Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

This topic is mixed in another thread. But i am looking for ideas for things to cook (please dont move this thread--we need it in PARENTING) that would make life easier

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

I plan out in my head what I am going to send Jacob to daycare with for lunches for the week and buy it/prepare it the weekend before. Every night when I get home from work, I pack his lunch for the next day. It just makes the mornings a tiny bit easier.

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Ok lets see...basically I shop at Meat Farms, its THE BEST, so clean, produce is amazingly fresh and 1/2 the price, and Boars head is 1-2 dollars cheaper per pound, they always have a turkey on sale...

Cold cuts
I buy 2 pounds of cold cuts total-usually 1.5 turkey and 1/2 cheese or mix it up

5 rolls
1/2 pound potato salad for hubby
eggs
bread
2.5 pound chop meat
milk reg and skim
10 apples
3-4 pears
2-3 peppers
package of chicken breast
2 packs tortolini or ravioli
bananas
yogurts
whole wheat bead or pitas
frozen veggies-peas/carrots baby
porterhouse steak

Basically this week I made a

Monday meatloaf with mashed potato/veggy

Tuesday was leftovers

Wed steak with tortolinis

Tonight is chicken marsala

Friday-leftovers

For lunches I make turkey sandwiches, leftover meatloaf sandwich, egg sala, tuna, mac and cheese-those are all for hubby-DS is with my mom for lunches...

I spend no more than 80 on a foos shopping...unless i need to stock up on soups, broths, tomatoes, toiletries...

sat I food shop

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Sunday i will make sauce and meatballs... for spaghetti and meatball night, meatball hero night...

I will also make a veggy lasagna and maybe mussels in marinara sauce...

Chicken frenches or gorganzola with garlic and oil pasta

I try to make things that carry over...my hubby loves leftovers...

sometimes if i wan a quick meal i make turkey roll ups (BH TURKEY) stuffed with stuffing-mashed on the side and gravy

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

DH goes to Costco on Fridays and picks up a lot of bulk items, lots of fruits and veggies that I will use for Alex during the week.

He also usually buys fish - either a large chunk of Salmon or a package of 12 pieces of Tilapia, so on Sunday he'll cook the salmon, or make a fish stew, that we'll eat for a few days for dinner during the week.

I also do all my baking on the weekends - I'll usually make one "treat" that we can all nosh on during the week, like a lowfat, whole wheat plum pie, and something more healthy like carrot muffins, banana loaf, etc, that we can eat for breakfast. I always pack Alex's lunchbox with it as a mid-morning snack.

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

I try my best to plan out my meals b/f i head to the supermarket on sunday. i always buy:

1-2 chicken (usually cutlets)
1 red meat (london broil, chop meat, or steak)
pasta

Then i buy something to do with each one. here are some of my typical options:
Chicken- buy peppers and onions for stir, bake in the oven in white wine with canned artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and cheese on top, OR baked with seasoning and put over salad.

Red Meat- make a london broil and buy gravy (frozen potatoes and veggie on the side), chop meat and taco kit (super easy)

usually make pasta with marinara sauce one night and then a healthy pasta another....pasta in oil and garlic sauce with broccoli, or pesto pasta with chicken.

another favorite lately is bean chili over rice.

I hope this helps.
PIZZA NIGHT every Friday!!!

Here was this weeks menu:
monday- seasoned baked chicken over salad
tuesday- bowtie pasta in meat sauce
wednesday- london broil, gravy, frozen potatoes, breaded peas
thursday- tacos
Friday- PIZZA!

Message edited 1/22/2009 10:27:23 AM.

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Sundays, I'll make the following

Chili - the freezes GREAT
Sauce w/ meatballs - also freezes great
Chicken Caccitore (sp?)
Roasted Whole Chicken - use the leftovers for salads/sandwiches/tacos


I buy

Bags of Salad
Baby Red Potatoes - SO much quicker to cook than regular potato
10 Minute Brown Rice - DELISH
Couscous - SUPER fast
Frozen Veggies - in the steam packs - takes 4 minutes

Message edited 1/22/2009 10:28:48 AM.

