So when my ex and I were together, I made dinner every single night, except Fridays, and they all had to be gluten-free. I meal planned like a fool. Now, I only have the kids 2-3 nights a week & every other weekend, and it's actually harder now to come up with things to cook! I hate cooking something "real" for just me & now that the ex is not here, there are always leftovers (that may or may not be eaten by anyone else in the house). I've been told that their dad only makes chicken nowadays so I try to focus on making other meats when they're here & I eat chicken when they're not.
My youngest is the pickiest, and he is required to make his own meal. There are only three things I make that he will eat so he is on his own 95% of the time.
My go-to meals are sheet pan meals (McCormick has several seasoning packets that you just sprinkle over top the meat + veg), soups (if you buy one of those bag soups, you can just add things to the base to make it taste "fancy" without as much work on your part) + Aldi take & bake bread, pasta + meat, tacos, and casseroles. I/we have pizza every Friday night. I've started buying Tyson's precooked frozen chicken (shredded or cubed) that just has to be thawed out and thrown into something to make a meal. I I will normally make one "real" meal that requires effort one of the nights my kids are here and do an easier one/leftovers for the other night and when I'm on my own.
I keep pesto, spaghetti sauce, some kind of noodle, bags of frozen veggies, frozen chicken, seasoning packets, red potatoes, soft tortillas, and shredded cheese on hand all the time and can make a variety of things out of those in a pinch.
I'm lucky to have found a BF who is a former chef so we are currently integrating "his" recipes into the rotation when we are together. After he moves in, I imagine I will be more serious again about meal planning since there will be another adult to feed and we will likely do the choose a cuisine/food type per day.
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