For the most part, gone are the days when mothers stayed home. Thankfully, I think that trend is beginning to reverse itself and more moms are choosing to stay home. However, while they are staying home, the need for a dual income still exists and many are working a home business. That means even though moms may be staying home, they are still just as busy as if they worked outside the home. It also means that saving money wherever possible is important.
A home cooked meal is one of the first places to save. A dollar at the grocery store buys much more than a dollar at a fast food restaurant. Yes, when tired and pressed for time, fast food is an easy answer, but with a bit of planning fast food can be avoided. A home-cooked meal doesn’t mean spending hours preparing it.
Meal ideas:• Plan two weeks (or even a month) of supper at a time. Write it on the calendar and make your grocery list accordingly. Just having it written down will free up some brain cells and chase away the frustration of “What am I going to fix for dinner tonight?”. And you won’t be making last minute trips to the grocery because you decided at 4:30 to have reuben sandwiches for dinner, but didn’t have any Swiss cheese.
• Invest in a crock pot if you do not already own one. They save time, energy and added heat on those hot summer days. Toss your supper into the pot before the kids are up. Then it’s done and off your mind (that is until the delicious aromas entice you) and you won’t have hungry kids clamoring while you’re trying to cook.
• When preparing supper, make a double portion. Freeze half to pull out on a day that catches you by surprise.
• Spend a Saturday cooking some of your favorite meals and putting them directly into the freezer. Google search “once a month cooking” for sites that offer recipes and ideas.• Utilize the many websites that offer free recipes. They add variety, ease and value to your meals.
While they may not seem so, these ideas can be and are effective in saving you time and money. The purpose is to make a busy day less harried. Debra L. Butterfield © 2010
Hello - I am a member of a nonprofit organization and am on a committee that is responsible for putting together a recipe calendar that we will be starting to sell this holiday season for 2011.
ReplyDeleteI have been in search of an image that depicts a potroast and saw the one you you have on your website page http://gloryandstrength.blogspot.com/2010/01/hamster-day-meals.html. Is this image a copyright free image and if so, could I use it on the recipe calendar as the image for our pot roast recipe?
I have great respect for your blogs purpose and intent. I apologize for this type of intrusion and realize this is a highly unusual request for your site. Could you please let me know and I will be gone. I would appreciate a response as soon as you can. Thank you.