One task that I do not enjoy is cooking dinner each evening. Maybe it has something to do with one family member or another complaining about my meal choice? Maybe it has to do with how busy the hours after school become with various activities to drive to, hearing about everyone's day, and homework? Maybe I am just out of caffeine by 5:00? But regardless of the reason, I do not look forward to cooking dinner!
So for the last month I have spent Monday morning preparing meals for the rest of the week. I make a menu and grocery list Sunday evening, then after we drop the older kids off at school Monday morning Joshua and I head to the grocery store. It is SO quiet in the grocery store Monday mornings - I love that!
When we arrive home, we unpack and start cooking. Sometimes Joshua helps, but he is generally so happy to play in our quiet house that he entertaind himself really well. (He adores his siblings, but he also LOVES to have the house to himself with no noisy interruptions!) By 11:30 we have 4 meals in the fridge waiting to be put enjoyed later in the week.
So what do my menus look like? I have actually gotten fairly creative. As I plan the menu for the week I take into account the evenings that we have activities or will be eating at different times - like when Jamison has basketball practice from 5:00 until 6:30, or Chad has a late meeting. On nights like that I fill the crockpot with soup, stew, taco meat, or sloppy joes. Some family dinner favorites are meatloaf, pot roast, pasta dishes - like lasagne, spaghetti, chicken tetrazzini, rigitoni. I also have a few one pot meals (AKA hotdishes) that my family likes. So I have come up with a good variety of things that can be mixed up Monday morning and cooked hot and fresh later in the week.
This week we are having:
- Crescent Taco Bake - easy and yummy! Crescent roll crust filled with taco meat, Spanish rice, black beans, and cheese, topped with Doritos.
- Chicken Tetrazzini - p.124 Wiphan cookbook
- Marinated steak and veggies w/ rice - marinade p.135 Wiphan cookbook
- Beef slow cookers sandwiches - p. 134 Wiphan cookbook
(Sounds like an add for the Wiphan cookbook, huh? I tend to pick one cookbook for the week. Just one more way to keep it simple!)
Friday night we have usually have pizza. On the weekends we have big breakfasts prepared by Daddy! Chad and I tag team the lunch and dinner cooking in a very disorganized fashion. Usually Chad cooks and I cleanup.
In the last 6 weeks, my once a week cooking experiment has helped to make afternoons much more relaxing. I have even been able to get on the treadmill a time or two!
I know many of you who read this work out of the house full time. Bless You! Truly! I only put in about 15 to 20 hours a week of "paid" work and I am tired! I know you could not cook Monday mornings, but maybe Sunday afternoons?
I am ALWAYS looking for ways to SIMPLIFY, so if you have any great ideas to share I would love to hear them!
