Once A Week Cooking

Meal Planning Saves Money

Quick Chef — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:43:40 +0000

Meal planning can help you not only save time but save money as well. Think about how many times you have to make quick trips to the grocery store for something you need because you had not planned ahead. Then you end up paying more for it because it was not on sale or because you ended buying other things that you did not need. If you plan your meals ahead of time you make one list for all the ingredients you will need.

With Meal Planning there is no more running out to the store for something and overpaying or buying things you really do not need. Another way it helps you save money is that you buy what you need to make the dinners and use it right away. This can greatly cut down on all the fruits and vegetables that go to waste because they go bad and have to be thrown out. Or items sitting in your pantry that you didn’t need at this moment. Think of all that money you throw out every week from the fridge. If you had just planned your meals to use all the veggies and fruits that you bought you would have saved yourself a lot of money over the year.

Also by thinking ahead and meal planning you can use the sale papers that you get each week. You can pick the meals that use the meats or veggies that are on sale at a particular store. By doing a little pre-planning with the sales ads you can get more out of your shopping trip. You will get exactly what you need and use it!

Shopping trips where you feel like you spent a ton and got nothing that you actually needed are going to be a thing of the past. I know that it makes me feel like I really accomplish something when I can use almost everything I get at the store and not always have to run out for a just a couple of things or throw half the stuff away. With Meal Planning you are going to be amazed at how much you will be saving.

Join our Once A Week Cooking club and get meal plans sent to your email every week. Once your year is up you have over 52 weeks of menus that you can use over and over for years to come. It’s easy to grab a weeks menu that has most of the meat that is in the sales ads that week. It’s a 12 month program and only $10 a month.

Brown Bagging Lunch is Smart

Quick Chef — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:05:02 +0000

There’s often been a stigma that came along with taking your lunch into the workplace that somehow, you must be struggling if you couldn’t go out to eat every day with your co-workers. But now, faced with the recession, more and more people are coming to terms with this simple money saver and are trying it out! If you’re spending $5 a day over the course of a 5 day work week, you’re looking at a cost of $1300 in 52 weeks!

Here are 5 quick and easy tips to make brown bagging not only the thing to do but a great money saver.

Take Leftovers-Make an extra chicken breast or half pound of pasta when cooking. Add some fruit and a pudding cup and you’ve got a great brown bagged lunch here.

Buy in Bulk- Buying in bulk doesn’t necessarily mean buying 30 bags of chips. Instead, the better plan is to buy a large bag or box of your favorite treat and portion it out into smaller bags. No need for those 100 calorie packs that are more costly when you can do it yourself!

Buy on sale- Instead of buying green grapes year round because you LOVE them, buy items in season instead. Those green grapes will come around again!

Make it easy- Have everything you need in the house before the work week even begins. You’re more likely to say, “forget it”, if things aren’t easy to grab and go.

Splurge some- That’s right, sometimes you just have to splurge! Take the last Friday of the month and go out for lunch with your friends. You’re more likely to stick to the plan the rest of the month if you know there’s a reward at the end.

Now, what are you going to do with that $1300?

Salsa Chicken

Quick Chef — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:53:47 +0000

I originally got this recipe from a Weight Watchers meeting a few years back but it has been a tried and true recipe since! Not only is this recipe delicious but it’s very easy and cheap to make! Getting all of these items on sale make this an even better deal all around.

What you need, chicken breast, salsa, taco seasoning and rice. All of these things can be purchased ahead of time and on sale.

1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup of shredded Mexican mix cheese
1 cup salsa
1 package taco seasoning mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Spray oven safe casserole dish with non-stick spray

Empty taco seasoning packet into a ziplock bag or some other type of resealable bag, then place chicken breast into bag and coat well.

Place chicken breast in casserole dish and cook for 30 minutes or until juice runs clear.

Place the salsa and cheese on top of each breast and cook for another 5 minutes.

This is great served with some brown rice and refried beans. Make extra and serve the next day as leftovers for lunch.

Convert to freezer recipe:

Cook in a 8×8 aluminum baking dish or larger if extending the recipe. Don’t cook the last 5 minutes. Pour salsa over each chicken breast and sprinkle cheese. Make sure and let cool. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and freeze.

Let thaw for minimum 24 hours before cooking. Bake in 325 oven for 10 minutes or until chicken is warmed. Also excellent shredded and put into tortillas

Chicken Chowmein

Quick Chef — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:16:39 +0000

This is a great recipe to make ahead and freeze. Especially in lunch size portions. It’s healthier than a lean cuisine and if you make up a big batch it is very cost effective. You can freeze the rice in ziplock baggies per portion or make some up at the beginning of the week and store in a tupperware container to use all week.

