I was really happy to spend a good part of the summer traveling around speaking at homeschool conferences. I'll be even happier next summer to be at a few more! One of the topics that comes up in one of my talks is getting dinner on the table. It's such a challenge to keep house, teach school, drive everyone everywhere they need to go, keep the schedules and oh, we need to feed them too.
It's daunting.
You need to have a plan that does not result in you running around at 5:30 trying to thaw chicken breasts in your armpits. (Don't ask me how I know this).
My solution is simple. Every day make the goal of knowing what you are having for dinner by 10:00am. That's it. If you are one of those fancy menu planning people this is a given. I am not one of those people who plan a month of menus at a time, I wish I were but it just doesn't happen here. I also have tried that once a month cooking thing and while it was nice we don't really eat like that.
So everday I take stock of what is in the freezer, fridge and pantry. I take a look at the calendar to see where I need to be, if anywhere, in the evening and I take the ingredients out. This allows me to thaw meat in cold water, chop veggies, do any pre-browning or poaching that is needed throughout the day as I have time. It is rare that I have a solid hour or two at the end of the day to prepare dinner, so it has to be a few minutes at a time thing. It also gives me a few hours to pick up anything that is missing from the ingredients list while running errands or to even to bake something special.
Make it a hard and fast rule, to yourself, to have dinner plans in place by 10:00 am and I am sure the day will run a lot smoother for you.
How do you menu plan?
Menu Planning Resources
The Happy Housewife Menu Planning Central
Organized Home's Menu Planning Post
Plan It, Don't Panic
Simple Mom's "How To"
I plan a menu a week at a time, taking into account what is on the calendar. I go to the commissary once a week. It works for us!
I don’t know what happened to my first comment! This is very similar to how I plan my meals. I think of the day ahead, what time dinner will be, will we have something in the evening (meetings, practice) that we need something quick and easy, and then go from there.
DH’s commute is pretty regular, so I can time it to be ready when he walks in the door. I also look at if I’ll be home to cook. Generally my meals take about an hour or less for preparation, but if I’ll be home in the afternoon, I can bake a longer dinner (chicken, roast).
We eat rather meat and starch and veggies style (no casseroles) because of food allergies (eggs, wheat and milk), so I just buy our regular rotations of chicken (parts and whole), ground beef, salmon, and then sometimes a fancy cut of beef, and then briefly look at my week to know that the fast meals (tacos or hamburgers) will be the busy nights.