Are sit-down family meals a priority for you? If so, gather family and friends around your table… I’ll show you how to feed them without spending all day in the kitchen — complete with a sample meal plan and recipe links!
As someone who generally enjoys spending time in the kitchen — cooking, baking, and preparing food for my family — there are still so many other things calling for my attention each day.
And? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spend more time around the table than in the kitchen!
Can you relate?
After more than a decade of faithful meal planning, I’ve developed a loose “routine” of sorts that allows me to gather my tribe (and usually a few extra mouths) around the table 7 days a week withOUT extra stress or hours upon hours spent in the kitchen!
No, I don’t do massive freezer cooking days.
No, we don’t order pizza, fast food, or to-go meals on a regular basis.
No, we don’t have a personal chef (although that would be fun!)
Instead, I create simple meal plans that rarely require more than 2 or 3 afternoons in the kitchen each week to produce hot homemade meals every day of the week!
Curious how you can adapt my system for your family?
Keep reading!
1. It All Starts with a Simple Meal Plan
I know, I know… meal planning isn’t fun, BUT if your goal is less time in the kitchen, a meal plan is a MUST.
Just remember to keep it simple!
Meals like: grilled cheese, spaghetti, or even cereal still count as a “meal plan”.
For the first week, choose 4 or 5 simple family favorites you know your family will eat, and you already know how to make.
Now, write it down — on a post-it, in your planner, in your notes app, on the fridge. Do NOT just assume you’ll remember!
2. Plan your meals based on your schedule.
Once you’ve decided on 4 or 5 simple meals, then look at your calendar for the week and decide which day of the week you want to eat them.
If this step seems like over-kill for you (or if you like to “play it by ear”) I beg you to at least give it a try for a week or two.
By coordinating your meal plan with your schedule, you will avoid SO many pitfalls.
For example, if you know you’ll be gone all day Wednesday, you can schedule a slow-cooker meal to be ready when everyone walks through the door. Or if you have more time on Friday, you can plan to make a double or triple batch of your meal to help boost your freezer stash.
Remember to schedule “leftovers” for a day — and probably at least one “free night” where you can order pizza or takeout.
NOTE: I often write the meal plan directly in my planner so I can see which meal goes with which day.
3. Make your grocery list.
There’s no sense planning a bunch of meals if you don’t have the food in the house to make them!
Start by “shopping your pantry and freezer” to see what ingredients you already have and what you’ll need to buy.
Add any necessary items to your shopping list and make a plan to head to the store soon.
BONUS: By working with a meal plan and a list, you’ll likly spend less time and money at the grocery store each week!
4. Plan and prep ahead throughout the week.
This step has the potential to be the trickiest if you’re not already in the habit of planning and prepping your meals ahead of time… but as you develop this habit, your time in the kitchen will continue to decrease!
One of the most helpful things I do is to constantly think at least 2 meals ahead… after breakfast, I might prep some of the food for dinner that night — or if it needs to defrost, I’ll do that the night before.
(This is why it’s SO helpful to have a meal plan!)
One glance at the meal plan and I notice we need a pound of ground beef for a pasta dish tonight and more ground beef for tacos in 3 days. I save so much time (and dirty dishes)by cooking 2 pounds now and saving half for later in the week.
I’m also not waiting until the very last minute to prep my food — because that’s when I get frazzled or distracted, which causes everything to take longer.
5. Make at least one meal for the freezer.
Although I’m consistently awed by women who have the ability to complete a massive freezer-cooking day, it just doesn’t work for me (I’ve tried, many times!)
Instead, my goal for each week is to put at least one meal and one baked good in the freezer for later.
When I look at my meal plan for the week, I usually choose one meal to make a double or triple batch, with the intention of putting some in the freezer for later.
Since I’m cooking anyway, it requires very little extra effort to make 2 of the same meals — resulting in one less day of cooking in future weeks!
NOTE: Soups, stews, casseroles, and pasta dishes all freeze exceptionally well.
Helpful Resources:
Click the images below for more FREE resources to help you simplify meal planning and freezer cooking!
A Sample Meal Plan:
It’s often easier to try something new when we have concrete examples instead of just theories or methods… so in an effort to make meal planning EVEN SIMPLER for you, I’ve written out a very detailed “sample meal plan” for our family.
I share some of our favorite recipe links along with why I plan certain meals on specific days based on our current weekly schedule.
I truly hope this is helpful for you as you seek to simplify and streamline your time in the kitchen.
