There are few things that rattle me more than realizing at 5pm that I’ve forgotten to prepare for dinner. That means I either have to do a from frozen to browned ground meat for tacos or sloppy joes or I can do a quick sink thaw of frozen chicken breasts for pasta. Either way it is stressful. That is why I much prefer planning ahead with menus that use pre-prepped ingredients like the Cajun trinity, tomato sauce, or chicken cutlets. One of our favorite go to lunches is a meatball sub sandwich. It is easy to make because the meatballs are cooked ahead of time and so is the sauce.
Previously-Prepped Meals
Having most of the components of a meal already prepped and ready means all I have to do is thaw and combine them to cook together. Look at any recipe. Prepping is what takes up the majority of the time. By doing the prep work ahead of time you cut that time out of the recipe. I even have my own spice mix recipes. My favorite is the taco/fajita seasoning mix!
For desserts I have a vanilla bean extract recipe and a vanilla sugar recipe. If you want to be nostalgic you can try my frozen Dixie cups recipe or these other delicious dessert recipes.
Something else I do for my family is seal up leftovers so that we have homemade freezer dinners made from good, wholesome food.
Fast and Easy
Breakfasts are an every day family meal in our house. I don’t like waking up at 5 am, not in the least. To make things better I prep ahead with our bacon, pancakes and waffles. I even make biscuits and muffins in large batches and freeze them. They actually freeze very well.
In order to have fast and easy food for the kids I prepare snacks ahead of time and this idea for fast food that comes from home got me featured in Woman’s Day.
Continue Your Education
One thing I have always been a fan of is learning. I carry that over to my homemaking. If you’d like to learn a few new things let’s start with how to grill and how to tell when a steak is done. Those are two of my more popular posts.
You can also check out my step-by-step directions for making sun-dried tomato pesto cream sauce with grilled chicken recipe and Cajun shrimp scampi. They are simple and quick.
And now for another giveaway!
True Lemon Giveaway Bundle Includes {CLOSED}
- A True Lemon T-Shirt
- A True Lemon Branded Water Bottle
- A box each of True Lemon, True Lime, & True Orange for Cooking, Baking & Beverages (32 packets/box)
- A box each of True Lemon, True Orange, True Original Lemonade, & True Raspberry Lemonade for Your Water (10 stick packets/box)
- A box of True Grapefruit for Your Water (32 packets/box)
- A True Lemon & True Lime Shaker for Cooking, Baking & Seasoning (2.85oz/shaker)
This Friday, April 20th is my birthday. The older I get the more simplified I want my life to be. I believe in some way we all want to simplify things. I’ve decided to celebrate my birthday week by hosting giveaways (from Oreck, TrueLemon, Lodge, Couponizer, Thrity-One Gifts, and many more) and sharing some posts on simplifying life. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe because over the next week we’ll discuss:
- Simplify Your Cleaning
- Simplify Your Cooking
- Simplify Your Time
- Simplify Your Creativity
- Simplify Your Blogging
- Simplify Your Relationships
- Simplify Your Finances
In order to enter all you have to do is answer the following question in the comments: what is your number one issue with cooking? That’s all. Really. However, I would be honored if you would subscribe to my free blog posts, like my page on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter. The giveaway will end on April 23rd at midnight CST.
By the way, be sure to enter the Oreck AirInstinct giveaway and take advantage of this deal from Simplify Your Life.
Having to clean up!
Picky eaters! Both my hubby and 6yr old don’t like the same foods my younger son and I like. I end up cooking two meals a night to make everyone happy. Except me!
I expect the same quality that you get from a paperback book or a hard cver book.
I always forget to take out something!
My number one issue is finding healthy recipes that the entire family will like that is quick and easy. I’m not creative and need recipes which then limits what I make the family.
Having nothing started for evening meal when I return from a hard day at work. Enjoy reading all the info you make available!!
My number one issue is coming up with new ideas that my family of 8 will all like.
My problem with cooking is the time it takes to make everything and for it all to be hot at the same time.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Having cooked for a family of 12 for many a year…I’m just sick and tired of it. Would get takeout every day, if we didn’t live out in “the sticks”. Every now and then, I do get the urge to bake some bread, or a cheesecake, and when I do, I always make enough to freeze, since I know that it will be a while, before I want to cook again!
my number 1 issue is usually using electric stoves vs. gas… gas flames are controllable… electric isn’t.. you can turn off the heat, but it still stays hot, requiring much extra work and learning the timing.. occasionally it is also having everything ready at the same time!
My number one issue isn’t with cooking as much as it is the clean up afterward. I have five adults and a toddler in the house and no help with dishes!!!!!!!! (I don’t have an automatic one either)
My problem with cooking is planning ahead. I can’t come up with a meal on the fly. Occasionally, my daughter and I like to go through the pantry and put together a weekly meal plan with what we already have. It helps with spending a little. I love to cook, just need someone to tell me what to cook!
