Thursday, January 13, 2011

Joy in Simplicity - #13


Do you ever feel like there is not enough time to make homemade meals every night of the week. Many of you are juggling a full time job, being a mom, a wife and also a taxi service. It can be overwhelming when you think - what should I make for dinner.... will I have enough time to get it all done.

One of the things that I have realized is that if I plan ahead - even if it doesn't work out as planned I feel much calmer. So here are a few tips that have helped me.

1. I cook some staples ahead of time. Since Joel is on a special diet he is eating a lot of hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, chicken salad and bacon. So sometimes I take one of my slow nights and just do a mass cooking - I make my bacon on a stone in the oven - 1/2 hour and woallla - crispy bacon without the major mess. Then I have lunch supplies for the whole week.

2. Plan a menu - even if you don't stick to it exactly at least you have a starting point - it will also help for those indecisive people (you know who you are) and it can save lots of money while shopping.

3. Get rid of your stash - look in your cupboards while planning your menu and check out out what staples you have tons of - try to incorporate them into your meals.

4. There are tons of great recipes on line or in your cookbook cabinet that you have never tried - take an evening that you are watching TV and look through a cookbook to come up with some ideas for new meals that your family will love - put a sticky note on the page or copy it onto a note card.

5. Sign up for my monthly newsletter at www.tarajaministries.com to get a new recipe each month. There is a lot of variety from cookies, to marinades, to meats - all favorites at the Snyder house!

I hope this gives you some good ideas of ways to simplify the stresses of meal planning! Happy Cooking everyone.

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