SUNDAY = Simple
In past seasons of life, we have often spent Sundays with extended family and friends — or enjoyed church potlucks.
Since those group events are unfortunately not happening much these days, we now enjoy simple meals at home on Sundays — I must admit, it’s quite relaxing!
Our current routine has been french toast casserole, sourdough crépes, or cinnamon rolls for breakfast and sandwiches or leftovers for lunch.
I often make quiche for dinner — with the intent of having leftovers for breakfast on Monday.
Quiche Recipes:
MONDAY = Slow Cooker
Mondays are currently my main workday (housework and online work) so I almost always plan a slow cooker meal.
NOTE: I have the house to myself on Mondays since the older 3 are in school and I swap childcare with my sister — she watches Clara on Mondays, I watch her son on Thursdays.
I usually prep my slow cooker meals Sunday evening (when I’m making the quiche) and dump it in the slow cooker mid-morning on Monday.
Leftover quiche for breakfast and a slow cooker meal for dinner means I can accomplish almost all my work-related to-dos for the week AND clean our entire house fairly thoroughly without getting bogged down with meal prep!
It’s a fantastic way to start off my week!
Slow Cooker Recipe Ideas:
- Mango Salsa Chicken
- Sweet ‘n Sour Pork
- Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup
- Pulled Pork
- Baked Potatoes (with a bunch of toppings)
- Pizza Pasta
TUESDAY = Casserole
After several days of easier meals and leftovers, I usually do quite a bit of cooking and baking on Tuesdays.
This works especially well since Tuesdays are my “main laundry day” — I rotate between cooking, baking, and folding laundry (with my 2 trusty helpers)!
I often start the day with a double batch of sourdough pancakes and sausage (I make enough for 2 mornings).
I also do some baking — maybe a batch of banana bread (putting one loaf in the freezer) and a few dozen cookies and/or bars (putting half of everything in the freezer) and a few loaves of whole-grain bread.
Then I make a double (or even triple) batch of a family favorite recipe — one for tonight, the other(s) for the freezer.
Make-Ahead Recipe Ideas:
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Pulled Pork Enchiladas
- Tatertot Casserole
- Taco Casserole (I prep and freeze a bunch of taco meat, not the full casserole)
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Pizza Pasta
- Lasagna
- Meatloaf
I serve these meals with fresh fruit, applesauce, some type of veggie or salad, and often bread or rolls.
NOTE: Tuesdays are almost always my biggest “kitchen day” but, it allows for a much lighter load the rest of the week — plus, I can do the bulk of the kitchen clean-up at one time!
WEDNESDAY = Quick meal
Wednesdays have become my day to run errands, get groceries, schedule various appointments, and tackle a few projects around the house (organizing, decluttering, yardwork, quick fix-it projects, one of my deep cleaning tasks, etc.)
We usually eat leftover pancakes and sausage for breakfast, and dinner is often something I pull from the freezer the night before — either a fully prepared meal or pre-cooked meat that I then make into a quick meal after getting home for the day.
Quick Weeknight Recipe Ideas:
- Stromboli
- Muffin Tin Pizzas
- One Skillet Mexican Rice Casserole
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Tomato Soup + Grilled Cheese
- Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders
NOTE: here’s a huge list of meals I can make in 30 minutes or less!)
THURSDAY = Big meal
After pancakes 2 days in a row, I usually switch it up with oatmeal and smoothies for breakfast.
I’m often home all day on Thursdays, so I tend to plan a bigger meal for dinner… steak, a roast, a pork loin, even a full turkey or ham dinner (I stock up on turkeys and hams when they go on sale.)
I do usually have a method to my madness though — with plans to use the leftovers for a weekend meal (I try not to cook much over the weekend).
Big Meal Recipe Ideas:
- A fool-proof way to roast a turkey
- Easy oven-baked chicken drumsticks
- A simple beef roast
- The best mashed potatoes
- Chicken Parmesan
- Easy oven-roasted veggies (you can make them in advance!)
- Our favorite sausage stuffing
FRIDAY = Finger foods (or fast food)
I usually make a big batch of waffles and a pound of bacon on Friday morning — with the intent of eating the leftovers on Saturday morning.
If we do any type of fast food or pizza, Friday night is usually the night… but like I mentioned earlier, it’s definitely not an every-week sort of thing.
We have “family movie night” on Fridays, so it’s not totally uncommon for the kids to get all ready for bed REALLY early, then we’ll have pizza or Culver’s or a tray of yummy finger food before popping some homemade popcorn and watching a movie in the den.
