Make Dinnertime Easier

It’s too inconvenient, too time consuming, too challenging, too expensive.

This is a problem my friends.

First of all, eating out is definitely more expensive.

For example, a meal at McDonald’s for a family of four, consisting of 2 “Big Macs”®, 1 cheeseburger, 1 6-piece “Chicken McNuggets”®, 2 medium fries, 2 small fries, 2 medium sodas and 2 small sodas, comes to a total of almost 28 dollars. For this amount, and actually much less, a home-cooked meal could include a whole chicken, potatoes, green vegetables and a simple salad on the side. {source}

You already know how Maria & I feel about processed food.

Now, we know many people say they don’t have time to cook with working full time and then taking care of children, but there are ways to have a home cooked meal when you’re short on time.

Instead of reaching for the take-out menu or picking up fast food on your way home from work, why not turn to your freezer.

Want to see what’s in my freezer?

Tomato basil sauce, butternut squash soup, cabbage & white bean soup and pesto.

These all came from meals I made over the month. I made large batches on purpose so that that I could freeze all the extra. When you can find the time to work in the kitchen, make a large batch of whatever you’re making and freeze the rest for those for the nights you don’t have time to cook a meal for your family.

I made both of the soups in a crock-pot which is another way of having a meal ready for you when you return home for dinner.

Some things that freeze well are soups, sauces, grains and casserole type dishes. (Avoid making milk or cream based soups because those don’t freeze well.)

This weekend I added another 2 items to my freezer stash.

I spent Friday afternoon in my kitchen cooking up a storm making Veggie Lasagna Roll Ups.

We had one tray for dinner and truly enjoyed them. Not only was I able to freeze 2 extra trays of these, but I also had some leftover sauce to freeze that I can use in another recipe.

I was even nice enough to share with Maria and gave her one of the lasagna trays.

Now this meal is more time consuming, but the great thing is that you can have it again later in the month without lifting a finger. Ok, well besides putting the tray in the oven from the freezer!

I used whole wheat noodles and filled them up with spinach, mozzarella, zucchini and mushrooms.

Serve with a nice mixed salad and this meal couldn’t be more perfect.

I definitely cannot wait to have these again in the next coming weeks.

If we can wait that long!

It would definitely help to make the sauce ahead of time to cut down on prep time.

You can also use your favorite canned pasta sauce if you want to, but I almost always make my own since it’s so simple.

Here is the recipe that I used.

Tomato-Basil Sauce

Hope you enjoy this recipe and stock up your freezers this month!

Do you stock your freezer with homemade meals?