Easy Meals 101

Posted On April 26, 2020

Many of us work throughout the day and the thought of having to cook something when you get off work is daunting.  I always say “take it easy” on yourself.  Here are a couple of tips that we use that make cooking fun instead of a chore:

1. Plan your meals in advance – Suzanne and I normally plan our meals at least a week in advance.  This helps us create our grocery list to ensure we have the necessary items/ingredients on hand.
2. Create your grocery list – Using your meal plan for the week, create that grocery list and get ready to shop!  Who doesn’t like shopping, right?
3. Don’t do everything from scratch – There are many shortcuts that can be used when planning your meals.  Examples are marinades, sauces, etc. Help yourself out and go “Semi-Homemade” (credits to Sandra Lee there) if you can. I’ll talk more about these shortcuts during our journeys together!
4. Prep ahead as much as you can – This step can save so much time!  If you can chop your vegetables ahead of time and put them in a storable container, go ahead and do so.  If you want to marinate the chicken or beef (or other meats) go ahead and do so.  In fact, the longer it marinates, the more flavor it will have. You’ll be amazed at just how easy it will be to prepare your meals when you take time to prep!
5. Spices to keep in your pantry – If possible, try to keep your pantry stocked with common spices, such as pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, coriander, bay leaves, paprika, red pepper, powdered chicken broth, powdered beef broth, powdered vegetable broth.  This will give you the basics you need for quick and flavorful dishes.

In any event, take it easy on yourself! Always put God first, but taking care of you (and your family) is the next most important thing in life! The less stress in the kitchen the more love you can put into your meals! Believe me, you can have all the ingredients exactly right in a recipe, but if you don’t put that love into the preparation, it just doesn’t have that magical taste!

I hope the above tips will help you prepare a bit for your meals and lessen the burden of trying to decide “What’s for Dinner tonight?”  🙂