With the extra time on my hands I was able to watch the Food Network. I love to cook and I am always looking for new ideas. However, with two young children and a husband who travels with his job cooking "good" and fast meals has been my new challenge. While watching Robin Miller on the Food Network it occurred to me I have got to get things ready ahead of time. It is always the prep work that takes so long. I also need to plan my meals a bit better.
So I am going for it. I am going to try to plan my meals maybe two weeks at a time(if I get good at this maybe 4 weeks). Then I am going to try to cut all onions, bell peppers, etc. up at one time. I am also going to try to de-bone/cut up the chicken and brown all the meat all at one time (when my adorable husband can give me some time in the kitchen without the kids hanging on my legs- Ha!). This will hopefully cut down the prep time on the actual day I am cooking the meal. I may even try to make big casseroles and freeze half of it for later. I am really lucky that my husband likes casseroles and that my children aren't picky eaters.
Well, this is my goal...we shall see how it "really" works. You never know until you try, right? Well, so far I have: 1.De-boned the chicken and put it into two cup portions 2.Browned 2 pounds ground meat 3.The bell peppers and onions have been diced and 4.All the cheese has been shredded! So far so good- Hopefully the next two weeks will be smoother!
What are your cooking secrets when cooking for your family during the busy week?
10 comments:
These are great ideas! I'm not sure I can be THAT good..but I'll take the idea of being better organized and plan better. We've done our share of eating out lately for sure!! Do you use her recipes too?
I'll have to check out this show. I have fallen off the chuck-wagon, hard, and so need to get back on it. We've been eating out WAY too much.
You are right, the prep work takes a lot of time. Good for you for getting some things out of the way and into the freezer!
You will love this! I buy my chicken in bulk and then cook it all in the crockpot at once. Then I shred it and freeze it in portion sized ziplock bags. I do the same thing with my ground beef. It makes food prep a lot easier.
OK Lacie...your pic and the pic of Robyn Miller look very similar. I just noticed this...
I thought the same thing about the picture look a like! You are way ambitious for me! You are fortunate that your husband and kiddos are good eaters. Not everyone has that blessing. It is alot more fun to cook for people that are eager eaters. Has Heather ever told you about that club that my sister goes to and they prepare their meals for a month for the freezer? Gourmet meals too! You probably have one close to you. I love to cook and need to learn to cook more heart savvy. It's good for everyone to do that regardless.
I've heard of that place and wondered if it'd be worth it to do that! It sure would make life easier! I'm just not sure about gourmet meals all the time. I know...I'm weird! :P
Hi Lacie- I'm not sure that we've ever met, but my name is Whitney- I'm Shane Lumpkins' wife! We saw your blog linked from Jody and Janell Bunt & Shane was so excited to read up on you guys! So what town do yall live in? We are in Keller- just north of Ft Worth!
Your posting caught my eye today because I love cooking! I'm a Pampered Chef consultant full time, but sadly I don't have many tips on cooking your meals ahead of time! I know a lot of quick recipes under 30 min if that would ever be of help :)
Whitney-
Nice to meet you! How fun!!
We lived in Houston for about 6 years and decided the small town(the very small town)was for us and our boys. We live in a small town outside of Weatherford- most of the time it doesn't show up on the map (Ha!) -so we just say Weatherford. We have been here around four months and it has been an adventure to say the least!
I love Pampered Chef!
i too have been eating out too much and have slacked in the meal planning area. i have been wanting to get back into it-i need to! when i am organized i do plan my meals a couple weeks at a time but i have never done the prep work ahead like that. i like laurie's idea of cooking a bunch of chicken in the crockpot and then freezing it! that would knock a lot of time off. good luck! hopefully we can all get ourselves organized and back on schedule!
I thought of your prep. project yesterday when I was preparing to boil frozen ck. breasts. At first I took out 4, and then said "What would Lacie do?" and boiled the whole bag. Now they're waiting nicely in a baggie to be put with the fixins for another day. :)
Oh, I noticed a little Rachel resemblance too.
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