How To Make Homemade Chicken Chow Mein And Rice
By: Shelly Hill

When it comes to cooking Asian-style food, I find it difficult to find easy to prepare recipes that use ingredients that I can readily find at my local supermarket.

This particular recipe was given to us a few years ago by a friend. His wife is a fantastic cook and was gracious enough to share her recipe with us.

Time Saving Tip: If you want to save some time, chop up your fresh vegetables, precook your chicken and rice the day before and then refrigerate in separate containers. The next evening when you get home from work, you can have this meal on the dinner table in less than 20 minutes.

Chicken Chow Mein And Rice Recipe

12 oz. cooked chicken, de-boned and diced into pieces
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 oz. water chestnuts
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of warm water
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

In a large sauce pan, simmer the chopped onion and celery in 2 tablespoons of water for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the 1 cup of water, cornstarch, soy sauce and ground ginger. Simmer this mixture over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Stir in the diced chicken and remaining ingredients. Heat this mixture over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes. Your vegetables should be crisp and tender but not soggy.

Serve over 1/2 cup of cooked white rice. This recipe makes 2 hearty servings.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother who lives in Central Pennsylvania who enjoys cooking and baking foods for her family. You can visit Shelly online at my.tupperware.com/Ravish30 or her recipe site at wahmshelly.blogspot.com for additional easy to prepare recipes.

English Muffin Pizzas

Quick Chef — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:55:43 +0000

This is an idea that I and my brother loved growing up. I can remember many slumber parties with an English muffin pizza bar. I’ve also done the same thing with my kids. They love putting as much stuff on their muffin as they can. Yeah, sometimes it will make a mess, but nothing that can’t be cleaned up in a few minutes. It’s also fun to see their friends faces light up when they get to create their own mini pizza’s.

One other thing to think about is the fact that you can make up these muffins bake them slightly to get the cheese melted enough to hold the toppings down and then freeze them. I use a very large and deep, aluminum lasagna pan. Let them cool and place in layers with wax paper between. I wrap the pan in aluminum foil and write the directions on top for reheating. It makes for a really quick snack when the kids get home. Especially on those days I may not be home when they are.

English Muffin Mini Pizzas Recipe For Kids and Adults
By: Shelly Hill

When our daughter was a teenager, she would ask me to make these English Muffin mini pizzas almost on a weekly basis! She absolutely loved eating these. If the toppings we used are not to your liking, feel free to replace them with whatever it is that you like on your pizza.

If you like a little kick to your mini pizza, you can try adding some crushed red pepper or minced garlic to your toppings.

Alternative Pizza Toppings: sliced ham, shredded chicken, beef steak pieces, pineapple chunks, anchovies, red and green peppers or broccoli florets.

English Muffin Mini Pizzas

3 English Muffin halves
4-5 ounces pizza sauce
1/2 of minced onion
2 tablespoons of sliced black olives
9 pieces of sliced pepperoni
4 ounce can of mushroom pieces
1/2 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain water/juice from black olives and mushroom pieces and set aside. Place English Muffin halves cut side up on a baking sheet lined with a nonstick silicone baking mat. If you don’t have a silicone baking mat, line your baking sheet with some aluminum foil. Place baking sheet into the oven for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine together the pizza sauce and minced onion. Remove English Muffin halves from the oven and spoon the pizza sauce on top. Gently layer the black olives, pepperoni, mushroom pieces and finally the shredded Mozzarella Cheese on top. Place the baking sheet back into the oven and bake for 10-12 additional minutes or until the cheese is melted, hot and bubbly.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother living in Pennsylvania who enjoys quick and easy recipes for her family. You can visit Shelly’s online recipe site at wahmshelly.blogspot.com for free recipes and cooking tips. You can visit Shelly’s online Tupperware site at my.tupperware.com/Ravish30 to contact her directly.

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

Save On Monthly Grocery Bill

Quick Chef — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:32:11 +0000

Freezer Cooking – A Great Way to Save Money on Your Monthly Grocery Bill

By Lindsay Landis

Some people call this once-a-month cooking, once-a-week cooking, or freezer cooking. The names may be different but the concept is the same. You block out one day and do the bulk of your cooking for the designated time period.

This can really be a great money saver for those families who don’t feel like they have enough time to cook on weeknights and consequently eat out frequently. This is also great because you can build your weekly cooking around the sales, buying in bulk, or those items you are able to use coupons to buy for pennies.

If this is the first time you’ve ever done this, I suggest planning on cooking for one week. Carve out a day where you know you can cook with minimal interruptions.

