Dinner/grocery Shopping

I would recommend going to recipezaar.com, because there you can plug in ingredients that you like and it will generate recipes that use those foods. You can also sort recipes by prep time, health, etc. I use it all the time! If you'd like I can send you some recipes, though with not knowing exactually what you like it might just be best for you to cruise the website. Either way, let me know, I'm happy to help!

Best cookbook I can recommend is this one:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/468247.Express_Lane_Co...

It was a gift from my sister when I got my first apartment, and 15 years later I am still using it weekly. Many of my best recipes, fancy for company and my good 'ol standbyes are in here.

Each recipe uses 10 ingredients or less, most always 'primary' ingredients, not mixes and premade stuff, so no processed foods. There are at least a dozen recipes in here that I make regularly, and I still try new ones out as well. I just made Lemon Ginger Carrots this past weekend for a big family Easter dinner, and they were a smash hit!

When my 3 were under 4, I made index cards of each meal and listed the ingredients necessary. At the beginning of each week I would choose 7 cards, write down my shopping list and go. It took some time to set up, but it was so so easy once it was.
Good luck!

When I forget to take the meat out of the freezer, this is what I do (a tip I learned watching Food Network on tv): I put it, still in its package, in a sink of warm water. When the water grows cold, drain and refill. It takes approximately 15-30 minutes for the meat to thaw (depends on the thickness and quantity of the meat).

For staples that I keep around the house:
Whole Grain Pasta (spaghetti, shells, and macaroni)
Canned Beans (Red and Black)
Canned Corn
Canned Olives
Canned Mushrooms
Tomato Sauce
Frozen Broccoli
Frozen Peas
Lettuce
Eggs
Cheddar Cheese
American Cheese
Parmesan
Different kinds of Whole Grain/Wheat/Oatmeal Bread
Sliced Ham and Turkey (these I buy at a local bulk grocery store, Sams– it's a great price for the quantity)
Frozen Chicken
White Fish
Canned Tuna
Celery

For a quick pasta dish:
A small box of shells or macaroni (once the water boils, it only takes 7-9 minutes to cook)
Tomato Sauce
Red and Black Beans
Olives
Mushrooms
Corn
Cheese (as much or as little as you like)
Once the pasta is cooked, mix it all together in a pan and bake it in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350˚ F. This is so delicious, my husband loves it, and you can add any vegetable to it that you want– grated zucchini, broccoli, etc.

A chicken dinner:
Chicken thighs or breasts in a pan
Cover With:
Canned or Frozen Spinach (drained)
Olives (add these last three ingredients the last ten minutes of cooking)
pats of cream cheese
Sprinkle of parmesan
Bake according to the frozen/fresh chicken instructions.

A great Salad:
lettuce (your choice of what kind)
Canned Pears, sliced
Walnuts
Raspberry Vinaigrette

For nights when your kids have soccer practice, or you're running short on time, sandwiches always work great– little mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, 1-2 slices of cheese, and 1-2 slices of ham or turkey. Add sliced pickles or tomato according to your pleasure. Serve with a small side of cottage cheese and/or fruit, and you're good.

If you would like some other quick/delicious dinner ideas let me know!

God bless!
M. D

"Glorious One-Pot Meals" by Elizabeth Yarnell has been a life saver for me. It cooks meat, rice/ pasta and veggies in one pot and dinner's ready in less than an hour, with only 10-15 hands on time. It uses a Le Creuset dutch oven but you can also use less expensive ones sold at Target. I have hundred of cookbooks and this is the best one I've tried.

You can also try www.flylady.net. Not only does she have links for menu planning with shopping lists, but she also sets up an easy-to-follow plan to organize your household and even your life. Her site is free, the menus are not however as they are from www.savingdinner.com.

Another great resource is www.allrecipes.com , with lists of top 20 dishes rated by thousands of users, as well as a recipe search feature where you put in the ingredients you have and it pulls up a great recipe.

Oh boy, I hear ya!! I do the same thing! I always tell myself I'm going to sit down and plan meals.......but that doesn't always happen. If you can get yourself to organize that way, that's fabulous!!

