Trying to be a more organized cook

Cafe Society
1

I’m a reasonably good cook, and have no major problems getting a home-cooked dinner on the table 5-7 nights a week. However, there are nights when dinner is a lot later than I want to serve it, or when it’s a little less than “cohesive,” for lack of a better word. And we waste too much food, with leftovers conscientiously packed away, only to rot in the back of the fridge. To that end, I’m trying to get myself a little better organized.

So far, I’m doing the following - the really obvious stuff:

Check weekly grocery circular for specials.
Make grocery list.
(Print out and organize coupons, if applicable.)
Shop for weekly groceries, with an eye toward unadvertised bargains also.
Make menu of week’s meals immediately after shopping.
(Post menu on kitchen whiteboard, as reminder to myself and to avoid the repetitive “what’s for dinner?” questions.)

Today was the first day of this new experiment, and it’s been pretty successful. Dinner was delicious, well-balanced, and on the table at 6:30 pm. Leftovers were packed away for tomorrow’s lunches, with nothing wasted. Tomorrow’s dinner protein is thawing in the refrigerator.

My special challenges include
Weird schedules (I work 11 pm to 7 am, four nights a week. Hubby works 12 hour shifts - 5 pm to 5 am for two months, 5 am to 5 pm for two months; 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off. Kids are involved in extracurriculars. I often make spreadsheets to figure out whether my husband and I will either or both be off for meetings, recitals, spelling bees, social engagements, or even being able to sleep in the same bed together!) So, I’m trying to plan for a couple of crock pot meals each week, so that I can toss it in when I get home from work and wake up to a mostly-cooked main dish.
Often needing to eat “in shifts,” like nights when Mr. Matata needs to eat before work, or when he calls to say that he’s nearby and wants to drop in for his lunch break.
Trying to balance healthier choices, budget considerations, and slightly picky eaters. (Not major PITA picky, but daughter barely eats meat, hubby doesn’t care for fruit, Littlest Matata only has 8 teeth… stuff like that!)
And my big freezer has given up the ghost, so I only have refrigerator freezer now - can’t keep several casseroles or spaghetti sauces in reserve anymore!

Given how nice and organized and non-frantic it was to prep dinner tonight/lunch tomorrow, I’d like to keep up this planning thing, so I’d love to hear your tricks and tips for meal and menu planning! Any ideas?

2

I think you’re on the right track with using the coupons and circulars to do meal planning. That, along with a little space to store excellent deals when available, can really cut help manage costs along with the bonus of making the What To Make decisions easier.

Even with just the smaller freezer, try and keep a few things in reserve. A quart of frozen chili that can be thawed and made into chili-mac is a quick and easy rescue on a complicated day. Freezer bags that let everything stack together save a lot of space, as well as saving you from freezer burn.

Crock pots can help a lot with the mixed up schedules, good call on that. We’ve got a ton of threads here on slow-cooker recipes, I browse them regularly for inspiration.

Immediately putting leftovers into lunchable sized containers means it’s easy for us to grab one in the morning to throw in a lunch bag. A whole bowl of stew or spaghetti will stay in the fridge, but a ready to grab serving in a microwavable dish gets eaten. So that’s what we do now, and usually have a small city of plastic single-serve containers in the fridge.

I’m not sure where you’re at, but while you’re looking at coupons and circulars, don’t forget to check the drugstores. Ours tend to have limited grocery items at outrageous prices, but whatever they feature on sale that week is a better price than the normal grocery store and usually pairs with coupons from the Sunday paper.

3

That’s exactly the sort of thing I’m looking for, Your Highness! Individually packed leftovers almost certainly will be eaten, vs. the vat of stuff that ferments behind the carton of eggs. And I always forget about the specials at the drugstore.

4

I have limited freezer space too. One thing I do is freeze things like spaghetti sauce in quart-size freezer bags (1-2 c at most, for fast thawing), lying flat in the freezer so they’re nice and thin. After they’re frozen, I stack them upright on their edge like I’m shelving books. They work nicely for filling space between other freezer items.

5

I definitely need to start freezing things in bags - big space saver! Do you use anything like a whiteboard to remind you what’s stowed away in the freezer, or are you just jillions of times more organized than me?

I’m also thinking that I should probably start keeping a package or two of pre-browned ground beef in the freezer: That way, even if I’m tied up somewhere, I can call my 13-year-old and talk him through prepping a simple meal. Or I can just nuke, add the appropriate “accessories,” and have a really quick meal of spaghetti or tacos or such, even if I’ve forgotten to thaw something when I come home from work in the mornings.

6

I plan meals with “wild cards” in them to take advantage of sales, rather than spending time looking at circulars. For example,

Thursday dinner: pan-fried meat, garlic smashed potatoes, green veg

Then I look to see if steaks or pork chops or cutlets or tuna steaks are on sale, and whether broccoli or green beans or kale is on sale.

