Over the past few months, I have been working hard to simplify my daily life. One key has been that I cut my grocery shopping down to one big trip, normally on Monday, and a second, smaller shop later in the week. Now, this may be the norm for most of you, but there was a time when I was a DAILY grocery shopper. Seriously. I'd figure out what we were having for dinner, go buy the ingredients and whatever staples we needed that day. It's amazing how much time and running around this has saved me.
Another thing I am trying to do is make meals in advance. This is a bit trickier for me. We aren't big casserole eaters and I really like fresh produce. So, this week I bought a family pack of chicken thighs and made a double recipe of chicken taco meat in the slow cooker. We ate some of it last night and I used the leftover meat to make empanadas. Rachel's empanada dough was super easy to make and it made 12 individual meat pies which will cover three meals for us. Sweet. I also made a double batch of marinade for tuscan lemon chicken. I put the chicken in ziploc bags, poured the marinade over it and put it in the freezer. That's two more meals done. (Both the chicken taco meat and tuscan lemon chicken recipes are in this post).
I'm also back on the bread baking train. I pulled out Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and made a batch of dough. We really enjoy the peasant loaf that has whole wheat and rye flour in it. I cut off one hunk and baked it on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure there will be another loaf in the oven tomorrow. Nothing is more satisfying to me than freshly baked, homemade bread. The house always smells good too – bonus.
Dinner is coming together faster on our busy days thanks to these little steps. I'm always looking for more ideas so if you have something to share, please do.
I create a menu for the week and do one big shopping trip on Sunday. The Mr. is good about picking up an odd or end throughout the week if neccessary. I cook enough to have one left-over night, and we have a tradition of Friday being Hamburger Night. When I started blogging I began posting the week’s menu.
I’m glad you found a system that’s working for you. The nightly “what should I make for dinner?” question is never fun.
This is good encouragement for me, as I am practically an everyday grocery shopper. Simplify is my word for the year – applying to meals is on my list. The meat pies look excellent!
I do a menu for the week (or two weeks) and try to do one big shop and then only one other little one during the week. It’s hard because I go to two different grocery stores and Costco sometimes so I need to keep organized.
The Artisan bread – do you cook it on a pizza stone? I tried one of the loaves once and I just used a bread pan and it turned out terrible.
Thanks for all the tips. I think I need to do more freezing and making extra ingredients so I don’t have to actually cook as often.
We don’t eat too many casseroles either but any time I make soup I make double what we will need for a meal and freeze the other half. Get all the air out of a gallon ziploc bag and then freeze it flat in the freezer. I also make double batches of ratatouille and gumbo in the summer and freeze them for the winter.
One thing that works really well for me is making soup/stew/casserole “base”–sautée the carrots, celery, onion, cook the chicken chunks or ground meat, and add a little broth (or some broth concentrate) so the meat & veggies are covered–then freeze in jars. I usually double or triple the recipe.
If I thaw one in the fridge overnight, all I have to do in the afternoon is dump it in the pan and add broth or water (or milk or whatever the recipe called for originally), plus rice or potatoes or pasta that cook right in there, plus fresh veggies (I also am a fresh produce person) and/or beans at the end. It doesn’t take up much space in the freezer (I was forever overflowing tupperware containers of soup) and tastes fresh.
I actually have chili on the stove right now–took 2 minutes to dump it all in the pan, but will taste like I just made it. I also do this with jambalaya and a chicken-cheddar-potato chowder, but I’m sure the same technique could be adapted to other recipes. I can email you a couple of the ones I use if you’re interested.
Those empanadas look awesome!
I have started having certain types of food on certain days, for example…Sunday is new recipe night. Monday is soup night. Tuesday is meal in a dish, casserole of something that can be prepared ahead of time. Wednesday is take-out night. Thursday is slow cooker in the winter and salad/fresh dish in the summer. Friday we may go out to eat, or have left-overs. Saturday the children plan and cook a meal for us, assisted by us.
It has added some fun to mealtime which I don’t always feel for “mealtime again?” I do a plan on Saturday and shop on Monday. New recipes I’m loving right now….lemon piccata chicken from Joy of cooking and Potato leek soup from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French cooking ( the soup is sooo easy and delicious). Hope that helps.
Just wondering about freezing the marinaded chicken – do you take the bag out of the freezer in the morning or the night before? And do you defrost in the fridge or counter? I’m totally freaked out by the process of freezing and defrosting but I know if I got the hang of it that my life would be simpler as well.
you’re on the right track and your ideas sound great.
