Hi all-
Now that we're married (and have been for a year almost!), I'm really trying to be domestic! A big feat, I know....anyway, I cook dinner on most nights. But...It's always kindof a, "what should I make...." question about an hour before dinner.
So, to remedy this situation, I'm trying to use this school-free summer schedule of mine to compile some easy, yummy recipies that I can reliably use!
So....I'm looking for feedback....how do you all organize your meal-planning and recipies? Do you plan a week ahead? Do you shop each week? We've fallen into the bad habit of buying ALL the ingredients for one meal, thus spending a lot of time AND money at the grocery story everyday! No bueno! SO....I'm thinking of making a binder of favorite recipies...or something. Ideas? Good recipies? Good websites! Good organization systems? Help for my domestic quest!
I am of little or no help because I am not a very good meal planner/cook. I CAN cook, I just don't make time for it, I guess.
ReplyDeleteWhat has worked for me in the past though is to plan about 4 meals (I can't quite make a whole week yet) and shop for the ingredients. Then if I end up cooking only every other night, they still won't go bad.
Good luck!!
steuri here is a good blog, there's lots on it and it shows pictures throughout the prep process-always a bonus so you know you're making it the right way!
ReplyDeletehttp://startcooking.com/blog/
We plan out what we want to eat that week and calculate in the fact that we eat left overs for lunch most days. We go to the grocery store once a week and it saves a ton of time and money. One of the things i'd recomend is getting some good marinades and BBQing. It's really easy. Lawry is a brand we use, you can get it at Walmart and other stores. Then we BBQ if it's chicken or we put some pork in a casserole dish and pour the marinade over it and cook that. It's fast and it's easy. Get some bagged lettuce and you've got a meal!
ReplyDeleteI do the week ahead thing too (4-5 planned dinners generally gets us through an entire week if we eat leftovers and things like frozen meals, grilled cheese and tomato soup, PBJs, etc on the "non-cooking nights"). Also I have a recipe blog where I post all my favorites. I try to update it weekly, but some weeks I don't cook anyting worthy of a post.
ReplyDeletecoryrecipes.blogspot.com
(you can also link to it from my regular blog).
Katie! Yeah for school being out! We are just wrapping up our trip in Hawaii and it has been truly amazing! I have been thinking about getting back into real life again though. Thus making dinner... here are a few things that work for me. I plan meals a week in advance and try to shop for everything at the beginning of the week. I also have lots of food storage and if I run out of something I always have an extra on hand... then when I go to the store I just buy a few extra to keep things stocked. I also try to buy certain things in bulk... saves money! It has really helped out our pocket book and if I run out of something while I am cooking I always have more :) WOW! Sorry that was a long note... sure would love to do a Diet Coke break with you soon!
ReplyDeleteWell love, I am still trying to master this task as well. But in the mean time I have been adding fun food blogs to my page...you should check them out. I've gotten some really cool ones...or you could at least get some inspiration. Just remember this...don't let the fact that there's something in the recipe that you've never heard of or don't have...I usually just substitute something similar or leave it out. So far, it's worked for me! Love you and happy anniversary (I just texte you too)!
ReplyDeleteI learned this from my mom - Matt and I made a list (more like book) of all of the dishes we like whether we have made them before or not. Once a week we look at the list and pick 5 things because at least 1 or 2 nights a week we eat leftovers or something easy like soup or sandwiches. (and if we haven't made it before, we find a recipe) I shop once a week and only go back to the store if there is something we absolutely can't live without (this has saved us $) Also when we are chosing we try to pick things that have 1 or 2 similar ingredients so I don't have to buy as much. And like Woody said, you don't always have to use exectly what the recipe says, I swap things in and out all the time. Also I use ALLRECIPES.com a few times every week. You can create an account for free, save recipes to your own recipe folder and make categories within your folder. It keeps me really organized. So when I have chicken and am not sure what to make with it, I look in my chicken folder or do a chicken search on the website (which is quick and easy). I will call you this week, we really should catch up!
ReplyDelete