that you plug in the wall, never leave anything on the stove while you are out)

Hope this helps

Answer 8

Curries are probably the easiest thing to make in the world. You buy paste, coconut milk, meat and potatoes, fry the first two, and let the rest simmer. That's IT.

Jarred spaghetti sauces are a life saver. Cook up some Italian sausage and slice it up in the sauce. Homemade pizza is a cinch too. Pizza sauce, premade dough, cheese, toppings, pop it in the oven, you're done.

Stir fries. Invest in a wok or a nice pan (not non stick). Heat pan up to high, swirl in oil, toss in ingredients and sauce, 1-2 minutes later, you are done. You can actually buy stir fry sauces in the supermarket in the international food aisles.

Mexican food is VERY easy. Tacos, burritos, fajitas are so easy to make. There are very good recipes online.

If you want classic meat goodness, you can't go wrong with hamburgers, hotdogs, or steak...especially steak. You can use a george foreman grill, but I prefer a nice hot pan. For steak, sprinkle some seasoning on, heat up pan to almost smoking, drizzle oil, and sear on both sides. Steaks come precut and require little effort to cook. Side it with potatoes, corn, green beans.


And for the love of god, no ramen or macaroni and cheese!

Answer 9

Most kids like boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They are very easy and fast to cook. You can put them in a crock pot in the morning with a can of diced stewed tomatoes or salsa. When you get home, make some rice (brown is best) and mix with black beans and corn with a little cumin, chili powder salt and pepper. Or make a quick pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

You can also throw these in the oven and they don't take too long to cook. Marinade with some soy sauce and ginger in the fridge all day. Then when you get home throw them in the oven and make some rice and vegetables.

Answer 10

Hi!
You selected a meat(chicken) that defies being quick to cook and easy, short of using a crock pot. May I suggest a few fast and inexpensive alternatives?
Tuna and Noodle Casserole- ! pckg. of noodles, 12-18 oz. Cook per directions and drain. In the same pot you cooked them, add two cans of mushroom soup (undiluted) and two cans of drained tuna, then stir it up and serve w/ veg of choice.
Also, try Little Smokies w/ Bar-B-Que sauce on the stove. Instead of mashed potatoes, do potatoes in the microwave and set out butter, sour cream and shredded cheese for toppings.
Hot dogs w/ baked beans are easy. Add a tsp. of brown sugar, a dab of mustard and a few shots of ketchup, and a tsp. of dried onion just to impress the kids. Add chips w/ dip or baked Tater Tots.
Easy dip for Dorito-type chips. Fry 2lbs hamb., drain. Add about 1/4 of a box of Velveeta, 1 -2 cups salsa, and anything else the kids like. Sour cream and lettuce, tomatoes (can buy pre-diced in a can) make this easy.
Most important, keep a lot of hamburger on hand, plus bacon, onions, cheese, bread and eggs. You will never starve. Plus, try not to buy pop and give frozen juices a try.
Sorry you are going through this trying time. Be glad she left and 'left' the boys in your care.