I don’t know about you, but when it comes to making dinner, oftentimes I find myself standing in front of our refrigerator or pantry drawing a blank. I have a zillion cookbooks and access to a zillion more recipes on the internet but coming up with a meal seems like a trip to the dentist for a root canal.
For a while I was using recipes from Kraft Foods and their free magazine “Food and Family.” If you sign up on the website and make an online “recipe box” the site will put together a shopping list for you. The recipes are pretty good and because they use many pre-packaged ingredients (e.g., Stove Top Stuffing), they are usually quick to make.
I’m trying a new approach to meals this month. I’m a big fan of FlyLady.net and one of her “sister sites” is SavingDinner.com. There are several services available at SavingDinner.com including receiving a weekly menu and shopping list. I decided to try one of the new Mega-Meal Menus from which I pre-assembled 22 meals (the ingredients are not pre-cooked) and froze them. Each week, I’m choosing which ones we will eat that week and there may be a few fresh ingredients to buy to complete the meals (e.g., fresh fruit).
Shopping for the meals wasn’t hard as there are shopping lists included and I was able to cross of the things already in my cupboard (e.g., spices, condiments, etc.) For the 22 meals which can serve 4 people my grocery bill was about $165. Granted, I’ve had to buy some side dishes and fresh ingredients each week as well but I believe we’ll be coming in at around our normal food budget if not less. We’ll have to see how it works out over the next few weeks.
According to a survey conducted for the Pork Information Bureau by Impulse Research Corporation, Americans make the same meal 3.4 times per month. I know I’ve fallen into that rut myself. (I think even Randy is tiring of my homemade macaroni and cheese) Just having these frozen meals at hand has significantly decreased the level of stress at dinner time as well as given us something interesting to eat for once. Instead of making a 13”x9” pan of something which we’d have to eat for a week, we get a couple of meals (we eat lunch at home as well) out of the recipes and if we don’t care for that recipe as much, we don’t have to suffer through polishing it off. Last night we had Ginger Chicken Breasts with Chinese Coleslaw which was wonderful. Tonight’s dinner is Crock Pot Beef and Peppers which we’ll have with baked potatoes and a vegetable.
There is a new “Super Suppers” going in to a strip mall in the northern part of Charlottesville where you can basically do the same thing of pre-assembling your meals except that they provide all the ingredients and chop everything for you. I’ve had friends who have been to similar places and have really liked the convenience and the fun of it since most would go in groups and make it a social event as well. When Super Suppers opens, I’ll have to check it out.
Bon appétit!
People who have touched my pregnant belly without permission:
Friends: 10
Strangers: 5