CHatting with Charity ~ 31

Good Morning!  So how many of you have made your tried and true recipe list and planned out your month on a calendar?  I hope you have and that it is helping to make dinner time a little more simple!  If not, don't fear, you can do it!  You just need to take the first small step! I hope today's tip is as life changing ;-) for you as it was for me! 
One year our family had the GREAT pleasure of spending almost a month in a travel trailer.  We spent a week and a half in the mountains came home for a week and then spent a week and a half at the beach, it was wonderful.  Before both trips I had premade and froze as much food as possible for our family to help keep us from eating out and so that we did not get sick of hot dogs and hamburgers!  It was a wonderful three weeks with very little cooking by me but plenty of home cooked meals.  One night towards the end I realized how easy it had made life and wondered why I hadn't been doing this at home.  Well, let me tell you, I did start doing it at home and it did make my life easier.  Did you know you can make ahead and freeze almost anything?  If they sell it in the frozen food section at the grocery store, you can make it ahead and freeze it yourself!
Here are a few tips to keep in mind
1. Stock up on freezer bags and disposable pans
2.  Always make double of what you are cooking and freeze the extra
3.  Most soups freeze wonderfully if you leave the noodles out.  Just add them when you are heating it to serve
4.  Lots of pasta dishes can be frozen before you bake, such as homemade macaroni and cheese and lasagna
5.  Homemade baked good freeze well
Just this week we have used two freezer meals.  The first was spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage, all I had to do was heat it up while I cooked the pasta.  The second was chicken enchiladas, I let them thaw, baked them, made a quick sauce, and dinner was served.  It made a crazy week feel a little more normal because we were still having a normal dinner routine. 
 Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Are freezer meals a normal part of your dinner routine?

Charity

Chatting with Charity ~ 30

 

 

Good Morning!! I hope you have your list of tried and true family recipes and are ready for the next step in menu planning!  Did you find any recipes that you had gotten about?  Any that you have never tried?  How about ones that you know you will never make again?  It is amazing how many recipes I collect that just do not work for our family! 
Okay, are you ready? 
Step 2
-Grab you recipe list and a calendar, you can use the one on your phone or paper.
-Look over your month and mark any days that you know you will be eating out. **feel free to do this for a week if a month is too overwhelming for you.  It will get easier over time.  I promise!**
-Now, find your busiest nights during the month.  Look over your recipe list and find your easiest/fastest meals and write them on those busy days.  Remember, breakfast foods make a fast dinner!
-Next find any special occasions you have for the month and pick out the perfect recipe to celebrate with....unless those are the nights you are eating out󾍇.
-Finally, look over your recipe list and start filling in the rest of the month.  Keep in mind your budget and don't put all your expensive recipes in one week.  Also, spread out types of food.  An example would be don't put two pasta or chicken recipes beside each other.
-If you enjoy cooking and trying new recipes give yourself a day or two during the month to do that!  Make sure it is a day where you will not feel rushed and you can enjoy the art of cooking!
The great news is once you have done a month's worth of planning you can look back to it month after month!!!! This is how I keep us from getting bored with or burned out from eating the same 5 things over and over!  Also, it just makes life easy when I don't want to think about what's for dinner. 
-Now, email yourself a copy of the calendar so you can view it from anywhere!
*I have a summer month plan and a winter month plan.  That way we aren't eating chili and potato soup all summer!
Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Have you ever tried to menu plan for a month?

Charity

Chatting with Charity ~ 27

 

 

 Good Morning! Who is enjoying this fall weather...in September? I sure am!!!

This morning I want to share a free printable that I made. It is of one of my FAVORITE poems, The Refiner's Fire. It goes along with one of my favorite Bible verses Proverbs 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord test hearts. We often want to thank God for... the good times in life but we do not have to be around for long before we feel the heat of the fire. I may not enjoy the fire but I love my God and I trust that He has a bigger vision for my life than I do and that brings me GREAT peace. He will not leave me in the fire a bit more than is needed to make me pure.

You can print this off, trim it up, and pop it in a frame as a great reminder that God is purifying you because you have great value!

I would love to see the printable in your home. If you use it, snap a picture and share it in the comments. I will share mine once the sun comes up and I can see to get a picture;-)

Charity

Chatting with Charity 29

 

Good Morning! I am up early and sitting outside enjoying being cold for the first time this fall! Don't worry, I have a blanket and hot coffee! I am about to write out my menu and grocery list for the week and that has me thinking... One of the biggest frustrations I hear from women is what to do for dinner. I understand this frustration. I love to cook when I have unlimited time but I don't always love coming up with a menu or the rush of dinner h...as to be made in 30 minutes so we can make it to church on time.

I am going to spend the next few week sharing some tips that have made weeknight dinners easier for me.

Step 1
Sit down and write out every tried and true dinner that you make. This could be anything from Eggplant Parmesan to Eggs and Toast. Remember to include premade things that you pick up at the store, one of these for our family is Publix's fried chicken. Try to include at least 20 recipes. Then email this list to yourself. Having the list in email form will allow you to work on grocery list from anywhere, even the grocery store. I am not saying I have ever done that, ha! Also, include the ingredient list in the email of any hard to remember recipes.

Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

What are some of your tried and true recipes?