My number one issue with cooking right now is removing my toddler from my hip long enough to cook. He’s going through a clingy stage.
My main issue with cooking is having it planned by mid-morning. If I have planned what I am making in the morning, I have the “what’s-for-dinner” peace through the day. If I still don’t know what’s for dinner by lunchtime – the anxiety starts and if I still don’t know by 3:00pm I’m starting to panic. I know – I’m weird!
my issue is drying out meat!
Lack of planning is my main issue. That and I really don’t like to grocery shop, so I tend to run out of things rather than replenish when they get low.
My number one cooking issue: assuming I have all the ingredients and finding out I’m missing something after I’ve already begun cooking!
My number one issue with cooking is when I am missing
an ingredient after having just been to the store.
my biggest issue with cooking is lack of planning menus so its a struggle with shopping etc every night its oh no what to do? sally
My issue is finding recipes that are not complicated.
My biggest issue with cooking is that my husband is a vegetarian who doesn’t eat dairy and I am a meat eater. I’m pretty good at adapting his meals to be similar to mine, but it’s like making double meals. I occasionally eat a vegetarian meal but most of the time do not, nor do I want to. I love your blogs, series and your recipes for natural cleaning.
Well I would have to say my biggest issue is having the energy to cook for simply I have had too many issues in my personal life that has lead me to have anxiety and panic attacks. Because of a disheartening circumstances with my oldest child, she has lost her daughter, my granddaughter. I do get to see my granddaughter from time to time, but its not the same.
I also have had choking incidents which also led to my condition. I want to do better and provide better for my family. I hope I get to that place again someday.
My biggest challenge with cooking is trying to feed a family with growing boys, on a tight budget, and have us all eat healthy! We are a one-income family, I’m a stay-at-home mom to our boys, and I would love to be able to put fresh, healthy food on our table every day without killing our budget.
Happy birthday!!
2 years ago I made drastic changes in my family’s eating habits. After much research and health studies, I have decided to cut out most flesh products and dairy. This has left me struggling to relearn how to prepare meals. Southern cooking is what I know and have loved in the past. Yet, what is was doing to my health and my children’s health…….I knew it was time for a change. So learning how to prepare awesome vegan meals especially since gluten is not my friend is my most difficult challenge and passion.
Loving Raw Food,
Kathy
My number one issue with cooking is preparing healthy meals that are easy to make, and that taste good.
My number one issue with cooking is the energy that it takes. I have chronic fatigue syndrome and a very busy life, so by the time dinner comes, I’m often too exhausted to make it.
Thank you for your wonderful blog, Amy. I have used so many of your great ideas and your honesty and humor are refreshing.
What a great giveaway! Well, my biggest issue with cooking is trying to feed a family of five on such a tight budget. I have learned to make two chicken breasts or a pound of ground beef go pretty far, but I get tired of the same old recipes. I need some variety!
I’d love to win the True Lemon giveaway. The products aren’t to be found in our area. I’m trying all your homemade cleaning recipes as I do some late spring cleaning. My biggest cooking challenge is that I seem to make very involved recipes and make a big mess, dirtying up lots of pots and pans. I’d like to find some really tasty recipes that don’t take forever or use prepackaged foods.
My biggest issue with cooking is pre-planning enough meals to accomodate our crazy schedules and take into consideration the different likes and allergies of each child (4). I’m getting better, but we tend to repeat a lot. I need more variety!
what is your number one issue with cooking? My biggest issue with cooking is planning what to have and finding enough frugal dinner recipes that 6 people like and then having the energy to make it. BTW, happy Birthday.
My biggest issue is never know when my husband will be home from work. Makes fixing dinner for him, myself, and a picky 3 yo tricky.
My number one issue is “avoiding the microwave.” I menu plan and prepare freezer meals so that when we are in a rush I can pull out a freezer meal. However, frequently I have forgotten to pull it out early enough in the day. I am not wholly convinced that the microwave is harmless and I don’t like to resort to using the microwave….hence my issue!
Happy Birthday too!
My number one issue with cooking is having to do the dishes after.
My issue with cooking is planning. I have great ideas, but sometimes lack the motivation.
My main cooking issue is making sure I make enough! We have a family of 10 and there are days when the kids have such big appetites that we have to find something else to go with our meal because its all gone. I would love to try the True Lemon products, they sound wonderful.
My number one issue with cooking is finding enough frugal dinner recipes that 8 people like. I usually meal plan and grocery shop a month at a time and it is hard to find enough healthy, inexpensive recipes to feed 8 people. We usually do alot of repeats. But I’m getting better! Thank you!
My biggest issue is cooking meals that suit all of us – 2 adults and 2 littles. Many times I end up cooking two or three different menus for dinner: one for the adults, one for the three year-old and one for the one year-old. This means lots of dishes and prep time. My husband & I prefer more variety than the kids currently want.