I like to have about 14 revolving meals each season that my family enjoys…then, when I do menu planning I can switch out meals we have more often then others and of course I will throw in a new recipe! it takes the guess work out of what to make…especially when my heart isn’t in making the menus. I also can see what I can make ahead of time (tomato sauce, chicken stock for soup, beans, etc.)
I can only add one tip, that you may already know by now…:
Reserve the peels of vegetables that you cut for cooking, in a ziplock in the freezer, and then when you have enough put them in water in a pan with a drop of oil and salt and pepper (and some meat if you like it) and boil it longly and slowly. Then strain it and to the freezer again. Ready for a quick soup anytime!
I loved your post and your pies look delicious. Nice reading all of the different ways others handle the chore of providing for their families. Very interesting. I want more posts like this!
the last time gary was laid off I started planning menus by the month- based on what was in our freezer and pantry and what we liked, then filling in the gaps with what was on sale. It gave me an amazing sense of control. I started doing it again in December- just using pantry and freezer items, overflowing because of our frozen csa and farmers market goods. It is so nice to have the plan (mostly edf recipes) and only have to fill in holes at the grocery. I think I spent $100 on last month’s meals (suppers and leftovers), and slightly less on this month’s. Seems like those empanadas would be a great way to stretch the leftovers into real-deal meals.
I started doing the once a week grocery shopping trip and it has made life a lot easier with a baby in the picture. My favorite “no-brainer” meal to make ahead of time is quiches: sauté vegetables (anything from garlic, onions, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, etc.) divide among 2 frozen, pre-made pie-crusts; to the pie crusts, add any chopped up meat you desire (I usually go with ham); add an egg-mixture of: 8-10 beaten eggs, milk/cream/half&half (whatever you have on hand), salt, pepper, grated gruyere cheese. Freeze unbaked quiches (careful not to spill them). Once frozen I like to transfer them to a freezer bag and get as much air out as possible. When needed, take one out of the freezer and put in a 350 deg oven for 1 hr to 1 hr 15 min (until it’s no longer soft in the center). Voilà, easy meal!
I use the slow cookery, bread machine and soup during the winter. I make large batches of chili, stew, bag it and freeze it. That way with busy or lazy days we eat right. I like your ideas for stretching meals..take care..
I always get something that I need from your posts, Erin. I have been mulling over ideas for meals to make and freeze especially for families who have just welcomed a new baby. I got some good ideas from you and your readers.
I am constantly clipping recipes and my files are bulging. My goal this year is to organize them and pitch the recipes that no longer sound good or worse don’t get rave reviews. By the way, I made the cashew chicken you referenced and that got a thumbs up. Thanks!
Buen Provecho!
this is what i’m saying. (wasn’t home all day. call you in the morning?)
I only shop once a week with a Costco run every 10-14 days.
One of the easiest dinner dishes we’ve resorted to is breakfast for dinner. My boys like egg dishes with their favorite being baked french toast.
The artisan bread looks interesting. I might just have to try it!
Your cutting board it beautiful- well loved.
I try to do soup one night, pasta, fish, meat and then the other days are covered by left overs.
A couple of things that have really helped with meals and budget are making several things ahead of time. At the weekend, I make a huge batch of spaghetti sauce and a big batch of brown rice, sometimes beans as well. Then for the rest of the week I can make pizzas, spaghetti, pasta bakes etc. with the sauce. I can make stir fries or burrito bowls with the rice. It has really helped with time and money. The empanadas look great.
This time of year is so lovely in this way, no? Settling in, straightening out, simplifying…
It’s a rare meat or vegetable in our home that isn’t cooked parsed out over multiple meals — broccoli doubled, and blitzed into a soup (broth, dijon, a heap of x-sharp cheddar and a sprinkling of fresh nutmeg), pot roast minced and re-deployed into beef barley soup. Keeps the work down on a daily basis, and is one of the main joys, I find, of cooking regularly — always something in the larder to start the next meal.
I’ve been meaning to check the 5-minutes a day book — thanks for the reminder.
Happy streamlining, Molly
I love to cook if it doesn’t require close supervision, LOL. Here’s an example — fill a stock pot with chicken stock, uncooked chicken, fresh mushrooms, carrots, chopped onion, etc. Bring to a boil and simmer until chicken is done. Meanwhile, in another pot cook up a recipe of Uncle Bens real rice, not the five minute variety. Pick white, or brown. Combine the rice and soup together when done and serve. You have a yummy soup and didn’t have to stand over the stove sauteeing, dredging, carmelizing onions — all that time consuminng stuff.