Make a list of what you are going to cook for the week. Try to build some meals that are different but have similar ingredients – perhaps a chicken stir fry that includes onions and bell peppers for one meal and chicken fajitas that also include onions and bell peppers for another meal. They will taste different enough that it doesn’t seem like you are eating the same things over and over, yet they are built around the same ingredients. This saves you preparation time and money.

Purchase or assemble the ingredients you will need for your cooking marathon. To organize yourself, first look at all of your recipes that you will be making for the week. A prep list is a great tool when you are cooking this way. Sit down with your recipes and write down everything that needs to be done for your cooking marathon. If one recipe calls for you to chop garlic, write the amount of garlic down that you need. Then if a second recipe also calls for chopped garlic, add the amount to the previous “chop garlic.” This will keep you organized and working on things in the fastest way possible. Or let’s say you are going to have tacos and spaghetti this week. You will need ground beef for both of these. Instead of browning beef once for tacos and then a second time later that day for spaghetti, you’ll want to do it all at once in one big batch. The same is true for cutting up vegetables. If three of your recipes call for chopped onion, cut the onion you need for all three recipes rather than cutting it three times.

Once the items are cooked, you want to let them cool and then either freeze the whole dish or cut them into individual servings and freeze those. The nice thing about the individual servings is you can use these for dinners for one or to take your lunch with you. This can be a tremendous money-saver. Instead of eating out or buying convenience items in the store you have a healthy and home-cooked frozen entree to reheat at work.

Make sure you wrap things very well that are going in the freezer. First wrap the dish with plastic wrap and then cover that with foil. If you are freezing something in a plastic bag, try to get as much of the air out of the bag as possible. Also, label everything with the name of the dish and the reheating instructions.

To streamline this process for the future, keep the recipes and the prep list all together in a binder. Once you get four or five of these weeks worth of meals built up in your binder, you can start cycling through them. This will save you even more time. You won’t have to gather recipes and make a prep list each time you do this. Just pull out a week’s worth out of your binder and make those for the week.

With a little bit of ingenuity and planning, you can make home cooking a huge time and money saver for your family!

There are many more tips and ideas for saving money on your monthly grocery bill. Sign up for a free mini course to learn the strategies at http://www.KeyIngredientPublishing.com

Spiced Mixed Nuts

Quick Chef — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:32:35 +0000

This recipe is made in the slow cooker and would make an awesome gift! Just put it in a pretty tin or bag with super cute label and ribbons.

Spiced Mixed Nuts

Use non-salted nuts.
1/2 pound halved walnuts
1/2 pound pecans
1/2 pound cashews
1/2 pound peanuts
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1. Warm large slow cooker for about 20 minutes.
2. Add nuts and butter. Stir well to coat nuts with butter.
3. Add the powdered sugar and stir well again.
4. Cover with lid and cook on high for 15 minutes.
5. Turn slow cooker down to low and uncover. Let cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Nuts should be coated in a stiff glaze.
6. Combine spices in a small bowl, or I prefer to combine in a large shaker.
7. Pour nuts into a large bowl. Gently sprinkle spices over nuts and stir continuously.
8. Store in airtight containers.

I love to have help with this recipe. It’s much easier to have one person stirring the nuts while another is gently sprinkling the spices so you don’t get clumps.

Freezer Cooking Tips

Quick Chef — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:30:26 +0000

There are a few guidelines you need to beware of that will help your freezer cooking session be more productive and free from stress. If you have the right basics and tools you will have some great tasting meals and stress free kitchen time.

1. Don’t experiment with new recipes – It’s always best to freeze a recipe you have eaten and liked. That way if you don’t like a recipe you don’t have 3 or 4 more of them in the freezer that you won’t want to eat later.

2. Make sure your food is not too hot or cold when you put it in the freezer – Food does not have to be cooled much to be able to put in the freezer. If you let food sit out too long you run the risk of having bacteria growth which could cause everyone in your family to get sick. You probably only need to let a meal sit for 15-20 minutes before you put it in the freezer. If you think the meal is too hot and will damage the other food in the freezer, you can just put a piece of cardboard under it until it is frozen. Then you can slip the cardboard out.

3. Get good containers – Square and rectangular shaped containers are the best to use. The meals will freeze and thaw more quickly. They will make the best use of your freezer space too. If you use plastic bags for your frozen meals you can either put a piece of cardboard between each bag or put the bag in a box or container and remove it once the meal is frozen.

Freezer cooking doesn’t have to be a chore or a disaster. If you follow these simple tips you should be able to have your freezer stocked in no time.

