How to Cook Every Night: A Survival Guide for Busy Families

This is a guide for busy families who want to cook from scratch more often but feel like they don’t have time. Meal planning is a given if you want to cook at home. Without a plan you will spend way too much time in the kitchen and planning your meals-even just a couple of days ahead-will help you be more efficient. I’m going to be honest with you right from the start-cooking from scratch takes time, and it does get easier and faster the more you do it, but it’s never going to be as fast as processed foods or take-out.  

Recruit Helpers

I say this with a grain of salt because every busy mother knows that helpers don’t necessarily streamline the task at hand. Think about what people can do to help you get dinner on the table, and it can be something completely unrelated to making the meal. 

This reminds me of a time when Dennis, my husband, noticed I was overwhelmed while making dinner one night and he asked me what he could do to help. I said “Can you fold that laundry in the dryer?” He responded: “What the heck does that have to do with dinner?”

I was overwhelmed, but not just because I was making dinner. I was mentally overloaded with all the other tasks I still had left on my to-do list. I was feeling the weight of it while making dinner as I thought about having so much left to do even after I was done cooking. 

I said, “It’s not about helping with dinner, it’s about helping me save some time. If you fold the laundry now, it’s one less thing I have to do later.”

Recruit helpers in advance by assigning tasks that help keep you focused on getting the meal on the table and alleviate your mental load. Examples of things people can do:

• Entertain younger siblings.
• Clear and wipe the table.
• Pour drinks (this is my husbands job at every meal)
• Set the table.
• Let the dog out.
• Pack lunches
• Prep for tomorrow’s dinner

Time is our most valuable currency, and busy evenings can be overwhelming. We only have so much time, and we have to be efficient to get everything done. Making dinner and getting it on the table takes time, and it’s not the only thing on your everyday to-do list. Think about how helpers can help with other tasks you have to do to lighten your load. While you’re cooking dinner, someone could put a load of laundry in that you were planning on doing later. Do you tidy up every night? Since you are cooking, maybe someone else can do the tidying while you’re busy with kitchen things.

Have a plan for cleaning up the kitchen after the meal as well. While someone is getting dishes in the dishwasher someone else can be clearing the table or moving leftovers into storage containers for the fridge.  

Have Some Convenience Meals at the Ready

No matter how much we plan, it’s inevitable that our day can unravel. You’ve been there-you get home too late to make the meal you planned on having and you end up getting take-out. 

I am a scratch cook, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have convenience foods on hand for those times when we need a quick, filling meal without fuss. 

There’s no shame in having a couple jars of store-bought pasta sauce in the pantry. Frozen veggies are a busy home cook’s best friend. Broth-based soups freeze really well, and I love using the silicone freezer molds for this because I can take out the frozen block of soup, put it in a pot with a lid, and it doesn’t need a babysitter.

I also make burger patties to keep in the freezer along with some sandwich buns for quick burgers in 15 minutes or less. Here’s how I do it:

Season a pound of raw ground beef, divide it into three balls, put each ball into a quart freezer bag and smash it flat. Freeze it, and whenever you want a quick burger, preheat the oven to 350F to thaw the buns-so get them in there asap and set a timer so they only thaw-you don’t want them crusty. Slap a patty right onto a preheated skillet. A couple minutes on each side and you are good to go because you smashed it so thin it will defrost and cook very quickly. I like to keep a stack of these in the freezer.

Convenience meals aren’t just for super busy days, they can also be great when you aren’t feeling well. They’re easy enough for your family to make dinner themselves, and won’t be too taxing for you to throw together if you’re feeling up to it. 

Prep For Service Like a Restaurant

Do you know that the kitchen staff in most restaurants shows up hours before they open for service? They do this to prep all the ingredients so when it’s time to cook meals, everything is ready to go. Doing this at home will make cooking less stressful and less messy. When meal planning, make a list of things you can do ahead of time to make cooking easier. 

• Trim or chop meat
• Wash and chop fresh vegetables
• Make sauces or marinades
• Measure out ingredients 
• Cook rice or pasta
• Mix up side dishes or casseroles to ready them for the oven

Stay One Meal Ahead

Prep for future meals while you are cooking tonight’s dinner by making more of tonight’s protein to use in other dishes throughout the week. If you’re making something that freezes well, make a double batch and freeze some for later. It doesn’t take that much more time to make a double batch of something when you’re already in the kitchen making a mess, and your future self will be so happy you took the time now.

Keep it Simple

Not every meal has to be a big to-do. Save the new and time consuming recipes for when you have time, don’t try to squeeze it in on a busy weeknight. Stick to simple, tried and true favorites for everyday dinners. There’s no fanfare surrounding a roasted whole chicken with baked potatoes and some frozen peas, but goshdarnit it’s delicious and nutritious.

In sharing these tips I’ve learned through my experience cooking from scratch for my family all these years I hope to inspire you to cook more often from scratch. If you have tips and tricks for cooking from scratch with a busy life I’d love to hear them! Please comment below with cooking tips or questions.