Or,

Friday dinner: Mexican Mess on salad w/ toppings

Then if avocados are on sale we have guacamole, if not then I get a tub of sour cream and some salsa. I also have the whole fresh and bagged salad section to find a deal in.

I just find it more time-efficient to figure out what’s what once I’m actually at the store, rather than lose time to 1. clipping coupons 2. figuring out what I can make with what I’ve clipped and 3. losing time at checkout.

I’ve also got a list of stuff that’s always in my cupboard, keeps forever, and gets thrown together once I’ve exhausted the fresh & exciting meals for the week. That way if we end up eating out more than usual, the ingredients don’t go to waste, but if we eat in more than usual we’ve got food. Pasta, rice, potatoes, canned tomatoes and beans, frozen vegetables, and small packages of frozen chicken breasts or ground beef are mostly it.

7

It looks like you’re doing really great! One thing I might suggest is that you write down a list of all the meals you ever cook, just a simple “meatloaf, spaghetti, quiche” etc. It helps me to scan over my choices when I’m meal planning. I also print out recipes, put them in plastic sheet protectors, and keep them in a 3-ring binder. When I’m cooking I can take the recipe out and put it on the counter without worrying about it getting too wet or dirty.

8

My freezer is tiny, so it’s hard to forget what’s in there! But I really should get a couple whiteboards to remind us of fridge/freezer contents.

Oh, easy thawing of spaghetti sauce or whatever - make sure the ziploc seal is intact, then fill a sink or big bowl with hot water, and toss the frozen quart bag in there. It should be thawed or at least nearly so within minutes, and no need to cut open the bag and struggle with fitting a broad, flat chunk of ice into a small pot.

9

OP, you wanna label stuff with masking tape. I find the magic marker/ sharpie can rub off but masking tape helps. Don’t just write “sauce” or “beef”, write exactly the cut, cooked or not, and the date and # of servings (if more than 1). More info is better! Since Mark Bittman is retiring I’ve been looking through some of his pieces, this is really helpful on the freezer.

10

Or if you’re moving some frozen protein to the fridge from the freezer the night before for the next dinner, toss your frozen sauce in there too - it’ll thaw just fine along with the protein to be ready for the next day.

11

Oooh - SpouseO bought be one of those vacuum sealer thingies for my birthday, and I’m using it a lot more than I anticipated. It really helps things from going to waste. I seal protein from the store in 2-serving packages (since it’s just me and him). I seal cheese and such in bags longer than needed, so I can reopen, grate what I need, reseal and save. I seal cut up veggies that I don’t have a plan for and they’ll stay good for long enough to get them in a meal. I need to buy some more brown sugar - you can bet I’ll be sealing that in a bag longer than initially needed so it doesn’t dry out but can be opened and resealed.

For stuff I can’t seal, I buy some of those snap-wise air tight plastic containers - breadcrumbs, panko, quinoa, oatmeal, stuff that might go stale before I get to it goes in these, and they last much longer. (There are vacuum canisters that would do the same thing, but I haven’t bought any yet.) I’ve got some breadcrumbs that have lasted for 6 months or more; before I was throwing out half-used containers, and that’s just waste.

The vacuum bags have opaque white strips printed on them every so often, so you can add a label/date with a sharpie. Come to think of it, so do many ziploc bags - you might have to search 'em out on the shelves, but they’re there.

12

Writing out the list of meals is a really good plan. It seems like I cook the same 5 meals over and over again, so this would do wonders for the variety at Chez Matata. (I almost never use recipes, so part 2 wouldn’t help much.)

I’m pretty lucky, in that I can do a lot of my shopping/meal planning prep at work - lots of down time to browse the circulars on-line, match up coupons with the sales, etc. If I weren’t doing that during those 2am-4am lulls, I’d just be reading the Dope or playing Facebook games! (And I often hit the grocery store when I get off work, anyway, since my usual store is only a couple of blocks from the office, and opens at 7am when I get off work.)

As for “pantry management,” I spent a few minutes earlier in the week pulling food out of the cabinets, just to see what was really lurking in there. Seven jars of peanut butter? Really? Six bottles of salad dressing? (And you don’t want to know how much pasta, canned tomatoes, and baking stuff!) All traceable to being the mother of a little one - shopping fast/sleep-deprived/distracted. I have to improve on that!

But so far, the experiment is going well: Spent about $100 at the grocery store (no coupons this week, though,) steak (top sirloin half price this week) for dinner last night/today’s lunches, talapia fillets tonight (unadvertised special - 8 vacuum sealed frozen portions cost about $9.00, enough in freezer for another meal), chili will go in the crock pot in the morning, and be ready before hubby goes to work at 4:30. The rest of the week’s menus include pork chops, red beans and rice, spaghetti, and chili mac, with enough still in the freezer and pantry for another meal or two in case I’m delayed going shopping.