I think the entire family’s favorite is “meat and cheese” (a.k.a. a Charcuterie Board).
I load up a big tray with various fruits, veggies, meats, cheese, dips, crackers, etc. and everyone just picks at it until it’s all gone!
SO easy, and great for the end of the week because I can just use whatever we have left in the house.
Easy Finger Food Recipes:
- Charcuterie Board (meat and cheese board)
- Stromboli Bites
- Bacon-wrapped sausages
- Cheesy pesto crescent bites
- Pizza sliders
SATURDAY = Leftovers
Saturdays are the one day we all ‘sleep in’ a bit, so the fact that I don’t need to make breakfast creates a super relaxing vibe to start off our weekend (we have the leftover waffles and bacon from Friday morning).
Lunch is almost always sandwiches, and dinner is almost always leftovers from earlier in the week (sometimes everyone gets to choose their favorites, other times I use a combination of leftovers to create a new meal).
Our family LOOOOOOOOVES leftovers — I am so thankful!
Leftover Meal Ideas:
- Use leftover chicken for chicken quesadillas or easy chicken ranch wraps
- Make stew from a leftover beef roast
- Make chicken pot pie from leftover chicken or turkey
- Whip up this delicious Taco Pie with leftover taco meat
- Use any number of leftover meats and veggies for soup (here are some of my favorites)
- 7 ways to use leftover ham
- 50+ ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers
NOTE: Dave and I almost always eat leftovers for lunches during the week — otherwise we’d probably have enough leftovers for 2 dinners each week.
If you took notes, you’ll see that I only cooked a full breakfast on Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday… and I only prepared a full dinner on Tuesday and Thursday.
The rest of the meals were either leftovers from earlier in the week or quick meals pulled from the pantry, fridge, or freezer.
And… if we plan for fast-food, or if we get invited to someone’s house for dinner, that’s even less time in the kitchen for me that week!
Not too bad, considering we eat around the table for almost every meal of the week!
Of course, I know this meal planning method won’t work for every family or every situation.
Even if you can’t use my exact recipes or meal planning technique, I hope I’ve inspired you to evaluate your current system in the interest of saving time in the kitchen, simplifying your meal planning efforts, and streamlining your entire weekly routine.
I promise, you DON’T need to slave away in the kitchen to enjoy quality time together around the table… after all, the type of food you serve really isn’t the most important part anyway!
Do you have any tips to save time in the kitchen?
Visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family friendly, recipes!
Liane says
It’s been so long since I left a comment. I’ve tried to cut back on screen time and that also made me cut out a few blogs. It’s not the writing of the blog that rabbit holes me, it’s links!
That said, I saved this post and it’s basic premise when you wrote it and recently made a couple more tweaks for us I thought I’d share.
My Monday crockpot meal has been replaced with an instant pot meal. I use it nearly every day for steaming vegetables but once a week it gets put into use to make a simple stew or chili. Sundays have changed as well. We now do a special something on Sunday. Like a small pork roast or whole chicken or if it’s hot, ribs cooked out back.
Any time I grill fish or chicken I double up on them. But I cancelled the chicken part of Butcher Box because the sizes and number of pieces was so vastly different from one package to the next. My last package had one huge breast in one pouch and three itty bitty ones in another. So I buy Rosie at Costco and freeze it. We try to eat chicken and fish every other night and beef once or twice alternating with pork.
I still use my crockpot though. It’s become my go to method for casseroles. I bought a large oval one and it’s great for lasagna or Mexican casseroles. But a pot of chili (no beans) is 25 min in the instant pot. So is a pot of stew or your meatball soup which my hubby loves. I try to toss any elderly veggies in, like limp carrots or zucchini that’s beyond it’s prime. Last night I needed to use some defrosted ground turkey so I made chili. Had no canned tomatoes so I went out back and picked a dozen or so Romas. That plus a small can of tomato sauce worked really well. The pressure cooker method basically made the tomatoes into sauce. I was surprised.
The only difference I’ve done in breakfast is my hubby makes his own and I don’t eat till maybe lunch. I have a protein smoothie if I’m famished but when I tried eating even a small amount of breakfast I started gaining weight due to the carbs in gluten free stuff. And eggs get old fast everyday. So he has his oat+flax+chia+hemp mix or a couple hard boiled eggs + an avocado and he’s happy.
