I’ve gotten such great ideas and comments over the last week with other people’s great tips that I wanted to make sure that everyone saw them! Here are some of my favorites!
Janalee said: Those are great tips we also try to utilize in our home. Another thing we like to do is plan out an entire month of dinner menues. Teenagers are good to help with this. Then you can look at the week and see exactly what you are having for dinner and plan accordingly. After all, we know that thinking of what to have for dinner is half the battle!
Hilary said: Thanks for the tips. It’s always good to put a little more focus on dinner.
LOVE the crock pot — mostly because it forces you to do your tips since you need to get the stuff in so early.
Kylene said: Those tips are great. Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely have to try some of those out.
I think one tip that has really helped me out is one I coped from my sister-in-law. I bought a calendar that is hanging in my kitchen. Once a week, I plan an entire week’s worth of meals and write them down for each day on the calendar. I also try to write down whatever veggies, sides (and even desserts on occassion) along with the main dish. I usually plan for 1 leftovers night, 1 easy night (i.e. hot dogs or quesadillas or mac ‘n cheese, etc.), 1 “good sport” night (where I get to try a new recipe and my husband can’t complain about it if he doesn’t like it). The rest I usually do our favorite recipes.
I then look up all the recipes and their ingredients, make sure we have everything, and go to the store and buy everything else we need (also keeping in mind what we’ll need for breakfast and lunches).
This saves me so much time. I can usually do this in about an hour or so (minus the grocery shopping), and then every day I know for sure what I’m going to make. Sometimes I switch Monday for Thursday (for example) due to conveinance or because it just sounds better that day.
I also try to keep somewhat of a mental inventory of what I have in the fridge that needs to be used and try to make dishes that will use those ingredients. So less waste of money for us!
And a LOT of you talked about doubling & freezing meals you make by putting the doubled portion into the freezer for another time. Which I think is a GREAT idea! To make it even easier, I just discovered a new product called “Glad Ovenware” It is dishwasher, microwave, oven, AND freezer safe. So now you can freeze, cook, and serve your meal all in the same dish! HALLELUJAH!!! I now know what I’ll be asking for next! (For more information, you can click HERE)
For those of you who are like me and new to the idea of freezing a portion of the food, I also found this great cookbook which is also going on my wish list as well (should I tell you when my birthday is so I have a hope of getting it 🙂 It’s called “Don’t Panic: Dinner is in the Freezer” You can check it out by clicking HERE.
Anyway, I hope that gives you a few more tips and stay tuned…I’ll be going over how I organize my teeny tiny kitchen and fridge to help you enjoy cooking in your kitchen again!
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Great ideas. I’ve taken it maybe one step further. I write down the dinner menus, of those we really liked, along with the sides on a 3×5 index card and file them in a recipe box. Then, after about 6 weeks I have that many menus so I can pull out a week or more. Makes planning easy.
Also makes shopping easier as I can see what we use over a certain period of time – so that makes food storage easier too.
And of course that makes doubling/tripling recipes easier and I still have nights to try new things, ways of cooking and so it goes.
Great ideas. I’ve taken it maybe one step further. I write down the dinner menus, of those we really liked, along with the sides on a 3×5 index card and file them in a recipe box. Then, after about 6 weeks I have that many menus so I can pull out a week or more. Makes planning easy.
Also makes shopping easier as I can see what we use over a certain period of time – so that makes food storage easier too.
And of course that makes doubling/tripling recipes easier and I still have nights to try new things, ways of cooking and so it goes.
How Funny!! I am doing major freezer cooking tomorrow. AND, I just got that book for Christmas and will be making about 15 dishes out of it. I really like it!! The recipes are a step up from so many of the freezer recipes I’ve seen. They are what I would consider to be “gourmet”, but so easy to do. Definitely worth the investment.
How Funny!! I am doing major freezer cooking tomorrow. AND, I just got that book for Christmas and will be making about 15 dishes out of it. I really like it!! The recipes are a step up from so many of the freezer recipes I’ve seen. They are what I would consider to be “gourmet”, but so easy to do. Definitely worth the investment.
