I'm attempting to plan ahead...BIG thing for me. I always try, but never do. On another blog that I read, she plans out her menu for the whole month. Only weekdays...weekends are free game. She stocks her pantry at the beginning of the month with all the ingredients and then just sticks to her list. I stress myself out over what to fix for supper, b/c I wait until last minute to think about it, rarely have anything thawed out ahead of time, and don't leave enough time to fix it when I get home b/c I spend an hour at the grocery store gathering ingredients. Then in a rush, I fix something like mushroom steak that we've had 15 times in the last 4 weeks. So....I'm going to try this. Keep in mind, we have pork, beef, and deer in the freezer to utilize...lots of ground beef and venison. Some nights it may be as simple as hamburger helper, but it will be planned and hopefully a bit easier on me. You wouldn't think cooking for two people should be that hard. But it is. I'm also going to try not to have as many leftovers, because we waste them. Once I've had something, I don't want it again the next night, unless it's a vegetable.
So.......send me your ideas. Crockpot, casserole, soup, I don't care. We are trying to watch our figures (mostly just watching them take on a very round shape) so anything "light" would be great...I think if I can start this now #1) It will save money b/c I won't be making as many trips to the grocery store and getting unnecessary things. #2) It will be a good habit for when we do have kids and things are hectic. #3) It will help me be less fretful over cooking!
Also, Bree....what did you put on your BBQ beef @ Bunco? It was delish and I've got a roast in the crockpot today for BBQ Beef....no I didn't plan that ahead, I had to defrost it in the microwave. :)
Tallman Thanksgiving
3 weeks ago
6 comments:
i have a recipe at home for the sauce. i will get it and let you know. it had ketchup, brown sugar, worchestershire sauce and cider vinegar. i will get all the measurements and email them to you. also, i always throw my meat in the crockpot when it is frozen. let it cook all day and then when i get home it is done. like the other night i just took the roast out and shredded it up and then put the sauce on it. easy, easy.
awesome! Sounds delish and I can't wait to eat after Sonlight tonight! I even have all that stuff at home...
I do something similar but doing a whole month would overwhelm me and I don't like planning ahead what day I'm doing things because sometimes I don't feel like that thing on that day. So, what I do is I make a menu for 6 or 7 meals. Then when I go shopping I get everything for those meals. Then in the morning I just have to decide what from the menu to have and I'm set. I have some really good quick fix meals. I'll have to e-mail you or just bring to Bunco next month, because I'm not sure I'll get motivated enough to type them up.
It has to be your style, but we eat breakfast for supper a lot. In our house eggs & bacon are for anytime of the day, but a lot of people wig out when they think about eating breakfast any other time than breakfast time.
A friend of mine has a cookbook for plan ahead cooking. You basically prepare two items at the same time. For instance meatloaf. When you prep it you double it, put the extra one in a foil pan or freezer bag. You cook one and freeze one. Then a week or so later you can just get out the frozen one, add a little more baking time, and presto. Two meals with only one prep time. Like I said, there is an entire cookbook that shows you how to do it and even the best way to freeze things. I learned from it to freeze the meatloaf in the freezer bad inside the loaf pan. Then when you get it out to cook it, it already is the correct shape. That is about as far ahead as I plan. I'm a last minute girl myself.
another thought...sometimes on the weekends I thaw out several pounds of meat (ground beef & pork) and go ahead and brown it. then I just bag it in freezer bags and refreeze it after its cooled. this helps us in 2 ways...our beef comes in 2 lb pkg which is too much for one meal but i have a hard time using the leftover so i always make a meal that's too much for us, so when I brown it ahead of time I can rebag it in pound or pound & 1/2 pkgs which eliminates waste. i also like it b/c it saves precious seconds off of meal prep when you get home from work and are tired. sometimes even maid-rites are so much easier b/c the meat is half way there!
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