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

thanks...these are great!

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

I don't cook but I know DH has his little things he does to make things easier.

He has chicken cutlets in the freezer at all times.

He keeps red, yellow, green peppers chopped up in a freezer bag to throw in things like chili, pasta, eggs, etc.

We always have frozen peas & mixed vegetable in the freezer also.

When he makes Sunday pancakes, he makes a huge batch - which I freeze to heat up during the week as a quick breakfast before rushing them out the door.

I make meatballs almost every month & whatever we don't use, we keep in the freezer (not with the sauce, separately). These can be meatball sandwiches for lunch or a quick pasta meal during the week.

We always have frozen sauce that he's made.

Message edited 1/22/2009 10:38:57 AM.

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Also, I always keep english muffins in the freezer for EM Pizzas

I seperate the chicken cutlets and porkchops into portions before I freeze, so I can grab it quick in the AM, marinate while I'm at work, then when I get home, toss on the grill. Takes 15 minutes tops.

Message edited 1/22/2009 10:34:02 AM.

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

great thread idea! I need to get better at planning meals in advance...

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

I started using my crock pot a lot because it makes life easier. I buy a lot of meat and chicken. I cut it up and freeze it. I also buy lots of veggies. I also buy lots and lots of the McCormick Slow Cooker spice packets and just buy whatever ingredients I need for them.
My fav is the beef stew, the italian herb chicken and the beef strongenoff.

I also always have chopped meat in the house for chili or to make a quick meatloaf and always have chicken breasts for a last minute meal.

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Sorry, I keep thinking of things . . .

Always keep ground turkey meat, great for quick meatloaf, chili, tacos

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

saw a cure recipe on RR- use pillsbury biscuits in a muffin tin to make pizza crust, then add whabeter you want on top, they were adorable..look on Rachaelrayshow.com, I think it was Monday

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Saturday we ate leftover ham from xmas (we froze it).

Sunday I used the rest to make a Ham Pot Pie we ate on Monday. I also made baked ziti for sunday night (froze half for another week).

I cooked an Oven Roaster on Wednesday, made chicken salad for lunch and Friday will make a chicken stew.

SO tonight is Pizza night =)

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

We buy bulk at Cosco once a month. I buy bulk chicken, pork, beef and fish. So we have a variety and we have a freezer we keep in the garage that is for meat only.

I buy bulk veggies all different kinds and stuff like parogies, tortellini and raviolis.

I also buy loads of fresh veggies at the supermarket and salad kits. I buy season packets to marinate the meats with.

We have chicken probably 3 times a week but different styles. I will season whatever chicken we will eat that week, throw it in a ziplock and put in the freezer. I will take it out the morning of. The other nights will be fish/beef or pork.

Same thing with pork lions, I will season it and throw it I the freezer and take it out the morning of.

For side dishes it's usually have 2 different veggies and a salad. We do eat starches at dinner but it's not a necessity every night to have one.

I am not very creative with cooking. They are decent meals but nothing gormet like.

ps the crock pot does wonders with pork chops!!! I love putting porkchop, suaerkraut and beer in a crock pot. YUMMMMMY!

Re: Spinoff- List the things you Cook/Buy on Sundays that Make Your Week Easier

Chili
Grilled chicken with broccoli and rigatoni
meat sauce (marinara) with pasta and peas
salmon, cuscus, and a veg
tuna melt with salad
roast chicken, stuffing and a veggie
meatloaf
spagetti and meatballs
I go to Omaha steaks when they have their 1/2 off sale and get the 4 oz fillet minons so occassionally we have those with potatoes and a veggie
london broil
beef with broccoli stir fry with udon noodles
lemon chicken (lary's lemon marinade then put them on the george forman)
for luch we eat a lot of left overs
I make eggs for breakfast, so eggs, cheese, milk.
Or I will make french toast with applesauce
Sometimes we have packaged bluebery wafffles
cereal
Snacks are fruit, kashi cereal bars, earths best crackers or cookies, pretzles, pudding.