Timesavers for Busy Cooks

Whether cooking for a big family, or just for one person after work, we're all busy people. But how can we avoid becoming overly dependent on fast food? Too many visits to Burger Land can hurt the wallet and the waistline. Here are tips to save time and money when it comes to meal prep. These strategies can keep you and your family from the drive-through doldrums.

The schools do it. Camps do it. Why not you? The school menu is basically a set number of daily menus used over and over again. Mon - Chicken. Tues - Pasta. Wed - Pizza. Thurs - Cheeseburger. Fri - Fish, and so on. The next 2 weeks, 10 more different items. The following week they just repeat the menu all over again, starting with Mon - Chicken. Cafeterias rotate the same meals because it's more efficient. There's just enough time and variety in between the repeats so the kids aren't completely sick of the same thing all the time.

Most families only like certain foods. New stuff, they might not touch it. So no need to try and create exciting gourmet dinner menus for each day. Just recycle the dozen or more dinners that you know they will eat, throwing in a new dish once in a while just to keep boredom at bay.

Frozen fruits and vegetables are a nutritious alternative to fresh, since they are flash frozen before the vitamins fade away. Keep the freezer stocked with healthy, frequently used items like frozen peas, carrots, edamame, corn, broccoli, and chopped spinach. Cooked meats and meats like bacon, sausages, and hot dogs are freezable too, to prolong their shelf life.

Pre-cook Items and Freeze Them

Pre-cooking and freezing works well for the following foods:

• Ground Beef or Turkey: cook and freeze in 1 lb portions
• Meatloaf and Lasagna: make an extra one, bake and freeze for another meal later on. Or make meatballs with the meatball beef mixture and freeze them.
  
• Chicken Breast: Bake or grill, plain or lightly seasoned; freeze in 1 lb portions.
• Ham, diced: We prefer turkey ham, but either one works. Use in bean soups, hash, or on salads.
  
• Onions and peppers (green, red, yellow): chop, saute in a little oil. Freeze 1-onion or 1-pepper portions in small freezer bags. When onions go on sale, stock up and have a big onion chop/cook/freeze session.
• Spaghetti Marinara Sauce or Meat Sauce: Make a double batch and freeze the extra.

One can also buy cheeses like mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar in bulk (to save $) and use a food processor to shred. Try to lay the freezer bags out flat in the freezer so that the cheese shreds don't freeze up and clump all together in a solid block. No more tossing out moldy cheese that's been in the fridge too long. The only cheese that doesn't seem to freeze well is cream cheese.

The foods you keep in the pantry will depend on what you eat most often. Always try to stock up on these items when they go on sale. Around holiday periods, many baking goods tend to go on sale. Stock up!

Some foods to keep in a pantry:

Pasta, Rice and Grain Staples -- Rice, pasta, noodles, oatmeal, bread/bread crumbs, croutons, crackers, couscous, bulgur

Beans -- dried pinto, black, kidney and white navy beans, lentils, canned beans are good too.

Canned or Jar Goods --Fruits, vegetables, meats, tuna, soups, broths, sauces and salsas, milks, honey, peanut butter, condiments like mustards.

Baking Goods -- Flours, sugars, molasses, extracts, baking powder, baking soda, yeast, corn starch, shortening, spices, baking chocolate

After cooking a big meal one day, plan to use the leftovers for one or two additional meals later in the week. Leftovers from roast chicken can be part of chicken pot pie the next day; ham on Sunday can be made into navy bean soup on Tuesday. Leftover meatloaf becomes meatball subs with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Or just plan on having lasagna 2 days during the week, but not two days in a row. Just mix up the side dishes - green salad one day, zucchini another day.

A slow cooker is another easy way to prepare meals in advance. There's nothing like coming home from work-school-lessons-appointments-errand running to a kitchen that smells delicious and a hot meal that's ready to eat.

During the week, families are busy running around town to various activities. So one of those nights could be designated as "Sandwich Night." With bread, lunch meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo in the house, you're good to go for dinner. "Sandwich Night" is a real time and stress saver.

Another easy idea along the same line is "Soup and Salad Night." Heat up a pot of soup, add a prepackaged salad with some fixings, and accompany with a baguette, pita chips, or crackers.

An alternative to "Sandwich Night" is "Upside Down Day" where breakfast is for dinner. Just whip up scrambled eggs, toast, maybe some sausage, and add a fruit and juice or milk. Even brew a pot of (decaf) coffee for the adults. It's like going to a diner to get breakfast food late at night.

There are times when it's so hectic, dinner plans just fly out the window. Time to punt. That's where ramen noodles or frozen dinners come in handy. They're not the healthiest of foods, but it's okay to have ramen as a last resort; nothing wrong with microwaved frozen entrees when all else fails. You might even be able to work in a vegetable, too, at home. Keep these in your pantry and freezer as a back-up. These quick meals don't take any longer than going through the drive-through at the local fast food joint, and are more economical.

So next time the strong temptation to "drive-through" strikes, remember there are alternatives to "Life in the Fast Food Lane."