Marathon Cooking

Part of the reason that my family eats at home so much is because I do MOST the cooking and preparing in advance. I am very much a "planner" and a "schedule follower". I do not like to be late, or people that are late, for that matter. Nor, do I like surprises or not being prepared for something. Thus, the COOKING MARATHONS. I plan my grocery store trips around my weekly menu. I decide what I want to feed my family and then I go shopping. Normally, I go shopping on Friday after school before I pick my boys up. That way, we have food for the weekend AND I don't have to go to the store with my kids! Trust me, with a 2 year old and a 10 month old I avoid that in every way possible.

So, Saturday morning arrives and we get up and eat breakfast and then I take the boys to our "Mommy and Me" music class. When we get home, we eat lunch and then NAP TIME!!! During nap is when all the magic happens. I have purchased everything I need for the week already. Now, it is prep time. I usually make a soup for the week, a casserole, something Jack and I can take for lunch(to reheat), and something easy if we have a late night. So, I begin preparing. I chop everything that needs to be chopped, I brown all the meat, etc. If I want to make mashed potatoes I go ahead and make them and leave them in the pan. Then, the night we eat them reheat on the stove and add a little milk and butter for freshness. You would never know that they were cooked and mashed 3 days before. This week I am making a cabbage casserole. So, I browned the meat, cooked the onions, chopped the cabbage, and put it all in the casserole dish. Tomorrow night when I get home, I will add the can of soup that goes in it and stick it in the over. Then, about an hour later dinner is complete and I haven't had to spend ANY time in the kitchen. While it is cooking I usually play with the boys,give them their baths, etc. On Saturday afternoon is also the time that I prepare the crock pot meals. I get my meat in the bag and the veggies chopped. The moral to the story is; if you plan ahead then there is no reason to eat out.

I have also noticed that since I spend one afternoon in the kitchen it has dramatically decreased the time I spend cleaning up. I clean as I go on Saturday or reuse the pans as I am cooking. Then, I load the dishwasher. That is another thing, I have saved money because I only run my dishwasher once a week on the day I cook. Since we use paper plates during the week the clean up is almost nothing. All I do is load the pan that the food was cooked in and the rest goes in the trash.

If Saturday afternoons are not good for you try Sunday, or Friday evening. The most important thing is to plan, plan ahead. You can also plan to have a night out each week. You can decide NOT to prepare for a meal IN because you have planned to be OUT.

Also, don't forget the power of leftovers. Jack and I will eat for lunch, what we had the night before a lot. For one, you don't waste food, you don't have to eat out at lunch, and its better for you!

Just remember there is always a SIMPLE way to do things. Just THINK ahead and PLAN what you want to do! Then, you won't be left wondering..."What's for dinner?"