I'm not working right now, so please feel free to take everything I say with a grain of salt.

I tend to like cooking quick meals, and DD isn't much for sharing my attention with the stove. So usually, I'll start prep while my husband is on his way home, then he'll amuse her for a few minutes while I get dinner together.

On good weeks (so, like, 3x a year), I make a meal plan over the weekend and do the shopping on Monday. It's a lot easier if I go into the week knowing what we'll be eating and that we have everything on hand. I also keep a few staples around at all times so we can just have spaghetti and meatballs or something if I don't feel like doing any real cooking.

As far as recipes go, there are a jillion cookbooks out there with quick-prep meals in them. I like Rachel Ray's books (and her magazine is good too, if filled with high-calorie stuff). I also have a Weight-Watchers cookbook that has 15, 20 and 30-minute meals in it, and I've been amazed at how good the recipes are. From those books and from other sources, I've slowly built a collection of 10 or so recipes that I can get on the table quickly and feel good about.

(of course, I feel really, really good about Mac & Cheese in almost every circumstance, so any claim I make to "nutritious" meals may be suspect).

I make a meal plan on Sundays for the week and go grocery shopping that day. My husband cooks a lot - which is really nice, but I'm usually the go-to person during the week. We'll make something on Sunday that we can eat for two or three days - a roast that turns into tacos or stirfry, a big lasagna, grilled sausages we can put with pasta or turn into sandwiches. Grilled steak turns into steak salad the next day.

Spaghetti is always on the menu every week. And my husband makes a great linguine with clam sauce or shrimp scampi.

I do a lot of the prep work ahead of time so I can just throw everything together when I get home from work. I rely a lot on those frozen vegetables and precooked rice that you cook in the bag. (Trader Joe's has a great brown rice one).

One thing I hadn't made in a long time but just did - chicken roll-ups. I got the idea from Fresh Market. Basically, you just flatten chicken breasts and roll it up with different fillings. I did provolone cheese and ham. Feta and asparagus is good. You could do ricotta and spinach. Whatever you like. Roll it in some bread crumbs and stick it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes or until done. Really good.

I make a menu for the week on Sunday and do the shopping that day. we also try to cook something on the weekends that can work for another day too. Like, cooking extra chicken. I usually make a large pot of lentils on Monday and eat them through the week. I do lots of prep work the night before, or even cook the meal the night before. Reheating a day later sometimes takes away some of the flavor, but at least I've got dinner on the table, right? Like Sarah said, spaghetti is always on the menu. I've switched to whole wheat spaghetti to make it a little healthier.

Also, I always plan for one night of leftovers.

I'm another one who TRIES to make up a meal plan for the week. I write my meal plan on Saturday or Sunday, and then try to go shopping sometime on Sunday.
I feel so much more organized when I stick to my meal plan and get to go shopping for a whole week. When I don't come up with a "plan", I end up going to the grocery store 2 or 3 times a week.
For Christmas, I got the new Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It is pink checkerboard (part of the proceeds go to breast cancer I think). I have used a TON of recipes from this book as they are so easy and quick.
I usually do the "prep" work when my daughter is taking a nap in the afternoon. I do the cooking part when my husband is on his way home.
Try and find the time to find recipes that your whole family may like. Don't be scared to try new flavors with your kids. I made Thai food one night and my 4 year old enjoyed it (the 2 year old didn't though), but he liked it cause it had the sweetness of coconut milk in it.
I do have the "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook. I have made a couple of things in it, but the meals are still hit or miss with my kids.

Thanks, everyone, for all of these suggestions! I'm steaming rice right now for "stir fry night". We buy a lot of meat: beef, chicken & pork and add veggies to them and also Bertolli's frozen dinners are good too! This summer I'm going to make 1 new recipe a week and see how this turns out. My ultimate best meal is tortellini salad and any kind of baking.

Alice Osborn, MA
www.aliceosborn.com