Archive | July, 2011

PLAN. ORGANIZE. SHOP. SAVE.

By on July 23, 2011 in Saving Money

Meal Planning

For family dinners the key to saving time is planning.  The key to saving money is also planning.  And the key to saving even more time and more money is organization.

Meal Planning by The Organized Cook Steak Mushroom Casserole

Steak Mushroom Casserole from The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System

Here are the key steps for family dinner meal planning.

Meal Planning by The Organized Cook Pork Fried Rice

Pork Fried Rice from The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System

Step 1- Plan

Plan your family dinner menu for the entire week

Step 2- Plan

Plan your grocery shopping day with list ready to go

Step 3- Organize

Organize your family dinner menu and your grocery shopping list in a way that will help you reduce waste and save even more time and money.

Sound like a lot of work?  It can be.

The Organized Cook

What I’ve done with The Organized Cook is taken the task of planning and organizing your family dinners a few steps further to help you save even more time and money using organization as the key ingredients.

The Organized Cook

The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Planning System

Through cooking methods like “reusing your time” and “reincarnating the leftover”, family dinners will cost you less than $100 a week in groceries and often as low as $67 a week.

But that’s nothing compared to the amount of time you will save.

Meal Planning from The Organized Cook

Baja Fish Tacos from The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Planning System

Ready to start saving?  Let The Organized Cook do the planning and organization for you.  Spend less time at the grocery store, less time in the kitchen and more time with your family at the dinner table.  Subscribe Now.

Bon Appetit!

Toni Spilsbury, The Organized Cook


 

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Herb Potatoes

By on July 20, 2011 in Making Dinner, Recipes

Herb Potatoes

Ingredients:

  1. baby potatoes (like fingerling)- 1-2 lbs, sliced in half lengthwise
  2. olive oil- 4 tablespoons
  3. butter- 3 tablespoons
  4. fresh herbs like basil, parsley and chives, chopped

(or use fresh herbs stored in ice cube trays- below)

Directions:

  1. heat olive oil and butter in large saute pan over medium heat
  2. add potatoes and herbs
  3. saute until potatoes are tender, approximately 20 minutes

Storing Summer Herbs

Remember those ice cubes of frozen chopped herbs in olive oil, melted butter and garlic in Summer Herbs Are Here. Now What?  For storing fresh herbs like parsley, basil and chives, I store them in ice cube trays with melted butter, olive oil and garlic.

Storing herbs

Storing herbs

 

Well, tonight my “herb ice cubes” came in handy.

Herb Potatoes by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

So what to do with these fingerling potatoes?  I wondered.

Then I remembered my “ice cubes”.

After slicing the potatoes in half, I threw them in a saute pan with my little culinary creations.

Herb Potatoes by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

A stitch in time saved me.

Herb Potatoes by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

 

 

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Kids Pizza Party

By on July 19, 2011 in Busy Mom Living The Dream

Weekend entertaining typically means cooking on the grill, and grilling is a job I reserve for my husband.  I can marinate like nobody’s business, but grilling- especially in 100 degree weather- is not my cup of tea.

With the men off one Saturday afternoon at a beer festival, us “girls” were left to entertain the kids on our own with nobody to run the grill.

So, what do you feed kids at the end of a swimming and play day?  Sure, you could pick up some take-out… also not really my cup of tea.

I thought, “why not make something fun?”  My girls love to cook almost as much as they love swimming.

A pizza party sounded like the thing- entertainment and dinner combined.

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

Pizza Party Ingredients

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

Sauce, Cheese, Pepperoni, Sliced Black Olives

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

Pizza Sauce

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

Pepperoni

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

Sliced Black Olives

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

one scoop of flour on top of individual sheets of wax paper

No, I didn’t make my pizza dough from scratch- I’m not trying to be a hero.  Rather, I bought fresh pizza dough from Fresh n Easy (I’ve also found it at Trader’s Joe’s) and cut each pizza dough ball in half or thirds depending on the age of each kid.

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

a ball of pizza dough

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

let the kids work their magic

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

the kids had a lot of fun; a great break from swimming

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

have a handy vaccum ready afterwards for clean-up!

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

the youngest kids was 2 and oldest 13- fun activity for all ages

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

pile them up on a pizza stone or baking sheet to cook in the oven

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

let them be as creative as they want

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

this one looked yummy!

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

priceless

I didn't forget about us grown ups and did one "big girl pizza"

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

place prosciutto over drizzled olive oil and cheese

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

top that with spinach

Pizza Party by Toni Spilsbury The Organized Cook

and some sundried tomatoes

Have your own pizza party!

Grocery Shopping List

  1. Fresh Pizza Dough- 1 packet per 2-3 kids
  2. Pizza Sauce
  3. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  4. Sliced Pepperoni
  5. Sliced Black Olives

“Big Girl Pizza”:

  1. Proscuitto- 1/8 pound
  2. Spinach Lettuce
  3. Sundried Tomatoes

Staples:

  1. Flour
  2. Olive Oil

Approximate cost for pizza party: $16.99

Approximate cost for take-out: $34.99

Approximate fun for pizza party: lots

Approximate fun for take-out: not so much, even with a free toy

 

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The Organized Cook Manic Monday Giveaway- Retro Apron

By on July 18, 2011 in Giveaways and Promotions

I love fashion aprons almost as much as I love shoes.

This adorable apron from Boojiboo will get you cooking in style.  It’s one of my favorites and it’s this week’s giveaway from The Organized Cook.

The Organized Cook giveaway

Enter to win by telling us what you think of our new pilot cooking show “The Organized Cook” on YouTube.  Simply post a comment on YouTube or below telling us what you thought of the show, then visit Facebook to leave a comment.

The Organized Cook Show Pilot

About The Organized Cook Show

“Toni Spilsbury helps busy moms save lots of time and money while creating delicious home cooked meals in The Organized Cook.  With a little planning and organization, Toni demonstrates how to get the most out of your time and grocery budget through innovative cooking methods using organization as the main ingredient.  In fact, Toni’s dinner menu this week cost less than $100 in groceries for the entire week, and takes as little as 15 minutes to prepare a nutritious balanced dinner.”

“Enjoy your meal, enjoy your time with your family and take “back” the family dinner.” – Toni Spilsbury

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