Help! I need some inspiration in finding things for my 2 yr old!

[TheBightyMoosh]

I really need some ideas please - I have just started a new job which means that I don't get home til 6.30, by which time I'm knackered and DD (2.2) is hungry. I have been giving her pasta & pesto a lot, and she's probably getting a bit bored of it by now!

What can I cook that's really quick to prepare / cook, but still good for her, or at least contains some vitamins or something - and something that doesn't make me feel like an altogether rubbish mother!!

Thanks!!

can you reheat things that you've eaten the night before? or freeze bolognese, fish pies etc in individual portions?

Ummm, how about...baked potato with tuna and sweetcorn, eggy bread, sausage mash and peas (or other veg), omelette with veggies mixed in - all quick.

I freeze a load of meals in advance also and then microwave them when I need to prepare them for DS in a hurry. So, DS gets rice (made fresh) with bolognaise sauce - can also be prepared with pasta. Also macaroni cheese freezes well, as does tuna pasta with sweetcorn.

Where is your DD when you are at work? Can she not be fed there though?

I do the urban saviour of pesto pasta - pasta parcels stuffed with ricotta and spinach then add some philly to the pesto. Then there are some more veg added in too.

Also you can get bags of veg that you whack in the microwave and add 1/2 of one to any meal.

That's what I do anyway

Sardines on toast. Canned sardines with tomato sauce, mash them up, stick on toast and grill. Very quick, cheap and healthy.

Oooh I knew I could depend on MNers to save the day!! Brill ideas as usual.

She's with a childminder until 6, and I know she has a little snack at 5ish, but she needs something more substantial when she gets home.

Luckily it's only a temp job, so it won't be for long

Something slow cooked - DS loves slow cooked braised beef, with a bit of rice and veg. Or a nice casserole in the slow cooker.

Yummy.

Get a slow cooker and use it for stews or bolognese, then add mash or pasta.