My number one issue with cooking is having to cook LOL and planning different meals so we do not get bored with the same old thing week after week.
My main issue with cooking is that things don’t seem to turn out right or taste great.
My number one issue with cooking is that I have to do it every day! I know, after 20 years of marriage, and the primary cook, it gets repetitve. I love easy and delicious. And I am a BIG fan of True Lemon and True Lime. They have become a staple in my kitchen.
Happy Birthday!
Cooking issue: running out of ideas and a VERY finicky husband. Not even picky just, like a kids sometimes when it comes to food,
My number one cooking issue is by far lack of planning! I wait until the last minute trying to figure out the meals and then I don’t have everything I need. Not good when you live 30 minutes from town to get to the store!
My number one issue is that I really don’t “LOVE” to cook in the first place, I mean – once I get going – then I like it, but finding recipes (good ones, simple, delicious, that my whole family will eat) is so hard. I hate finding a recipe that sounds so wonderful, only to find that it has ingredients that I’ll have to go to Timbuctoo to buy or that I don’t have a clue how to cook with it!!! I’ve found some wonderful recipes on Pinterest and have started really enjoying cooking, but again, finding the time and energy after working all day, kids activities all eve – is just so hard!! Poor excuses, huh!!!!
Happy Birthday Friday by the way…. April babies are amazing – I have two myself!!!!
Definitely menu planning.
My number one issue with cooking is trying to make one dish that everybody wants to eat. Not several dishes to make everybody happy.
First, I want to say happy birthday on Fri. I also have a birthday on Fri and we share this with Hitler. Not a good thing since I am nothing like him, wait, my kids would disagree. I have to get my self planned for dinner early. If I plan in the morning or the night before, I am rolling. If I wait, homeschool, laundry, fun and just life in general gets in the way and when 5 o’clock comes I am to tired and hungry to think about it.
My biggest issue with cooking is making yeast breads, and cooking a perfect steak on the grill. I am no good with either of those tasks.
My biggest issue with cooking is my lack of knife skills. I use the Genius Nicer Dicer from QVC. Sad.
My number one issue with cooking right now is burn out. My family will be gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free for a year in May. With discovery of various allergies in our family, everything I thought I knew about cooking went out the window, and it’s been a wild year of rewriting my cookbook. Now I’m feeling very tired of working at it so hard. I keep looking for new products to try, to mix things up a bit and keep things fresh and interesting but NOT TOO CHALLENGING.
True Lemon is a new product to me and looks like something my family would really enjoy.
I have a sweet new babe in my arms- so my issue with cooking is not being able to focus on it. i’m to busy enjoying the babe!
My biggest issue with cooking is finding new and different recipes. Happy Birthday!
Biggest issue for me right now is time! I just started working part time after being a stay-at-home mom for 6 years. I didn’t realize how easy it was to do prep during the day and have a delicious meal on the table by supper time. Working outside the home makes daytime prep impossible. Now I have to be ultra-organized, a huge challenge for me!
My number one issue is planning out meals. The weeks I do this, we eat much healthier because I have all the ingredients on hand. The weeks I don’t, which is more often than not, we don’t always eat what is best for us.
My biggest issue with cooking is getting stuck in a rut with the same meals over and over! I try to make a plan for each weak and I always seem to make the same things. Even when I ask for ideas from my husband and kids they are quick to give me meals they want, but they are all the same stuff. They don’t seem to care, but I get bored with the same food.
I love you idea for freezing leftovers to make your own “tv dinners”…although we don’t usually have anything leftover. Might have to start making more on purpose for that!
My number one issue is variety.I feel like we eat the same things over and over.
monk5 at charter dot net
Oh how I heart True Lemon!!! It’s helped me up my water intake but sooo hard to find here locally. My biggest issue with cooking is planning what to have and then having the energy to make it. I can’t blame pregnancy for this as I’ve been like this before it’s always a struggle of what to have – when to start it and if I don’t think about it before 4pm then I’m always just starving and tired and ready to order in.
My number one issue with cooking is coming up with new dishes to try that my picky eaters will eat!
My number one issue with cooking is finding a new meal that my boys will try at least once.
First, let me say how much I love your blog and we also love True Lemon products. My biggest issue with cooking is that I have a kitchen from the 50′s. Our plan is to redo it in the next few months and I will actually have a dishwasher again
My number one issue is cooking a great steak.
My number one issue with cooking is that even if I have a plan, it is often a challenge trying to pull it together while chasing the toddler around the house and/or my very low energy level at that time of day.
My number one issue with cooking is not having all the right ingredients at home to make a specific meal. I hate having to run out to the store.
My number one issue with cooking is cleaning the dishes afterwards. I love to cook but the clean-up really gets me down!