This fall I won’t give in (as much). Dining out too frequently is bad for our budget, bad for our waistlines, and it sets a bad example for our kids. Perhaps planning some restaurant-style dishes will help me keep my eye on the ball: healthful meals together at home that incorporate more fruits and vegetables, and encouraging my kids to try new foods. A little web surfing uncovered all kinds of delicious “restaurant style” recipes that will inspire me to stay with it for the nights when my schedule is getting the best of me.

Planning and prep work my key strategies. Some TV chefs make it look easy to pull it all together quickly, chopping alongside a hot pan and tossing things in… and that works when I really have a half hour to myself without interruption. But often I am answering homework questions or assisting in some sort of art project at the kitchen island while cooking at the same time. My attention is absolutely divided. And so I need to choose recipes that can be made ahead, even if that only means chopping the veggies earlier in the day, which is a great strategy for one of our favorite restaurant dishes: Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Homemade pizza is actually faster than calling for delivery–even a “fancy” pie such as The Pioneer Woman’s version of California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ Chicken Pizza. (I make mine with store bought pizza dough on a weeknight, or even a pre-baked pizza shell such as Boboli.)

My husband and daughter love Coconut Shrimp with those mysteriously tasty dipping sauces. I was shocked to discover they are simple to make at home. We buy bags of shrimp peeled, deveined, and frozen at our wholesale club for a fraction of the grocery store cost. Having frozen shrimp on hand is also a terrific strategy when I’m not inspired to do any more than boil pasta and open a jar of marinara sauce. Add a dash of crushed red pepper and some shrimp and we have a simple seafood fra diavolo over pasta. Sounds fancy pants, right?

Look at your schedule for the week and think logically about timing your meals. Be sure to read through any new recipes thoroughly to avoid nasty surprises. (What? I was supposed to marinate the chicken overnight?) Any tasks that can be done ahead–making pizza dough, marinades or stir fry sauces–make the rush hour so much less… rushed. Often I fill a pasta pot with water in the afternoon, or set out a cutting board and pantry ingredients on the counter just before I dash out to school pick up and karate. This accomplishes two things: first, the water has a chance to come to room temperature, which will make it boil faster when it’s time to cook. Did you ever notice that Rachael Ray’s pots and pans are already set out for her on the stove, and that whatever she needs in her pantry is right in front? This is not an accident, but hers is also not a real home kitchen. Set out your ingredients ahead of time, and you’ll be much less likely to throw in the towel when they’re staring you in the face. If I know the veggies are already chopped and the chicken is defrosted and sliced, then I am more than halfway to Chicken Fajitas.

Try this restaurant knockoff for Broccoli-Cheddar Soup, paired with fresh bread and a simple salad. Rachael Ray’s Phunky Pho is definitely faux, but it is still delicious and comforting and maybe the perfect meal when you feel a pox on your house. Er, I mean, if anyone is coming down with a cold. Staying in for date night? Serve Fried Mozzarella Steaks with Crispy Salami Salad with a glass of red wine and you will not regret giving the babysitter a night off.

Do you love potato skins with sour cream? Me, too. But you can bake them at home for a fraction of the cost and calories. Even better, you can bake four extra potatoes in the beginning step so that a few nights later you are way ahead of the game when starting this ultra-creamy and comforting Baked Potato Soup. In a similar fashion, Pork & Pinto Bean Nachos are a busy mom’s best friend. While you’re preparing one dish, you can do double duty by roasting a second pork tenderloin for another meal later in the week (or even freeze it). Have a vegetarian in the family? Just modify a second smaller tray of nachos without the meat.

In New England, sandwiches known as “the pilgrim” or “the Thanksgiving wrap” are popular at delis, cafes, and casual dining restaurants. But you don’t need a professional kitchen or Thanksgiving leftovers to create this savory comfort dish. Try Thanksgiving in a Sandwich… nothing could be more simple, and the ingredients can be modified for the pickiest eaters. Another New England restaurant menu favorite is baked or broiled white fish “en casserole.” Roasted Cod with Lemon Parsley Crumbs is a quick and healthy entree; add a steamed veggie and microwave “baked” potato and you’re done.

