Making meals ahead of time

Howdy Y'all!!

So last week we talked about planning our meals before we go to the grocery store to help prevent buying junk food! Well here is another money saving technique I found that works for busy people!

So you have planned your meals for the week and have already bought the ingredients to make these meals. By this time your probably tired and just want to put the food away and relax. But remember, all that meat you just bought is defrosted and if you throw it into the freezer your going to have to defrost later on in the week for the meal you have planned. This takes time which means you will have to take more time later that you could be relaxing to prepare something you could have ahead of time.

My family goes grocery shopping on the weekend. Sometimes I go by myself around 8 or 9 so I do not have to carry the baby around and I can have time the rest of the day to spend with my family. That being said sometimes we go on Sunday after lunch to make it a family trip. As soon as we get back from the grocery store I make sure to go ahead and divide all the meat into the portion sizes I need for each meal.

This makes it easier to defrost and I do not have to worry about getting the cutting board dirty every day due to cutting raw meat. I typically do this for days that we are really busy or if its late in the evening. It isn't to extreme but it helps with the meals later on in the week with killing time. Its easier to defrost a lb of beef rather than 5lbs when I only need a lb.

For days I have more time or the energy I go ahead and make all or most of the meals for the week. I will cut up the meat I need and set them aside in the fridge while I prepare each meal. I like to keep meals that need to be cooked at the same temperature together so that I can just leave the meal on and go from there. There are some meals I cook ahead of time so that even if I am having a busy day or not feeling well my husband can put in the oven and just warm it back up.

Pasta and softer dishes I do not cook ahead of time because when you reheat them you run into the chances of making them hard or over cooking. Crockpot meals or stews I put the ingredients together into an air tight container and place in the fridge or freezer depending on how soon I am going to make the meal. This is so it limits the space needed as well as makes it easier to grab what I need instead of hunting for each individual item.

If I am making tacos or anything that just requires cooked meat I will go ahead and cook that. I find it easier to already have the ground beef cooked and just add the sloppy joe or taco seasoning to the ground beef later on. Same with baked chicken. If I am making chicken Alfredo I bake the chicken ahead of time and then when I go to cook the Alfredo I am ready to just throw the meat in without the worry of over cooking the pasta.

Think of the time you will save if you go ahead and prepare or cook all your meals when you have the free time. You do not have to do it as soon as you get home from grocery store. You can do it when ever you have free time.


Thank you for reading and let me know if you have any other suggestions or questions comment below!