Retirement means cutting back on a lot of healthy foods for us. We cannot grow much and the farmers markets are closed due to covid (never reopened in June and now we are back to restrictions again) so I’m trying to stay organic but some things I will buy that aren’t because of prices of the items and the cost of gas which is about $4.50 a gallon for regular now. Glad my car is fuel efficient. We’ve been looking to move and find a large parcel with a small house. That way we can have a veggie garden like yours.
Wanda says
My tips to save time in the kitchen: Having a family of four I did do alot of double and triple batches of soups and stews to add a salad to for a meal. For breakfasts I alternated between oatmeal (with lots of yummy things to add which I have ready in jars all together in a basket I would just pull out of the cupboard) and eggs and toast during school mornings. And while I was making breakfast the kids would make their lunches as I was there to help them if needed. I would make a big pot of soup on Friday or Saturday and we would have Sunday soup to make Sunday easier. As everyone got older we started having two big meals each weekend day – brunch and supper to cut down on the cooking. And I often bake while making supper so I can kill two birds with one stone.
Andrea says
we keep our oatmeal toppings in jars too — and I often bake while dinner cooks too.
Great minds think alike 🙂
Also, Dave’s parents do the 2 meals a day thing on the weekend too — I’m excited to try this once our kids get older and don’t need to eat at 7:00 on weekends!
Thanks for sharing what works for you!
Calliope says
I don’t know how you do it, but after all these years you still awe me! I am certain that if I had a big family like yours, I’d follow your system to a T. I can still attest that the weeks I do meal plan a) all members eat something they like (I have to feed two picky eaters) b) we enjoy a variety of food otherwise it’s pasta, pasta and more pasta… and c) I do all my cooking on Sundays and Thursdays with an afternoon of baking a couple of goodies. Saturdays are fresh fish day and Sundays sometimes are more elaborate (like oven roast or bouillabaisse soup) and sometimes are just breakfast for dinner.
Both me and my husband are teachers (him high school, me special ed) so during vacations we cook/eat so much better as we are both more relaxed
Andrea says
I do think it makes a difference if you are working full time or home full time — and I know how busy a teacher’s life can be during the school year!
That said, I guess I’ve always stuck with meal planning (even during my busiest seasons of life) because I’ve seen such massive benefits in so many areas of my home, family and life. It’s just foolish for me NOT to meal plan (I and I totally know that not everyone feels this way!)
Katie says
You left your Savory Sausage Pasta Bake off the list of casseroles. 🙂 That one is a family favorite of ours that I make at least once a month. And I follow your advice and make one, freeze one. 🙂
Pascale says
Hi Andrea,
Just wanted to say that I watched your first video on YouTube and you did great. Love all your wonderful ideas/tips.
Since then, I’ve removed YouTube. YT was the only social media platform that I had.
I had this on my mind for a while and I finally decided to do it.
Chris says
I love your Mondays and Thursdays ideas! 🙂
LoriB says
The benefits of eating at home together lasts a lifetime. The act of sitting together and talking does wonders for a family. My husband and I have done it throughout our marriage (as our parents had taught us) so it was a natural habit to continue when we had children. Our children learned good manners, how to have a conversation, how to set the table nicely, how to clear the table and wash the dishes. Of course, we didn’t do it perfectly but I’m so glad we did. It was worth it. When we are all together now, we still love to sit around the table together sharing memories, laughing and eating good food.
Andrea says
this is so encouraging to read — hopefully I can say the same thing in 15-20 years when our kiddos are all out of the house!
Margaret says
A suggestion for other singles: at this time of year I bulk-cook two meals–roasted veg with chickpeas and some kind of bean soup (chili this week)–portion it out, and alternate. It means I’m not eating the same thing every single day for a week, but I still only need to cook twice in two weeks. If prepared food is portioned out, so that you are not repeatedly opening it and dipping, it will keep safely far longer than you might think.
With that I have a salad, made with a bagged salad mix from the farmers’ market–even in the winter, thanks to cold frames and hoop houses–and fruit.
The easiest path (IMHO) to simple but healthy eating and minimal prep is not to insist on novelty.
Andrea says
this is fantastic advice — thanks for sharing, Margaret!
michelle says
Thank you for all your encouragement and tips on how to do this over the years. I have learned so much from you. it actually made the pandemic so much easier and we aren’t eating out at all. planning for variety and keeping it simple makes it doable and even enjoyable. we’ve decided after doing this for months that it is healthier and easier and less expensive than eating out.
Andrea says
yes yes — healthier, easier, less expensive than eating out — for sure!