However, even if you DO plan ahead, things happen. I LOVE the site, www.supercook.com - you type in or click on ingredients you have in the house and the site spits out recipes you can use with what you have. This has saved me many nights.

In addition to steamed veggies, we do salads a lot. I mix it up, sometimes using spinach, sometimes romaine or green leaf. You can change the salad ingredients to add variety. Cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, apples, strawberries, raisins, bacon or bacon bits, black olives, green olives, chick peas, sunflower seeds, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, goat cheese, mozzerela, celery, avocado, green onion ...all things we have put in our salads - not all at once of course!! LOL! Summer veggies are great on the grill, too! A little olive oil on asparagus and steamed on the grill gives it a different taste. Yummy! We do veggie packets on the grill with other things, too. Chop up your favorites, put them in a foil packet with some olive oil, salt and pepper and grill on medium to medium low. Hope this helps a little.

www.e-mealz.com - it's pretty awesome!! small fee, but weekly menus and shopping lists at the grocery store of your choice!

I remember hearing how much cheaper it was to plan meals for the month - yes month - and buy all the stuff I could in one trip, and then just the fresh stuff as needed (fruits, etc.) This lasted a couple of months, but it was like pulling teeth to get my husband to buy in and help with the meal planning (he cooks and/or helps cook too). I am fine eating the same thing every night, but he isn't. Finally, I put it on him. Usually, on Fridays, he will write on the white board what our menu is for the following week, taking any away from home or short nights into consideration. Like tacos if it is a night I will be home late, or an "I'm on my own" if he has a late meeting.

Then we go down that list and make the shopping list. Plus, we have a running shopping list throughout the week for the things we run out of - just a pad of paper on the counter.

Oh, and we had also had a "repertoire" list of meals that we liked, and made well to help us pick. We started this when we did the monthly list, but still keep it in mind as we do it weekly now.

;

One day per week, (usually Sunday) I sit down and make a menu for the whole week. Then, I make my grocery list based on that menu. I use several cookbooks and allrecipes.com to come up with different things so we don't end up eating the same things all of the time. I usually try to vary it and have chicken, pork, fish/seafood and maybe tacos or meatloaf or something so that we have a little of everything during the week. I also usually leave a night open for leftovers. I have found that, not only does this system help keep me organized, but it helps to keep my grocery bill down because I only go to the store once per week for everything I will need for the week. I also shop pretty strictly to my list so that I'm not buying random things that may or may not get eaten.

As for the frozen veggies...if you use this system, you can buy fresh veggies since you are fairly well certain they will be used within a few days time. This has worked really well for me and I highly recommend it. It is a little time intensive on the one day that you are making your meal plan, but then the rest of the week generally goes pretty smoothly. The other thing you can do that I have done also is to make some casseroles or other meals that can be frozen so that you always have something on hand that could be pulled out at the last minute and cooked. You can cook a casserole from frozen, you just have to cook it a lot longer, so if you forget to take it out, you can still use it! I also use my slow cooker about once per week. Throw everything in there in the morning, cook on low and then all you have to prepare is sides. I just stick the meat in the slow cooker frozen so that it can cook all day and not be overdone. Works great!

Hope you find a system that works for you.

There are a few things I do when it comes to planning weekly meals and grocery shopping.
1. We are on a budget, so I start by looking at the grocery store ads to see what specials they have on meats and produce. I like to use fresh food and make sure we have plenty of fruits and veggies for the week.
2. I buy meat in bulk at Costco for the month and freeze it. I usually get ground turkey, chicken breast, and seafood (either fish or shrimp). This way I have protein on hand at all times and can base meals on what is in the freezer.
3. I have recipe boxes on allrecipes.com and foodnetwork.com as well as a binder of recipes I've printed out from the internet and torn from Rachael Ray magazine. Once I have seen what is on special, I go through these recipes and try to find ones that use those ingredients or ones in which ingredients will repeat so I don't waste too much.
4. I have a magnetic notepad that has Sunday through Saturday, so I write down the meal for each day on the notepad including side dishes and veggies.
5. I then make my grocery list and make sure shopping is completed before Monday so that I can start cooking that day. I find that if I don't cook on Monday, then I don't feel like cooking Tuesday, etc....
So, that's my weekly planning. Right now I'm cooking for a small family, but am used to cooking for more so sometimes I freeze leftovers to use on busy nights or on weekends when I don't want to spend my time off in the kitchen. Finally, the more you can incorporate the veggies into the actual meal the better. One pot meals make for easier clean-up and steamed veggies do get boring. Also, we have a lot of salads since they are easy to throw together.
Hope that helps!

