i find myself caving to the requests of my kids after football practice around 7:30pm to stop and get something to eat...meaning fast food! Not only is this expensive, but terribly bad for me and them...but i'm so worn out by then and still have to get them to bed and myself to work that i run out of energy and time. I would value any suggestions for fast fix meals or lite snacks that don't cost too much!

One thing you might find a life saver is a crock-pot. There is sooo much you can do with one. For a quick yummy meal- put boneless/skinless chicken breasts in a C-P and add green peppers, onions, garlic, canned tomatoes (whatever kind/style you prefer- and add "juice" and all), some spices like basil and oregano, salt and pepper, let it cook for either on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Serve over rice or pasta (can use the minute rice for quicker cook time). You can also do this with steak or pork.

That is soooo true and a crock-pot is a MUST HAVE... and a lot of people have them but never use them!

Two days ago I put a pork roast in.. added spices... let it cook all day long.. I forgot I even put it on until I started smellin it ... it gives a fantastic aroma around the house. Shortly before it was done I added carrots (sometimes potatoes and other veggies) ... and then I boiled water and made mashed potatoes, threw buiscuits in the oven... it was soooo delish and with soooooooooooo little effort... fed a lot of people and had leftovers ... which because the crock pot makes the pork sooo tender.. we used on sandwich for the past 2 days; another easy quick fix with great flavor!!

Oh yeah and Don made gravy out of the juices from the crock, so that was an added plus... again little effort.

If you don't have a crock pot, I'm getting you one for Xmas! lol