I’m so happy you have benefited from meal planning over the years 🙂
Steph says
I love this post. I meal plan as well and make 6 lbs. of bacon at once to last the entire week. I am working from home now with Covid and want warm breakfasts available for my boys. I also cook large batches of French toast, waffles, bacon, or quiche on the weekends so they can quickly reheat for the work week. I put the French toast and waffles in the toaster to reheat – I find these to be just as good on the reheated day. The pancakes and quiche are reheated in the microwave. I brown at least 5 pounds of hamburger at a time and then refreeze in single serve packages. I can have tacos, enchiladas, or many other dinners on the table on weeknights in record time by defrosting the pre-browned burger during the day. We have leftovers, sandwiches, or smoothies for lunches so I do not meal plan for lunches. I love hearing time saving tips from other busy Moms. 🙂
Andrea says
sounds like you have a great system — it sure is a LOT easier when the family is willing to eat leftovers (we have friends who will not touch leftovers!)
I don’t plan for lunches either — the kids actually get FREE hot lunch all year long so that has been a huge time (and sanity) saver for me!
Jen O says
Can you please tell me how a family of six has leftover bacon when you only cook a pound? Even when my TWO kids were little, they could polish off a pound in one meal, lol!
Steph says
I cook 6 pounds a week (at one time) for my family of 4 including 2 teenage boys. We eat a lot of bacon in our house as well. 🙂
Andrea says
wow! We eat a lot more sausage than bacon — we go through several pounds of sausage each week, but even still, it’s not the “main” part of our breakfasts — just a side dish to less expensive options 🙂
Andrea says
haha — because I have the plan of using it for 2 days so I only serve half of it each day. I also serve waffles, eggs, fruit, and yogurt… so when the bacon is gone, they can choose something else!
Tracy says
I noticed you mentioned sometimes eating at a church potluck, I have never been to one, but we have been invited to one coming up within one week. My question is what type of recipe would you suggest for me to bring to a supper potluck? I would appreciate any ideas you may have.
Thanks!
Andrea says
anything you can easily make ahead of time and keep well (so no an egg dish!) I wrote a whole blog post about this topic too 🙂 https://andreadekker.com/10-tips-for-bringing-a-dish-to-pass/
Calliope says
Hi Tracy! I almost always bring Andrea’s Brocoslow salad (people actually ask for it…like could you bring that awesome salad?) and some type of pie (savory like cheese pie/spinach pie/mushroom pie or sweet). Also cookies are a hit every time during coffee. We just sit drinking coffee and eating cookies for hours!
Andrea says
oh the brocoslaw salad — we love it so much (I’m making it tonight for dinner!)
Here’s the recipe!
Pat in Tulsa says
Since my nest is empty, so to speak, I have found that some recipes are just not easily cut down for 2 even with leftovers. I now plan to divide things like spaghetti sauce to eat tonight and have leftovers tomorrow while still freezing half for next month or even next week. Have you ever made several types of cookie dough, rolled it into balls and frozen it? Roll the balls and freeze on a cookie sheet, then store in a zip top bag in the freezer. My grand kids love it when I do that. A couple of fresh baked cookies after school is great!
Andrea says
yup, that’s kind of how we do it too — freezer part of the meal for later (because our kids really don’t eat that much at this point.)
I usually just freeze small containers of cookie dough — enough for 2 dozen cookies at a time, as it doesn’t pay for me to only bake a couple at this point. We can easily go through 2 dozen cookies in 3 days 🙂
Jaime says
Loved these ideas, Andrea! Thank you!
Kristin says
If you live in a city or town with a HyVee look into whether they have the HyVee Dish Program. I get together with a group of friends and acquaintances every other month for about 2 hours (sometimes less) and we do a big batch of freezer cooking- right there in the store. HyVee does the majority of the prep work when it comes to the meat. Each person that participates picks one meal from a vast library of meals. Then we all sign up for which meals we want. The night of the cooking you make the meal you choose, times however many people signed up for it. I normally sign up for 7-10 meals and that stocks my freezer for a family of 4 for a long time. I never have to worry if I didn’t plan ahead. Bonus is that HyVee does all the shopping, including sale prices (and we get the fuel discount too) and we split it evenly amount all the “chefs”. I usually spend around $100- $150 every other month. This has drastically cut down on the amount of eating out we do, due to lack of meal planning and I barely ever have to grocery shop anymore, unless its for staples like bread and milk.
Andrea says
this sounds AWESOME! I wish we had something like this!! thanks for sharing 🙂
Rebecca says
Wow! Wish we had that here! Sounds amazing! That is something all grocery stores should do!
