How do you manage food with a crazy schedule?

Another easy thing - make meatballs. I just buy italian sausage and ground beef, mix together, form meatballs, and then freeze them on a cookie tray. When frozen, put in a freezer bag. Then, you just need to take out what you need. They cook super fast...can be done by the time your noodles are done.

We like to cook them in sauce (jar or homemade), and then I throw them on toasted hot dog buns, toss some provolone on top, and broil really quick. Throw banana peppers on top and serve with a salad. Voila!

Today I have a pork roast in the CP. Has garlic powder, lime juice, onion powder, cumin, and I threw the last of a HVR packet in there, too. A tiny bit of chicken stock, as well. Cook all day, shred, throw on tortillas with the rest of the shredded cabbage and brussel sprouts, some cheese, and the last of my tomatoes. We have to be out the door in under an hour tonight (so have to fit homework, dinner, showers, and cleaning into that hour), so this will fit the bill!
 
It seems that two things keep people from eating at home- no time to cook or nothing to cook that sounds appealing.

For the first, come up with a list of simple things that your family likes. I mentioned a few upthread that my family likes. Some people mention variety as an issue but really, are you getting variety when you pick up fast food?

For the second, don't try to cut you food budget too low. For us, salmon and some steamed or roasted veggies is cheaper and healthier than eating out but it isn't cheap. When we have sandwiches, it's on artisan bread from the bakery and high quality deli meat. HEB will steam shrimp for you. A meal of steamed shrimp with a salad and fresh fruit is a favorite. It's quick and healthy and cheaper than eating out but not cheap.

If we were faced with boxed mac and cheese or canned soup- we would likely be picking up food a lot too.


along the same line-when making a list of family likes take a few minutes and list out what everyone's immediate favorites are from the fast foods and to-go places. then think about how you can have on hand the stuff to make those items quickly (and generally at a much lower price).

when my kids were younger chicken nuggets and fries were always popular so I made sure I had them on hand-quick to do up in the oven and much less expensive than the drive through. taco bell was a biggie too-and it was always tacos and enchiritos. I browned meat in advance to freeze in bags so that when I got home it and the flour tortillas I would set out to defrost were ready. tossed the meat in a skillet to warm w/taco seasoning in it while I nuked canned refried beans and w/in 10 minutes everything was ready to do 'wet burritos' and tacos (I still get larger bags of shredded cheese and break them into sandwich size bags to freeze). ds likes meatball subs from subway now-dd taught me a recipe where you use pam to spray the bottom of a casserole dish, put Italian bread or rolls on the bottom, top w/ those mini meatballs they sell in the bags at the store, add some jarred pasta sauce and top w/cheese. takes about 5 minutes to construct, 20 minutes to cook-feeds ds's meatball sub need.

we don't cheap out on the food budget either-we always have a supply of bison (ground and patties) on hand as well as lamb (ground and leg) b/c we enjoy the taste of both and while neither is cheap, both garner a premium price to eat them out (I can make the same items for a fraction of the cost).
 
A great time and money saver for me has been frozen onions! I can get bags of pre-chopped, frozen onions for about $1. (Store brand in the freezer aisle.) They don't go bad and it saves me the stinky job of chopping them and then washing the cutting board and knife. A win/win!

I also buy a couple of packages of stir-fry chicken. We don't eat a lot of meat, so I split each package into two and freeze. Then I can use it for stir-fry with fresh or frozen vegetables or cook it with taco seasonings for quesadillas. Having it already cut to size and pre-portioned is worth the extra expense. It is still MUCH less expensive than eating out. We are a family of 5 with three teenagers so eating out is not cheap!
 
Organization is key.

Freezer meals are a life saver, I started this when my DD was at home and it worked out great. I still do it today and we are empty nester and grand-parents now.

When I started - I would pick a weekend to cook, then plan meals with looking ahead at what's going on, make a grocery list, make sure to include all ingredients, spices, storage containers, be very detailed so once you start you have everything ready to go.

I will give you a sorta guideline how I started, Saturday morning I would get up and start 1 beef and 1 pork roast in the oven, One would be for beef stew and the other for shredded pork for sandwiches. While all this was going on I would start on a large pot of red sauce dividing in half leaving one meatless and adding meat to the other half, for spaghetti, meat ball sandwiches, or other pasta dishes, like lasagna or stuffed shells. Then I would make around 100 meatballs, I know it sounds like a lot but these where life savers for me. Put them in the frig. to cook after the roast where done.

Soup, Chili, Sloppy Joes, Taco meat, are other easy thing to put up and freeze, you can take out the night before to thaw, then into the crock pot in the morning, everything will be ready when you get home, or in the morning pull out to thaw and reheat.

A good crock pot is important, this doesn't mean expensive, just pick one that has the settings you want, I like the ones that have a degree control not just low and high. I have a couple different sizes.

Banana, Carrot, Date, Cinnamon bread, Muffins whatever flavor you like, cookies, granola bars ( we love Pioneer Woman's recipe for these) all easy to make and keep on hand for items during the week and make extra to freeze so you have back up.

Not sure what ages your kiddos are but get them to help, all hands on deck. Set the table, clear, dishes, trash, or pack breakfast bags for the next day, make lunches or whatever.
 
















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