OtherKim,

Was thinking about you and your flylady stuff this week/weekend...forever since MB blew up...

I was watching Wa$ted last week and they informed a couple that relied on preprocessed foods heavily to make menus so that when they did their shopping 1. they could prepare their foods themselves and 2. saving on packaging waste and $$ (plus, it's better for you, health wise).

I used to do this fanatically, so Thursday, since MB was down and I was bored, bored bored at work, I got my handy dandy notebook, some back and current issues of Rachel Ray mag and made my lists.

I kid you not, I saved (scroll down)



A

HUNDRED

AND

FORTY

FREAKING

DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Compared to the previous shopping excursion. Granted, we only shop in 2 week incriments, so our bills are naturally higher than a family's that shopped weekly...but still! This was STILL buying all organics (which are usually higher), and mostly local also more $$, AND all the normal biodegradable cleaning stuff/paper products - also higher in $! We also bought the Halloween goodies, so that was even extra added on that wouldn't usually have been.

The Wookie is astounded. He knew we saved, but he shops with me now, so now he actually SAW the difference.

And you know what REALLY is cool, besides all that stuff? I have two weeks worth of dinners with EVERYTHING I need for them planned out. All I do in the morning is look and see what's left on the menu that I've not made and decide what I'm in the mood for...easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy come dinner time!

I love it! I've actually been thinking about doing that, too, now that D19 is away at college. (sorry, kid)

And my mom gave me a vegetarian cookbook last week, so I've been thinking about setting up some menus to go along with that cookbook. Even bought some fresh vegetables to get started. I'm so excited!

On a similar note, someone brought to work a whole pile full of baked things - mini loaves, etc. Looks like someone just bought a breadmaker.

I've been meaning to find mine.

And my H has been wanting me to get involved with the Youth Group at church that he co-chairs, and I'm not really into that stuff, but I was thinking that I might start to set up cooking classes for them once every couple months, to learn along with me. Honestly, how many kids out there know how to do more than make spaghetti?

I use my bread maker about 3-4 times a week. One of the recipes from RR mag called for a round bread...well, all they have here is white rounds made with enriched/bleached flour...I don't do enriched or bleached anything but my socks now.

So I made my own loaf. We also have build your own pizza night at least once every 2 weeks.

Dealan-De,

How about you share some of your recipies / shopping lists? Single dad, working 50-55 hours per week, I'm a little stressed for time and exWW and I were never big cookers (exWW destroyed one of our nice wedding gift saucepans making popcorn)

For us domestically challenged folks, how about some things that are quick, easy, and tasty?

ANYONE CAN JOIN IN!

My husband's No. 1, favorite meal of all time...and the easiest.

One package of noodles.
One can of cream of mushroom soup and one can of water.
One small can of sliced mushrooms.
One pound of ground beef.

Mix all together, put in casserole dish (or crockpot so you can leave it going all day), and bake for an hour at 350.

Voila!

Hi guys! I've missed you! And man, I wish I could be so organized with the food! BabySteps... I'll get there. In the meantime, here's an easy recipe for the overworked.

In a crockpot, dump all of the following that you like. You can do this before bed and set the whole thing in the fridge, or do it in the morning.

[list]
[*]a couple of frozen chicken breasts
[*]a couple of inches of water in the bottom
[*]a bay leaf
[*]some basil
[*]salt to taste (start with a teaspoon and salt later)
[*]an onion (peeled and cut in quarters)
[*]some carrots
[*]frozen peas
[*]a celery stalk (blech)

Turn it on before work, and then when you get home (it will smell awesome!), stir it and the chicken will kind of fall apart into chunks. Dump in a package of wide egg noodles and some more water. Egg noodles usually take under ten minutes to cook, but you'll also have to wait for the added water to heat up, so check them after 20-30 minutes.

lol, my husband has admitted that his #1 seduction is to smell sauteed onions on returning home from work.

No lie. I try to include it in everything now.

CP - one of my favorite aunts always says that if you want people to think you've slaved in the kitchen all day, saute some garlic and onion.

PSUBiker,

Here's one of my favorite websites - I linked it directly to the kid friendly section:

Rachel Ray Kid Friendly

There is also a 30 min. meal section.

Here's some favorite recipes from RR - some from the show, some from the mag:

Dinner Chili Cheese Fries (the Wookie's FAVORITE)

Cheesesteak stuffed garlic bread - made it last weekend

Cure a Cold Chicken Soup - made it last week

Quesadilla casserole
(I made this last week, but I made my own taco meat using ground turkey hamburger and added it too)

Salmon Pasta with Poppy and Dill
(The kids were not overly fond of it - truthfully, I have a hard time getting them to eat ANY fish besides fish sticks - but the Wookie and I loved it)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
I'm throwin that one in cos DAYUM these are good! They NEVER last long!

Great thread. I've been waiting half an hour for that pumpkin whoopie pie recipe to load from the site, so they MUST be good!

Haven't tried this but it looks easy and yummy for a no-meat meal:

Cappellini Caprese

This week I found London Broil in big packs for $1.77 a pound. That works out to $3-4 for a nice piece of steak that will take us for a one or two meals and a lunch sandwich or two. I bought 6 and will freeze 4 of them for later. I do a lot of bulk buying and freezing. If you freeze with a marinade the cooking is really easy.

DS15 likes Honey Glazed Carrots and they are easy:

1 pound Sliced Carrots or peeled baby carrots
2 cups water
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey (if you don't have honey, brown sugar or even pancake syrup will work)

Boil on stovetop until carrots are tender and liquid is somewhat reduced (20 minutes?) Careful not to scorch the glaze!

Do you have a crock pot? You can put on a pot roast w/ veggies (small can of corn, chop some potatoes, carrots, a seasoning packet, water), put it on low and go off to work you go...same with chili or stew. You can chop any vegetables the night before. Put a little extra water since you won't be around to stir. I love Costco. They have plenty of freshly, pre-made dinners ready to pop in the oven. They have a bucket of chicken salad which goes great on their crossiants. Add some fruit and a salad and you'll be good to go. The rotissiere chickens are easy to find at many places. Add a vegetable and a starch and you have a complete meal.

Crock pots and rice cookers are your friends, PSUB.

Menu/shopping list made!

Here's what we're having:

Chicken with sundried tomatoes (Oct. issue page 14)
Pomegranet Chicken (Oct, pg. 69)
Breaded Pork and mozerella stacks (Oct. pg. 124)
Beef and Cheddar Potato Pie (Nov. 23)
Rice fritters w/spinach (Nov. 67)
Brisket (my own recipe - smoked all day Saturday)
Brisket sammies w/ leftovers
Creamed Chicken w/ gnocchi (Nov. 68)
BLT Creamy Mac N Cheese (Nov. 105)
Crunchy chicken (my own recipe - instead of shake n bake, I use stuffing mix bread crumbs that are mushed up into a powder and baked)

Hmm, is the site going to let me post without hanging? I'll just do this for a quick test before I put any time into a thoughtful dinner ideas post complete with links!

OrgJunkie Menu Plan Monday ! I love, love this site for menu planning. Over 300 links posted today! Now the trick is just sticking with the menu...

I LOVE IT ALICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I found is not to assign a specific meal to a specific day. I plan out 14 meals - and pick which one I'm in the mood for. It's helped with sticking to the menu a lot!

Oh....and the Rice Fritters were DA BOMB!