I too avoid casseroles (and slow cookers). I don’t like my flavors all mushed together. I shop every 2 weeks, with one extra trip each week for produce and milk (and the few things we forgot!). I plan out the menu for 2 weeks, and usually 2 nights per week are freezer meals. I use “Don’t Panic, Dinner’s In the Freezer”, and “Super Suppers” cookbooks. It’s a huge time saver, and the Sunday I don’t have to go to the store? Heaven! Good luck!
I take a couple hours out of one morning every week to make food specifically for freezing. I invested in a very large stockpot, so when I make soup, I always make a double batch and freeze the rest in individual containers to grab on my way out the door to work. We are lucky enough to have a chest freezer, so I have lots of room to make everything. I date all of the containers to make sure it all gets eaten. I also make a great jerk chicken in the crock pot that reheats amazingly well. I have all of my recipes on a blog, check it out.
I love food posts! I have never made empanadas before but will have to give them a try now-thx! I am a weekly menu planner who has been toying with the idea of doing a set type of meal each day: chicken one night, fish the next, etc. I haven’t implemented that yet (except homemade pizza on Fridays) but have been trying to ensure variety in our plan while still revisiting old favorites. Enjoyed reading through all your comments here!
what good ideas. I’ve been feeling the itch to bust out that book again lately, too. Now that there’s room in the fridge for the dough.
I need to do more of this, too! As for the chicken, do you put it in the marinade then freeze it before cooking? I’ve never tried that before.
I also menu plan and grocery shop on Sunday for the week. Saturday is typically the “wild card” night. Our problem is getting dinner on the table 30 minutes after getting home. Between work/work-outs we don’t get home until 7pm and if we’re not eating by 7:30 then it’s utter chaos. I’ve started making meals the night before we intend on eating them. Around 8:30-9pm I head to the kitchen and either prep or completely cook a meal for the next night (including Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day). It guarantees we have something homemade (and typically healthy) in the fridge and has helped us avoid the emergency pizza/Chipotle runs.
yesterday evening I was strolling the aisles of the grocery store looking for something to prepare…not exactly the best plan. I need to make some changes!!
This is a topic I submerge myself in from time to time. We are not big casserole peeps either, but I do love my slow cooker. I’ve found a delicious recipe for a whole roasted chicken in it. It is so delicious you can serve it traditionally, or just use the cooked chicken for quesadillas, chicken salad, or whatever you like. I’ve written more about it here
http://sandy-bythelakeside.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-eats.html
Also, I find planning at least 3 – 4 meals for the week and making sure I have ALL those ingredients on hand with my weekly shopping helps a lot. In between, I have come up with pantry meals like pasta or frittata.
I think the key to it all is the menu planning. Since Christmas we have fallen away from that and I am finding myself at the grocery store way more often than I would like. This is a good motivation to get those menus done again.
Since my husband got laid off 8 months ago we have been doing the same thing. He shops on Mondays and then again Wednesday (usually to the farmers market for the 9 – 12 specials they have). It’s cut down on the grocery bill and made things much easier all around (not as much shopping and stress). Plus we know what we are having for dinner every night of the week!
This week I tried the shrimp stir fry recipe from Martha’s Everday Food. She made it on her show last week. It’s extremely quick, healthy and delicious! I’m with ya on the once a week grocery trip, I nearly choke each time over the ticket, but tell myself, in the long run I’m saving money and my sanity…….
I have really been feeling the cooking blues lately. I have been thinking about making a monthly menu for February. So glad you liked the empanada recipe!
Thanks for the great recipe ideas. So yummy.
I LOVE your new header photo!
We started off the year by doing a freezer & pantry inventory. It is very handy to know exactly what we have in our larder when planning meals. I’ve found that I can’t plan for more than one week’s worth of dinners at a time, so that is what I’ve been doing. I do a once a week shopping trip online at my favorite local grocery. I place the order in the morning and my husband picks it up on his way home from school in the afternoon. The best $4.95 (the order fee) I’ve spent in a long time. Not only does it save me loads of time but it saves me money every time. Our grocery bill has shrunk by at least 25 percent because I no longer pick up things that catch my eye . . .
Seems like you’re beginning to find a balance with crafting, cooking, etc.
I agree with the others, weekly/monthly meal planning has been a great help for me. However, you encouraged me to freeze meals more frequently. I tried a once a month cooking solution (a book from the library) I loved the idea but the recipes were bad and I ended up spending more money on groceries. I think the general idea of cooking a larger batch of what you’re already making is a great plan.
Simplifying our meal prep without sacrificing flavor and nutritional components has been a huge goal for us recently as well. I try to plan an entire month’s worth of menus (Monday – Friday only). Just having the decision made ahead of time is helpful. I can look at the calendar to see what next weeks meals are, and then head to the store to pick up the missing ingredients. We’ve found that we are saving quite a bit of money as well as time & stress.
