Hectic schedules require easy main dishes. Here are two ideas.

How was the first week of school? Getting back into the swing of a more structured routine is not easy.

Lunches and snacks need to be packed or checks for school lunches must be written. Then comes homework and after school activities.

While many of the activities are curtailed, some still are happening, such as dance, cheerleading and football practice.

Planning schedules is another must. A color-coded calendar is an old-fashioned but still useful idea. Each child gets his/her own color for the schedule, and parents, grandparents or guardians have their own colors. One glance tells a home cook who will be home for dinner and who will have to reheat his/her dinner in the microwave.

If the activities get too much, opt for a one-dish meal or sandwiches. Sandwich casseroles such as Philly cheese steak or hot browns make for a good and easy meal.

Some home chefs are highly organized and cook on the weekends and pack meals away for the week. I am not that good. It’s a hold-over from working 50 hours a week; I like weekends to be carefree. Translation: out of the kitchen.

For small families, a large casserole can make for two dinner meals. If the family does not like leftovers, freeze half of the casserole to serve in a week or two. One night a week, throw in a quick-fix meat salad, such as tacos or a Mediterranean chicken and pasta salad. Again, one-dish meals are a requirement for busy families.

There are only three of us, and I keep all three schedules on my phone and set alerts, so I don’t forget. My daughter has a new job with different schedules during the week. Lilly has dance and cheer practice, which happen on the same afternoon. This chauffeur becomes a speed demon trying to get from the Orange Grove area of Gulfport to Long Beach in 15 minutes. OK, so during the fall, she is always 10 minutes late to dance.

On dance and cheer days, I make a casserole or meal ahead of time and reheat it or make use of the slow-cooker, which I could not do without during the school year.

Here are some ideas for dinners that can be eaten while there are hot or reheated when the last family member gets home.

Chicken cheese steaks are an easy sandwich that are served hot and melty with all the fixings of a regular cheese steak. These are a lighter cheese steak that uses provolone cheese instead of Cheez Whiz. Also good is the recipe for fruited Caribbean chops that is done in the slow cooker.

Chicken cheese steaks

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 bell peppers (red and green), chopped

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

6 slices provolone cheese

4 hoagie rolls

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and peppers and season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add chicken and Italian seasoning and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is golden and no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes.

Cover chicken and peppers with provolone cheese and cover to let melt, 1 minute. Serve on hoagie rolls. Serve with a green salad loaded with late summer veggies. – Recipe from www.Delish.com/

Fruited Caribbean chops

6 pork loin chops, about 2 pound total

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 can (15 1/4 ounces) pineapple chunks in own juice

1 can (6 ounces) pineapple juice or 3/4 cup

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons dried chopped onion

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup raisins

Trim excess fat from chops. On a sheet of waxed paper or in a shallow dish, mix flour, oregano, salt pepper and garlic powder until uniform. Rub flour mixture to both sides of chops until well coated, using all the mixture.

In a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, brown 2 or 3 chops at a time in oil, transfer to slow cooker.

Drain pineapple juice from pineapple chunks into a small bowl. Set chunks aside. To small bowl add 3/4 cup pineapple juice, water, brown sugar, onion and tomato paste. Stir until well blended. Pour mixture into slow cooker. Sprinkle raisins on top.

Cover and cook on high 3 to 3 1/2 hours or 6 to 7 hours on low or until meat is tender.

Skim off fat from liquid in slow cooker. Stir pineapple chunks into mixture and cook on high for 10 minutes or until heated through.

Serve with brown rice and asparagus spears. – From “Fix & Forget”

Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net/ and Cooks Exchange, 205 DeBuys Road, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.