How Funny!! I am doing major freezer cooking tomorrow. AND, I just got that book for Christmas and will be making about 15 dishes out of it. I really like it!! The recipes are a step up from so many of the freezer recipes I’ve seen. They are what I would consider to be “gourmet”, but so easy to do. Definitely worth the investment.
Here’s one more method — I have very busy Wednesdays and on Thursdays my husband is not home to help out at dinnertime so those are crazy “getting dinner on the table” nights every week. So I plan our dinners for Monday and Tuesday with leftovers in mind and then we eat the same thing (with different sides or fresh bread for a little variety) on Wednesday and Thursday. I have found that I save money, time, calories, and sanity by cooking this way. I just have to make sure that our dinners on Monday and Tuesday aren’t too similar or we are sick of it by the end of the week. One of them is almost always a soup and I try to make sure I only do one tomato based thing because my kids get tired of it (like I wouldn’t do chili and lasagna on the same week even though they aren’t similar except for the tomatoes). We are free on the weekend to eat other things our family likes but that won’t help me out on our busy nights. It’s a system that works well for us. I love your idea of starting right after lunch. I’m going to try it!
Here’s one more method — I have very busy Wednesdays and on Thursdays my husband is not home to help out at dinnertime so those are crazy “getting dinner on the table” nights every week. So I plan our dinners for Monday and Tuesday with leftovers in mind and then we eat the same thing (with different sides or fresh bread for a little variety) on Wednesday and Thursday. I have found that I save money, time, calories, and sanity by cooking this way. I just have to make sure that our dinners on Monday and Tuesday aren’t too similar or we are sick of it by the end of the week. One of them is almost always a soup and I try to make sure I only do one tomato based thing because my kids get tired of it (like I wouldn’t do chili and lasagna on the same week even though they aren’t similar except for the tomatoes). We are free on the weekend to eat other things our family likes but that won’t help me out on our busy nights. It’s a system that works well for us. I love your idea of starting right after lunch. I’m going to try it!
Here’s one more method — I have very busy Wednesdays and on Thursdays my husband is not home to help out at dinnertime so those are crazy “getting dinner on the table” nights every week. So I plan our dinners for Monday and Tuesday with leftovers in mind and then we eat the same thing (with different sides or fresh bread for a little variety) on Wednesday and Thursday. I have found that I save money, time, calories, and sanity by cooking this way. I just have to make sure that our dinners on Monday and Tuesday aren’t too similar or we are sick of it by the end of the week. One of them is almost always a soup and I try to make sure I only do one tomato based thing because my kids get tired of it (like I wouldn’t do chili and lasagna on the same week even though they aren’t similar except for the tomatoes). We are free on the weekend to eat other things our family likes but that won’t help me out on our busy nights. It’s a system that works well for us. I love your idea of starting right after lunch. I’m going to try it!
Haven’t tried this tip yet, but with freezer meals, I learned recently to line your pan with aluminum foil, allow food to freeze in the foil-lined pan, then take pan off when frozen and wrap food up in the foil completely. When ready to cook it, just pop it back in the same pan and bake!
Haven’t tried this tip yet, but with freezer meals, I learned recently to line your pan with aluminum foil, allow food to freeze in the foil-lined pan, then take pan off when frozen and wrap food up in the foil completely. When ready to cook it, just pop it back in the same pan and bake!
I got that book last year and have tried a few of the recipes already. They are really pretty good. My family especially likes the breakfast burritos, but only cook them for 2 minutes. It says 2-3, but 3 minutes makes them too hard. We got a group of friends together to prepare a bunch of the freezers meals from that book and then divided everything and had quite a lot to go around. It makes the work more fun when you have friends to help, too.
I got that book last year and have tried a few of the recipes already. They are really pretty good. My family especially likes the breakfast burritos, but only cook them for 2 minutes. It says 2-3, but 3 minutes makes them too hard. We got a group of friends together to prepare a bunch of the freezers meals from that book and then divided everything and had quite a lot to go around. It makes the work more fun when you have friends to help, too.
Another good freezer meal recipe book is Holly Clegg’s Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals. We have tried several of the recipes already and they have all been great. Plus, they are usually really easy to put together and they are low calorie, low fat! There are a few that even lend themselves really well to using food storage ingredients!
