New cooking routines
April 8, 2010
I’ve started meal planning for lunches and dinners through the week with the goal of not eating out more than twice a week (if that). Expensed and catered meals don’t count, but I don’t plan on having too many of those.
So far, I’m scheduled to cook every other day and plan to make enough to package up lunch servings for either the next day or day after. That way I cut cook times in half, and don’t have to scramble for the next round of meals. As long as I don’t miss a cook day, the rolling menu should work pretty well.
Crockpot meals should be good for freezing ahead, too.
Breakfasts are simple. A couple eggs with green onions or a bit of oatmeal with a handful of walnuts is the most I can handle that early in the morning. Fruit is packed for a mid-morning snack, and so does a bar of some sort. (I LOVE Lemon Zest LunaBars.)
Roasted chicken (yields 2-4 meals depending on the size of the chicken).
Balsamic chicken (yields 2-3 servings) — Modified this recipe by using much less balsamic vinegar.
And lemon garlic chicken — this recipe with maybe a few less lemons.
By cooking at home, I should be bringing meal costs down to around $5 or less, including a veggie and carb side.Ā I like brown rice best, but breads, pastas and quinoa are welcome additions to my plate.
I do love cooking with the slow cooker. Just dump all the ingredients into the pot in the morning & come home at night to a fragrant house & dinner.
Roast chickens are good for several meals. I can never make it as cheaply or good as Costco. Since we live within 2 miles of one we just pop in and pick one up when needed.
I am visual person and the roasted chicken made my mouth water. This will be my weekend project. To save even more, the commissary has been running a special on whole chickens, so I am coming out well ahead of the game.
I am totally digging your new cooking routines. I myself have been debating doing a bacth cooking day perhaps to help get ready for the week. I am digging your chicken too!
Great post! I find roast chickens are such an economical way to save time & money!
I wish I could eat eggs, your breakfast sounds very yummy!
I’ve never roasted an entire chicken before! Maybe that can be changed this weekend…. š
@Jersey Mom: It’s sort of dumb but I still have trouble with crockpotting. I love the idea, but it hasn’t been as easy as it should be. More practice!
@Bucksome: When you can get the chicken for around 70 cents a pound, it’s cheaper than Costco, but only if you’re using other inexpensive ingredients as well.
@Serendipity: I’m working my way toward batch cooking, I just don’t have enough time in a day to do more than one recipe.
@frugaltrenches: I haven’t been doing the eggs as frequently as I planned, more fruit in the morning now.
@aspiringminimalist: let me know if you do!
Mmm that chicken looks fantastic. I’m also going to suggest a slow cooker – so easy. I also love your idea of making enough to have lunch the next day – I do this as well and it is SUCH a timesaver!!!
I hope that you do a post about the crockpot meals soon! I still have yet to experiment with the crockpot myself.
@Rina: Just after I said that I cook extra, I went and cooked half my usual quinoa recipe. Because I was worried about leftovers. Uh, duh? š
@fallingintofavor: As soon as I figure out a good one!