This fall, keep everyone cozy at home and keep more Benjamins in your wallet by planning and preparing a few simple restaurant-style meals for the rush hour.

Read more by Robin Horrigan

Robin Horrigan writes the column Cooking from the Carpool Lane. She lives on Boston’s south shore and is a stay at home Mom to Ryan, seven, and Maegan, three. Her fascination with cooking sprouted from watching Julia Child cook on a little black and white TV; Robin helped her Mom in the kitchen until she was old enough to ask Santa for her very own copy of The Joy of Cooking. She experiments with all kinds of cooking and baking, from quick weeknight dinners and easy cookies to long simmering weekend stews and complicated, fancy desserts. Ryan thinks if his Mom will ever be famous, it will be “for her awesome cookies.” Her friends say it will be for the cocktails. Either way, if she’s not doing volunteer work or shopping for shoes, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen.

Photo by WordRidden

Girlfriends will find any excuse to get together. And what better way to spend a cold Saturday than with food and friends. In order to justify our absence from our husbands and kids, we decided we’d better find a way to benefit them as well.

And girlfriends trust each other. Girlfriends share their opinions about everything–recipes and food are no exception. Most women I know are always looking for their next batch of great recipes, so we decided to get together and test some out.

The ultimate goal was to come home with four meals to enjoy throughout the week (or stash in the freezer for a busy night).

We accomplished several things during our three hours together this weekend: quality time, trying new recipes, and preparing meals to take home for our families. Here is how it went.

I invited 5 girlfriends who, like me, are busy moms who are into cooking and trying new recipes but are short on time. Six people was the perfect size. The dads planned on staying home for some quality time with the little ones.

I looked through my recipes on Plummelo for a few important criteria: little to no cooking on prep day; highly freezeable; no more than about 10 ingredients each; and using relatively inexpensive ingredients. We narrowed it down to 4. We wanted to start out with an attainable goal.

I saved these 4 recipes to My Recipes on Plummelo and emailed them to my friends so they could save them into their recipe boxes as well. I put the recipes into My Plans and then into My Shopping List.

Here was the part where Plummelo really saved the day in this planning process: Once the recipes were in my shopping list, Plummelo adjusted the servings for me!

For 6 people, we needed everything times 6 (for a grand total of a lot of food). The recipe showed number of servings as 4, so I entered 24 (4 x 6), and the Plummelo shopping list automatically changed all the quantities for me (for example, 1 1/2 cups of ricotta became 9 cups of ricotta).

I then hit “Email Shopping List” on Plummelo and sent the combined list to my friends. We divvied up the shopping by section of the grocery store (which was also easy because the Plummelo shopping list is divided by category, such as Meat, Produce), and each went grocery shopping on our own schedule and planned to arrive with the assigned items.

One friend and I hit Costco for all the meat, and the others went on their respective treasure hunts. I was surprised at how little effort went into the shopping when we divided and conquered.

The day of, I packed it up the food and a few essentials (including my favorite knife), ready to take to the hosting friend’s house. We allowed 3 hours for our cooking adventure, with some time built in for girl talk and munching on freshly baked muffins.

We started out with the Chicken Marbella. One team of two trimmed the chicken thighs, another team minced garlic (of course, with the garlic gadget!), and another team measured spices, olives, capers, and prunes. In no time our chicken was marinating in the bowl, and we divided the massive quantity into 6 Ziploc freezer bags for each family to pull out on the designated night.

The routine went like this for the remaining recipes. Chopping and dicing, dividing and conquering (and washing some dishes in between). Meal prep is much more fun when it is organized in advance and shared with good friends. It’s also more fun digging into a huge bowl of ground turkey when wearing plastic gloves! We had a lot of laughs about food favorites and not-so-favorites, cooking blunders, and each other’s techniques, and fed each other bites of blueberry muffin while we worked. It didn’t seem like work at all.

It took us two and a half hours and $37.50 per family (that’s less than $10 per meal) to make 4 delicious meals that are ready for our loved ones to enjoy. Economies of scale definitely pay off!

Now we each have 4 new recipes in our repertoire and 4 new meals for the week. And after receiving a big thank you from more than one of the husbands, I know we have a hall pass for another girls’ afternoon out.

Try planning a cooking day with your friends. Let us know how it goes.