Cook Ahead Dinner

I know this whole "cooking ahead" idea is not a new one, but I 've never really jumped on the band wagon until now. Now, I don't care to cook and freeze a month of meals all at once...partly because I don't have that big of a chunk of time, and partly because I might want to change it up and not be so tied to what I've made. So, I decided to try this out. I made four days of meals (or parts of the meal) in one evening as I made dinner.

Here was my menu:
1. The night I cooked, I made homemade pizza
2. Beef Stroganoff- I made just the beef mixture and froze it so I could thaw and make noodles quickly
3. Soup- just some simple beef and veggie soup, all prepared, just need to add water and cook
4. Mini cornbread casseroles- cornbread mix prepared, cooked ground beef, cheese, corn- made these to go with my beans in the crockpot

I cooked all my hamburger at the same time and just put together some of the meals and voila, it was ready! I have found myself doing this a lot when I do a chicken in the crockpot, too. I plan my meals so I have the meat prepared and can add it to the recipe. It takes a little planning, but it can be done! It makes meal time much more streamlined which is especially helpful when you have little ones like I do, who aren't too patient for their dinner! 

I haven't forgotten.....stay tuned!

It's been a crazy summer! We've had lots of fun here and it's now time to get back in the swing of things. I will be back to posting some recipes I've tried and some other fun stuff soon, so stay tuned!