Easing Into New Ideas and Routines

I can't think of a better reason (or easier way) to change up some of my current routines (and habits) than moving into a new house. One of biggest things I have been focusing on lately is cooking.

Now, don't laugh. I know I am moving within half a mile of my Mamaw who is well known in our family (extended family too) and community to be the best cook EVER, but I don't expect to be eating there every meal every day.

Mom and Dad go every day for lunch which started as a way for them to keep a check on her when some health problems came up a couple years ago. The health problems resolved, but their lunch routine stuck. How often I join them is something I haven't decided yet.

One of the most important reason I like going over for lunch is that I actually get to arrive early and join her in the kitchen to prepare the meal. This summer when I was staying with mom and dad basically all summer, I did this every day and LOVED it! One day we would cook something big, the next have left overs, and once or twice just did something simple as tuna fish sandwiches. Doesn't matter to me what we fix as long as I get to "learn" more cooking skills from my Mamaw. Not to mention just the conversations and the time spent together is greatly treasured!

My own cooking routine at home has left something to be desired for years. Why? It would take me a year to explain, but somehow we became an "eating out" family. Well, not just "eating out" but "quick" meal family. It got to where I realized the only things I cooked were "packaged foods". Now I am to the point of "gross!" Not to mention unhealthy!

I have been looking at some different blogs about cheap meals. With a bigger house payment and our new town having... well, not sure how many places to eat out but much less than our current town I know, we are looking at eating cheaply at home. This leads to finding more time in my daily routine to cook meals. Breakfast, lunch, and supper.

Now don't get me wrong, lunches are easy. Sandwiches, soup, or leftovers. Breakfast isn't much of a problem either... what kind of cereal/oatmeal/poptart do you want? Even tho most days I am up at an early hour and busy all morning, I don't like big projects (cooking a full meal, a large cleaning task, or a trip out of the house) before 1 PM. So supper is the biggest meal task of the day for us.

In my blog research, I have come across people talking about saving time and money on meals with preparing ahead and stocking your pantry well. I need lots of lessons on these! I plan on gradually starting some freezer meals and proper planning. Expect some blogs about this in the future, I hope!

I started with some freezer meals by accident a couple weeks ago. I bought some hamburger meat in bulk to break down and freeze in smaller size bags. I didn't, right then, have time to do it so into the fridge it went. A couple days later, I opened the fridge to see this big package of meat staring me in the face with that day's date as the sale by date. Don't smirk. You know you have done this too. With good intentions and all. So I thought quick. I fried it all up. Then I separated it and made a pan of Manwich, a pot of chili, some spaghetti sauce, and some taco meat. That all went into the freezer. Thaw, heat, and serve. It was the easiest thing ever! Later that week, when once again, I waited too late to think of what to have for supper, I realized I had some ready made meals.

It didn't take any longer to do those 4 meals than it took to cook 1 meal. Left me thinking what else can I do this with? I found the answer. Almost anything! Take chicken fajitas. Buy the ingredients, put the chicken in a sealed bag (cooked if you want, or uncooked with seasoning packet separate), onions and peppers in a sealed bag, then place them into a bigger bag together with tortillas and seasoning and seal it up to go into the freezer. Make sure to label your bag. When looking for supper, all the stuff is there and ready to go (minus the sour cream, lettuce, and salsa which I keep on hand anyway.)

I do have a FoodSaver that I love for this stuff bc it prevents freezer burn so well! Lots of people seem to do this once a month and have their meals planned out for the whole month, but I don't see that happening anytime soon for me. I may build up to that point, but for right now just having a couple weeks worth of meals ready (or just "put together") is great! What's worse than waiting until the last minute to decide what to cook and then not having all the things you need?

Anyone have some simplified and/or budget cooking ideas?