Welcome to the Kitchen

This question used to strike terror into my soul. Usually, this question was posed about an hour before dinner would be served. I did not have a clue what to have for dinner! On most days, I would have forgotten to take anything out of the freezer. So off to a fast food place we would go again. This was not too terrible before we had children, and even after we had one or two children. But fast food is definitely too expensive for a family with four growing children. It is also not healthy eating.

          

About a year ago, my dear husband confronted me with the fact that our budget and our health would not allow this type of meal planning, or lack thereof, to continue. I knew he was right, so I had to get organized. I gathered the entire family together and asked them what they liked to eat for supper. Each of us had a different favorite meal. That was great, it took care of one week of meals, allowing for one day of eating leftovers. I thought it was so easy to plan for meals. After one month of eating a rotating meal plan of only six meals, they revolted. Yes, we had saved money, and I had saved time, but we were sick of the same stuff all the time.

      

It was about this time I saw the cookbook Once a Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. The concept was very workable for our family. I was able to use my two older daughters as assistants. They learned to chop onions, brown ground beef, debone chicken and grate cheese. They also learned how to clean up after cooking. However, some of the recipes in the book just didn't suit our tastes. We have continued the Once a Month Cooking in concept, adapting my own recipes to the method. Another handy tip I use is to make two dishes of whatever I plan on serving for dinner. One dish is for supper that night, the other is for the freezer. This has come in handy on days when things get hectic and for when I take a meal to someone in need.

I went a step further from my weekly meal plan, also. I have put together six weeks worth of meals. Every week we have our homemade pizzas on Friday nights and I don't cook on Sundays (it is a leftover day), so the total number of recipes is actually 31. I don't necessariy have the money to buy all of the food for six weeks of food at one time. I usually go grocery shopping once a week. I take advantage of what the local grocery stores have on sale and buy in bulk if I can. Then I will plan meals for the week accordingly, crossing that choice off of the master meal planning list. By the end of a six week period, I am ready to start rotating through the master meal planning list again. I love to read recipe books, and have found a lot of good recipes on the internet. I like to put those into the master meal planning list on occasion, just for a change of pace. But some of my recipes are family standards that I simply must serve on a regular basis.

      

Now when I hear the question "What's for dinner?", I no longer cringe. I just look at what is on my list and what is in the freezer. I always have an easy answer. Now, if only I could get my children to eat the vegetables!

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