Right before dinner seems to be witching hour. I’m not sure if it’s because my kids are ‘hangry’ (hungry + angry = hangry) or if I’m just absolutely exhausted, but it seems to be the worst time of day. As I start making dinner and am up to my elbows in raw chicken, I also need to be a referee between my older three kids while simultaneously preventing my 1 year old from eating a lego. There’s no telling how many legos that kid has eaten by now. Making dinner was stressful…until I realized I can make my dinner while the kids nap. These are two of my ‘go to’ recipes I make ahead of time.
Russian Chicken
3-4 raw chicken breasts
16 fl oz Russian dressing
2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce
1 packet of onion soup mix
Wash and dry the chicken. Place raw chicken breasts in a 9×13 pan. Mix dressing, cranberry sauce and onion soup mix together. Pour over raw chicken. Bake @ 350 for 1 hr.
*Helpful hint: 1) I make this at nap and leave it in the fridge until 1 hr before dinner.
2) If you want to make extra chicken for friends/family, you can double the recipe and bake it at
350 for 1 hr.
Ravioli Casserole
1 box 10 oz frozen spinach
1 bag 48 oz frozen cheese ravioli
1 jar 15 oz alfredo sauce
1 bag 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Layer 1/3 alfredo sauce on the bottom of 9×13 pan. Then layer ½ box of thawed spinach (I put mine in the microwave to thaw quickly.) Then layer the cheese ravioli. Then layer the alfredo sauce, layer the spinach, and layer the cheese ravioli. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Pull the dish out of the oven and sprinkle with bag of mozzarella cheese. Bake another 5 minutes.
*Helpful Hint: 1) I make this at nap and leave it in the fridge until 40 minutes before dinner.
2) You can double this recipe if you need to make a vegetarian dish for
a friend.
By: Lyndsay Crews