Lasagna

You always need to make dinner before dinner, if you made it after dinner that wouldn't make sense. But what if you have something going on before dinner? What if you have an afternoon dentist appointment that will get you home right about the time you'd like to be getting dinner on the table? What's a stay at home dad to do? Ideally, you make your wife cook. Ha! You next choice would be leftovers, and that works well, if you've planned for it and actually have leftovers. Really though, this is one of those times that you need at least one meal that you can make in the middle of the day that you can serve later. I think the ideal meal for this is lasagna. This is a really really simple recipe and there are probably much better ones out there. This isn't gourmet food, it's hot, it's tasty, and it'll get you fed when you need food. It's a good simple meal for any time, but it really shines as a make ahead meal for those odd times when you really need one.

Tastes better than it looks, honest.

Lasagna - recipe from god knows where.
13x9 baking pan
9 real lasagna noodles (the ones you cook in a pot before you make the lasagna, not bake along with it)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 container cottage cheese
1 pound ground beef
shredded mozarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. At the same time, heat a big pot of water to a boil while browning the ground beef. When the water is boiling, boil the noodles for 10-12 minutes. You want them cooked, but still firm enough to pick up without tearing. Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the 13x9 pan so the noodles don't stick. Combine the rest of the sauce, the browned beef, and the cottage cheese in a bowl. Put down your first layer of noodles, cover with about 1/3 of the meat/sauce mixture, sprinkle some mozarella on top. Repeat with the next two layers of noodles sauce and cheese. Make your top layer of cheese thicker. Place uncovered in the oven for 40-50 minutes until cheese on top is melted and starting to brown on the edges. Pull it out and let it cool until you're ready to eat it.

Yesterday I made this at lunch time while I was making lunch for my pre-schooler and me. It was in the oven before nap time and out before we had to leave to pick up the older kids from school and drag them to the dentist. When we got home all I had to do was cut it up, zap it in the microwave for a smidge to warm it up a bit and I was golden. A successful home made meal without being home to make it. Awesome.