Another good freezer meal recipe book is Holly Clegg’s Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals. We have tried several of the recipes already and they have all been great. Plus, they are usually really easy to put together and they are low calorie, low fat! There are a few that even lend themselves really well to using food storage ingredients!
Another good freezer meal recipe book is Holly Clegg’s Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals. We have tried several of the recipes already and they have all been great. Plus, they are usually really easy to put together and they are low calorie, low fat! There are a few that even lend themselves really well to using food storage ingredients!
I am a freezer meal fanatic. My favorite recipes are from the book available at Deseret Book called Girlfriends on the Go. It even teaches you how to organize a meal swap group. The meals in it are total ‘mormon dinners- good comfort foods. I also like the books by 30 day Gourmet. Their website is http://www.30daygourmet.com you can order their books there. I also used to pay to go to Dream Dinners and assemble foods there with their service. Now I have their awesome cookbook and do it myself. I especially love their Chicken Parmesan and Cheesy Chicken and Rice casserole.
I am a freezer meal fanatic. My favorite recipes are from the book available at Deseret Book called Girlfriends on the Go. It even teaches you how to organize a meal swap group. The meals in it are total ‘mormon dinners- good comfort foods. I also like the books by 30 day Gourmet. Their website is http://www.30daygourmet.com you can order their books there. I also used to pay to go to Dream Dinners and assemble foods there with their service. Now I have their awesome cookbook and do it myself. I especially love their Chicken Parmesan and Cheesy Chicken and Rice casserole.
I am a freezer meal fanatic. My favorite recipes are from the book available at Deseret Book called Girlfriends on the Go. It even teaches you how to organize a meal swap group. The meals in it are total ‘mormon dinners- good comfort foods. I also like the books by 30 day Gourmet. Their website is http://www.30daygourmet.com you can order their books there. I also used to pay to go to Dream Dinners and assemble foods there with their service. Now I have their awesome cookbook and do it myself. I especially love their Chicken Parmesan and Cheesy Chicken and Rice casserole.
I missed the whole dinner tip comment, but here’s one for baking. Running low on oil/butter? Use applesauce. It’s a direct conversion. I like to use 1/2 oil, 1/2 applesauce in all my cookies and cakes. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups butter, I use 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup applesauce. You can use all applesauce. It just makes cookies and brownies more cake-like. Plus it lowers fat and calories!
I missed the whole dinner tip comment, but here’s one for baking. Running low on oil/butter? Use applesauce. It’s a direct conversion. I like to use 1/2 oil, 1/2 applesauce in all my cookies and cakes. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups butter, I use 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup applesauce. You can use all applesauce. It just makes cookies and brownies more cake-like. Plus it lowers fat and calories!
For an even better fat substitute when you are baking try flaxmeal Use three parts flaxmeal to one part fat. So if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil use 11/2 cups of flaxmeal. I don’t ever recommend removing all of the fat. I usually remove half the fat and use flax for the other half. Flax adds fiber, omega three fatty acids and tons of nutrition. Other good fat substitutes include buttermilk ( one for one substitution) especially good in chocolate cake, prune puree, apricot puree, pureed butternut squash, mashed sweet potatoes etc. Use the fat substitute that will best enhance the flavor of your food.
For an even better fat substitute when you are baking try flaxmeal Use three parts flaxmeal to one part fat. So if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil use 11/2 cups of flaxmeal. I don’t ever recommend removing all of the fat. I usually remove half the fat and use flax for the other half. Flax adds fiber, omega three fatty acids and tons of nutrition. Other good fat substitutes include buttermilk ( one for one substitution) especially good in chocolate cake, prune puree, apricot puree, pureed butternut squash, mashed sweet potatoes etc. Use the fat substitute that will best enhance the flavor of your food.
For an even better fat substitute when you are baking try flaxmeal Use three parts flaxmeal to one part fat. So if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil use 11/2 cups of flaxmeal. I don’t ever recommend removing all of the fat. I usually remove half the fat and use flax for the other half. Flax adds fiber, omega three fatty acids and tons of nutrition. Other good fat substitutes include buttermilk ( one for one substitution) especially good in chocolate cake, prune puree, apricot puree, pureed butternut squash, mashed sweet potatoes etc. Use the fat substitute that will best enhance the flavor of your food.