Nighttime Routine with a Baby + 6 Quick & Easy Dinners

Picture this for a moment: you just worked a long day, you spend an hour driving home, you walk toward your front door, and you hear your dog barking and your baby crying. That’s basically what happens for me every day. Bless Bryan’s heart, because I’m shocked that I don’t hear him screaming as well. It’s pure chaos. 

One aspect of my life that has changed drastically since giving birth has been my nighttime routine. I used to have all the time in the world to catch up on TV shows, write blog posts, and make a leisurely dinner with Bryan. Sometimes I look back and think, what the hell did I do with all my free time?!

I wish Vienna was like those babies that moms post on Instagram all the time. You know what I’m talking about… happy, smiley, never seems to shed a tear. But she’s not, and that’s okay. She’s teaching me a LOT about patience and time management.

My nights typically go like this:

• 5:45-6:00 – Get home from work
• 6:00-6:45 – Play with Vienna
• 6:45-7:00 – Give her a bath
• 7:00-7:15 – Read her a book
• 7:15-7:30 – Nurse her and put her to bed

After Vienna is in bed, I have about 2 hours before my own bedtime to make and eat dinner, take a shower, make lunch, lay out clothes for the next day, and maybe catch up on an episode or two of a TV show. 

I know many of you are in the same boat as I am – whether you’re a parent or not. No one has hours to spend cooking dinner at the end of the day. Time is precious! So today I wanted to share with you some real-life, quick and simple dinners that I’m enjoying this week. I’ll warn you…. none of these are gourmet, but let’s get into it.

Tomato soup + grilled cheese

Tomato soup and grilled cheese is such a great pairing. It never gets old. Yes, it’s a meal fit for a six-year-old, but who cares? I wish I could tell you that I found a delicious, healthy, organic tomato soup, but I’m not going to lie. My favorite tomato soup of all time is Campbell’s. The original kind with the red label. Nothing fancy. For the grilled cheese, I do three slices of Boar’s Head American cheese on white bread. 

Perogies + kielbasa + sauerkraut 

Since my mom’s side of the family is Hungarian/German/Ukrainian, I grew up with a grandmother who LOVED to make perogies from scratch. She’d make all different kinds, but my favorite will always be plain ol’ potato. Since she’s no longer with us and I’m too lazy to make my own, I have to resort to whatever the grocery store has in stock. The frozen options are less than desirable, so I was stoked to see fresh ones near the deli section! I like my perogies fried as opposed to boiled, and always dipped in sour cream. I usually eat them by themselves, but I buy kielbasa and sauerkraut for Bryan. 

Lemon garlic shrimp + parmesan broccoli + mac & cheese

I’ve been obsessed with lemon garlic shrimp lately. I sauté minced garlic in a frying pan with olive oil and butter, and then add shrimp and lemon juice. It only takes 5 minutes, which makes it the perfect weekday dinner. I ate it this week with a side of mac and cheese {this one is my favorite} and roasted broccoli with parmesan on top.  

Caprese salad

For nights that I want something light, but don’t want to eat cereal, I’ll do a quick caprese salad. Since we live pretty close to New Jersey, our stores usually sell Jersey tomatoes which in my opinion are the best. I haven’t found a good brand of mozzarella {they all taste really bland}, so please let me know if you have a favorite. Sometimes I like to drizzle a balsamic glaze on top, but usually I’m boring and just use cracked black pepper and sea salt. 

Mango habanero tilapia + wild rice + sliced tomatoes

When I buy produce, I make sure I use it within a few days. I bought a bunch of Roma tomatoes for the caprese salad and had some leftover. I sliced them very thin and ate them alongside a piece of baked tilapia and wild rice. The tilapia was frozen, but it was so incredibly delicious. It had a mango habanero sauce on top that was just the right level of spicy. I don’t always have the option of buying fresh fish on my way home from work, so I rely a lot on high quality frozen options. 

Arugula salad

I try to eat at least one salad a day. Not only because I need all the greens I can get, but I actually really crave them. If I don’t have one during lunch, I make one for dinner. I am obsessed with arugula because of its peppery taste. I know a lot of people don’t like it, but hear me out. Make a quick salad by using arugula, lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and parmesan cheese. You could also add dried cranberries to add a bit of sweetness.