Thursday, October 11, 2007

Controlling the Chaos



Make Ahead Meals
One way to control the chaos around our home is to prepare meals ahead.
When I am going to brown hamburger instead of just browning one skillet worth
I brown 2 or 3 or 4 skillets of burger.
My thought is why mess the oven up twice
Or why have a big pile of dishes 2 or 3 extra times.
Plus I am already standing there spending my time browning up one skillet
why not brown up more and then have more meals prepared ahead.
Meals that I make with my browned hamburger are :
BBQ's, tacos, spaghetti meat, chili, meat for pizza, and hot dishes.
If it isn't something that we are going to eat right away that week I just freeze it.

I sure do have a mess in the kitchen but it is so worth it.
It saves me lots of time later.
On busy days all I have to do is pull out my frozen BBQ meat
and then add a veggie to it and make some french fries.
OR
Pull out my spaghetti meat and then all that I have to do
is boil up some noodles and add a veggie.
OR
Grab chili out of the freezer and add a few extras to the meal.
OR
the frozen hamburger can also be used for lazagna or hotdishes.

This is one of the ways that I control the chaos around our home.
This works for me.
Now I don't do this all the time...maybe once a month or so.
It sure helps when you in a pinch.

What type of meals do you make when you are busy and on the go?



8 comments:

Heidi Jo Comes said...

ya know it's little things like that, that NEVER just pop into my head to do~ kind of makes me wonder if i was not cut out for this mother-hood domesticity role....

great suggestion and i think i'll do just that next time i'm browning hamburger!

Nancy B said...

I actually do the hamburger thing, but not a lot else. It's a great way to save time(heidi~ lol!).

My one other thing I do each week is cut up all the veggies for the week and put in baggies- like chopped for soup, or sliced to cook~ whatever. I hate having to cut them up the day of.

And if I ever make homemade lasagne (only happens once or twice a year) I always double the recipe- and sometimes triple, and then freeze the others for later use.

Dawnelle

kdwhorses said...

I would say the kids favorite meal in a pinch is homemade pizza. Make the crust and then clean out the frig and load it high! I do the hamburger thing at times. Or I will do the same with chicken and use later in the week. It does save time. Thanks for the great reminders!

Anonymous said...

I do the hamburger thing sometimes too. I just have to remember to not do it with the hamburger that I thawed out unless I am going to use it all. (You know that "never freeze twice" rule.) I do chicken breasts the same way too.

Anna said...

Good suggestions!

Short Stop said...

You're so right, Lori! Make ahead meals sure do help with the craziness of our days. I love having things I can just pull out of the freezer.

Momma Roar said...

I never thought to do this with hamburger, but I do it with chicken. I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot and then divide up the meat and freeze. A quick and easy pull - just like you said! I'll have to do this with my ground beef now too!

Lynda said...

http://domestichousewives.blogspot.com/

I am getting ready to stock my freezer with these recipes. I am due in January, so I want to have my freezer stocked before christmas. I know it will be hard for me to try and get dinner on the table with 2 kids running around and an infant in my arms. Just trying to make it easier on my husband to get it on the table. Keep the recipes coming!