Jaime says
Kristin, thank you for this tip! We have a Hyvee here and I just left a message for a callback. This sounds like a fun ladies night for our church!
Chris says
Great tips! We don’t have Culver’s here but we planned a trip to Branson, MO, in December and I had seen one, so we took advantage of the Christmas gift card promo you told us about. Boy, that place is delicious! Maybe it’s good we don’t have them here!
Andrea says
yay — so glad you enjoyed your first Culver’s experience. It can be a little pricy if you’re just going once or twice, but since we’re on their email program, we get coupons ALL the time. Plus, we save our receipt each time and take the survey — which is good for a free custard. We save them until we have 3 or 4 and then we all get a custard treat after dinner 🙂
In fact, we’re going to Culver’s this weekend for my Dad’s birthday and using a Buy One Get One Free value basket coupon (that’s an amazing value!)
Evie says
Hi, Andrea. I searched ‘child size rubber gloves’ on Amazon, and they do have some. Your photo above made me remember you mentioned wanting to get Nora some. She’s a real helper now, isn’t she! Fun to see.
Andrea says
Thanks for the heads-up Evie! I was just thinking about those gloves again and wondering if/when I could find them. I’m off to check out Amazon!
Andrea says
Hi Again, would you be able to send me the link to the kid-size rubber gloves you found on Amazon? I just checked again and there aren’t any. They have the really thin disposable latex gloves, craft gloves, gardening gloves, winter gloves, etc. but no rubber gloves.
I also saw adult size rubber gloves with cute faces on them — but they aren’t for kid’s hands.
Anyway, if you have a link, I’d love to see them.
Thanks,
Evie says
I can’t find the ones I saw on Amazon anymore, Andrea, but I think these were the ones:
http://gloveables.com/kids/lil-helpers-gloves/pink-gove-with-cupcakes-cuff.html
(Note “pink-gove” spelling in link is correct)
Hope this helps.☺
Andrea says
thanks so much!! those are cute!
julie says
I’m a big fan of ordering our groceries online and then picking them up (as i think you are as well!). Not only do we save money this way (no impulse purchases), it also forces me to meal plan right down to the very last pea 🙂
More often than not, i’d have a rough meal plan started and figure that i’d be inspired once i got to the grocery store. Well, of course, that never happened and i’d be left scrambling at 5 to get something on the table with the random ingredients i had purchased.
Sooooo much better this way!
Kristin says
I agree!! HyVee Aisles is such a time saver. Plus I can see exactly what I have when I am ordering vs. having to call back home and ask if we have any garlic powder 🙂
Andrea says
I’ll be picking up my groceries tomorrow 🙂
Kaitlin @ The Mom on Purpose says
We also love breakfast for dinner for a quick meal! I “cook” in my crock pot about 3-4 days each week which I almost count as days off! 🙂 With little kids, quick and easy meals are a must!
Homevironment says
This meal planning is nice and is really helpful for those who tend to have busy lives. We are Indian vegetarians. So the meals in our house are very different. We just never have frozen meals. Leftovers yes, but those are only because they are left overs, not because we plan it that way. Having said that, I would like to emphasize, that even if we do not resort to freezer meals, making meals from scratch for us Indians is really just a matter of few minutes (30 minutes or so… ). Yes, if it is a big meal then it might take up an hour but that is only when we have guests. For lunch, we take veggies, and in the night, it is almost always lentils. along with Salad, Chutney(sausage), and Chapati(Flour Bread) / Rice. It is a complete meal and does not really take long to whip up one.
Btw, I am a long time reader of your blog now. Almost a year (I think more than that now). And I have loved every single post of yours. Kudos to you!!!!
Julieanna Scott says
I’m not sure if this was covered or not, but how do you freeze and defrost your baked goods?
Andrea says
Julieanna, here’s a post I wrote all about freezer cooking. There really aren’t any special instructions — just stick it in the freezer and pull it out again a few hours before you’re ready to bake/eat it.
Megan C. says
I do many of the same things as you. I try to prep a lot of my meat a head of time so I can pull out already cooked and shredded/chopped chicken for whatever dish I need. If I’m making something that would normally fit in a 9×13, I pull out two small rectangular pyrex dishes instead and split the meal into two dishes. I freeze one and we eat one for dinner. I LOVE my small pyrex dishes. I just took a friend a meal this week and used a frozen meal that i had previously made for her dinner since I ended up helping her out at her house quite a bit that day and couldn’t get home in time to cook her a meal.
susie says
I cook like you too! I would have never been able to write this blog though! Well thought out how you explaned it to people who don’t do this!
