Great thread! Putting dinner on the table after working all day (at home or office) does seem to take a superhero these days...or just a lot of planning/prep! 
Our lives are so chaotic right now that many of my normal strategies are hit or miss or just MIA! DH works on the house 5-6 nights a week, going straight there from his day job and doesn't get home until late - 10PM or later.
So DS and I are on our own for dinner most nights and I eat a little something with him and then have something ready or ready to reheat when DH finally gets home. Eating late is not our preference but that is often our only option these days!
In any case, I also am one to plan a week ahead - looking at what I have, what's on sale and my general energy level. I take events in the week into account, some nights you just know we're going to order a pizza!
I like the idea of a theme for each day but haven't been able to really make that stick yet. Although Friday night has become "Appetizer Night" - where I make 2-3 appetizer type things and we just graze - saving the leftovers for lunches over the weekend.
Here are some other meal jump starters I try to always have in freezer:
Ground beef, browned – Use as quick base for taco meat which can in turn be used for of course, tacos, taco salads, 7 layer taco dip, quesadillas or as filling for chimichungas (baked or pan fried) if we get really wild and crazy
Shredded, cooked chicken breast – Use as quick base for chicken taco meat (see above), addition to pasta dish, white chicken chili, buffalo chicken dip (Appetizer Night, anyone?), chicken salad or any other dish that uses cooked chicken – it’s a nice jump start
Grilled chicken breast, cut into chunks - We eat a lot of salad and this is a time saver for weekday lunches
Chilis – Red or White, frozen in single serve portions. Typically used for lunches but if DH and I are both eating we just defrost more than one bag
Bacon Bits – I’ll save leftover bacon (what’s that, right? Haha) and throw it into a ziplock bag after chopping up into bits. Great addition to salads, omelettes, quiche, or as a topping on frozen French fries covered in cheese (total indulgence item we have once in a great while – when we’ve got some good ranch dressing on hand for dipping! Yes, that would be Appetizer Night once again...I'm so ashamed...)
Pie Crusts – I’ll make them up and keep the individual dough frozen in small flat disks; Thaw overnight (or take out of fridge in morning) and roll out for use as needed – typically for a quiche
Italian Beef – Beef Roast cooked with jar of Italian Giardiniera, pepercinnis, can of beef broth and packet of Italian dressing mix in crockpot until meat falls apart; We eat some fresh as sandwiches but it freezes great and reheats well for more sandwiches or as filling for green pepper halves topped with provolone slices
I also am totally into freezer cooking whole meals, especially this time of year and will try to plan things so I double the amount and we have some for dinner that night and the rest goes in the freezer.
Our lives are so chaotic right now that many of my normal strategies are hit or miss or just MIA! DH works on the house 5-6 nights a week, going straight there from his day job and doesn't get home until late - 10PM or later.
So DS and I are on our own for dinner most nights and I eat a little something with him and then have something ready or ready to reheat when DH finally gets home. Eating late is not our preference but that is often our only option these days!
In any case, I also am one to plan a week ahead - looking at what I have, what's on sale and my general energy level. I take events in the week into account, some nights you just know we're going to order a pizza!
I like the idea of a theme for each day but haven't been able to really make that stick yet. Although Friday night has become "Appetizer Night" - where I make 2-3 appetizer type things and we just graze - saving the leftovers for lunches over the weekend.
Here are some other meal jump starters I try to always have in freezer:
Ground beef, browned – Use as quick base for taco meat which can in turn be used for of course, tacos, taco salads, 7 layer taco dip, quesadillas or as filling for chimichungas (baked or pan fried) if we get really wild and crazy
Shredded, cooked chicken breast – Use as quick base for chicken taco meat (see above), addition to pasta dish, white chicken chili, buffalo chicken dip (Appetizer Night, anyone?), chicken salad or any other dish that uses cooked chicken – it’s a nice jump start
Grilled chicken breast, cut into chunks - We eat a lot of salad and this is a time saver for weekday lunches
Chilis – Red or White, frozen in single serve portions. Typically used for lunches but if DH and I are both eating we just defrost more than one bag
Bacon Bits – I’ll save leftover bacon (what’s that, right? Haha) and throw it into a ziplock bag after chopping up into bits. Great addition to salads, omelettes, quiche, or as a topping on frozen French fries covered in cheese (total indulgence item we have once in a great while – when we’ve got some good ranch dressing on hand for dipping! Yes, that would be Appetizer Night once again...I'm so ashamed...)
Pie Crusts – I’ll make them up and keep the individual dough frozen in small flat disks; Thaw overnight (or take out of fridge in morning) and roll out for use as needed – typically for a quiche
Italian Beef – Beef Roast cooked with jar of Italian Giardiniera, pepercinnis, can of beef broth and packet of Italian dressing mix in crockpot until meat falls apart; We eat some fresh as sandwiches but it freezes great and reheats well for more sandwiches or as filling for green pepper halves topped with provolone slices
I also am totally into freezer cooking whole meals, especially this time of year and will try to plan things so I double the amount and we have some for dinner that night and the rest goes in the freezer.
