Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Finally! A meal planning solution!

I have finally found a solution! No more asking "what's for dinner?" at 4:00 in hopes of getting something on the table by 5:00 or 5:30; keeping in mind that I dont have any meat or chicken thawed, and, quite likely, don't have all the ingredients for something that sounds good!
Once a month cooking or make ahead meals, as some people refer to them, is the answer!
I stumbled onto the idea on Pinterest, where you can view numerous websites with recipes. It can be a little overwhelming, trying to cook meals for a month on one day, but it is sooo worth it!
I found this book which is AWESOME! It breaks it down into all the steps, materials, and some great recipes to get started with.
In about 3 hours I had 15 dinners! I figured I didn't need a dinner each night of the month. We had leftover nights, dinners out on a couple of weekend nights, parties, and of course there are nights where we want to throw something on the grill or just have a good 'old grilled cheese sandwich.
The best part is now I can get something out of the freezer before I leave for work, it's thawed by the time I come home, and all I have to do is add a veggie and side dish to complete the meal! LOVE IT! Some of the recipes are easy enough that you can throw it into a crockpot as I walk out the door and it's ready by dinner time!
Its one less thing I have to stress about, my family loves the meals, and I know that I don't have any last minute trips to the store for missing ingredients. If you are a student or working full or part time, or you are a mom trying to juggle multiple family members' schedules, you need to try this!