Peapod is my trick. You would think having your groceries delivered would be costly, but it actually saves me a great deal of money. It is SO much easier to plan meals when you can just get up and check what you have in your pantry. And Peapod separates their specials, so I can shop whats on sale. After I fill my online cart, I can go through and take out items that I dont really need, to keep my grocery order in my budget. No surprises at the checkout. And I can do it on my own time, while the kids are in bed. :)

I love the pioneerwomans recipes. You can google her. Her recipes are so yummy. And most of them are quick and easy. She takes pictures as she is preparing her food, so its step by step.
Good Luck!

I am in the exact same boat! I don't have an answer for you, but when you get one that works for you, let me know!

For vegetables, we incorporate lots of them into soups and stews in the winter and salads in the spring and summer. We also bake them into muffins (like zucchini muffins). For recipes, visit our blog, www.welcomingkitchen.blogspot.com.

You can go to Kraft.com for plenty of good, healthy, quick meals.

I like to pick a few meals ahead of time and then get staples like pasta, meat, sauce, frozen pizza, etc. for nights when we'll be in a hurry or when I come home and don't feel like cooking up a big meal.

Easiest way to do this is to come up with a menu the day before you go shopping and write down what you'll need from the menu. As the week goes by, check the menu to see which items you need to have prepped, thawed and ready for the upcoming day. You could have your kids come up with the menu by giving them a handful of recipes and having them pick 7 they would like for the upcoming week and let that be your menu or have them pick a few and you pick out the rest.

Also, supercook.com has a recipe finder based on ingredients that you have around the house. You put in what you have and it finds matches for you. This might help when nothing is coming to mind but you have several things in the pantry/fridge to use.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Ok, I am not a great planner either so I have no ideas for that, but as far as veggies, we love roasted veggies, throw whatever you have in a 13x9x2 or smaller (just remember they will cook down) with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and you can add other herbs if you like and roast on 450 for about 45 minutes. They will even last for about 4-5 days so you can make a lot on the weekend if you work and eat them again another night during the week with a quick rotissieri chicken or grilled chicken/pork/flank steak - they go with everything. I usually combine sweet onion, bell pepper, baby bella mushrooms, carrots and some kind of green veggie like brussel sprouts or asparagus. They are easy and go far.

I have always made a weekly grocery list and planned meals for the week ahead. I do subscribe to recipe magazines and have quite a few cookbooks. I like the Taste of Home magazine a lot. I also tend to watch Food Network and get recipes from their website. I find a lot of Melissa D'Arabian's recipes to be simple enough and family friendly. Do you have a crockpot? Great for those busy days when you'll be running the kids around after school/work (my dinner is in there right now).
A fun thing a number of years back was to give out 5 index cards to each of us (hubby, myself, daughter and son) and have each person write their 5 favorite dishes, one on each index card and they could include any sides they liked with that dish if they wanted. There were a few duplicates so I had them pick something else and then I had a list of 20 favorite dinners.
I like roasting veggies in the oven, high temperature with some olive oil and herbs. I also like to make salsas out of different veggies/fruits as sauces for chicken, fish, etc.

We have a master list of meals along with their ingredients.

Once a week (usually on Saturday) we make a master grocery list of needed items (my husband calls them out and I check the cabinets/fridge) matched with meals we plan to eat during the next week. We also have household staples included in the master list.

Since I detest grocery shopping (!) my husband then goes out and buys all the stuff - usually from Walmart and then Whole Foods (specialty items that we need). Our boys help carry it all into the house.

My job is to put all the stuff away when he gets home (usually while he's gone I clean out the fridge).