Do you want to know more about saving time in the kitchen? Grab your free report “Time Saving Kitchen Tips” at http://www.hjresources.com/freeck Heidi Johnson specializes in helping families find resources to simplify and improve their lives.

Slash Your Grocery Budget With Freezer Meals

Quick Chef — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:10:35 +0000

In a down economy it’s important to cut costs wherever you can. We all need to make the most of our income. One way to gain extra funds every week is to be careful with your food budget. Reducing the number of times you eat out and cutting back on convenience meals at the grocery is a great way to save. There is a simple way to make this happen – a way that will save you both time and money. You can slash your grocery budget by making freezer meals.

Freezer meals are meals you can make ahead and store in the freezer. These meals are easy to prepare in advance and make cooking dinner a pleasure each and every night.

One way to get started is to simply make a double batch of the meal you are making tonight for supper. Store the second recipe in a freezer container, mark it and put it in the freezer. For every night you cook you get a night “off”. This method will save you money because it gives you more options on a busy night. If you have a busy night, you know you have a meal waiting to be warmed up and you won’t have to make a trip through the drive thru out of desperation.

If you’re really interested in slashing your grocery budget, consider setting aside a day (or an afternoon) and cooking meals that will last you for weeks. By using just one day off, you can make 30 freezer meals or more to have on hand. Sometimes referred to as once a month cooking, this will save you money and tons of time. Just think how nice it would be to know you have a month’s worth of meals in the freezer!

Planning your meals and cooking ahead is a great way to cut back on your food budget. Having meals made ahead is also a great stress reliever. What are you waiting for?!

Want to get started with stocking your freezer with freezer meals? A step-by-step guide will make it easy for you. A guide gives you plans, lists and recipes to help you get your freezer stocked. When you get your guide, all you will have to do is follow the plan.

Ready to get started? You can get your freezer meal guide by visiting here: Freezer Meals 101

Make Ahead Freezer Meals

Quick Chef — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:27:57 +0000

Make Ahead Freezer Meals – For Women on the Go

By Darlyn Burkle

Make ahead freezer meals could be the answer to a busy woman’s dinner time blues. Have you ever come home from work or running the kids to their activities, to find that you have nothing in the house to eat for dinner? Maybe you have come home and you were too tired to prepare a full meal for your family? Did you know that make ahead freezer meals could save the day?

Make ahead freezer meals are perfect for a family, couple, or single person. Let me tell you a little bit about these meals. They are easy to prepare and are a wonderful life saver.

Make ahead freezer meals require proper planning. You will need to plan at least a couple hours but three or four hours would be better. The reason for this is you will be preparing the meal from start to finish and you will be doing more than one meal during this time period.

There are a couple of ways to prepare make ahead freezer meals. You can do each one of them separately or you can prepare them all at once. Here is an example.

If you are preparing four meals, two are with chicken and two are with hamburger, you could prepare the chicken meals together and when you are finished prepare the hamburger meals or you could put the chicken in the oven to cook and prepare the hamburger meals while that cooks. Once the chicken is complete you would finish that meal.

If you don’t want to prepare the entire meal you can cook up the chicken so the only thing needed is to warm it up. You can do the same with fried hamburger. If your family enjoys hamburgers, you can create the patties ahead of time so you won’t have to do that step. You can even add the seasoning to them if you wish, and then pop them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Make ahead freezer meals are also possible with crock-pot cooking. Creating crock pot meals ahead of time is super easy. All you do is put all the ingredients needed in a bag with the seasoning. Then all you have to do is open the bag and dump it into the crock pot and turn it on. What can possible be easier than that?

Here is a list of items that can be created ahead of time for make ahead freezer meals.

• Fried hamburger – cooked
• Baked Chicken – baked
• Hashbrowns – baked and shredded
• Potato squares – baked and cubed
• Hamburger patties – seasoned and ready to cook
• Chicken strips – cooked and sliced

Cooking or at least preparing these items ahead of time can save you anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour of time. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of time for me.

Make ahead freezer meals are meals that are already cooked and sitting in your freezer. All you have to do is place it in a dish and into the oven to warm it up. Other make ahead freezer meals can also include meals that are all put together, all you have to do is cook them. These types of meals are wonderful for a family on the go, a couple who works long days, or a single person. Whatever your situation is, make ahead freezer meals are the way to go.

Darlyn Burkle of http://www.I-Choose-Us.com, offers resources to show women how to survive a depression and thrive through the financial crisis. The 52-week Money Saving Toolkit helps women save and earn extra money. It covers practical money saving tips for saving on food, utilities, mortgage, gasoline, entertainment, college education, travel, gift-giving, and more.