So I didn’t get very far last night with my once a week cooking- but I only had about an hour to spend in the kitchen. My husband has Sunday and Monday off work, so today is technically his Sunday and we plan to get a little more done.
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HERE was the menu plan for the week.
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And this is what we actually accomplished:
::Chop up 9 mangoes (now they are ready for quick snacks)- I also washed a bunch of grapes for quick snacks.
::Made potato soup (this is super, super rich)- we actually had this for dinner and there are a ton of leftovers that I will freeze.
::We had a huge bag of carrots at their prime so I steamed and pureed. I put these in the freezer to sneak into various dishes. I usually puree whatever veggies are starting to look sad in the fridge and find that they can be integrated very easily into almost anything.
::Made carrot souffle that I told you about HERE.
::Got chicken breasts out of the freezer and into bags with marinade for later in the week.
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Then today my husband is going to be in charge of making homemade meatballs. I got a great deal on Jennie-O lean ground turkey- so he will use the pureed carrot and make a huge batch that I can freeze. He will have these for dinner tonight on a meatball sub and the leftovers all go into the freezer for quick meals I can heat up for my toddler.
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Does anyone have tips for making meal times a little smoother during the week? I’d love to hear what works for you!
does your potatoe soup freeze well? i have tried freezing soups w/ potatoes in them and they are mush when you reheat – any ideas??
One thing I do is make a chicken in the crockpot either a whole chicken or bone in breasts. Then I use the cooked meat to make a casserole and a pot of soup. Two for the price of one!! Chicken in the crockpot is such a timesaver and so easy. I just pop the chicken in throw the lid on and 4 hours later I have super tender, moist chicken that's ready to go! Rebecca at [email protected]
I definitely do the double a recipe and freeze half method! It works great for so many dishes, and I feel joy on the busy work and homework nights when all I have to do is throw something in the oven and make a salad. Did this tonight with a batch of pizza lasagna rolls! Also when I buy meat will put it in a marinade to freeze when I get home from the store. Takes an extra half hour but I don't have to then thaw meat and marinade. And soups are easy ones to freeze like you did this week!
On weeks where I am really organized I actually do my kitchen prep for the next nights dinner the night before . . . you have to start out with double the work on Sunday but while I have dinner cooking on Monday, I am prepping Tuesdays dinner. I spend the same amount of time in the kitchen but dinner gets cooked in a lot less time . .. plus I am more relaxed!
Our family is a little different – the two girls and I are gluten and dairy free vegetarians, the guys are completely conventional – so every meal is really two meals. Two things we do is (1) keep it simple – protein, starch and lots of veggies/fruits, and (2) frequently my husband grills four nights worth of meat on the weekend. Just having the meat cooked ahead of time saves me a lot of time – then it's easy to shred into tacos or casserole, chop over a salad, put in a sandwich, make up a topping to go over baked or mashed potatoes or just reheat.
We also have salad night twice a week. Not the kids favorite, but they are used to it now and it's good for all of us. Whatever needs to be used up gets thrown onto a bed of lettuce.
HTH
Cynthia we do the same thing! I have Chef's salad often since my husband is a meat eater and I am not. Half the time I make his dinner and something for my toddler and then I just eat the veggies for the side dish. I hate preparing the meat though- he has to do all that unless it is something I can dump in the crockpot 🙂