Groceries and meal prep/planning used to be nuts in our house. I really "bucked" my husband when he wanted to start this system but I finally gave in. Now I LOVE it. It will take so much pressure off you and your family will eat better too (and save alot of $$$ from not running out for food constantly).

Good luck.

PS: Thanks for asking this because I loved many of the other moms' suggestions! Also, think about a slow cooker for those sports nights! I love mine.

There is a book I like called Frozen Assets, where you cook for one day and have stuff frozen to last a month. There are a ton of recipes, you can also do it for two weeks if you don't have a deep freezer. Best of luck.

I have a dry erase board and on Saturday we put what we're having for dinner each night of the week, then Sunday we grocery shop for that menu. It makes it easier for me to stick to.

My favorite dishes are quick and easy pasta dishes. There is an endless supply of great pasta recipes that you can cook from scratch in about 20 minutes. When I have stuff in the fridge that needs to be used up, I usually go to google and type in pasta with ... (whatever is in the fridge) and it comes up with some good search results.
There are some things, that I always have around to make sure there is something I can cook. They are: Pasta, rice, onions and garlic, grated parmesan cheese, half and half, crushed tomatoes, frozen mixed veggies and tofu. With these items around you can always throw together a quick 'n' easy dinner. I also try to have some salad in the fridge. We don't eat meat, but chicken breast is usually a good addition to many of the pasta dishes.
Risotto with veggies is a quick dinner that is much yummier than white rice and steamed veggies. There are many risotto recipes online. The "real" risotto rice is very expensive, but I have started to use "Pearl Rice" instead. It has almost the same consistency and costs much less.
I try to make a meal plan and a list before I go shopping. When I don't have ideas I go to some of the recipe websites to come up with ideas. My favorite is www.allrecipes.com and the food network website. Having a meal plan and a list really helps speed up the shopping and I think it also saves money because you don't end up buying a whole bunch of stuff that you don't need.
I hope this helps a little.

Hi L. -

You've received a ton of good responses already, so I'll keep mine brief.

1. You have to make a plan (I think you know that already!). Pick one or two recipes that you want to cook during the week and go shopping for those ingredients.
2. Eat leftovers for lunch or dinner the next night or when you have to bring the kids to soccer practice.
3. Another idea for soccer practice night is to have an appetizer dinner. Pack up some cut up veggies, hummus, cheese slices, whole grain crackers, grapes (pref. organic!), olives, etc...
4. With warmer weather arriving, you can start grilling vegetables or eating them raw in a salad or with a dip. You can throw greens like spinach or swiss chard into a blender w/ some fruit and yogurt and whip up a green smoothie.

Those are just a few ideas. I 've posted some smoothie recipes and one-bowl "mix-in" meals on my website, if you want to take a look: http://www.purewellnessamy.com

Best~
A.

I would love to have some new recipes too... please share any great ones you receive.

Thank you

"Saving Dinner" by Leanne Ely has weekly shopping lists and everything. Easy, easy, easy

I didn't read through all the answers. But here's what I did...I went online and printed up a free meal planning template. You can google them and use whatever one will work. Then I came up with meal categories (mine are fish, pasta/rice, leftovers, pizza, wildcard). Then assign each category to a day of the week. For instance, Sundays are fish days, and Fridays are always pizza days. Thursdays are always leftover days. Do what will work with your famiIy's schedule and preferences. I had to tweak both the categories and the days a few times to see what worked. Then, come up with four meals in each category. For example, for pasta/rice night, you might come up with spaghetti, fettucine alfredo, etc., etc. Once you have your meal ideas, just plug them into the days of the week and you have a month's worth of meals. I keep the planner sheets in a binder, so my subsequent months are even easier to plan--I look back at previous months to see what we really liked, and what we haven't eaten in awhile. I also keep new recipes I'd like to try in that binder, as well as recipes I make over and over. Does this all make sense? Send me a message if not. Good luck--it's so much easier this way. P.S. For leftover night, what worked for me was just making extra on Wednesday for us to eat on Thursday. Sometimes if I'm really feeling lazy, I just cook twice--on Monday and Wednesday, to feed us M-Th!!!