Recipe by Ingredients That You Already Have

Have you ever had a long day at the office and the last thing you wanted to do was go home and spend 2 hours in the kitchen? I think we all have experienced that. Not to mention, having to do the dishes after eating.

Isn’t it easier to just pick something up on the way home? It sure is a lot easier, but it’s both expensive and unhealthy. My goal is to get us all back into the kitchen or for some just in the kitchen for the first time.

Cooking is easier than you think and obviously healthier because you can control the ingredients that go into each meal.

What’s the most important part of getting dinner to the table without turning your life upside down? Planning.

Step 1 – Get a calendar and list your meals for the week. I only cook Sunday – Thursday. It’s important to make enough for lunch the following day. For example, if I’m making a meal on Monday, I try to make enough to take for lunch on Tuesday. This really saves a lot of money because a lunch will cost at least $5 per lunch.

Step 2 – Make a shopping list of ingredients you need. Many times, when compared to what you already have at home, you’ll find that you don’t really need to purchase a lot of ingredients at the grocery store.

Step 3 – Make a trip to the grocery store. This trip can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on what day and time you go. I try to get to the store early on Sunday mornings in order to beat the rush.

Step 4 – This is the easiest step. Cook. Once you have all the ingredients at home, cooking is easy. Have you ever watched a cooking show and saw how easy it was for them to make the meal because everything was within arms reach? This is how it should be for you in the kitchen, each night.

Final step – Make your husband, wife or kids wash all the dishes. You did the hard part of buying the groceries and cooking the meal (even though cooking was the fun part…shhh), it’s time for them to pitch in.

Soon, you will see your food budget decrease and your waistline will also decrease.