Monday is clean the pantry and do kitchen management day. Pewpping next weeks dinners makes life really easy come hectic dinner time, My mother always made chilli for Halloween dinner.
Yesterday I went to Fred Meyers and stocked for the holiday baking season, I usually bake something a couple of times a week, I don't buy a lot of junk food, I did buy a pumpkin pie a couple of weeks ago. It was 2.99 - almost the same price as making it from scratch. Buying a lot of snack foods can really Play havoc with your food budget. I also after watching many many food hauls, have noticed that there is a direct correlation between the amount of junk food and soda pop being bought and the plumpness of the buyers. That, probably comes as no surprise.
A good rule of thumb is to only buy things that have nutrition in them. Don't waste your money on empty calories with the exception of coffee. Coffee is actually good for you in moderation.
Kitchen management
- Take things out of the fridge and clean the shelves. Wash off any bottle that needs it, Specify certain shelves, bins, or door buckets for certain items It's much easier and faster when you need to find something in a hurry. Don't waste time hunting for something.
- Door bins have 1) milk or juice 2) salad dressing 3) anything sweet 4) anything condiment like hot oeooer sauce, w sauce, mustard etc.
- top shelf: anything too tall for other shelves and mayo ,pickles etc.
- eggs, tortillas. Bread to be baked
- Dairy: yogurt, sour cream. Cottage cheese
- Two kinds of grated cheese on lock n locks, celery crisper. Leftovers
- Meat and cheese drawer for lunch meat, sliced cheese, etc.
- vegetable bin. Line with a towel or paper towel.
- Cheese drawer.
Go through each shelf and dump anything dead or set aside anything that you need to use soon. A plastic box in the fridge for these things helps to isolate them so you can incorporate into meals .
Make it a game. Betty Crocker and some other sites allow you to plug on an ingredient and have recipes that use it up.
- The first week of the month, put your fan filters through the dishwasher. Clean all the countertops.
- Go through your meal plans and prep anything you can prep early. Remember rice and beans have a short fridge life. They are some of the cheapest ingredients, and also some of the fastest to spoil.
- Wash up any dishes and sweep the floor.
- Straighten the pantry and make note of anything you are short of to watch for a sale.
All this takes about an hour to an hour and a half. When granddaughter was a baby, I gave her the plastics cupboard to play with. She had a ball, and I could get things done while she was playing .
Now, she's older and she can help do anything that doesn't relate to hot or sharp.
That's usually the day when I file any recipes I've printed during the week. I have been getting old el also enchalada sauce for 3/1. Betty Crocker just posted enchilada sauce sloppy joes recipe. I have buns and meat we ground a week or so ago.
You can deviate from a plan. You just need a plan.