Olga's Flavor Factory says
Oh, wow! I love your system. I love organization and planning too; it’s absolutely sanity-saving:).
I do a combination of many things: freezer cooking, cooking a double amount in order to have leftovers for the next day, cooking a big portion of meat and cooking many different dishes with it, and also doing a lot of prep work ahead of time.
It seems people are busier today than ever, and by planning at least a small portion of our lives, we can simplify it to some degree. I loved all your tips:).
Amanda says
I cook similarly to you. I double many recipes and freeze half, and ~2 nights a week, we eat items from the freezer.
I also meal plan 2 weeks at a time – not for specific days, but I plan about 10 dinners. I also have some pantry/freezer staples that I can make a large variety of standby recipes, plus I plan in freezer night meals. Then, I go to the grocery and buy everything I need for those meals (on opposing weeks, I just run to the grocery for things like milk, bread, etc. that we go through faster than every 2 weeks – yes I could over buy, but when I buy all the food for our meals, it doesn’t leave a ton of extra space for that stuff). As we go through the meals, I can be really flexible about what meals are what night, and that includes what I do or don’t feel like eating, adapting to schedule changes, etc. We usually have one eat out night in there, and then we usually have a pizza night (I always keep a frozen pizza or dough and “fixings” around)
PW says
I cook like you do. Working long hours, long commutes we often don’t sit down to eat until 8:00 pm. If I get out of the kitchen by 7:30 I consider it a gift! On the weekends I often have my crockpot going and my pressure cooker going. For the 2 of us that can create easily 6 full meals. I will cook a chicken and maybe a soup or chili. Then during the week we have soup one night, maybe chicken with a veggie steamed and salad, and then take the chicken and make chicken enchiladas or make a big salad with chicken. I rarely cook during the week or I would be in kitchen until 9:30 making lunches and cleaning up. Rarely do we have sandwichs or breakfast for dinner. And we are gluten free so usually just a lean meat, like fish or chicken or lean beef and steamed veggie and salad. Often no starch. Some nights we aren’t hungry if we had meetings with big lunches. Rarely though. Being gluten free has cut out a lot of that eating out.I have a vacuum food sealer and that allows everything to stay fresh and last longer. And store easier in the freezer. By cooking ahead we don’t do take out’s or go out much. I also sous vide so it we decide to have steak I put in sous vide while I am gone during the day, then sear it in pan while veggies steam and I make salad, and a very good beef tenderloin like from the finest restaurant, low fat and cooked medium rare, all ready when I get home. We share one steak, more then enough.
Debby says
Thanks for the post. I organize my meals much like you. I worked part time for years and just recently went back to full time. I was determined not to eat up the extra cash in take out meals. I plan ahead, and always have breakfast items and quesidillas for backup. Like tonite, which was supposed to be chicken enchiladas but I forgot to cook the chicken while watching the Super Bowl! LOL
Tara says
Oh man, if I could eat the foods you can eat meal preparation would be so much easier! Everything looks delicious and so simple. Just the right amount of convenience. I’m working slowly on integrating our mostly vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free diet into a simple meal plan. I’m accruing recipes that we all enjoy, that are simple and will freeze well. It’s a whole different ballgame nowadays. Back when I could eat all that stuff cooking was so much more cut and dry. I do believe I will eventually get back into a groove though.
We just don’t have the fallback options like grilled cheese etc. so much since we don’t do dairy and any breads I make don’t often last long enough to have sitting around. I usually make a small loaf for a specific meal and have very little left over. I need to try to freeze my almond/coconut flour bread and see if it would hold up to pulling out of the freezer one slice at a time so we could at least do almond butter and jelly etc. for a fallback. That would really be fantastic. See, you’re inspiring me again as usual. 🙂
We emailed a bit ago and I told you I was using The House That Cleans Itself to purge, reorganize and restructure my entire house. I’m working through my home one “zone” at a time. I am 3 zones into the process and I am amazed at how it’s turning out. I’d love to share the before and after photos with you sometime. I think it meshes so nicely with your style. I use the HTCI techniques to help me decide what to keep/toss/donate and how to do it in a very efficient and quick way. Then I come to your blog for inspiration about organizational tools and containers, time management, etc. Between both I’m really starting to gain a lot of ground. Hooray! Thanks for the daily dose of inspiration.
