A 20-Minute Dinner Plan For Practice Nights

I used to take extreme pride in making elaborate meals. I still brag about the things I cook, but these days, the flexes have gone from "I made this from scratch," to "I made this in less than 20 minutes and only made one dish dirty!" I know fellow parents — especially those in the throes of a busy sports season — can relate, which is why I never pass up the opportunity to steal an easy recipe, nor to offer one, like my family's current favorite: the Philly steak bake, made with six easy ingredients:

• Steak meat — thinly sliced or shredded (1-¼ pounds feeds my family of three)
• 1 small yellow onion — chopped
• 3 or 4 small red peppers — chopped
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (8-ounce bag)
• ½ jar of marinara sauce
• Preferred seasonings (I use garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parsley)

I buy steak from a local farmer, sliced to about ¹⁄₁₆ inch thick. Most grocery stores have similar offerings in the frozen section, or you can use roast beef lunch meat as an alternative. Spread the meat out in an oven-safe dish and season it. Next, add the chopped onion and peppers, top it with mozzarella cheese, and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes. Once it's done baking, add the marinara sauce and any additional seasonings you fancy (I'll add grated parmesan if I have some on hand), and voila! Your Philly steak bake is ready to devour. 

I've learned it's the planning ahead that separates the good weeks from the bad weeks during this busy life stage, so without becoming too rigid (and making meals feel like a second job), I shop every Saturday and prep on Sundays. Reddit users say organization is the key to sticking to a meal prep routine long term, and suggest hacks like tracking meals in a spreadsheet and keeping a document with a running list of recipe sources. One person at r/MealPrepSunday noted that preparing ingredients works best for their family, rather than combining entire meals. "We don't always want to eat the same thing — but it's a huge time saver to have those building blocks ready to go." For example, cooking chicken and rice, as well as roasting some veggies, ahead of time can be turned into chicken-and-rice bowls, chicken tacos, or even a salad with roasted vegetables in no time.

No matter how prepared we are, there will be times when mid-week hits with an unexpected level of stress. When this happens, I turn to the trusted tools I know will simplify cooking. During fall and winter, I throw ingredients in the crockpot so we always have a warm soup on hand (our favorites are chicken and dumpling and Italian sausage with tortellini). Then there's the air fryer, which allows for cooking frozen items without the step of defrosting. And if you're lucky enough to have a fridge full of leftovers (for us, this happens the days after Thanksgiving and Christmas), heating everything up together in just five minutes is another invaluable air fryer hack for parents.