Dinners to leave for the nanny/au pair?

[Rosehip]

x-posted in working parents


So, I need some help. I work 12 hour shifts, and have a new au pair. On some days I work, the au pair will be making dinner, and because she lives with us, it's really the family dinner. We live with my parents. When my mom is here, she'll make the dinner the nights I work (I usually cook), but when she's away, my au pair will be getting dinner going. My Dad generally arrives home from work at dinner time. Having him make dinner is not do-able because it would just be way too late for the kids.

I want to leave easy to prepare, "real" meals for her those nights. Typically, we all (my parents, kids, au pair, and I) eat a family meal together.

So, I'm trying to think of things that she can easily make while also managing the kids (who love helping make dinner & set the table, BTW - they're 3 &5). So far, I have...

-baked ziti (I prep, she just pops in the oven)
-homemade chili (she reheats & makes some rice to serve with it)

I'll probably leave money for her to order pizza every few nights. Any other ideas?

[BetsyS]

Tacos/burritos
Any casserole that you've made before would work
Any soup that is premade
English muffin pizzas (or pizza made on dough from the grocery store or Boboli or the like)

[ollyoxenfree]

Stir fry - You can prep a stir fry a day ahead. Just cut up the veggies and mix up the sauce and leave them in containers in the refrigerator. Then all she has to do is put on a pot of rice or some noodles and quickly stir fry the prepped stuff.

Soup/stews

Dahl or other lentil stews.

Main course salads are also good. Try a hot potato and sausage salad. I boil potato in one pot. In a saute pan, in a little olive oil, I saute chopped onion and a little minced garlic, and add chopped red, yellow and green peppers, any other veggies I have on hand - zucchini, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli - and some dried or fresh herbs for flavour. Add the boiled potato cubes. Toss in some sliced, grilled sausage, and a little balsamic or red wine vinegar. It re-heats well.

Meat loaf is easy to make up, with sides like potato and carrots.

[texmati]

Originally Posted by BetsyS

Tacos/burritos
Any casserole that you've made before would work
Any soup that is premade
English muffin pizzas (or pizza made on dough from the grocery store or Boboli or the like)

veggie burgers/sandwiches

[Rosehip]

Thanks for the ideas! Because she prepares this typical (to her country) rice dish frequently and well, I may have actually overestimated her kitchen abilities...tonight I left a rotisserie chicken (pre-cooked), she made the rice (that went fine) and a chopped salad. I prepped the salad, and asked her to pour the dressing on and mix it. Well, I came home to salad soup. I guess I should have been more explicit - you don't use the whole jar of dressing! She also set one of the places using a serving fork instead of a dinner fork. Ah, adventures in dinner. But, she's very good natured about it, and we had a laugh over the dressing. She's actually said she wants to learn to cook, so maybe this will be fun. The kids LOVE to help cook, so perhaps they'll all have some kitchen fun together.

I prepped a baked ziti tonight, and left what I hope were explicit enough instructions on how to bake it in the oven for tomorrow night. Fingers crossed!