monday night:
the family was not very hungry, so we just had...
steamed brown rice
green beans
apple sauce
mandarin oranges (yes, from a can...shhh)
tuesday night:
curry beef with rice (crock pot style-ground beef/turkey, cumin, curry, brown sugar, sour cream, milk, onion, and garlic)
steamed artichokes
wednesday night:
one of my favorites as a kid-mom's recipe
chicken with rice (chicken, rice, cream of mushroom soup, onion soup dry mix, chicken broth)
veggies (a must every night!)
apple sauce
thursday night:
either we will have left overs from wednesday night or i will defrost the spaghetti sauce and noodles i made last week and i'll make a spaghetti casserole
friday night:
ooh-la-la....we always treat ourselves and go out to a restaurant or fast food type dinner
saturday night:
barbecue chicken sandwiches (crock pot style)
veggies
baked beans or pinto beans
salad
chocolate pudding for dessert
sunday night:
chili with rice
veggies
corn bread or biscuits
TIPS to SURVIVING BEING a
WORKING MOM while in the KITCHEN:
through much frustration over the last few years of spending too much time in the kitchen and not enough time with my family, i came to the conclusion i need to find ways to save money and be more productive (and use some creativity) when planning meals for my family. i have been more determined to use my days "off" (mondays and tuesdays) more productively. these are a few ideas i came up with. they aren't big life-changing "wow, i've never heard that one before" ideas, but they have saved me from completely freaking out many nights. i hope some of these help!
i made a huge pot of spaghetti and sauce a week ago and divided the left overs into two containers and froze. defrost and put in the oven to warm up with some sprinkled cheese on top and viola! a meal already complete.
TIP #2: meal swap with a friend or neighbor!
my dear friend becky and i swap meals once a week. i cook two batches on monday and take one to her family to enjoy and she reciprocates on wednesdays (it is so nice to come home from work and know that she is bringing us dinner that night)
TIP #3: don't be afraid to use frozen meals once in awhile (there are some healthy frozen meals, such as chicken sandwiches from costco-add fresh lettuce, tomato, and mayo and a salad or side dish and you have a good meal)
TIP #4: buy in bulk or when on sale...
this way you will have food on hand (staples) to make meals a bit easier...such as chili and rice or chili stackers (crunched up chips, chili, cheese-not the healthiest, but it is fast, cheap, and good)
TIP #5: rotate your meals
unless your family is really picky...don't be afraid to do the same meals each week, or with a little variation (taco tuesday, spaghetti wednesdays, thai chicken thursdays, etc...you get the idea). this way, you don't have to create some new meal every single night, every single week. it can be hard to plan out healthy meals for your family. why not just stick with what works for a few weeks and then shake it up the last two weeks of the month. "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
TIP #6: find the nearest little ceasar's pizza (haha, you laugh, but i am totally serious)
little ceasar's pizza has cheese or pepperoni "hot and ready" pizzas for $5-- a life saver for tiring days-i HEART this one big time!
TIP #7: do some research on restaurants
find the local restaurants that may have deals for kids eating free or half off with an adult's meal. this way, if you want to go out, you can still save some money and not worry about kitchen clean up afterward (most of the time my kids don't eat all there meal anyway)
i am sure there are more...let me know what you do to save time and money...
No comments :
Post a Comment