After talking to a coworker, a few other friends, I realized either I'm a freak, or my friends are freaks. I'm not so sure which is better. But that's beside the point. At lunch we were talking about dinner. Our office is all about the food. My coworker, Crystal, had no idea what to fix. She said she usually just wings dinner & it may end up being fast food or corn dogs from the microwave. My dinner? Beef stroganoff, pasta & peas. Tomorrow? Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes & green beans. Crystal was amazed. I already knew what I'm having tonight, and I had planned for tomorrow as well.
I do this every week. Saturday morning I sit down and plan a menu for the week. Ronnie does a lot of freezer cooking, but that's another post. I take into consideration what we have prepared in the freezer, and what meats we have already. Then, I put together a shopping list. I only buy things on the list. Since I use a lot of what is on hand, my weekly shopping bill is down to about $35-$50. When things we use frequently are on sale, I'll stock up the pantry or deep freeze then. Otherwise, I'll buy as we need.
This saves a ton of time as well. Take tonight for example. The beef stroganoff was from the freezer. Last night I moved it into the fridge to thaw. By the time I got home, it was completely thawed. I made pasta while heating the stroganoff. Toss some frozen peas to steam in the microwave & dinner is served. Dinner tonight took about 20 minutes from walking in the door to table. And that does allow for a potty break for Paige, and Mommy getting out of work clothes.
Tomorrow won't take long either. I already have the George Foreman out on the counter ready to go. On weeks when I'm really on the ball, it takes even less time. Some weeks I'll pre cook any rice or pasta that I'll need for the week. That seriously cuts down the cook time in the evening!
So, am I the only one? Am I the freak or are my friends?
Epbot Is Changing: It's Time To PIVOT
1 year ago
3 comments:
You aren't a freak, you are the standard to which I aspire!
That's great! And what a low shopping bill--wow.
I plan, but I'm definitely not as structured as you are. Before I do a big grocery shopping trip, I sit and choose 4-5 main dishes that we can have over the next couple of weeks. Most of them are big enough for leftovers. Then I shop for all of that, and try to make sure I also keep stocked on salad, frozen veggies, other side dishes, typical lunch foods, and typical breakfast foods. (I try to just write things on the list as we are getting close to running out.) I don't usually decide what I'll be making until the day of, though. Since I've been doing more CrockPot cooking, I do try to think about it before 5 p.m.! Some days, though, we don't have leftovers in the fridge and I don't feel like cooking or don't have time, so it's burritos or chicken nuggets. :)
Oh, and our meal for tonight is already in the CrockPot--it requires a long cook time. I'm excited to try it. It's CrockPot Ropa Viejo.
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