Before I became a stay-at-home mom, my husband, Shawn, did most of the cooking. He enjoys it and is better at it, so I was more than happy to let him have this duty. Now, unless we want to eat at 9 or 10 o'clock, I am the main "chef". While Shawn was good at just throwing things together to make a decent meal, I need a recipe if we are going to eat anything other than hot dogs and mac and cheese. So, to help me out with my lack of culinary skills, I make a dinner menu for the week. I find this saves money, since I make a list of exactly what I need and don't buy excess things that may go to waste, and it saves time of figuring out what to make each night. It also saves a lot of small trips to the grocery store and money on take-out.
Before making my menu, I take stock in what I have in my freezer and pantry, then see what is on sale that week at the store. I then pull out my recipe binders or a few books and start planning. I look for things that are relatively easy, don't require a lot of prep time, or is something I can prepare ahead of time (like the night before or while the kids are napping.) If a recipe has more than, say, 8-10ingredients, I just skip over it. I do not have time to be chopping 12 different vegetables with two kids needing something every 2.5 seconds.
Where do I get my recipes from? I use a few different sources, but my all-time favorite is allrecipes.com. I love the option of the ingredient search and the reviews that people write. I also get Kraft Food and Family magazine (it's a free publication that comes out four times a year) and have found a few good recipes in those. I have some other books and things that I pull from. I have three different binders labeled Main Dish, Side Dish, and Crock Pot where I keep the recipes I have printed out from the computer. Within those, I have the recipes organized by types of meat,etc. That way, if chicken is on sale, I can turn to that section of the binder for recipes. I do not tend to be very organized, so it's surprisng (even to me!) I have these binders. But, they are really helpful and save a lot of time. I especially love "one-dish" casseroles and using my crock pot. I am definitely not a gourmet cook, but have come a long way since I first started cooking.
4 comments:
Okay. It's official. . . I now hate you. I always have the best intentions but never get a weekly menu done. I keep telling myself that I am going to get organized. You've inspired me. Onward and upward. One of these days we will move back home and I will call you and bug you, "Julie, what are you making for dinner tonight?" :) You go girl!
So this is how we save (lots of) money on meat. We buy it at the IGA (or whatever it is now) in Brookston. When we go to visit the Reiserts (or sometimes we have them bring it up) we stock up on sales that they are having there. We very very rarely buy meat here. We have a deep freezer in the basement stocked full. And this year we went in with the rest of the family on a cow... I never thought I would be in a family that buys the whole cow...
I think this is super smart, Julie. I try and make a weekly menu but I never make it from the sale papers, I am too lazy. I have a friend who makes a MONTHLY plan and keeps it in an Excel spreadsheet - if you want I'll send it to you, it's *very* impressive.
I am loving the binder idea. Brilliant!
I am going to try to start one. We are in desperate need to do better on a meal/grocery budget. I have to tell you your tips have been awesome and have inspired me to do it.
Also, I get the Food and Family magazine too. I just got it last week and I tried the skillet lasagna last night. It was great. Super simple and easy on the budget!
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