13

As far as using up leftover: A lot of the time we use take Monday leftovers as Tuesday lunches, and so forth. But we still tend to accumulate leftovers, so the night before the weekly shopping (Thursday night in our case) has a standing menu of “Leftovers” at our house.

Sometimes I turn leftovers into ‘creations’ – generally soups/stews/casseroles if appropriate – but more often it’s just a matter of pick out which of the plastic leftover dishes you feel like eating and nuke them. (If there aren’t actually many leftovers on hand, we fill out with ‘breakfast’ type things: omelets, waffles, french toast.)

Any leftovers that survive ‘leftover night’ get tossed the next morning while I’m putting away the new groceries. The food is still wasted, but at least we don’t have the ‘Is this safe to eat?’/science project surprises in the back corners.

14

So, what are your “greatest hits” regarding remakes of leftovers? Sure, I know to make chili mac with leftover chili, or pot pie with leftover chicken and dumplings, but no doubt you guys have lots better recipes than mine.

15

One little bump here to ask again about your greatest hits re: leftovers. I don’t mind just reheating once in a while, but the family is happier if we don’t have too many “reruns.”

Today’s success is a breakfast/brunch remade from last night’s leftovers: Oven-roasted potatoes became hash browns/home fries with the addition of some sauteed onions, bacon, and cheese. Reheated a pork chop, added some fruit, juice, and coffee, and the hubby had a nice hot meal before work.

16

I think pork loin is an amazingly under-used ingredient. I like it because there is virtually no waste (no bones, and just a little slice to get the silver skin off), doesn’t take up much room in the freezer, and only takes 20 minutes per lb. to cook.

You can either get it pre-marinaded or plain and marinade it yourself.

If you do 2 loins for one family (usually un-marinaded comes in a pack of 2, marinaded in a pack of 1) you can have just sliced pork loin, potatoes and veg one night. The other loin can be cubed and used in salads for lunch at work (IMHO it tastes just fine cold) and the rest can be used in a quick stir fry.

Just don’t forget that when you cook it, you only need to get up to about 140-145 degrees. Take it out and let it rest under foil for 15 mins. It may be a little pink but you will not die. Over-cooked, dry pork loin is horrible.

I just put my pork loin on a foil-covered cookie sheet in the oven, and when it’s at 145 I wrap it in the foil while I prepare everything else.

17

I don’t use many processed foods anymore, but I like to keep a box of Zatarain’s on hand. Dump in all your leftovers, whatsoever they may be, and still call it jambalaya. :slight_smile:

18

We’ve been having homemade pizza and it makes a great leftover, Lacunae. If I don’t make the crust in the breadmaker on the weekend, I buy those premade crusts.

Top with jarred sauce (or lately I’ve been making homemade*), cheese, pepperoni, diced onion, olives, whatever else you like and you’re done! Use frozen diced onion for extra speedy prep. I love spinach on mine, so I nuke a bowl full of fresh, which wilts it slightly. Then I just drape it over the pizza.

  • Super Easy Ellen Pizza Sauce:
    1 large can diced tomatoes (28 oz I think)
    1 jar tomato paste
    1 tablespoon dried basil
    1 tablespoon dried parsley
    Chopped garlic to taste
    Salt and pepper to taste

Whir up in the food processor. Spoon over crust.

I make like four pizzas at a time and we have lots for leftover.

Bonus recipe Easy kid pizza: Tortilla, sauce, pepperoni, cheese. Bake 5 minutes in toaster oven.

PS Your schedule makes my head spin!! :slight_smile:

19

Love the Zatarain’s, Beetle! Tony Chachere’s makes one too, for a little flavor variety. It’s one of my go-to meals on I Have No Idea What I’m Making for Dinner night.

20

Yep, the box of Tony Chachere’s sits on the back of the stove with the salt and pepper, and gets a pretty good workout. And I love pork loin! It’s so nice to bake two, and know that I have easy lunch/dinner for a couple of nights. (It’s especially easy to “pull” a pound or two, throw it in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce, and have an easy, hearty sandwich dinner or lunch.)

Ellen, I have a 13-year-old boy, a 10-year-old girl, usually a “spare” kid or two running through the house for video game sessions, science fair collaborations, and so forth: What is this “leftover pizza” phenomenon you mentioned?!

A good friend offered me an awesome tip the other day: Keep a 1-2 quart plastic container or bag in the freezer to store those little dabs of leftover veggies we all debate about (“Toss or keep? Not enough for a meal, but too much for mere table scraps…”) When the container is full, use that for a pot of veggie stew. So simple, so obvious, and so much less wasteful than tossing or even composting!