Meal Planning
2010
I love the wealth of wisdom and ideas that can be found amongst blogs. One of the most useful tips I ever read (and forgive me, I forget the source!) was the idea of writing down all of the meals that you can easily prepare and/or commonly have the ingredients to.
I started my list quite awhile ago and it has grown to contain 35 meals. While I enjoy trying new dishes and frequently make things up on the spot having a solid list of meal ideas I know I make well and know will come together fairly easily has been such a life saver! I usually use it as a baseboard of ideas for my weekly meal planning and in the event of not having planned out our meals I almost always refer to it for a last minute idea.
I would encourage you to try this yourself as it is a time, stress and money saver and takes very little work to implement. Start small and add to the list throughout the month. If you are having a problem thinking of food ask your family what meals they like you making – I have many breakfast items on my list due to my husbands love for all things breakfast!
On a food related note… I picked up two pounds of sweet peppers from the grocery store and we are just loving them. It has been the boys favorite snack food the past two days.
We enjoy them raw, but I tried stuffing them with basil, cheese and almonds and sticking them under the broiler and oh my yummy!
Speaking of broiler.
Last night we had some friends over to do some canning and inspired by a recipe from Family Fun we made our own version using the broiler.
So delicious!
If you have extra peaches, marshmallows and a desire to gain 5lbs you must make these.
Friends preparing the peaches for canning.
My tip for canning peaches: invite lots of friends over- specifically one who knows what she’s doing – make sure everyone has a job to do, and then take pictures while everyone else does your canning for you.
What a life.
Sharing at Tasty Tuesday
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I'm so glad you reposted this! I remember reading it before, I think, but only now am I really buckling down and trying to be more intentional about meal planning. One question: do you try to have the ingredients for those on hand all the time?
I try to have the ingredients for the most basic of those meals – beans, rice, flour (to make bread), eggs, cheese and vegetables are always kept in the pantry, fridge or freezer. Those are the "bare bones" of what a meal could be and are (almost!) always on hand.
The problem with having a husband who cooks is that he doesn't tell me when something has run out – I find out when I NEED it =)
Or I simply forget myself
Did you coldpack your peaches?
No, it was done with boiled juice… umm… I don't know what I am talking about… does that answer the question?!
You must share your breakfast recipes. This is my least favorite meal to plan for because I don't have a lot to pull from.
As far as running out of things, I hang a piece of paper on my refrigerator. Anyone who uses the last, or almost the last, of something must right it on the paper. Also, I have a magnetic pencil holder on the refrigerator because if you have to look for a writing utensil, you will be less likely to write down what you need.
Haha, that doesn't really answer my question, but you're close. Did you boil the peaches themselves? Then you would have hot packed them. If you did not cook your peaches at all, that is cold packing. Don't hot pack your peaches. It makes them mushy. Real mushy. I just threw out four jars that I hot packed last year because I couldn't stand them. Gross. And wasteful. But I did successfully make pickles! Woo-hoot!
Nope, we cold packed them then!!
And yay for pickle making!
I did this once!! I had 20 good meals listed. Our whole family got involved–but alas–I can't find my list anywhere. I think I need to recreate it and put it in print online so I don't lose it:)
I canned peaches. I had a recipe for spiced peaches. They were so good. I have a great recipe for peach pie too…oh my…I need peaches!
new follower from Tasty Tuesday, love the idea for meal planning! Can't wait to see more of your posts! Maybe see you around my neck of the woods sometime.
Nichole @
carterfamilytable.blogspot.com