When grocery day used to come, it would be the day of trashing perfectly good food that would have been perfectly delicious if I ever would have gotten around to cooking it. This week we threw away a little celery and some hard boiled eggs for the entire week of wasted food. If I questioned if making the food ahead was worth the effort, this helped me understand LOUD AND CLEAR that this family needs this to save money and waste less.
We also did not eat out this week (other than a work engagement my husband had) so that is two weeks in a row that I have felt more in control of our family finances.
That is NOT to say that I did not drag my feet this week. This takes a ton of effort and I started this incredible book and it pained me every minute I was away from it. The reward though is that I will have loads more time to read this week with ZERO guilt because I am ahead of the game this week.
I’d love to hear if you tried anything from our make-ahead ideas or what your favorite make-ahead dish is. I am sure I am going to be needing some new recipes soon!
Approximate Time for Preparation- 4 hours plus clean-up!
The MomAdvice Make-Ahead
Homemade Pizza Sauce (double batched- popped one in the freezer)
Pizza Dough (I bagged the dry ingredients for my homemade pizza)
Roasted Chicken (NEW TUTORIAL!! for salads & wraps)
Blueberries & Strawberries
Brown Rice (four cups)
Slow Cooker Stuffed Green Pepper Soup
Cantaloupe
Baked Hard Boiled Eggs
Chicken Enchiladas (stored sauce in a separate container)
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches
Brussels Sprouts (trimmed)- to be made into Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Sliced Mushrooms & Green Beans (trimmed & stored in separate bags)- planning to roast them like this
Broccoli- to make into Microwave Lemony Broccoli
Slow Cooker Chicken Italiano
Chopped Carrots & Celery (I store these in water)
Green Smoothie Packets (I use this recipe and froze the strawberries, bananas, and spinach in packets for the morning. This week I added some blueberries that were on sale!)
Meal Plan
Breakfasts- Green Smoothies or Hard Boiled Eggs & Fresh Fruit
Lunches- Leftovers or Hard Boiled Eggs, Veggies, & Fresh Fruit, or Stuffed Green Pepper Soup with Salads
Dinners-
Monday- Roasted Chicken Wraps With Broccoli or Salads (Topped With Berries, Balsamic Dressing, Slivered Almonds, & Chicken)
Tuesday- Chicken Enchiladas, Brown Rice, & Tortilla Chips with Salsa
Wednesday- Italian Beef Sandwiches on Hoagie Rolls with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Fresh Fruit
Thursday- Chicken Italiano served over Brown Rice Pasta with Balsamic Roasted Green Beans & Mushrooms & Fresh Fruit
Friday- Homemade Pizza Night
Saturday- SAYSFN (Seek and Ye Shall Find Night)
Sunday- SAYSFN (Seek and Ye Shall Find Night)
No more cooking for this girl ALL WEEK- YAY!! Happy Monday, friends!! xo