I wrote about my FAVORITE make-ahead meal this week – enchiladas. Check out the recipe here (http://laughingfamily.wordpress.com) We get about 5 meals out of one cooking session, and the recipe is yummy. I’m a big fan of America’s Test Kitchen, and I received their Make-Ahead cookbook for Christmas. There are a ton of great recipes that I will be trying out in the future. I’ll let you know of the big successes!
i print out blank calendars off the computer and make up a general plan for the month. for the week, i usually do one day fish, one chicken, one salmon, one ground turkey, one meat, and maybe a soup/salad. lefovers, quick meals, and pizza fill in the blanks.
whenever i make pasta or rice, i always make more than we need to use later in the week in a recipe or for a side dish. and the freezer if definitely my friend!
i love the idea of planning ahead. it makes the week go by much more smoothly, doesn’t it?
I’m a menu planning once a week shopping girl too. I often dish up an extra plate of what is for dinner so I can either freeze it for when I’m home alone or I take it to work the next day for lunch. I like to make big batches of tomato sauce (for pasta)using fresh ingrediants. I freeze it in batches (maybe 2 cup size). It makes good pasta sauce by itself or you can add fresh veges, meat or fish, or use it as the base of a casserole. anyway, make double of almost everything, freeze half, get your fresh fix from the salad or veges you serve with it. It’s almost fun!
simplifying is good. i shop every two weeks, and get fresh produce from the farmer’s market once a week. i’ve been making lots of tamales lately – such an easy way to stretch ingredients and feed us for several days. we never get tired of tamales for lunch! i love your new header BTW.
This post is great. I’m one of those shop-every-day people and I really need to trim some of this running around. Thanks.
Funny, when I first saw the pictures of the empanada’s I thought “how in the world is that a simple dinner” but yes, if you’re making multiple batches that does help. I absolutely hate weeks where I end up at the grocery store every day or even every other day, so I’m with you there. I need to clear out my freezer and set up a system. Lasagna is, of course, a great assembly line, make multiple and freeze type dish.
I do not like leftovers much at all, but I have found one trick that works for me. I buy a big package of chicken breasts, about 12, and grill them up all at the same time, and then put them in the fridge. Then when I want to make enchiladas, quesadillas, a casserole, chicken salad, etc. there’s one huge step already accomplished.
Good luck simplifying. I save so much more money when I plan ahead, but it is not always easy to do!
Soups and curries have been my make-ahead go-tos lately. Both seem to re-heat nicely. And, as a bonus, both are cheap-cheap-cheap usually. I already have all of the spices I need for curries, so the lentil curry I made earlier this week cost about US$1.50 for four servings.
i start every january this way….
i actually have a book that dates back to 04… with the meals for the week planned…. my big plans seem to slip away by april. going to try harder this year…. the one big trip to the grocery store is HUGE….
So many great ideas here – thanks! I agree with the menu planners. We maintain a loose schedule of meals (Mon slow cooker, Tues/Thurs real recipe, Wed rotisserie ckn since our local grocer offers them for $5 every Wed, Fri breakfast for dinner, Sat free and Sun a traditional big hunk of meat with a couple of veg sides Sunday dinner) I make a menu to cover two weeks and include some baking, usually a hearty coffeecake or muffins, for snacks and easy breakfasts. The Sunday dinner always provides leftovers for double dipping – Sunday’s roasted chicken becomes emapanada filling, etc. Doubling recipes often means a second meal stashed in the freezer for days when I just can’t handle anything more than grabbing dinner out of the freezer in the morning and heating it at dinnertime. I love to stash some homemade quick breads in the freezer before baking, and leftover veggies, bread and/or polenta almost always get tossed with egg custard for an unbaked quiche or strata in the freezer. A Year of Slow Cooking – http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ – for non-casserole slow cooker recipes and 101 Cookbooks – http://www.101cookbooks.com/ – often has helpful starters like the homemade bouillon posted recently. Good luck in your search!
Amen to this. I find that creating a meal plan for the week saves so much subliminal stress. I try to avoid the grocery store altogether actually, with CSA shares, but minimizing certainly helps! You’ve come a long way!
Those empanadas look yummy!
Try online shopping. I do curbside at valu market. It is awesome. I also starting menu planning for the month about a year ago. Georgia does it. At first I thought she was nuts, but it is the greatest. We do a big shop at costco for our meats and fish and then I get produce at valu market. It has saved a lot of money and I have found we eat different things since I actually go through our cook books and pick out different meals. I never have to worry about what is for dinner because it is all planned out.
great!