What does meal planning look like for you? Monthly menus? Weekly? Come up with it the day of? Lots of crock-potting? Lots of frozen meals? Lots of eating out?
I try to write out 3-4 weeks worth of dinners. (Breakfast is typically cereal or toast or banana bread; lunch is leftovers or create your own. I usually only cook one big meal during the day.) I rarely stick to the actual order or assigned meal for the day and pick something else off the list, depending on what I feel like making. But by making up the menu for the month, we’re able to plan our 1 time per month shopping trip down to the valley. Then all (or at least most) of the ingredients are here for whenever I choose to make whichever meal I want.
We’re trying to cut back on eating out, which is costly and a big ordeal with 3 young kids.
I would LOVE to do more with crock-potting! I’m not a big soup person, though, so I’m not sure what else to do with it. In the past, I’ve put a chunk of pork, a bunch of bbq sauce and let it go all day on low. The result is some tasty BBQ Pulled Pork. But beyond that, I don’t know what to do. Any tips? Secrets? Recipes?
I also don’t know how to make and freeze meals. I’ve never done it and don’t know what freezes well. Again, any pointers?
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5 comments:
I do a weekly menu. I usually have a good stock of ingredients in the house to pick from. However, I just decided this last week that we need a food storage for emergencies. what if the power was out for days? what if there was a run on the grocery store? what if we couldn't get truck shipments to Estes? So, I decided that I need a good emeregency stock of food and supplies. So that is what I did this week. Since I didn't get the fancy freeze-dried foods, and stuck with bulk items from Sam's, I am now creating an inventory and will have to rotate through my stock so it doesn't expire and waste. That is going to alter my habits in grocery shopping and cooking. Through the process, I decided that it is much much MUCH cheaper to buy in bulk things like rice, wheat, etc. We try to make all our our breads, and get our own meat from elk (thanks elk!) and other than that we buy at Esh's and Sam's. It seems similar to yours, Karen.--megs
I usually plan two week menus's and go to the vally every two weeks for groceries. It sounds a lot like yours karen. I don't stick to the order of the meals but the menu in general. That way I have the ingredients on hand. I go to safeway once a week for fresh produce, we love our fruits and veggies! Right now we don't have a sam's card mostly because we've never had room for the large bulk stuff but I'm thinking of getting one when our house is built. It does sound smart to buy in bulk. We also shop at Esh's sometimes for Jason's lunch items like chips and cookies or cereal and things like that.
I am very sporadic about meal planning. Some weeks I will have the whole week planned out and I stick to it. Other weeks it’s on a day-to-day basis mostly b/c I haven’t committed to a “big” shopping trip and I’m running to the store all the time. I use the crock pot more frequently in the winter probably b/c we use the bbq less. We don’t eat out too much. We’ve been having picnics this summer where we will go to Subway and get the Sub of the Day and then take along our own chips, drinks and dessert and find a good picnic spot. I think the main thing is it gets us out of the house, which we all need once in awhile but it doesn’t cost a lot or require a lot of preparation. I also look for 2 for 1 coupon deals so that eating out doesn’t break the bank.
Tonya
Yeah for BOGO deals and Sam's Club! I'm trying to get to a point of stocking up some basics, too, though I haven't gone so far as to wonder what would happen in some sort of emergency. (Hopefully my overactive imagination won't run away with that one, Meghan!) :) We still have yet to step foot inside Esh's, though we've tried. We manage to show up there after hours or on closed days. But I've heard good things about it and am eager to check it out!
Tonya -- What do you cook in your crockpot?
I plan for our meals each week. That way I can plan ahead for what would be good to make on busy days and what needs to be taken out and thawed. I usually buy whats on sale at the store and stock up and make my meals with what's in the pantry or fridge- so it helps me to plan and think about using up what is in there! Also, in planning I can think about making preparation easier- for instance, if I'm cutting an onion one day and know I need onion for the next day I'll cut extra and put it in a baggie and it's all set to go. Or if I'm making brown rice and need it again in two days I'll cook extra.
I do try to freeze a lot of meals- if I'm making something I'll try to make a double batch and stick one in the freezer. It comes in SO HANDY on days I'm busy or just uninspired to cook! One of our favorites to freeze is meatloaf. Also egg type casseroles. Whenever I buy ground meat I cook up a large amount and freeze in one pound portions. Then it's all ready to use and only dirty the pan and deal with grease once instead of 5 times!
We use the crockpot every other week or so. I just learned you can put the skinless, boneless chicken breast in frozen and it cooks it right up. I like adding frozen veggies in there because it's so easy to empty out a bag, add some meat and sauce and you have a great meal!
I could go on and on about meal planning and cooking...I love the topic...but I do have to stop sometime!
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