Alyson says
Hi Tara We are vegan gluten free too and in addition to Andrea we use the simple veganista web site for food. I am so thankful for all of the simplicity tips from Andrea too!
Jessica says
This was a great post! I wonder if at some point you might share some of you favorite freezer-friendly recipes? Thanks!
Andrea says
Thanks Jessica! Almost every recipe on my site is freezer-friendly! You can also find lots more information about freezer cooking here.
Five4FiveMeals says
I love this! I think a lot of people get discouraged because they don’t have time to cook. But this shows it doesn’t matter when or how but that you get a home cooked meal on the table.
Theresa says
Our menu planning is much like yours. I’m so glad to see I’m doing it right 🙂
I utulize our freezer too. I LOVE being able to pull meals out of the freezer and pop em in the oven. We have certain things we eat on certain days. For example we have homemade pizza every other Friday night, and some sort of rice-based dish every week (hubby loves rice).
One other way I simplify meal time is to prepare ingredients ahead of time. I cook 5-10 pounds of burger at a time, I chop, cook, or marinate chicken, I cook the whole bag of rice, and throw some dried beans in the crockpot. I then freeze prepared foods in meal sized portions. So if we were having tacos for dinner, I pull out a bag of cooked burger, add tacos seasoning; pull out a bag of cooked rice, a bag of cooked beans, and add tomatoes and corn for Spanish rice. Makes me feel like Super Mom!
Thanks for outlining your menu process! I love reading your tips and tricks.
Amy says
With a young son at home (almost save age as your daughter) I find this article really helpful. We both work full-time out of the home and I am always looking for a way to make dinners simpler but still healthy. Do you know of a good website or have some good ideas on how to keep the snacks and desserts fresh in the freezer? Thanks!
Linda B says
Helpful ideas, and I think these would work for us, now that we have just 2 of us at home. When we had 6 of us, there were not often leftovers!
What I also do sometimes is cook a whole bunch of one type of meat (like chicken) all at once, then separate that into freezer bags, so at least I have ready-to-use meat.
But I do think I need a few more pans in order to make this work. I think I’ll start keeping my eyes out for more pans.
I would love to have some meals ready in the freezer!
Aa. says
I do the same thing: one day i grill chicken and then freeze it, other day i make stock and freeze it with chicken pieces, ready to use for soups or saucy meals. We also freeze meals, too, but I prefer frozen cooked meat now.
We also have a salad night, when we use whatever vegetables we have, hard boil eggs or feta, etc. It doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to make!
Linda says
Love this! This is sooo helpful! With 3 toddlers of my own, dinner is always the hardest part of the day for me! Thanks so much for sharing! For the frozen lasagna…do you just thaw it out the night before in the fridge and bake as normal?
Andrea says
Yes Linda, I always pull stuff out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge. If it’s still not totally defrosted by lunch time, I’ll just let it sit on the counter for a couple hours before dinner. And then bake as normal.
Lisa says
Exactly how many 13×9 pans do you have? Do you freeze your casserole-type items in the pans, then remove to a zipper bag or do you leave them in the freezer in the pans? I’m looking at your ideas and thinking I need to invest in some more!
Brenda says
I am always on the lookout for decent looking 9 inch and 9×13 pams at garage sales, thrift stores, or on really good sales. Most of them stack nicely and I figure you can never have too many. Also, then if you bring one somewhere and don’t get it back then it’s not a big deal. I freeze in the pan beacuse I usually forget to take it out of the pan after it is frozen; that’s why I started collecting pans…
Andrea says
Great question Lisa! I should have mentioned this in the post… shoot!
I have 3 9×13″ pans and 2 9×9″ pans, however when I freeze food, I actually line the pans with wax paper or aluminum foil. Then after the dish is frozen, I pull the foil/wax paper out and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or put it in a freezer bag (like the picture of my enchilladas in this post). That way, I still have all my baking dishes available but my freezer is stocked!
I do the same thing with baking too. I bake everything, then cut it up into individual servings, then freeze in in bags or food storage containers (not in the pans).
However, I also agree with some of the other comments that you might just want to keep an eye out for inexpensive 9×13″ pans at garage sales or thrift stores! Maybe I’ll have to do that too 🙂
Hope this helps.
Darlene says
I also love my Foodsaver. I can freeze things in them, and if I don’t take it out of the freezer the night before,I can just put it in the sink in cold water and it usually thaws in 15-20 minutes!
Jodi says
Great ideas. Thanks for sharing!